For the neck

What is more lovely than a delicate necklace wrapped around a women's neck?

Here are some of my choices for simple necklaces that look beautiful on anyone.

Dogeared Necklaces

These come in a pretty little box with a message to the recipient; they make amazing gifts to friends and family. Each necklace is gold or silver, some with gemstones. There are all sorts of tiny charms, from elephants, to lightning bolts, like the one shown below. A select few necklaces even donate the proceeds to various charitable organizations.

Elsa Peretti for Tiffany necklace




Tiffany & Co. Tag necklaces

Tiffany Necklaces are a go to favorite. They are well made and know by most everyone. Their simple designs are classic. As a plus, they are always wrapped meticulously in a eggshell blue box and tied with a satin bow.

Wishes

Christmas and Hanukkah are rolling around really soon. I'm trying to formulate a list to sen to Santa and Hanukkah Harry. What do I want?

Originally, I had a plan in mind. Ask for an iPod Classic and a bottle of Vera Wang Princess perfume. Lucky for me, a friend had an iPod to sell, so I bought it for a mere $35. I also managed to snag a Vera Wang Princess boxed set at Marshall's for a heavily discounted price. Seeing as I got the things I desired much before the holiday rolled around, I am now trying to think up a new list.

Here are some of the things I thought about so far:

Influence (book) by Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen

Elsa Peretti Bean pendant necklace

Toms Classic canvas shoes

Candle Tips

Candles are a great way to warm up a room visually. The flickering lights are comforting, not to mention beautiful. When purchasing candles, whether tapers, votives, or pillars, try to get ones that are made from soy wax or beeswax. These burn "safe" smoke that isn't harmful to breathe in, unlike the smoke of candles made of other substances. Remember: You breathe what you burn.

Here are a few of my favorites:
Bluecorn Naturals Raw Beeswax glass candles, $13 for a 8 oz pillar


Anything from the Library Collection at Paddywax, inspired by major authors ($8-$28)

Joy

What makes you happy?

Some little luxuries:

• Beeswax candles
• Fleur de sel caramels
• Burt's Bees Marshmallow eye cream
• Cashmere sweaters
• High thread count sheets

Holiday time this year, splurge on something special for yourself

For the wrist

I love the bracelet I bought from Makeshift Accessories. The cuff is made from recycled traffic signs. It feels good to know your money is going to an independent business, in particular the art community. I picked it up at a local art fair, but you can order offline at http://makeshiftaccessories.com/

A bit of Scotch

Everything about Scotch and Soda makes me happy. Their collections (Maison Scotch in particular).

Their models, photography, lighting. Simply gorgeous.

http://www.scotchsoda.com/en/collection/

campaign/category/women

DIY: Mason Jar Snow Globes

When browsing Antropologie's new Christmas decorations, I stumbled upon something that had a lot of DIY potential; water-less snow globes. Each mason jar had a tiny Christmas tree inside surrounded with plenty of glitter snow. Here's the instructions to make some little snow scenes to scatter throughout your home:

Tools/Materials:

• Miniature Trees (can be found in the model building section of the craft store)
• Clean jars in various sizes with lids
• White glitter (and some silver if you please)
• Cotton batting
• Strong glue (I used Weldbond brand)
• Aluminum foil (optional)
• White paint (optional)

Steps:

1. If you would like to elevate your tree, form an aluminum foil ball and flatten it on its sides. This piece will be glued beneath the little trees base to make it stand higher in the jar.
2. Glue the base of the tree down to the inside of the lid. If you did step 1, first glue in the aluminum foil ball and then press the tree's base down on top of the ball with glue.
3. If you bought frosted trees, to add some sparkle to them, use a paintbrush to apply glue lightly to their pines, then roll or sprinkle with glitter. If you did not buy frosted, you could do the same thing, but to create a snowier effect, use white paint instead of glue.
4. Take the cotton batting and pull it apart into thinner wisps. Use this cotton to surround the tree's base, and look like a fresh new layer of fallen snow!
5. Once the glue has dried, fill your jar with a good amount of glitter. Screw the lid on (the trees and its base should be upside down). Flip the jar over and watch it snow!

** Note: If you have children or devious friends, glue the lid so it cannot be removed from the jar. This will reduce the risk of someone opening up the jar and spilling glitter everywhere.