I’ve been noticing that lately I’ve been stacking my necklaces according to my needs of the day! Evil eyes or a Ganesh, the Virgin Mary or 100 wishes, as I get dressed I have a plethora of goodness invoking jewellery to choose from. Here’s the history behind some of my cherished baubles.
1 and 3. 100 Good Wishes and Karma from Dogeared–I got both these necklaces this summer in the Seattle airport. There’s this amazing shop right in the airport called Fireworks. This summer I pretty much started my own little tradition of stopping and picking up a little something if I get the chance. The nifty chain I picked up on my way back to Hong Kong just recently after summer vacation. It symbolizes being able to make 100 wishes! The Karma necklace I picked up on our connecting flight home from San Francisco to Spokane. I loved the little message on the package: what comes around goes around! This is simple little reminder to myself to be good, do good.
2. The Créme de la Créme pendant by Kate Spade–I love this necklace so much! I don’t think there are enough words to describe how precious a gift it was from Amy and Laura. They both read this blog–which I love, and they knew that I would adore a necklace stating the best of the best! I never wear it the correct way; rather I always wear it with the printed word out (the other side is an enamel cream color).
4. A “K” from the Temple Street Night Market–(I also told the story here, but here goes again…!) Last year we stayed in Hong Kong for most of the summer. We filled a jar full of things we wanted to do, and one of the slips of paper read “Visit the Night Market at Temple Street.” We all set out with HK$50 in each of our hands with a task to get the very best item we could. I was able to score this very solid silver “K.” I love wearing it! I usually put it on a long strand so it can swing around. I’m proud to be a Krembs!
5. My Virgin Mary from Auntie Paddy–(The story of the silver dove she gave me may be read about here.) I actually don’t know when my godmother Auntie Paddy gave me this necklace. It was either for my baptism or my First Communion. I didn’t receive it until I was older when my mother gave it to me. She had (smartly) been keeping it for me until I was old enough. I love this keepsake and have since given it to my own daughter. We were in church one Sunday, and I knew she would appreciate the keepsake as much as me, so I place it on her there. So, we actually kind of share it, but the pendant will ultimately be hers. For now both of us wear it when we needs it. (She lost it once after wrestling with Vincent, therefore she’s a bit afraid she’ll lose it again.) The fact that we share it now makes me love it even more; I know Auntie Paddy is happy with Gigi having it to!
6. and 8. Evil Eye and Hamsa from Nordstrom Rack–I purchased these on the sly this summer when we were out distracting Babaji before his party. I had my silver one (#7), but I wanted one in gold. These are both pretty cheap and have already started to lose their luster, so now I’m after some real gold ones. This will be making any wish lists coming up…How many days till Christmas?!
7. Evil Eye from T.J. Maxx–I picked this necklace up during the same shopping trip that I got the red kimono. I really like this necklace as it’s pure silver. It hasn’t tarnished a bit!
9. Gold Chain from Kevin–Kevin gave me this gold chain on our wedding night. The pendant has since been lost and then replaced; it was a Fluer-de-lis which is the city symbol of Florence where Kevin and I fell in love. The pendant is on my charm bracelet, and now I use the chain for my “A.”
10. An “A” from Kevin–for one of my birthday’s (actually the first one in Hong Kong) Kevin had this “A” made for me. I love it!! And I love wearing it on the chain he gave me from our wedding night.
11. Gold Chain from my in-laws–When Jane and Alex visited us in Bombay, we took them to visit Harry. Harry is a famous jeweller world renowned. (In fact there’s a side story. Years and years before when Alex was living in Guam, Harry and Alex figured out that they had bought a wooden partition wall from him! He would visit the islands getting there by boat!) When Jane got this necklace, and I loved it so much, they got one for me too. I like how it has three chains in one, and I like to think that each of the other chains represents Kevin, Vincent, and Gigi.
12. My (2nd) Ganesha from Kevin via Aloise–(Again, the history of my Ganesha was also written about here but I diverted to writing its own post. Again this time, I will save the story for its own entry…stay tuned. I think it’s my most precious piece of jewellery.) I wear this Ganesha when I want to feel protected. Lord Ganesh is the god of protection and the remover of obstacles. When we lived in India, I remember passengers on airplanes would always hold on to their pendants during take off–of course I now do the same! We have various Ganesh statues in our home and in the work place. I’d venture to say along side our Catholicism there’s bit of Hinduism in our family.
And that’s my auspicious jewellery. I do love a good story and have one behind almost every item I own and wear! Not all, but most!!
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