I am not being a very good blogger these days, I know. I’m going to blame some of that on my cold, but once the paroxysms of coughing are over in the morning, I’m feeling much better although only my mother and my husband recognize my voice on the phone. Some of the seepage of blog-love comes from marking. I’d be happy to write helpful posts about Christmas gift ideas if there were any chance I could get to the shops myself at some point before December 17th. (although somehow, in the clear intention of doing a bit of Christmas shopping, I seem to have managed several very short trips to my favourite small-city boutique nearby and despite the brevity of said visits, have amassed a small pile of “From me. To me.” gifts. Tsk, tsk!)
Were I not feeling a wee bit guilty about that non-Christmas shopping, I might even share with you, and I may yet. But here’s a “To Me. From Me” gift that I need have no guilt about, especially since I bought it at an annual scholarship fundraiser that two jewelry-making colleagues of mine held in late November. These fabulous women generally sell their own concoctions fashioned of wonderful stones and other fixings — I’ve bought beautifully-set quartz in many colours, amazonite, marvellously blue tiger’s eye, carnelian, and others in the past. They had bracelets, earrings, necklaces with all those goodies and more, this time as well, but my eye was immediately caught by this little vintage piece, part of the estate K. had recently inherited from a favourite aunt. Too small for either woman’s wrist, this 50s/60s charm bracelet was marked at — get this! — $15!! And the money was going to fund student scholarships! And I had a keepsake from my friend’s favourite relative!
Who knows what alloy the chain is made of, but my wrist hasn’t yet turned green or bumpy. I like this as much as any charm bracelets I’ve seen out there, ready-made, and it feels surprisingly good to wear despite the clink factor. Some of the pieces, such as the spiralled lightly-striped one to the right of the metal ball, are cut stone, others are glass, nothing precious in jewel terms at all. But I was very happy to have been in the right place at the right time with the right-sized wrist to snap this up. “To Me. From Me.” Thanks very much!
p.s. I even think Duchesse, with all her jewelry savvy, will approve!
and Belette, with her love of charm bracelets. . .
What a fabulous find! It's beautiful!
Glad to hear you're feeling a bit better too.
*raises hand with also love of charms* Mine, given to me as a child, several antique charms from my grandmother amongst the 60's ones from my parents, is silver. I'm allergic to silver…Still, I keep it. My favorite charm is the ivory looking glasses. They used to have an actual picture in them. Fell out. Life's bumps and all that. Yours is adorable. Good luck with the marking:).
It is very pretty, and you are so lucky that it fits. Those from me to me gifts are always the best.
A colleague of mine was winging that she spent a fortune and many hours on choosing her sister and child the perfect gift and in return received very little. I told her to buy only the child a small token and spend the rest on herself and stop moaning…She did!
Lovely charm bracelet. I have two, a silver one my parents gave me, and then a gold one that was my mother's. I just love them and hope to start adding more charms.
Think of your "From Me. To Me" shopping as your cold taking control and telling you you need to pamper yourself.
Feel better,
Christine
From me to me gifts are the best, aren't they? I am happy to hear that you are not one of those women who leaves pampering herself to the bottom of the list. I am not either, and I was beginning to feel rather selfish in reading other posts where the giver treats everyone to nice gifts, except herself.
Pseu: Thanks! I love the history it comes with as well. According to my colleague, her aunt lived a pretty exciting life, travel, adventures, always single . . . I bet these charms could tell a tale or two.
LPC: I love the idea of those wee looking glasses and how lucky you are that the charms span such a long time period.
Alison: I've always thought that the "wounded martyr" role is the most tiresome one for family and friends. My MIL has been especially good at it, poor thing.
Christine: What a splendid way to combine silver and gold! You'll have fun adding to these — so many great charms out there.
Angie: Knowing how easily I could slip into the "wounded martyr" (see above), I've always guarded my family against that possibility by taking care of myself — it's for their own good, right? 😉
What a lovely gift for yourself, full of beauty and nice associations. It is a particularly pretty example of the genre.
This bracelet is so wonderful, I could very well imagine wearing something like this too. And I am very selective in what I like or don´t like. Wear it, enjoy it and get well.
Jingle jangle jingle…charming all the way!
Classic. Charms. Win Win.
Raise your wrist !
Fabulous, it is so perfect, and you have a wonderful story to boot. Wear it and lead a charmed life!
Thanks Mardel, Metscan, Hostess, and Duchesse. I really am enjoying this. And at this time of year it's great to have something charming to add a little jingle!