How To Wear Estate Jewelry - The Chanel J-12 Watch in White For Summer

I love white jeans for the summer
don't you?
They pair perfectly with navy, black and tan tops and blazers
which are all staple colors in my wardrobe
This summer in addition to my white jeans I would like to wear this Chanel J-12 diamond watch in bright white.
It's not too fancy and it's not too fussy.

Here's the close-up shot

I'm not necessarily a fan of all things Chanel, but I do think that this watch is cool.
What do you think?
What will you wear with your white jeans this summer?

How To Wear Estate Jewelry - Cuffed Like Charlize Theron

We were very happy to provide jewelry for the feature shoot with Charlize Theron for InStyle Magazine.She looks so pretty on the cover.

And I love the way that the stylist paired this coppery goddess gown

with this Tiffany Cuff bracelet from Beladora.com
Engraved with a date from 1914, it is amazing to think that this vintage Tiffany cuff is almost 100 years old. It is certainly as wearable today as it was in the Art Deco Era.

And then we have Ms. Theron looking long, leggy and lovely in these feature shots in basic black
mixing it up with these bracelets from Beladora.com

I have no special plans for this holiday weekend but I am looking forward to what I hope to be a couple of warm sunny days to relax with a book.
Do you have special plans for this weekend?

How To Wear Estate Jewelry - Amethysts With Gray For Workwear Everyday

Inspired by Lisa at Amid Privilege who gets to wear jeans and a sweater to work
(and she looks great in them)
I thought that I would post my work wardrobe today.

It won't be a surprise to anyone who reads BHB and who knows my uber thrifty ways
that I spend the minimum on my clothing
and on the kind of trendy accessories that will either wear out and/or go out of style in a matter of months.
Since simplicity is the key to my work wardrobe, I tend to wear only gray, navy and black clothes at the office and accent those clothes with scarves and jewelry.

So voila, my outfit du jour
a charcoal gray suit by Calvin Klein ($39 at Ross), a purple t-shirt by Anne Klein ($12 at Marshalls) and a purple floral scarf by Mango ($29 at JC Penny).

But I do invest in things that are durable and that have actual intrinsic value, such as estate jewelry.
(Costume jewelry may be on trend but it has zero intrinsic value, trust me on this)

I love purple and gray as a color combination so I tend to pair amethysts with my gray wardrobe.

Amethyst and Diamond Ring in 14K from Beladora2.com $495

Amethyst Collar Necklace in Silver from Beladora2.com $395

Do you have a a particular color combination that you favor?
And, does your work wardrobe tend to have a different color palate than the rest of your clothes?

Around Town - The Los Angeles Garden Tour

Today we had a perfect sunny day for the annual Los Angeles Garden Tour

sponsored by the Friends of Robinson Gardens



Most of the ladies at the event were in floaty flowery frocks and big hats
but I dressed down for the occasion
in a khaki cotton suit by Nine West ($24.99 at Ross!),

and hot pink Escada loafers and Celine bag, both vintage 2001

After seeing my my belted khaki suit...perhaps more appropriate for an African safari...
(yeah...as if I had my own Denys Finch Hatton to take me big game hunting...and then wash my hair alfresco)
my daughter kindly asked me where my bolt action rifle was.
I responded by accessorizing with vintage jewelry rather than buck shot.

like this antique Victorian diamond flower brooch in 18K
appropriate I thought for spending time some of the prettiest gardens in the city

and these adorable diamond earrings in 18K

and in the spirit of keeping it simple
a Cartier watch and a diamond line bracelet in 18K.

I would have posted some images of the amazing gardens that I walked through today
but we were not allowed to take photos on the tour in order to protect the privacy of the homeowners.
Fair enough. 
The last garden on the tour, which I missed because I had to get back to the office,
was at the Playboy Mansion.

I heard that it was amazing with mature redwoods, the famous grotto, peacocks and even a zoo!
Apparently, there were no bunny sightings on the property.

Estate Jewelry Look of the Day - How To Wear An Antique Slide Necklace

Have I mentioned before that I love jewelry?That would be pretty much all jewelry, old and new,
and I especially love seeing antique or vintage jewelry
worn in a modern and fresh way.
Here's an example

A caftan style shift with simple lines worn with an antique necklace from Beladora2

Antique Victorian Turquoise Slide Necklace in 14K

Every time I pick up a piece of antique jewelry I wonder about many things.

Who was the original owner?

Did she get the item as a gift and if so for what purpose?

What was her life like when she was wearing the piece?

Was she happy or sad?

In some ways, holding an antique in my hand is like having one part of a story or one piece of a historical puzzle, and I can't help but want to have the rest of the pieces in order to put the puzzle together and to know the whole story.

But since that can't be done, I'll settle for wearing that antique piece now and creating a new story to go with it.

Flower Gifts For Mother's Day - Beladora Style

Since a bouquet of actual posies can bring on an allergy attack...I actually saw that happen last week,
may I suggest giving Mom a non allergy inducing floral gift from Beladora or Beladora 2.

Vintage Retro Blue Zircon Ring in 14K from Beladora2.com for $295

or

Multi-Gemstone and Diamond Flower Ring from Beladora.com for $995

You know she's so love these...
I'm off to spend Mother's Day in Laguna Beach with my mother.
I hope that you are spending the day with your mother too.

All Kinds Of Awesome

What I'm crazy in love with now

Antique Diamond Bracelet in 18K and Silver

history and art combined
it is all kinds of awesome

How To Wear Estate Jewelry or Not Your Grandmother's Pearls

Pearls, as we all know come in a variety of sizes.
So...what is the correct size to wear?

Our favorite pearl expert at  Passage des Perles blog addressed this question today
She likes her classic pearl strand in size 9 mm and larger,
and agree with her that larger sizes are appropriate for women of a certain age
like me.

I like all pearls, the classic single, double and triple strands as well as opera length.
Who doesn't?
Some my find them boring, but I don't.
But that's not to say that I don't also adore pearls used in edgier more contemporary jewelry designs
such as this Tahitian Pearl negligee pendant necklace

Here's the close up

The necklace is designed with faceted fancy colored diamond beads from which two large Tahitian pearl drops (16 mm), hang unevenly and thus the name negligee...as if this was the base of a bow tied loosely.

Totally wearable or over the top...

What do you think?

September Stories and Garden Galas

Over the summer I like to take a break from serious reading.
What about you?

Here are some of the books that I've read in the last month.

The George R.R. Martin series starting with the Game of Thrones.
If you like an epic story with political intrigue among competing clans, characters with unbridled ambition who are willing to destroy all in their paths in their lust for power, kind of like Washington D.C., these books are for you.
Consider them to be a sort of a Lord of the Rings type fantasy, except darker, much darker.
Jill, has read these books too and she's as anxious as I am for the final book to be released.

The 19th Wife, is the story of Eliza Young, the apostate renegade wife of Brigham Young who publicly denounces polygamy, cleverly interwoven with a murder mystery involving a contemporary 19th wife of Fundamentalist LDS cult member.  Ebershoff combines the development of Mormonism in 19th Century with the cult's bizarre behavior in the 21st Century. Of particular interest to me was the history of "hand cart" migration of European immigrants.  Their treatment was deplorable.

If you enjoy well written historical fiction you will like Cleopatra's Daughter.  Did you know that Roman women worried about stretch marks from pregnancy?  I didn't either.

I'm a huge fan of the New York Times bestselling author Daniel Silva.  He writes amazing international thrillers centered on a main character who is an artist and art restorer.  I recently finished The Rembrandt Affair and Portrait of a Spy. If you like thrillers, I highly recommend these books, but start from the beginning of the series because the story and the characters evolve with each new book.

When not reading it's been all fancy pants parties and soirees for me.

Well not really but I was happy to attend the 100 anniversary gala for the Friends of Virginia Robinson Gardens.  It was a beautiful event held in the gardens of Viginia Robinson's home, the first estate built in Beverly Hills in 1911.

Look how pretty the tables were under the lights suspended above the lawn.  And I loved the way that pink shawls were provided for all the ladies because it was a little chilly after the sun went down.

The guests were treated to a water ballet as pre-dinner entertainment which I thought was charming until the silk chiffon of  the hem of my dress sopped up water left by the swimmers on the brick path next to the pool. Luckily, no permanent damage was done, because I really loved my dress.

You might think that my gown was a little too 'mother of the bride-ish', but I thought that it was rather Edith Wharton-ish.

My peeps from Patrick McMullin liked it too...and why will they only sell hard copy prints instead of digital jpegs?

I thought that the french blue color of my dress was perfect for this suite of moonstone and diamond jewelry as you can see from the before photo.

And here is the after photo...specifically after a couple of glasses of wine photo. 

The jewelry looks good but what's up with my shiny forehead?

We've been busy buying at Beladora and hopefully I will be able to show you some awesome Art Deco pieces soon.

Starting Off September With A Sofreh

So September has finally arrived
and so by the way, has Summer.
Finally, we have what I have longed for, hot sunny days and evenings so lovely that you can sit out doors comfortably without a sweater.
Of course this late summer heat has had its drawbacks too with the power outage that affected large parts of San Diego, Orange and Riverside counties.  That's millions and millions of people without air conditioning in temperatures in the high 90s and low 100s.  But as one blog commenter wrote, the power outage was taken in true laid back Southern California style. Instead of riots in the streets, neighbors came together for barbecues and beers.


Well anyhoo, getting back on topic, I had the pleasure to attend a full on Persian wedding last weekend.  It was amazing and kudos to Mariam, the mother of the bride, who organized this lovely event.  Layla, the bride, a school friend of my daughter, was lovely.

Obviously, the wedding was very different than a traditional Catholic or Protestant wedding that I am used to so I wanted to share some photos, but do forgive my lousy photos from my iphone. So instead of the bride and groom standing before and alter they are seated next to a dressed up table with the traditional Persian sofreh which holds specific symbolic items. 
The wedding ceremony was conducted in Farsi and I have no idea what was actually said. An interesting element was when the female relatives held a lace cloth over the bride and groom and did this thing with large cones of sugar which was meant to sweeten the marriage.

So after the approximately hour long wedding ceremony I made my way up to the bride and groom to congratulate them and to check out all the ceremonial stuff which sits before the mirror which symbolizes bringing light and brightness to the future.

The table was decorated with lots of frippery and frou frou

So here are the contents of the sofreh.

A specially baked and decorated flatbread "Noon-e Sangak" with blessing "Mobaarak-Baad" written in calligraphy on it. The writing is usually with either saffron "Zaffaron", cinnamon, Nigella seeds, or glitters. This symbolizes prosperity for the feasts and for the couple's life thereafter. A separate platter of this flat bread, feta cheese and fresh herbs are also present to be shared with the guests after the ceremony, to bring the new couple happiness and prosperity.

A basket of decorated eggs and a basket of decorated almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts in the shell to symbolize fertility.

A basket of pomegranates and/or apples for a joyous future. Pomegranates are considered heavenly fruits and apples symbolize the divine creation of mankind.

A cup of rose water extracted from special Persian roses "Gol-e Mohammadi" to perfume the air.

A bowl made out of crystallized sugar "Kaas-e Nabaat/Shaakh-e Nabaat" to sweeten life for the newly wed.

A brazier "Manghal" holding burning coals sprinkled with wild rue "Espand" a popular incense. Wild rue is used in many Zoroastrian ceremonies, rituals and purification rites. It is believed to keep the evil eye away and bring on plenty of health.

A bowl of gold coins representing wealth and prosperity.

A scarf or shawl made out of silk or any other fine fabric to be held over the bride and bridegroom's head throughout the ceremony by various happily married female relatives (mostly bride's close family members).

Two sugar cones "Kalleh Ghand" made out of hardened sugar to be used during the ceremony. These sugar cones are grinded together above the bride and bridegroom's head (over the scarf held above their heads) throughout the ceremony to shower them in sugar (symbolizing sweetness and happiness).

A cup of honey to sweeten life. Immediately after the couple is married they each should dip one pinky finger in the cup of honey and feed it to the other one.

A needle and seven strands of colored thread to figuratively sew up the mother-in-law's lips from speaking unpleasant words to the bride! The shawl that is held above the couple's head throughout the ceremony is sewed in one corner by the needle and threads.

A copy of the couple's Holy Book is placed on the spread. For Christian couples, it would be the Bible, for Zorastians Avesta, For Muslims Qur'an, .... This symbolizes God's blessing for the couple. Some couples use a poetry book such as Khayyam's poetry collection or Hafiz poetry collection instead of a religeous holy book. Traditionally "Avesta" the ancient Zoroastrian holy book was used by the majority of Iranins and Bible by the Iranian Christians during the ceremony and readings were made from it. Eventually Qur'an replaced Avesta for most wedding ceremonies after Iran was attacked by Arabs and forced to accept Islam.

After the wedding there was a hour long reception with hors d'oeuvres served and then the guests moved into the dining room.  The tables were set simply except for the elaborate flower arrangements.

After about another half an hour, the bride and groom entered and did some kind of Persian-ish  dance thing and then they had their traditional first dance. And so commenced a few hours of dancing to both Persian and American music.  (FYI, I love Persian music and dancing.  It's so sexy.)

Meanwhile, the bride and groom worked the room and greeted their guests.

Here is the lovely Layla with my daughter.
I loved her emerald and diamond necklace and earrings.
(Did I mention that not only is Layla lovely, she is super smart too and just took her medical boards)

Persian women dress to impress and we did too...or at least we tried.
What can I say, we are joiners.
My daughter wore a long bronzy-gold gown with a jewel toned silk shawl.

And gi-normous diamond jewelry.

Unfortunately, I was utterly under dressed in my blue silk suit

and I hate to say it but even my sapphire and diamond jewelry was understated.

Next time I will know to pull out all the stops when it comes dressing up for a Persian wedding.

And speaking of dressing up...I sashayed around Rodeo Drive a bit on Thursday night for Fashion's Night Out.  Bvlgari, Breguet, Cristofle and Etro hosted special receptions for the Beverly Hills Women's Club and I managed to make it to the Bvlgari party, then it was off to dinner at Mortons. Every once in a while, it's great to go to dinner at some place traditional like Mortons....don't you agree?

Personally, I think that the whole Fashion's Night Out concept is a little lame.  What do you think?

Tonight, I'm off to the gala dinner for the 100th anniversary of the Virgina Robinson estate and gardens in Beverly Hills. 

Tomorrow will be a quiet day at home, god willing, with plenty of down time for remembrance of those we lost a decade ago.

What are you up to this weekend?

Away To Rancho Bernardo For a Wedding in a Winery

Sorry about the slacking but it's been one of those weeks...and it's only Tuesday!

Last weekend while Tabitha was off grouse hunting and FF was celebrating her birthday with her fellow Leo's, I was off on a road trip to the Rancho Bernardo Inn.

To be honest, it was nice

but it didn't look anywhere as awesome as in these photos that I snagged off of the interwebs.

I certainly never saw a pool that looked anything like this.

Nor did I see a jacuzzi that looked like this.
Somehow I missed all these scenic spots.
Well no matter, I wasn't there for spa vacation. I was there for a late afternoon wedding at a local winery.
I took some nice photos of the reception on my iPhone but I've been unable to download them, so all I can show you is this bird cage thingy table decoration.  Pretty isn't it?

This was my summer wedding in a winery garb, a Tracy Reese silk chiffon dress, a vintage Celine handbag and some new strappy sandals from the Kitson outlet store in Beverly Hills.

I wore some pink sapphire and diamond jewelry too.
It was pretty.

It's hard for me to believe that the summer is almost over.  It seems to have flown by.