I sat down with my cousin, Noemi, to chat about her jewelry collection for this edition of Adorned, my blog series that features interesting women telling the stories behind the most important and best loved pieces in their jewelry box.
Noe (that's what we call her) is super energetic with a dry and brash wit, and she came correct with some awesome stories about her collection. In fact, we all had a good laugh at how everyone in the room was captivated while she talked about each piece, my family and I getting to hear some stories for the first time ever.
The point of this series is not to highlight who has the most beautiful or precious collection of jewelry, it is about connecting to one another through stories, the jewelry acting as a powerful talisman and tool, because hey, we all know that a ring from a Crackerjack box can be just as special to us as a diamond ring, the object holds far more than dollars and cents. It holds who we were, who we are, and who we love.
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1// This is a bracelet I got when I was visiting my family in Mexico, so for me it's like carrying them with me.
2 // I don't remember when they came from, I just like to throw them on when I'm looking for something happy, and light--they're flowers, they make me feel good.
3 // These are Mexico too, I got them when I think I was about 15 on a trip to see my family. They're gold, I wore them back home and wore them for a very long time.
4 // These silver bracelets are from my Papi, who brought them back from Mexico. He meant to get me a set of seven, he purchased a really expensive set and forgot them on a bus. When he realized he went back and got these for me.
5// This is a necklace that was my Mother's that she used to wear back when she was into this sort of thing as a young girl. {laughter} I wore it in high school and I loved it, it reminded me that it was cool to be out there, unconventional, and to do my own thing.
6 // These were something that you gave to me for working at one of your very first events when you first got started. I love them, the style, I love the way they feel as they hang.
7 // I've had those since I was five or six, and I always wore them. I got my ears pierced, my Mom said, when I was about six weeks old so I've always worn earrings. When I was really little I would lose my gold hoops all the time, they would just fall out, but this pair I managed not to lose then, and I've held onto them all this time.
8 // The N is from my Mother from a trip in Hawaii, she loves going there and the Hawaiian style gold jewelry. It was a beautiful gift. And the cross is from Grandma Ellen for my high school graduation when I was 17. She bought the cross and my Mom bought the chain so it was a gift from them both.
8 // That ring was something I got when I turned, I want to say 14, but maybe it was when I was even younger, I can't quite remember. But the thing about this ring is that it's a sapphire which is the birthstone for September, and my parents really wanted to give me something a gift that was sort of a representation of a coming of age, so maybe I was 12, you know puberty or around that time. And what is really significant about this ring is that I was preparing to go on a trip and the first and only time I stole something from a store there was a story about this ring. I loved this ring and wore it everywhere, I swam with it, washed my hair with it, I went skiing with it, I did everything with this. So I remember my friend Jennifer, who was a bit of a bad influence, I was with her while she had this plan of going behind the counter and getting a bag and filling it up at Macy's. So she's asking me what I think of this item or that item, and I knew, I just knew it felt wrong. Of course we go to leave and get totally busted and pulled into a room, her mom gets called, my mom get's called. And you know, I had no reason to steal, I was there with money my mom had given me so that I could get something for a trip we were going on to visit my Dad's family, she had dropped me off at Macy's specifically to get what I needed for this special trip. So that day that I got caught I went to bed, and when I woke up the next morning I couldn't find my ring. It had come off my finger. Again, I wore this every single day and never took it off, so to me it really felt like a message, of somebody saying that what I had done was wrong. I felt such a huge amount of guilt afterwards, and I panicked, I cried, I think I even prayed, I was so torn up that I had lost this very special gift that my parents had given me. I mean, it was so special, my parents had saved up money and bought me my first big girl piece of jewelry and give me that responsibility, and I was horrified to think I could lose it and let them down.I found it the next day, but it was so weird that it would ever come off that I still feel like it was some sort of a message, and I chose to see it as a sign.
9// Simple studs that I love to wear everyday, they're just easy and so I wear them often.
10 // These pearls my mom gave to me when I was 21, and I wore them everyday for a long time.
11 // This bracelet is from Austria, my brother hosted an exchange student when he was in high school and he brought it back for me for my birthday, which I celebrated that year by going skydiving and he came with us, and I wore it when I jumped out the plane. It kind of makes me feel like Wonder Woman.
12 // This is my engagement ring, you made it and Ricky helped design it. And that's the ring I'm going to wear for the rest of my life.
13 // Black pearls that Ricky's mom Katie gave to me. She took this trip and ended up getting evacuated do to a flood and tsunami, she had to stay at a school-shelter on her vacation. Worst trip to Hawaii ever. Ricky and I had talked to her about how majestic Hawaii is and told her 'oh you have to go, you have to see this paradise,' and she ended up getting evacuated! But even through all that she still took the time to find me something special, she knew that I love pearls and I love black, so there you go.
14 // First piece of big girl jewelry I ever bought myself. I bought it because I just loved it, the movement and how interesting it was and I just felt incredible wearing it. I don't usually tend to buy rings for myself, in fact I only have three. But I just put it on and it felt like me.
15 // Oh, you like my Giants earrings, dude?! {laughter} I've had these since we were kids, and I wore them to every single Giants game I've ever been to, all the way back to Candlestick.
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| Noe's living room and painting by her fiance, Ricky Watts. |
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Me and Noe as little girls
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Thank you for reading, I'll be bringing you more interesting women from my life and beyond.
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