These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Every girl has a few "good luck charms" and they are usually in accessory form.  I have quite a few.  All sentimental and all from family members.  I wear them like a gypsy and like to think they are shielding me from harm's way.  I'm not superstitious... but I am stitious... Office quote anyone?? No? Ok fine.

Anyways.. growing up I came from a normal small town family.. we weren't dripping in designer clothes or diamonds... I mean we weren't friggin poppers either but you know what I'm saying!  Anyways.. When I grew up, a little, and went to college, I was thrown into a materialistic world of designer clothes and expensive jewelry that I had only seen in magazines.  I mean girls were wearing vintage designer pieces that were passed down from their mothers and grandmothers and I was like.. "What the frig?  How come my Yia Yia didn't have Chanel??  Oh ya... because she came over on a boat from Greece with her husband, a child and the clothes on her back".  Not to mention, my Grandma (my mom's mom) poured all of her hard earned money into the corner store that her and my Grandfather owned, not into clothing. TMI.. TMI.

But anyways.. I would look at these "heirlooms" that these girls had and thought... I should start my own "heirloom" line... and that's when I started talking to my Grandmothers about their most prized possessions and listened to the stories behind them.  They weren't designer pieces, but I quickly learned that they were way better!  They were one of a kind with a story behind them!  And I decided that I would be the first in the family to receive these newly named "heirlooms" and hand them down to my daughter or grand daughter one day... and here they are...

These are all of my trinkets that I layer on almost everyday.

 

These three are worn together.  The blue topaz ring was my graduation gift from my parents when I graduated from Syracuse University.  The diamond ring was my Yia Yia's engagement ring that she left to me and the last ring with the three little nubs was a gift from one of my best friends from college.  A friendship ring... and it has a little bit of red which is the best part! 

This isn't really a sentimental piece.. it is more just a piece I like to wear when I want a bit of an edge, and it sits on my thumb! 

This is a friendship ring with my mother.  I bought a ring for myself and a ring for her for Mother's Day one year, and we both wear it every day.

 This ring is my most prized possession.  The story is kind of funny how I ended up with it.
First and foremost it was my Yia Yia's.. and as the story goes (it could be made up but it sounds lovely) my Papou bought the stone (smokey topaz) in Greece, and when my Grandmother came over to the states she had the stone set.  Now how I got it is the funny part.  Apparently my Yia Yia gave the ring to my mother when my parents were young and they were attending a costume party..... and they were gypsies (obviously).  I stumbled upon it when I was about 5 or so when I would go on adventures through my mom's dresser drawers.  After I discovered it, every now and then I would take it out and just stare at it... and then finally when I got older my mother gave it to me (she never knew why I loved it so much because she thought it was sooo gaudy).  Every time my Yia Yia would see me wearing it she would get so excited.  I wear it all the time and women always ask me who makes it.. and I tell them it's a vintage piece from Greece.  Sorry!

 This is my ultra good luck charm.. the lapiz lazuli cross was my fathers from Greece (if you read horoscope books they usually tell you what stones you should keep next to your skin for good energy and that is my stone), the medallion and chain was my Yia Yia's (also from Greece) and the Mati is from my Aunt and Uncle for my 25th birthday.  It is suppose to ward off the evil eye and bad energy.

This is the necklace my father gave me for my 25th birthday before we spent the day in the Northend together.  Great day.  I love this piece because one the back side there is a hidden ruby (red to protect you) which is also my birth stone.  

These are things that when I'm without them.. I get little crazy.  You'll always see me with at least one of them on.  Feel free to comment and tell me about your good luck charms.