It's the Bling, Dahlings!

RHYS BOWEN:  As many of you know, I just returned home from six weeks in Europe. During that time I taught a workshop in Tuscany, did research in the South of France and was feted by my Amazon team in London. As I unpacked a small cloth bag tumbled onto the floor. It was the jewelry that I had taken with me on the trip. And I realized, to my mortification, that I HADN'T WORN IT ONCE. Not even changed my earrings. I always travel wearing a simple ring that can't get caught handling luggage, a gold chain around my neck and a tennis bracelet my mother gave me. But I hadn't touched anything else.  We had gone out for fancy dinners in Tuscany. I had dressed up to meet the Amazon crowd. We had taken my sister and brother-in-law out to dinner. Yet no jewelry!



It's not that I don't like jewelry. I love looking at it in my jewelry case, trying it on sometimes. And I like to look good. I'm sure I wore nice outfits and maybe a scarf on all those occasions. It's just that I never think of jewelry unless it's a fancy evening affair. I did buy a new necklace and bracelet for the Edgars this year! So I'm a failure in the jewelry department. I guess I'm actually an all around failure in the accessory department. My mother loved purses. She had purses to match every outfit and she changed them regularly. I change my about twice a year--a dark purse for winter, a bright purse for summer. I had an elderly friend who wore matching jewelry with every outfit--earrings, necklace, bracelet, the lot!

I tell myself it's because I'm always in a hurry, with three million things to do that I don't take time to go through my jewelry box. But it reality I have to confess that I'm just not a blingy sort of person. So I'm intrigued to know about my fellow Reds (who always look so put-together when I see them). Do you wear jewelry all the time? On special occasions? Jewelry to match your outfit? And how about purses? Do you change to match what you are wearing? Am I the only boring Red?

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I am evermore not a blingy person. A combination of natural tendencies, being raised by a mom who was of the "Take one thing off before you leave the house" persuasion, and thirty years of living in Maine. Maine is not a blingy place. We won't say it where you can hear us, but if you're wearing jewelry on the beach, we make fun of you.

I am the queen of handbags, though. I have dozens and dozens, none of which I've been carrying this year as I am in mourning. But when I'm NOT shrouded in black, I love to switch up purses every day to match my outfit. Unfortunately, that doesn't fly when I travel (pun intended) so if you only ever see me at Bcon or Malice or some other conference, you won't be able to appreciate the splendour of my bag coordination.


HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: One of my favorite stories. Two days after I met Jonathan, we were walking down the street in Nantucket. And he said, unbidden, "What kind of jewelry do you like?" I stopped in my tracks.
"Excuse me," I said. "I have to call my mom."
That said, I wear the same jewelry every day, essentially.  Pearls, almost every day to work. And bracelets, and rings.  I don't have pierced ears, but I wear clip ons, which I am always losing, so sometimes they don't match. But, whatever. I have other bling, very nice, but sometimes I forget, even though I love it.
Handbags. I call them purses. I have too many, but I carry the same one all the time. And every time I make myself switch them up, change, I forget to move something, and I regret it.
Let's not talk about shoes.   (RHYS: My husband John has been known to take pictures of Hank's shoes, because he is so fascinated with them. I'm trying to put my hands on one of those pictures!_

LUCY BURDETTE: Not a wink of bling here either. I have one purse, it's a Baggalini and I use it with everything. (thoough this is the bag I was carrying when my passport disappeared, eek.) I became allergic to my pierced ears some years back, so I can no longer wear my favorite earrings. I will wear a necklace for dress-up but I don't like the feel of watches or necklaces. I had to remind myself of this last week at a craft show when I was very tempted by a bracelet made out of a spoon. So Cute! I remembered at the last minute that I wouldn't wear it, so saved myself forty bucks:)

INGRID THOFT:: I’m going to buck the JRW trend!  I love jewelry and wear it every day.  I favor small, delicate necklaces, but I’m rarely without some kind of necklace in addition to my wedding and anniversary rings, and earrings.  I love hoop earrings since they go with everything, but I also have things like glass studs from Pike Place Market and a dangly pair from El Rastro street market in Madrid.  One of my favorite necklaces was a gift from my mom upon the release of LOYALTY.  She had a necklace made with some glass beads in my favorite colors and a tiny book cover engraved with LOYALTY on the front and my name on the back.  She even had matching earrings made! The only jewelry I don’t like is bracelets, not because they aren’t lovely, but they get in the way when I type!

JENN McKINLAY: I firmly believe diamonds really are a girl’s best friend. I love jewelry and have too much and wear it all the time. I have three holes in each ear just so I can wear more. It’s ridiculous.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I am allergic to nickel, the alloy in gold jewelry, so my bling options have always been limited That rules out most really expensive jewelry right off the bat. My only diamonds are the little chips in my white gold wedding band, which I can wear, thank goodness. My ears have been pierced since I was fourteen, and I adore earrings. I can wear sterling silver, titanium, and some very good hypoallergenic costume things. (Chico's is the best I've ever found for hypoallergenic jewelry, if anyone else has these issues.)  I love bracelets, too, when I can find them to fit my little wrist, and a couple of years ago Rick found me a titanium watch--the first nice watch I've ever owned, because bands and buckles always made me break out!

I do not have the purse gene, or the shoe gene, as my daughter and my more fashionista friends will be happy to confirm.

RHYS: I have been going through my pictures and find that I do occasionally dress up and wear jewelry!

But more often if I have to look smart I wear a scarf. I do have an awful lot of scarves... so I guess we all have our secret vices, be it shoes, handbags, or bling!

How about you, dear readers? Who wears matching jewelry with every outfit? Who changes their purse to match their shoes? Who loves bling?

The House of Seven Teapots

RHYS: My mother collected purses. She had purses in every shape, color, fabric and brand. A purse to match any outfit or occasion. I must have been a miserable failure as a daughter as I tend to buy one purse I like and use it until it starts to look old and worn. Currently I have a bronze leather cross body bag with enough pockets for everything.  I also have a brilliant purse for travel which is safe from pick pockets, identity thieves etc.  A little evening purse when needed. But that’s about it.
    I had a friend who wore matching earrings and necklace with every outfit. Again I’m a hopeless case as I tend to put in a pair of gold hoops and wear them for months. So I’m trying to think—do I have a weakness, something unnecessary that I have to have in large numbers? Well books. I also like pretty sandals. But no more than necessary. I guess I was born sensible.

    My husband, on the other hand, is constantly in pursuit of the perfect cup of tea. He buys different teas and blends them—a little more Ceylon here, a little more Darjeeling there. Even a dash of Chinese Keemun for the smoky flavor.And to make this tea to perfection he buys teapots. At this moment we have seven teapots in our California  house, not to mention at least three in Arizona. (The two silver teapots are stowed away, wrapped in baize, for ceremonial occasions).  Not one, apparently, produces the perfect cup of tea yet so we are still on a quest every time we are in England.
    So I’m curious, Reds, where is your weakness? What do you collect more of than you need? (I’m sure Hank will say she needs all those black suits and high heeled

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I NEED all those black suits and high heels.  (Rhys is ALWAYS right!)  But you know what I also have too many of? WAAAAY too many of?  Paper bags. Shiny glossy paper shopping bags.  It is RIDICULOUS. But I cannot bring my self to throw them away.

Oh, and T-shirts. Here's one--what do you vote, toss or keep? And then I have about a million others for you to vote on. (I'll do a blog about them next time.)



LUCY BURDETTE: Aside from books, which you saw very plainly last week, my weakness has to be shoes. Not fancy shoes, with elegant heels, but sturdy shoes that accept my orthotics. And sandals--mostly Mephisto--because I can walk anywhere in them. I panic if my Asolo clunkers are starting to wear down and I don't have a pair in reserve because these are what keep my chronic plantar fasciitis at bay.

What makes this worse is I don't throw away any of the shoes I used to be able to wear. Here are the ones I wore to my first wedding, back in 1979.

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: We have limited space for stuff, so we tend to live pretty simply. (Well, the kiddo does not live simply — but that's a whole other post...) My husband, however, is a collector of puppets. We have a bunch of Bil Baird originals, as well as puppets from Thailand, Bali, Nigeria, and India. I also love street art/outsider art and have started collecting original Faile (faile.net) and Stucky (http://stuckyart.bigcartel.com/) pieces. They go with the puppets! 

In terms of our bar, I love collecting really odd bottles — creme de violette, yellow chartreuse, velvet falernum. Our bar looks like it's set up for a Potions Class at Hogwarts!

 

 RHYS: Potions class at Hogwarts! Love it. So would my grandkids. Potions are a specialty of theirs.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Your mother and I are kindred spirits, Rhys. For me, it's handbags. I cannot resist. I love buttery, elegant leather bags, colorful quilted bags, funky vintage bags. I get them everywhere from high-end boutiques to Goodwill. I'm rigorous about clothing: if I don't wear something within a season, out it goes, but I will keep my purses and satchels and clutches forever, even if I only carry one once a year. Here's a picture of my overloaded vanity, which has become purse central - and keep in mind, I also have them stored above my chest of drawers and on the top shelf of Youngest's closet (if she starts collecting bags too, we'll be in trouble.)

RHYS: Julia, we have a six bedroom house and have now stared things in all the former kids' closets (mainly John's file boxes, but also clothes, craft materials etc).

DEBORAH CROMBIE:  My daughter laments that I do not have the shoe gene...  Like Lucy, I have developed plantar faciitis--mine is in my left foot. But I have held on to shoes with heels that I cannot wear for years.  A couple of weeks ago I girded my loins and gave them all to Goodwill. No handbag thing, either. Like Rhys, I tend to buy one and carry it until it wears out. I might get really wild and have one for summer and one for winter!

Things I do accumulate? Art. There is not a blank wall in my house. I've collected London Transport posters for years, and many are now very collectible. But I CANNOT buy any more. There is no place to put them.

And Rhys knows about the teapot fetish.  I just did a rough count in my head.... I have at least a dozen, maybe fifteen.  And I have this last year found THE PERFECT TEAPOT. They are made by Emma Bridgewater in the UK (if you are tempted to order one, wait until they do a special with 10 pound shipping to the US. By the time take they off the VAT, your shipping will be free.) So I now have two of them, and salivate over the catalog. Why do I need more teapots????  Why do we need anything that's not absolutely necessary?

Because they're beautiful and it makes me happy to use them and to look at them.

Just don't get me started on tea...

RHYS: So we've shared our strange obsessions. Now it's time to share yours. Who collects way too many of what item?
(And Hank, that NBC shirt from the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. Wow, that's certainly a collectors item! Worth putting on eBay and then buying more shoes!

Shoes tell.....

Hank's post about nurses salaries being based on what they wear (see yesterday's comments) falls into the "as if we needed any further proof" category. Have you ever noticed how differently you can be treated based on what shoes you are wearing?

I'm in the habit of wearing black New Balance athletic shoes when I have a lot of running around (no pun intended) to do in NYC. I made the mistake of wearing them to a new hair salon - my colorist has just moved and whither she goest - and I'm convinced that they treated me badly because I looked like what in NYC is referred to as "bridge and tunnel."

The flip side of that was when I brought pointy, ankle strap shoes to a work thing and got looks that suggested "my god, there's a woman in there!"
What do your shoes say about you?