Housewives and This Weeks Obsessions

Last night I watched the season finale of The Housewives of Orange County...

Let me tell you something Jeana Keough do not, do not ever disregard anyone who says they do not feel safe around their partner much less when they tell you they have been assaulted either physically or verbally.   Studies show that verbal abuse by a partner will lead to physical abuse.  So Jeana you need to stop patronizing people and stop being an enabler to these abusive individuals.

Obsessions of the week

Jimmy Choo "Ellie" Bootie

 Doesn't match the shoes above but here is my other obsession for the week.

Jimmy Choo "Gwen Leo" Flap Bag

 Thanks RDuJour for sharing...

I even like the name: Paradoxal.  What do you think of the color and the name?  Would you wear this come Fall.

New Fragrance

Some of you may or may not know that I'm a huge fan of Diane von Furstenberg - I was so excited when I learned from LadyLux that she'll be coming out with a new fragrance.  I can't wait to check it out 

Greek Salad 

Doesn't this Greek Salad from The Fitnessista look great?  Thanks Fitnessista I'm going to make this for lunch, might just be the perfect salad for those hot AZ days.

I got some great new necklace design styles - I can't wait to take some pictures and share them with you.

Great Discoveries

I used this past weekend to do some organizing and I came across some pics from our trip to Wyoming and Yellow Stone Park last fall.  Here I am at the biggest geyser in the area, the colors were spectacular.

There were fresh hoof prints on the ground from the animals that come at night to warm up by the steam of the geysers.

My friend Lara over at MyMilkGlassHeart ordered some cosmetics from elf cosmetics and was pleasantly surprised, so I thought I would try them out as well.   What got me was their prices they're beyond affordable.  I'm a die hard fan of lipstick and gloss for me they serve as lip protection year round.   I ordered their lip lock pencil and it holds the color and/or gloss on your lips just as their descriptive on their website, it's like the lip lock pencil works with the lip liner to hold the gloss or color in it's place.

We had dinner at Cowboy Ciao this past weekend, I've lived here for 10 years and we just recently discovered this awesome restaurant.  We started off with their fantastic cheese platter and for dinner I had the Testosterone Salad and it was Delish!  Sliced Fillet, cheese crumbles and a dressing of Maytag blue cheese, bourbon-soaked cherries, potato chips yes potato chips.  Good enough to lick your chops. 

What great food treats have you found lately? 

Things I’m in love with this week.

• The best sushi I've ever had is at Hillstone Biltmore in Phoenix.  

• I love “no bake” goodies like these chocolate bar impostors from Random Sweetness.  

• With a subtle taste of chocolate this wine had me thinking there were tiny shavings of chocolate inside the bottle.  Not as rich or as sweet as a Port definitely on the lighter side which is what I liked so much about it. 

• This beautiful piece of luggage by Jimmy Choo

• For those of you who don’t know I’m a huge fan of the The Housewives on Bravo, this past Monday was the first night third season of The Housewives of New Jersey and I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of drama.

Realization

I failed at my goal of maintaining my "Maven Monday" posts because I just couldn't keep up with them - Not something I'm proud of but I realize it's better to recognize it sooner rather than later.   I'm not one of those people who promises to do something then doesn’t stick to it therefore I won't be posting The Monday Mavens anymore.  

What I learned from this is what I've known all along, I need to just focus on a few things rather than a bunch of things at one time.  So I've decided to focus on just a few things such as my obsessions which is where food, wine, shoes, purses and yes of course jewelry, come in take you with me on the journey of growing a successful fine jewelry business and how I plan on helping the non-profit organizations I support through my business.   

This is it in a nutshell, I might through in a few surprises here and there but this keeps me from stressing out. 

Spring is my favorite time of the year, trees and flowers come alive

and it's a perfect season to wear nautical clothing.  

Check out these purses I'm in love with...

Nina Ricci Turnlock Hnadbag 

 Nautical Rope Tote 

Gold and diamonds for your feet anyone?

I love shoes, I love the these shoes what took me by surprise is that when I initially came across them I didn't realize that they're made out of gold and diamonds... 

Yes, made of solid gold and have over 2,000 diamonds By The House of Borgezi

They can be yours for $155,000.

Mothers Day is upon us.

As mother's day approaches I came a cross some great gift ideas for mom's across different age brackets

 

Mother's Day Gift Ideas    

My favorite gift suggestion is from Venti Girl I want these for myself... 

Anything from Wendy Brandes you can never go wrong with Jewelry.                     

Here's a do it yourself gift idea from Daily Candy perfect for the mom that loves to say "you should be saving your money, not spending it on me".                                     

For the Tech Savy Mom check out these cool gift ideas from She-knows

And lastly, how could you not love this?  Michael Kors creates a bag for his Mom, Michael Kors Joan Bag 

Diane Von Furstenberg

As a little girl I admired wrap dresses worn by the "grown up" women around me. 

(I loved playing dress up and pretending I was a sophisticated adult woman)

In my teens I became a fan of fashion and learned that it was Diane Von Furstenberg who had designed and introduced the wrap dress I admired so much as a kid.

Her wrap dress was such a success in the 1970's selling millions she graced the cover of Newsweek Magazine at 29 in 1976.

She created Tatiana a perfume named after her daughter.  I wore it during the late 80's early 90's I can still smell it when I think about, still like it from what I remember.

After such success her business crashed in the 1980's but in the 1990's her "body hugging" dress was rediscovered by women in vintage shops which resurrected her brand.  She became a guest on the QVC shopping network selling her new line of dresses putting her name back on the map.   Diane has since introduced several lines including accessories, luggage and now housewares.

In 2005, Diane Von Furstenberg received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America. She is now president of the council, the industry trade association.
Look at her Pre-Fall Collection lookbook, I want these dresses below including the boots of course.

Diane Von Furstenberg is one of the great women I admire, she’s right up there with coco chanel a Fashion Icon, a Maven of the industry one who inspires me everyday to proceed with my business goals everyday.  I hope that this bit of information on Diane Von Furstenberg has inspired you to push along with your dreams.

Ashoka

I'm in love with the jewelry by William Goldberg.

Look at this beautiful Ashoka Trilogy Ring in Platinum,

 by William Goldberg Diamond Corporation.

One of my favorite necklaces is this Ashoka Ballerina necklace

40 carats in Platinum

Another favorite is this "layering" necklace with Ashoka diamonds scattered the length of the necklace.

The Lili Ashoka chain in Platinum

What makes the Ashoka...

It starts with a cutting strategy visualized by Master Cutter Motti Bernstein an experienced diamond cutter who has been with Goldberg for over 20 years.

It's a signature shape, a unique "one of a kind" cut created by William Goldberg
(U.S. Patent # D418444 Ashoka by William Goldberg) 
It's an elongated cushion cut with rounded soft edges, so beautiful he created a jewelry line dedicated to the Ashoka cut and added it it to his already exquisite and stunning beautiful collection of jewelry.

Absolutely beautiful.

 

You can learn more about Ashoka by visiting WilliamGoldberg.com 

All pictures courtesy of William Goldberg