seasons

I'm not entirely sure why I have waited so long to post the final few weeks of our jewelry pictures. I would like to blame it on being busy, but the truth is, I think it was just hard to say our year of jewelry is over. I know Staishy and I will never stop wearing these pieces- they have become apart of our daily routine: Get up, pick out jewelry, scramble to find SOMETHING to wear with the fabulous piece, smile at the perfect (or not so perfect) pairing, think of Nanny, and go through the whole day with a little pleasant reminder of her. We didn't exactly have a funeral for Nanny because it somehow didn't feel right, or that we were really saying goodbye even. But its ok because it just didn't seem fitting for her. I'm sure Nanny would have had a great time seeing the parade of jewelry! It certainly was our own way to celebrate her life in a way a funeral couldn't have. This has been a really great couple of years for Staishy and me- so many wonderful changes and life events for us and our families. I think our jewelry adventure has strengthened an already great sister-friend relationship...if that is even possible with us! We love Nanny and miss her every moment, but have felt especially lucky to have had this experience. Thank you for being so fabulous Nanny-with or without jewelry!

I doubled up Nanny's long, gold necklace. It has an Grecian type feel to it in my opinion. ;) I paired it with a shorter gold chain of mine. 

Nanny seemed to love the twisted beads and chains. I just love this twisted gold and silver necklace! It has a matching bracelet which also looks fabulous. 

This gold pendant with a red stone in the middle is a really pretty and unique piece. When I first got it I remember thinking it would be perfect for Christmas, but it just got lost in all the other festive pins and pendants last year. It ended up being perfect for this spring outfit!

I wore this rocky green necklace for Alton and Stephanie's couple bridal shower. I love how natural the stones look-unfinished, yet so pretty! 

This was one of the last elephants in the bunch, although I think we both have a few more among our collection. He went perfectly with my (sort of) bohemian top. I just loved the natural, carved ivory. Such a neat piece.

These little pearly clip-ons are so simple, but pretty.  They are one of the more comfortable among the clip-ons but still caused some aches and pains by the end of the day. How did these women do it back in the day??

 

My zombie eyes must have resulted from a pre-work picture.  This was just a simple gold chain but I love the delicate feel of it. I paired it with one of my gold chains.

I just love this little blue pearl necklace on a gold chain-so dainty and sweet. I don't often think how beautiful just one pearl can be because I am so used to seeing them in full strand! I also think this one is neat because its a pale blue paired with gold. It seems like it would be more likely paired with silver, since its more of a pastel, but the gold looks really nice.

This is the longest of three identical necklaces which I wear often! Its so funny how Nanny liked to buy the same things in different colors or lengths. I do the exact same thing! Its amazing how just a difference in length can give the necklace a whole different feel. Wearing all three together is just beautiful too!  This piece reminds me so much of Nanny. She loved the multi-colored stones and beads. They can be worn with so many outfits.

I fell in love with this piece from the start. Dad's aquamarine stone was in a little bag inside a little red box with this ring.  I assume Nanny had intended to set the stone someday, but just never got the chance. I can see why, because I took this ring out and tried to picture what the ring would look like as a complete piece a million times over the past year but was too afraid to leave it with strangers! I finally got the courage to drop it off at a shop and nearly cried as I left.  But I figured it would be better to try to marry the pieces and take a risk than they just sit in a box beside each other forever longing to be together.  Such a sweet love story! I tried to ignore the thought of what was happening to this ring for an entire week until I picked it up. It was worth the wait because I think it is just beautiful and the perfect completion to this year long journey. The little aquamarine stone that Dad cut is now surrounded by tear-drop shaped diamonds and a white gold band of Nanny's. 

I wanted to throw in a bonus picture-this ended up being one of my favorite pieces. It is just a simple green/jade necklace with little green bead spacers, but it has become one of my favorites. I took this picture on my birthday this year and realized I wore the same piece on my birthday last year when Paul and I went out to a fancy dinner when we stayed at the Gaylord Texan hotel in Grapevine. Nanny must have been sending me her birthday wishes both years. 

 

 

 Staishy wore two pieces of Nanny's jewelry: a gold braided necklace and a rainbow gold bead necklace as a bracelet. What a great idea to wear the necklace as a bracelet. The bright colored bead pieces always remind me of Nanny.

Staishy wore Nanny's clear faceted bead earrings! I agree with Staishy that they are glamorous, but I think we can both agree beauty is pain when wearing clip-ons.

 

 I think we both started pulling out as many pieces as we could of Nanny's at the end of our adventure- Staishy is sporting Nanny's red, white, and navy scarf and silver rose clip-on earrings. I know I always felt so excited when I could wear two pieces! 

 

I just love the pairing of Nanny's delicate blue flower drop earrings with Staishy's blue top-one of the many purchases I'm sure we both made based on her jewelry!  

 

This may be one of my favorites of this bunch- Nanny's silver ring with a green stone. So simple and casual but pretty! 

 

I have to agree with Staishy- Nanny's cocktail rings are the perfect way to glam up your day! I absolutely love the one I have. So beautiful! 

What a sweet pin! Nanny's gold rose pin with a blue rhinestone flower-looks so perfect for spring. So glad Staishy was able to get a picture of one of the ones she wears often. I had so many pieces that I wore many times and would finally get one good picture!

 

What a fun pin! I remember when we were looking through Nanny's jewelry and saw some pieces that seemed extravagant to say the least! We both accepted the challenge to wear pieces we wouldn't normally choose. It was fun to look through our fun pieces and find a perfect opportunity to wear them. I was equally as proud I think when I wore my bright yellow flower clip-ons! 

 

I love the simplicity of Nanny's gold chains. I have quite a few of hers and love them. Staishy noticed several people wearing a similar classic style. I noticed a lot of similar styles in stores or on other people too with many of my pieces and felt good knowing even the costume style pieces have remained popular.

 

 I love this picture! We were lucky enough to be together upon the completion of our jewelry adventure. We had a crazy week of shopping for my wedding dress and seeing Alton and Stephanie get married, but we also got to honor the memory of Nanny and complete our journey the way it started-together! This picture was taken at Stephanie and Alton's wedding. I love Nanny's pearls on Staishy! They are a perfect length doubled and the natural aged color looked perfect with her dress. I'm wearing Nanny's long white pearl beads-a mix of different strands of bead shapes that I mixed with one of my necklaces. It ended up being one of my favorite pieces.

We both had the same idea to throw in a bonus picture. It seemed only appropriate to honor Nanny for Nurse's week with her medical cross pin. I'm sure this will become tradition every year for Staishy to wear her pin.

I can think of no better person to have had this experience with than my big sister and best friend! Staishy and I have always been fashion challenged but thankfully have found a way to be bold with our accessories. To think! Only just recently we steered away from yellow gold! This has been a wonderful journey to honor our grandmother and strengthen an already wonderful bond. Shortly after our weekly jewelry sharing was over we started doing weekly tea time video chats! Now, if only we can find a way to fit more elephant bling in our lives.