Sentimental Jewelry

A Trip down Memory Lane…

Happy day, reader dear!

How’s your new season going? My fall took an interesting twist over the weekend. If you follow me on Insta, you know I love me some jewelry… Maximal and Impact might be two words to describe my usual accessory management style.

So imagine my surprise this past weekend when all I wanted to wear was my sentimental pieces. Not all of them at once, but I certainly was feeling less bling and more subdued nostalgia. Is it fall? Or some hygge coming on? I don’t know, but either way, this has been a stick-with-the-sentimental week. What do I mean by sentimental pieces? Some people associate sentimental pieces with expensive fine jewelry, especially gifted. Others imagine bottle cap necklaces made by their children in primary school. Two very different ends of the spectrum, surely!

When I say sentimental jewelry, I mean any piece that holds a special and distinct memory or emotion. They could be fine, or child-crafted, but there are so many more… The pieces I have been snuggling into this week are primarily silver, and all make me feel special, loved, and warm and fuzzy. Hugs in metal.

Maybe it’s the cooler mornings bringing on the feeling… (I actually got to wear a sweater on Sunday!)

Let’s take a closer look: The small circle necklace with a quote from Winnie-the-Pooh was a gift from my husband and reminds me of all the hours we have spent reading (and listening) to Pooh with our own boys, and now with our grandsons.

The longer necklace (Yes, on an old dog tag chain.) holds three special charms. The Celtic cross was an especially touching gift from my in-laws not long after we wed. They knew/know how much my faith means to me, even if its not one they share. The silver Notre-Dame medal was added on a trip my mother, the boys and I took to Paris when we lived in England. We made Mama’s dream of a trip to Paris come true… With the added surprise of travel by bus! The small gold heart (hiding) is the oldest charm, bought when we lived in Caracas during my high school years.

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I regularly mix these sentimental pieces in my bracelet stacks, but rarely do they all find their way into one outfit. I agonized over that watch 20 years ago. It was pricey for me (at the time about $80) with a family of five on an enlisted sailor’s salary. I spent a long time weighing my options, but since it has been worn 300+ days per year for 20+ years, it qualifies as a wise investment! The round bangle is a honeymoon souvenir, and the circle plate bangle commemorated my name change about 20 years later. (Yes, that took a while. And I hyphenated it…) The oval and circle link piece was a gift from Mia, a friend in England, and her daughter Edith (my god-daughter). We may have lost touch, but they are in my prayers daily… New winter bucket list item: Find lost friends.

The rings on my upper hand are my wedding and engagement rings. The gold band was my grandmother’s. My husband has a similar gold band that was my grandfather’s. We started wearing them long before we were officially engaged. We had made our own commitment, and that was enough. Yes, my husband also wears two wedding bands. The filigreed ring on my lower hand was my grandmother’s engagement ring. I love this dainty piece, even if it defies all personality markers. Like all these pieces, I wear it when I need to feel grounded and connected. Part of a long line of love that continues to stretch into the future.

I know that necklaces and rings seem the most common sentimental item, but I’ll throw earrings into the mix as well. If the earring goblin came down and took all mine, these would be the two I would fight him over…

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The hoops are older than two of our sons. The odd thing about these is that I don’t remember their origin story… I’m pretty sure I was single mom-ing it at that point. Serious beans-and-rice days. The small ones on the right were a souvenir from a trip to Stonehenge. If memory serves (from about 15 years ago), they are stylized axe heads? Not only do they hold sweet memories of a wonderful trip, they are lightweight and timeless.

How about you? Do you have a trip down memory lane in your jewelry box? Do you wear your sentimental pieces? If you don’t, are you saving them for a special occasion? Do you trust yourself to wear them? Or not? I’d challenge you to go through your jewelry box, choose a piece you love, and enjoy it! What is it? Do share in the comments below! I love to hear from you…

Stylishly (and sentimentally) yours,