I love jewelry. One of the most fun things about writing this blog has been learning more about jewelry design and our local jewelry designers.  As much as I love jewelry, I find that I gravitate to the same few pieces daily–  My go-to’s.  I bet you are the same.  It’s the 80-20 rule: we really only wear 20% of what we have.   I think I’m more 50-50 in jewelry, but none the less, this post is about simplifying your jewelry organization to save time and mind in the a.m. hours.  My one stop for jewelry organization?  Don’t laugh (well, OK, laugh): it’s PBTeen.

It’s the new year and cleaning up your jewelry is kinda like a mini-closet makeover and will leave you feeling like you have accomplished something BIG!

My favorite way to display and organize my jewelry is this Dress Frame Jewelry Organizer, $59, PBTeen:

I like the wrought iron three tiered display shown here as well.  It all depends on the amount of room you have balanced with the amount of jewelry you actually wear.  Even if you have all the room in the world, mentally you still need to pare down your basics and separate them out.  This way, your busy morning routine can be streamlined.

I keep on my dress frame:

Earrings: the dress frame comes with 5 large pins to stick into the bodice, creating an easy catch for earrings. Mingle Sliver Hoops from the Perfect Pair, gold drop earrings from GoodmanSpalding, wired hoop earring with garnets from All Strung Out Designs, Judith Bright Gold and Topaz earrings, Rowanne Designs gold & turquoise earrings and a small pair of silver and gold earrings from Silpada.

Necklaces: Gold chains from GoodmanSpalding and All Strung Out designs; silver chain All Strung Out Designs; small delicate gold necklace from Stella and Dot; platinum chain with diamond encrusted cross; silver cushioned square chain from Tiffanys; fun long necklace from GoodmanSpalding; gunmetal multi-strand necklace from Fabu, and a cloudy-clear chunky necklace from Rowanne Designs.

Bracelets: Silver Cuff from Banana Republic (this link is to a gold bracelet they have right now that I think is fabulous); Gold cuff from What’s N Store (in Franklin, I promise I paid $3.50 for it and I wear it at least once a week); 3 sandalwood bead bracelets from Judith Bright; and one pearl bracelet from All Strung Out Designs. Missing: I will have a cuff (click here) from All Strung Out Designs….I know Carol (owner), I just need to order it…like I’ve been saying I would do for months!!!

As you can see, I gravitate more to metals than stones. The few stones I have are almost always green. That’s just me.  It’s like my boring closet: neutrals and and some greens and a little orange.  But, I know that’s what I’ll wear!

So, the moral of this tale is this: pare down your jewelry to what you honestly wear most days with a little variation for inspiration.  Place these go-to’s somewhere easily accessible that does not require you to open a box.  Then, put the rest in those boxes and jewelry drawers.  This way, you will always have access to your things, not just one earring or a tangled necklace, when flying out the door!

As a last little hint, as I do wear metals so often, I love this little cleaner cloth from The Container Store. A simply way to keep your metals at their best, $5.99

I just experienced a near perfect day. A couple weeks ago I met up for lunch with Carol Fails, owner of All Strung Out Designs and Elizabeth Trabue, owner of Trabeautiful Designs.  We ate at my hands down favorite lunch spot in all of Nashville: Marche.  We caught up and talked shop.  Elizabeth is getting ready for her busy season with orders already coming in for her custom designed Christmas cards.  After lunch, since we were already across the river, Carol and I fared goodbye to Elizabeth and headed out to see what East Nashville could bring Carol in the way of vintage pins for her new line of horn cuffs.

These cuffs are amazing.  I LOVE them. Carol gets them from this gal in South America who gets all the horns from a butcher (thus no animals are killed just to get these horns.)  After some initial trial and error, Carol’s customized measurements have been met.  The cuffs come in a variety of widths and are simply beautiful on their own.  However, Carol has such a great eye and she has taken them one step further by adhering vintage pins to the horn cuffs.  Each retail for $150-$175.  Even the closet gurus Tina Adams and Rebecca Thompson have gone ga-ga for these cuffs.  Read about their cuff love here.  Plain cuffs retail $75.

Carol checking out her pins at Wonders on Woodland. Check out the cuff Carol has on! Pretty Perfect, huh?

Our pin quest started out at the Hip Zipper. They had a nice supply of pins, but we struck gold at Wonders on Woodland- and what a fabulous store!  So clean and well thought out.  I love a store where you can feel the pride of the owners and the care they take to ensure everything flows perfectly.  Not only did Carol find some gorgeous pins, we both oohed and aahed over the vintage quilts, pottery, artwork, furniture and how NICE they were!  I’ll be sure to feature this gem of a shop in a later post.

Just to show you what a find these cuffs are, check out the cuffs by bochic.  Their cuffs retail for around $8k-$12K (They are on the Gilt website right now at 66% off…starting at $3500!  There are only 2 of the dozens offered left.  This is a huge accessory for Fall!) Granted they have precious gems scattered throughout, but the overall look is practically the SAME.  I’ll take the $150-$175 version and support local while looking LA chic!

To buy a cuff from Carol, go to All Strung Out Designs or be sure to see her jewelry at the Oct 6-Oct 7 Nashville Trunk Show that is also featuring Trabeautiful Designs.  To be included on their mailing, email Carol. -Liza

Wonders on Woodland: 1110 Woodland Street, 37206; (615) 226-5300

I love the whole Southwest vibe. I have always thought that my other life must have been in Texas or perhaps Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Those sunsets, that laid back style, and all the turquoise.  But, my longings have long left the turquoise/silver combo that embodies that hot dessert feel.  The elegance of GOLD with Turquoise has been where my eye lingers longer these days.

I recently went into a nice boutique with beautiful jewelry and asked about any Gold and Turquoise. The sales lady looked bemused and told me to try costume jewelry as she looked down her nose and smirked at me.  “Really?” I said (well, in my imaginary world.  Reality was I just left) “because King Jewelers has some for $175,000….I don’t call that COSTUME!”  Anyway, my point is, Turquoise has been embraced by some jewelers as a stone worthy of some nice gold!

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One Jeweler that Neimans carries is  Jose & Maria Barrera.  I love the way they interpret Turquoise and Gold in an Indian feel with these Chandelier earrings.

$390

$440

Antra Jewel’s owner, Maria, is a December baby: turquoise birth stone.  So, she seeks out the elegant side of turquoise.  Check these out:

From the Anatra Collection, $880

Robin Haley, local jeweler whose designs sell throughout the country, has some beautiful turquoise/gold combinations.  I bought some locally for $130 and I found these on her website:

Robin Haley. Several shops in town carry her line. Check her website for retailers.

Robin Haley

I mentioned that pair at King Jewelers for $175,000. Here they are set in white gold with diamonds.  I have a fear with white gold and turquoise though.  It comes from a comment someone made to me about my platinum engagement ring: “Wow, an emerald cut in silver.  That’s pretty.”  Nooooooo……that would be P-L-A-T-I-N-U-M.  Anyway, with turquoise it may be a more understandable mistake!  But, these are gorgeous.

King Jewelers on Hillsboro.

If I have you catching the fever, but you want something a little more COMFORTABLE in the money area, try these studs from Ross-Simons:

Ross-Simons on sale for $112.50

And lastly, if your neck is really where you want this look, local designer Carol Fails with All Strung Out Designs can hook you up.  Here is a sample from her collection:

All Strung Out Designs. $150