cheshire.... love at first sight

it's my weakness..... jewelry. or strength... however you look at it. (and shoes ...but that's another story)

 

over the weekend i did a little shopping in my hood. i walked into the rising states and after browsing through the clothe racks (i have trained myself to not check out the jewelry first... i would never buy clothes) i had a look in the glass case and saw a bunch of coooool-ass pieces, and had the lovely sales girl michelle  (...we bonded quickly) pull a couple out. but these farris earrings were love at first sight.... so perfectly random... and minimal... and unique...... and i immediately didn't care about anything else in the store or how much they cost......

 

you can find them (in silver) here.


and thanks michelle for this lovely instagram......



oh yeah! and "i got baaangs!" (little legally-blonde-moment.....). well.... i cut them myself over the bathroom sink... with kitchen scissors..... et voilà.

leather frame …love at first sight

i saw this jersey top (with a leather framed zip down the back) at the alice and olivia store... and i had to have it!

sorry mom, i know i know... it's black.....

say hello to my left hand

 the funnest part about jewelry (to me anyway) is finding random pieces that tell stories… 

(from left to right)

vintage silver ring, from this crazy flea-market-house, in munich, that i went to with my parents before it was torn down to build an aldi (a discount grocery store)

gifted from my mom santa mouse (my sis has the same one in pink)

  vintage gold and rose gold double-ring gifted from my dear friend, christa

coral and turquoise ...my two favorite stones. i bought this queen-of-boho-rings from my super-special-jewelry-lady ching (who i most recently bought this pendant from)

isabel marant ring i bought in a random boutique in berlin. it reminds me of the crazy-fun times i had opening berlin fashion week (with my former company)

cos ring that was part of a set my friend bought. but like it usually happens with sets…. there was one she didn't like. (scooore!)

……..no, i don't take these rings off at night ….a faq.

and now the nails….
i really think this color is my all-time-favorite. it is one of the very few nail polish bottles i actually finished.  because of all my rings i don't really wear colorful nail polish ….even though i love it. i go for non-blacks like essie, wicked or nudes like opi, hopelessly in love. aaaanyway this is the perfect navy-purple-non-black…. opi, russian navy. and to add some extra bad-ass-ness i also used a matte top coat. 

buddha….. love at first sight

i already introduced ching to you (yes, i finally asked her what her name was) the lovely lady i buy my jewelry from.

the last piece i bought is a tiger's eye buddha pendant, set in silver. and this is what ching told me about it….. the tiger's eye has protective powers (i have always loved this stone ....being a crazy-cat-lady… and a leo... and it makes me think of "eye of the tiger" from rocky (you know… the boxing movie… i can't help it… i love me some rocky) and my tiger's eye bracelet had recently broken…) the smiling buddha is supposed to remind me to be kind to myself (something we should all remind ourselves of… no?) and on the back… is a butterfly (sorry, mom...), engraved in the silver… telling me that something beautiful will come (also always a good thing to be reminded of...). 

she tied the pendant on a thick black sting and said: "something more tribal for you. you are part of my tribe now." now there really(!) is nothing wrong with belonging to a tribe. especially in new york….. jk. when i hung him around my neck ching waved him good-by and told me that she sold him to me because she knew that i would take good care of him. …she is the sweetest!

sorry for the (totally unprofesh) selfie but i was on my way to have my nails done and i think this (escada sport printed coat… levi's flannel shirt… calvin klein jeans white tee) is the perfect look for my little buddha.

soulfully rich

i am really into lipsticks right now (more lipstick-post are in the making...). last year (pre blog) i was aaall about the eyes (like you could see on my instagram here here and here). i already talked about the power of lipstick and how it is a easy throw-in-my-purse-in-the-morning-incase-i-need-a-quick-glamourizer-after-work.

even with this super minimal make-up (glowing skin... strong brows... natural shimmering eye shadow and... laaaashes) i totally look feel ready for a night out.

it is not easy to find the right lipstick because it doesn't only have to be a good color (which is the easiest part) it also has to feel good and be long lasting without drying out the lips and all that. i often will try my friend's to see if it deserves a spot on my getting-way-too-small make-up table. this one is mac, pro longwear lipcream in soulfully rich. i love it. and i want it. and i neeeeeed it.

and stay tuned for my eyelash beauty secrets!

aaaaaah, so much fun make-up so little time.......

kittyPhone… love at first sight

i found this incredibly amusing iPhone cover at colette, in paris. 

perfect for a crazy-cat-lady, such as myself. 

these two bad-ass rings… love at first sight

unfortunately only one of these babies is mine… the bottom one (that has been called the devil) (has been mistaken for a piercing(!), more than once) (no, i don't take it off to sleep) i bought a while ago, at the helmut lang store, in london. the brand is lady grey... they ooooonly have sick jewelry!

i haaad to have it! 

the top one is my friends…. and she won't give it to me…….

my-asian-jewelry-lady (i really need to ask her for her name)…. love at first sight

i randomly walked into her store last August. it was the kind of store that i have passed a million times but never noticed. on this beautiful day i did. the window, full of jewelry, grabbed me. in the store i immediately knew that i wouldn't be able to decide between all of the gorgeous pieces. 

the lady behind the counter asks me "what do you need?" me: "maybe a ring... i just lost two of my rings during a visit at rockaway beach……." she looks at me and says "you have to organize yourself" (it was one of these days that i would leave my wallet, sunglasses, keys… all tangled in my headphone cable… in random places. not in random places in my room (everything is looks like it is in random places there...), but in public places…..) and i laugh and answered "very true." and i understood what she meant with "what do you need". i told her about how i just moved here and bla bla bla. she hands me a bracelet with jade beads. the jade should keep me healthy, safe and give me calmness, to put life into perspective and help me prioritize. she says all these things (that unfortunately I can't entirely recall…) but it is like she is looking inside of me. sounds silly i know… 

but then, she did the same with my friend, who i was in the store with. we were both totally perplexed. but whatever i say / write about her…. it just can't do her justice…….. how accurate she is with reading people... and how lovely she is... and kind... and funny

so you might think... that i am totally crazy… or that i am naive and she just wants my money. but it is not about religion, or fortune telling, or stuff like that. it is about finding someone (or something… even if it is just a gorgeous piece of jewelry) that/who makes you feel good (or better, when you are having a rough day) .....and if it involves enhancing my jewelry collection… even better! (it's cheaper than buying shoes.... or certain sunglasses 

picture of "my-asian-jewelry-lady" taken in new york, by madeau 

love at first sight... tom ford

"if i can't have these sunglasses, i might die!"....

sounds dramatic, but that i actually what i said, when i saw kourtney kardashian wearing them.

i immediately suspected that this fabulous-sexyness was tom ford... and i was right.

to make a long story short (it is long... because i did look around in new york and germany to locate the best... price. i did. don't worry) i bought them. i had to.... it was that kind of purchase that made me sweat out of excitement. i kid you not. and even though it is basically fall, and i am living on the so called "tom-ford-budget", now. (which implies not buying little things, such as a matcha green tea lattes, on my way to work, or larger things like a new winter coat......) it was worth it. 

wearing them makes me feel like a million dollars! (a feeling you might have had yourself, in which case you know exactly what i am talking about, ooor you have never had it... in which case you think i am a total-drama-queen-fashion-victim-lunatic). and although some people might not believe me... i will have these foreeever. they might eventually be put to rest for a while. (like, currently, my neon orange alexander mcqueen pumps. i bought them befooooore eeeveryone and their friend wore neon... and they suddenly didn't seem special anymore.... i do still love them though). i will keep these babies until, in 20 years, my niece sees a picture of my wearing them... and will want them... and i will give them to her....... and it will give her that same million-dollar (or whatever currency we will have then...) feeling.

me, striking my don't-i-look-like-a-million-dollars-? pose

freddie.... love at first sight

i met this little guy on hester street fair. a cute little street fair, that is unfortunately, conveniently located waaaay to close to my home. i am crazy about jewelry and stopped at the arms and armory stand, to try on some of their gorgeous rings... turns out there was not any more room on my fingers. when i was about to carry on, this cute little beetle caught my eye. it was love at first sight. after trying him on, he instantly became friends with my jurassic park-necklace (a little bug caught in a piece of amber, my dad gave my mom waaaaay back when). i named the gunmetal beetle, freddie. he got a coveted spot in my basic-jewelry-set. the kind of jewelry i really ooonly take off for yoga