Tis the season to be thankful!

I’d like to take this opportunity to fulfill the purpose of this lovely holiday by giving thanks for the many blessings in my life.

1. Black Friday
My favorite holiday is the day after Thanksgiving — Black Friday!

2. Birthstones
I’m so glad I finally learned how to love opals!

3. Jewelry Designers
This year, I was able to meet some really cool jewelry designers — Rita Chung, for example (check out our interview of her: Part I, Part II, Part III).

4. Jewelz
Blogger Jewelz has been a great addition to our team here at WooMeOver! Check out her latest post!

5. WooMeOver
Writing for this blog has been such a great opportunity for me to learn so much about jewelry!

For more details, please click here.

Thankfully,
Olivia

This Little Piggy Went Banking

The economy is slow, prices are going up, the job market is falling – it’s hard to keep your chinny-chin-chin up in times like these.

A lot of people turn to retail therapy when they’re feeling down, but it’s smarter to save than spend these days. But how to battle the bearish blues?

Well, we here at WooMeOver have found one way to pig out a little without breaking the bank!

When you buy a bejeweled piggy bank, you feel like you’re splurging on a luxury item, but they’re actually pretty affordable. Sometimes, when you can’t buy jewels, the next best thing is something bejeweled. And the bonus is that they encourage you to save, save save… and in style!

To read more, click here.

In Hog Heaven,
Olivia

Here at the Bling Blog, we have seen our share of “rock on a wire” rings. Nevertheless, I was rocked by La Pisette’s simple, yet wonderful, gemstone rings.

Concocted by designer Stacy Saunders, whose fascination with geodes began with her first rock collection at age 10, each ring is made to order, and no two stones are exactly alike.

PYRITE RING. $105.

CITRINE RING. $105.

TIGER'S EYE RING. $105.

WHITE JADE RING. $105.

x o x o
~ jewels

They say that bigger is better, and, in this case, I have to agree.

They also say, “Fake it ’til you make it,” and Banana Republic has done an excellent job of doing that.

Banana Republic Oversized Chunky Faux-Pearl Necklace, $39 at bananarepublic.com.

These oversized faux pearls are the chunkiest accessories I’ve ever seen! Talk about your bold statements! The girl who wears this necklace tells the world: “Size DOES matter… and I’ve got it!”

And for those who want to put a more contemporary spin on this look (although it doesn’t get much more contemporary than beads this chunky), the pearls also come in gray.

More of the same, but with a more modern edge.

So whether your style is classic or modern, you can be livin’ large. Faux real.

Putting the “Chunk” in “Chunky,”
Olivia

I think it was philosopher Rene Descartes who said: “iPhone, therefore iBling.”

No, wait; that was me.

I can hardly remember life before I started putting a lower-case “i” in front of everything iSaid. And I can hardly remember life before I started blogging here on WooMeOver.

My two loves collide in a beautiful, blinding explosion of iBling. These blinged out iPhones are the epitome of luxury — the cutting edge of fashion meets the cutting edge of technology!

1. Strike Gold

Goldstriker 24K Gold iPhone, £495 at goldstriker.co.uk.

Goldstriker strikes gold with this 24K iPhone! Every time you get a call, everyone will know that it’s probably from your stockbroker or your agent.

2. Coming Up Roses

Continental Mobiles iPhone in Rose Gold, £1,349 at continentalmobiles.com.

Continental Mobiles makes bespoke iPhones with all kinds of different bling options! I particularly like the edition pictured above because it’s rose gold, my new favorite precious medal!

3. Diamonds are Forever

Amosu Diamond iPhone, £5,000 at amosu.co.uk.

So before you pass out from looking at the price, keep in mind that, while it’s only the Apple logo that’s done in diamonds, there are 61 of them at 0.67 carats. That’s some quality bling right there!

2. Frugal Fashion Forward

FashionCellShop Apple iPhone Bling Faceplate Cover Set, $39.95 at fashioncellshop.com.

Well, the Brits may have the market cornered on luxury iPhone bling, but our own fine country has affordable iPhone bling in spades!

If you’re like me and you shouldn’t even have spent what you did on the iPhone, an affordable faceplate like the ones offered at FashionCellShop.com will be easy on your fashion sense, as well as your dollars-and-cents.

1. Livin’ the Posh.Life

Posh.Life iPhone 3D Diamond Design, $180 at poshlife.net.

And that brings us to my favorite iBling option.

Posh.Life, which boasts celebrity fans like Jessica Alba and Paris Hilton, offers custom-made designs for iPhones (and other phones, too) in Swarovski crystals. You can either order a faceplate or send the company your phone to get the bling directly attached to your iPhone!

So even if you can’t afford a solid-gold cell phone, you can still be cool, calm, and… connected.

iFabulously,
Olivia

I love the smell of fashion in the morning.

Missoni Solid Parfum Charm Bracelet, $50 at nordstrom.com.

Now, thanks to Missoni’s Solid Parfum Charm Bracelet, you can take the smell of style with you wherever you go! This chic charm bracelet contains 0.03 grams of solid perfume, so that you can refresh your scent on the go!

I love the Missoni fragrance. Margherita Missoni has really outdone herself with this one! She’s always had the look, but now she’s combining the look with the scent. And that’s an idea that I find absolutely… charming.

Scents-ibly,
Olivia

Olivia’s friends sure do show her lots of love.

Vegas & Mia Wood Bangle, $6 at shoprobertson.com.

Wookit who got another early birthday gift!! How fun!!

This wood bangle is ultra-hip and versatile, as well. The earthiness of the wood make it a perfect complement to, oh, I don’t know, say, fall’s hottest teal dress?

Look familiar? It should, but not exactly the same.

So a big thanks goes out to one of my favorite fashionistas for knowing what a fellow fashionista really wants!

Giftedly,
Olivia

Olivia’s birthday is coming up, and one of her friends is a super early bird and already got her a birthday gift!

Urban Outfitters Sakura Earring Stand, $4.95 at urbanoutfitters.com.

The Sakura earring stand is made of pewter and steel, and holds up to fifteen pairs of earrings (if you’re imaginative like me). They’re a great way to display your prettiest things, and keep them organized, too!

It’s embarrassing for me to admit, but my earrings used to be all jumbled together in a drawer before I got this gift. Imagine how happy I am now that all of my earrings are so easy to find!

Now, these stands aren’t available online anymore, but they’re still plentiful in the stores, so get out there and go get ‘em!

OutSTANDingly,
Olivia

We recently did a designer profile of Crickette Brown Glad, creator of Between the Cleavage. In that interview, we learned that Crickette loves coral for fall, and I couldn’t agree with her more!

Aside from the fact that coral is such a beautiful complement to fall’s hottest colors, I also love that it transitions so nicely from summer to fall. I live in California, where the weather stays summery, even after fashion starts edging into sweater territory.

Between the Cleavage Kazuri Raves Necklace, $163 at betweenthecleavage.com.

I’ve been spending some good time drooling over Crickette’s designs online, and one of my favorite pieces is her Kazuri Raves necklace.

I love how this piece has substance without being too overwhelming; is colorful, but still deep; mature, but whimsical. It’s a paradox that you can wear! And I think that coral looks good against all skin tones, too, which is a plus.

And the Kazuri beads used in this piece were made in a Fair Trade co-op, which makes buying this piece socially responsible AND impeccably chic! Bonus!

Purposefully,
Olivia

Lately, I have just been LOVING Iosselliani.

Iosselliani Panther Ring, $265 at barneys.com.

Besides the Investment Piece for September’s birthstone (the sapphire), Iosselliani’s current line includes this Panther Ring, which I just love — I would imagine that it would make the wearer feel all lithe and feline and predatory — wait, does that make me a cougar?

In any case, that’s just the tip of the Iossberg (ha, ha. Get it?). Iosselliani’s current line features a lot of inspiration from nature: specifically, panthers and snakes. The design is straight from the Amazon, in all its fierce, dangerous beauty.

In a dog-eat-dog world like ours, we Woobies need a little something to give us that extra mental boost, and these predatory pieces remind us that we are the hunter, not the hunted.

Hey, it’s a jungle out there.

Wildly,
Olivia