Tuesday, May 4, 2010

sparkly bits

my mother was a pretty serious hoarder, though when I was growing up, living in a house w umpteen multiples of EVERYTHING just seemed Normal. It's only in hindsight that I realize she really had a problem.

That said, I think as hoarders go, she was a Top Rate one! She had GREAT stuff, just WAY too much of it. She had drawers and drawers and DRAWERS of jewelry - costume and real, from many eras. Remind me to tell you about the time she accidentally threw out all her "good" jewelry!

But anyway, my favorite collection of hers was the rhinestone jewelry collection, that she kept in a darling lucite box purse, each item individually wrapped in tissue paper (like kleenex, not like acid-free tissue paper). it seemed SO glamorous to me - the dangly earrings and wide mesh bracelets, the little coin purse, the slidey comb and lipstick tube, brooches, necklaces, even a wallet. Some of the things have been lost or sold over the years, but I still have most of her collection intact, and I also keep it safe away in the lucite box purse. I wear things on occasion, and let my daughter wear some pieces to her prom...but mostly it stays wrapped up...until I come across it in the closet...and spend some time taking each piece out, admiring it, remembering how she used to get dressed in the most amazing cocktail dresses to go to fancy parties at The Officer's Club...and the stories these peices could tell now, more than 50 years later...






































































Madison likes looking at the jewelry, too....

8 comments:

  1. Actually it looks like Madison is a bit miffed at not being allowed to model some of that jewelry -I see a little pink tongue peeking out.

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  2. OOOOOoooooooooooooooooh!!! You need a wall case or something to display all this good stuff in!! YUMMAY!!!!

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  3. hee hee, poor old madison is missing his front teeth, so there's nothing to keep his tongue from slipping out!

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  4. I remember your Mom's purse collection, very organized. I felt like I walked down corridors of shelves of purses, but it might have been just one room.

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  5. The purses! The shoes! The towels! The beach towels! The dish towels! the "good" towels! The dishes! It just went on and on (and on). I don't remember the hoarding in Delaware so much, more when we moved to NY - I think that's more when the real depression started..and the endless buying. Sigh.

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  6. Gorgeous things Bettye! no wonder you cherish them.
    I think Madison would look very pretty with a sparkly necklace!

    Jayne

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  7. Wow...Great post! Your blog is very nice and I wish you a fun weekend:)

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