Golden Globe sparkle

Well I finally had time to check out the jewels that the stars wore to the Golden Globes recently - wow! I'm so glad to see a return to the necklace. Fashion forecasts have said for some time that they were back and it was brilliant to see the stars embracing them again too - after all, where they go, a lot will follow!

Beyonce wore a diamond fringe, Christina Applegate a vintage yellow diamond flower necklace, Eva Mendez wore a stunning turquoise coloured neckpiece and Elizabeth Banks a three strand pale blue necklace. Marisa Tomei was resplendent in a glittering array of chain necklaces.

Bare shoulders were very much in evidence, and those that decided to forgo the necklace, wore some great earrings - Kate Winslet, Eva Longoria, Anne Hathaway, Amy Adams, Kate Beckinsale and Freida Pinto were on to some winners! And of course some statement bracelets were seen - such as those worn by Sandra Bullock, Debra Messing and Megan Fox.

Ahhh, so much sparkle - it was great to see!

I was interested to read on Heart Harmony of an article in the New Scientist that reveals that many of your choices and behaviours are influenced more than you think by your friends, their friends and even their friend's friends! And not just taste in clothes or design, but things such as happiness, obesity and depression were all found to be profoundly influenced by this ring of people. Apparently the saying that you will only be as successful as the average success of your seven closest friends is ringing more true than ever. It makes you think, doesn't it!

I was also very kindly given a blog award recently, by the lovely Elaine at Commotion from the Ocean of Life blog.



The rules are:

1. Put the award up on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded it to you.
3. Nominate at least seven other blogs.
4. Add links to these blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog

I have selected the following well-deserved blogs that I regularly read to receive this award:

1. OF MICE AND raMEN
2. It Flickers Dimly
3. Julie Chats
4. This is my World
5. Flora's Blog
6. Wisdom Begun
7. Just Your Everyday Blessed So and So

Oooh, forgot about the necklace at the top of my post.... in the spirit of statement necklaces, this is one that won't go unnoticed! Freshwater pearls in a myriad of colours along with peridot, amethyst and rock crystal quartz and a wonderful big sterling silver clasp.

Smoky Quartz and relaxing with the family

Well, we seem to be well into 2008 now and I have had a wonderful, family oriented time! We have visitors - relatives and friends, some outings and lots of time together as a family. I don't tend to realise (until we get the opportunity to spend such time together) that my husband works so much and rarely gets time to do things with us. Living on a farm is like that - always something to do if it is light (and sometimes even when its dark!). But it seems acceptable at Christmas/New Year to take a step back and provided there is not something that badly needs fixing, to realise that it will still be there to do tomorrow and that family time is indeed precious. I found this lovely quote on the Modern Goddess Blog - “As far as living a healthy, happy life goes, I hold loving and being loved right up there with fresh air and water.” Oprah Winfrey. How true!

So, what have you been up to over the early part of the new year? I have been doing relaxing things like reading and watching the odd DVD when the children are off playing contentedly, or asleep. You may recall my almost breathless praise of the recent BBC production Jane Eyre when I managed to catch the first episode on TV in late November. I ended up missing the second episode and so bought the DVD so I could see it in its entirety!

I finally got to watch it just prior to Christmas and was so taken with it - the wonderful cinematography, the incredible acting by the two main characters of Mr Rochester (Toby Stephens) and Jane (Ruth Wilson) who really made you feel as if you were evesdropping on their lives, that I decided to the read the original Bronte story. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and if anything it enabled me to enjoy the BBC adaptation even more. I can highly recommend watching the BBC production should you like historical dramas with a touch of romance (eg. if you liked the BBC's Pride & Prejudice - well you will LOVE Jane Eyre!)

On the jewellery front, things have been a lot more relaxed with orders the only new things being made, although having shown my rather extensive stash of gems to visitors lately, I can feel their pull and may have to indulge in my gemmie addiction shortly!

Today's picture is of the most divine smoky quartz. Huge lozenges of almost inclusion-free smoky quartz are so striking that they needed little in the way of extra adornment. So I linked each stone simply with some large linked gold-fill chain to create a timeless necklace suitable for every age.