sparkle-tastic

diamonds are forever.  diamonds are a girl's best friend.  diamonds are super fantastic, no argument from me - BUT diamonds also happen to be on the pricey side.   don't get me wrong -  for the right time/reason/occasion you can't beat a (conflict free please!!) diamond.  however - given a lady's desire to have a bit of twinkle on any given occasion - other options need to come into play.   let's say you feel the need to have a nice dose of twinkle for a night out.  choices:  a) a royal relative sadly passes, you come into a massive inheritance and you go drop a fist full of money on the real deal OR b) you come back to reality and you go the equally sparkly route of a crystal wrist-full of Nadri bangles.  need a little extra light dancing around your face?  choices: a) win the lottery OR b) the old "real life" option - a pair of Adriani Orsini earrings or perhaps a tennis necklace...  there are always the lower price point options at any high street store that can fit the bill - but if you want it to last past one or two fiestas - it might be worth your while to spend a bit more.... cost per wear you will get more bling for your buck.  and a twinkle on top.

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small things make big happy

some people are of the major blowout birthday celebration variety. me, not so much. i prefer to have my attention paid to me one on one or in a small group. people may feel free to press lavish gifts upon me - i have no problem with that, just without all the hub-bub. that established, yesterday was rather perfect as a birthday. i had my hair cut and styled, ended up a bit fabulous. then went and had nails done - (more on that in a mo... )

then J, my love, came home early to me bearing gifts and cupcakes from Crumbs. a gorgeous wrap cardi in a gorge cobalt blue, and a HOT cream colored turtle-neck sweater dress. love them both and will be wearing the cardi to within an inch of its life, i can tell already. however, the best gift (aside from his love) was this pair of earrings. bit of back story here. he is not the biggest fan of picking out gifts, so in the past i have guided him to what i might like. but the times when he picks things out on his own - those are the ones that make my heart smile. (one of my faves - a bathtub shaped soap dish) anyhoo - back to the story at hand. now we all know i loves me some jewelry. it's just a fact. so, i open up the clothing, love it, and then he hands me a little fabric pouch which i instantly recognize from Anthropologie - and i said out loud "ooh!" because little fabric pouch equals jewelry. math people. simple math. opened up the pouch and therein were these beautiful, intricate swirly earrings. right up my little boho alley i must say. and a happy birthday to me indeed.