‘Pottery Barn’ Articles at Sweetnicks

I have never been a jewelry person. I could just never get into using jewelry as a daily rotating accessory, and once I put something on, it stayed forever and a day.

My wedding ring? Gave it back to my Dad (it was from his mom) when The Ex and I separated.

My engagement ring? Sold it long ago.

The ring The Ex gave me our first wedded Valentine’s Day? Sold.

No attachment anymore to any of it, and totally bad juju for repurposing.

I did keep a cross he gave me one Easter when we were dating, only because I thought I could pass it on to Madeline, perhaps for her Communion or Confirmation.

Sometimes I wear studs in my ears. Most days, I forget.

I usually wear a necklace with tags that have the kids’ name on them, their birth dates and their birthstones. Color me lower than low maintenance. At least in the jewelry department.

But over the course of the past year or so, I have branched out a bit. Wearing the odd bracelet or necklace, mixing and matching, changing it up.

I have this Pottery Barn jewelry box that I bought eons ago, and the glass top was engraved with my old (married) initials. Lot of good that does me now. I hated to throw it away, but didn’t want to see it daily either. What to do?

Last weekend, when returning something to TJ Maxx with Madeline, I discovered these jewelry organizers.

Where the heck have they been all my life? Probably never noticed them because I wasn’t into jewelry much and therefore had no need.

But for $14.99, it is the perfect organizer to hang in my closet and keep all my accessories, you know, organized. They had a crazy assortment of prints to choose from, and I ended up with the turquoise paisley one that accidentally matched the new color of my bathroom walls (more reveal once it’s completely done). Lovin’ it and the accompanying price tag.

And as usual, my girl Sarah and I were of the same mind, because she recently wrote about accessories on her new site, Sassy Closet. Great minds and all that.

I had a $13 JC Penney necklace that I bought last year that I love and wore to the office sometimes. Unfortunately it broke a few weeks back. Found this similar one at the Banana Republic outlet last weekend. Regularly $39.99, and it was 40% off. Score! I might be more interested in accessorizing, but keeping it budget-friendly is of much greater interest.

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I’ve been taking Pottery Barn‘s monthly decorating classes lately, and had another one today. The price is right (free!) and I always come away with useful information that I can put into practice right away. Today’s topic was table settings for brunch and ideas for celebrating the upcoming Easter/Passover holiday with family and friends.

I love entertaining, whether it be casual or formal, but when it comes to the actual table setting, I am terrible at it. I have been a child of Pottery Barn for many, many years, and saved their catalogs just to get a feel for how they set their tables so beautifully. In recent years, they have published decorating books, which are a great way to learn how they do it all. Once I found out today’s topic was going to cover my Achilles heel, I was in.

Here are a few of the notes that I took:

They suggested using table runners instead of tablecloths when setting your table. They said that it’s a great way to show off the beauty of your table, be it an antique, something handed down through your family or a new purchase, and it’s an inexpensive way to completely change the look of the table settings for the holidays, the different seasons or just because.
Speaking of table runners, they also suggested using them across the width of your table, instead of just thinking of them in the traditional way down the center length. By using them across the width of the table, they also become placemat-like as well, because if you put them along the width, going from chair to chair, they’ll be right under the placesettings.
They love chargers and said it’s an easy way to build up your theme from a solid foundation. For a casual luncheon or brunch, they suggested wicker chargers. I loved them, and was sorely tempted but at $16 a pop, I restrained myself. For a more formal dinner, they opted for these silver ones with a Mother of Pearl rim. (They’re way shinier in person, by the way)
They suggested using a core white dinner plate for the base of everything. (They used this set in today’s class) It’s simple and classic. Then, to personalize the table for the particular event, they said to use a patterned plate (a layering plate as they called it) for the smaller one set on top of your white plate (see above photo). I loved this idea, and to me, this was worth the class attendance alone. I must have four different sets of plates, but two years ago, I switched to using a bright white dinner plate instead. I found it easier to match with all my table linens and accessories, and I love the idea of using a smaller, patterned layering plate on top of it to change up the white quickly, easily and inexpensively. Genius.

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Wordless Wednesday, Otherwise Known as Clever Ways to Store Jewelry

Decorating Class with Pottery Barn