Plastic Bracelet Memories

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When I was a little girl I rode the school bus home. The bus stopped and dropped off all of the children who lived in town before it made its way up the mountain to drop off us Mountain Kids. I am not sure if that was a resounding term that we all called ourselves, or if it was just me. Knowing me, probably the latter. But “Mountain Kids” was what I always referred to when speaking of the children who lived in the mountains where my family dwelled.

The bus ride sometimes took an hour and a half before it would ever reach the dusty dirt road that would lead to my house.

It was a long time for a child. The Mountain Kids would gather in the back of the bus as it made its slow twenty minute trek away from town.

The first kids to be dropped off would always be The Ranger Kids. They were a subdivision of The Mountain Kids. The bus social system was complex. There were many branches of Mountain Kids. I have not even gotten to the kids that dwelled at the top of the mountain near the prison and the campgrounds (two words that always go great together) or the kids who dwelled at the bottom of the rocky hills in the country club subdivision. I am not sure what my best friend and I were called. We lived in the middle of the two classifications. Perhaps “Bob’s Gap Kids” named after the skinny road that wound between two mountain ranges that both of the roads leading to our two homes forked off of? I never thought to ask. The Ranger Kids’ parents were forest rangers and they all lived together in a circle of homes.

One of The Ranger Kids was a handsome boy of about nine years old to my six. His name was Stephen and not only was he older but he also had the dreamiest brown hair that would sweep into his eyes. He was tall and lanky and towered over the rest of us children.

He was an entrepreneur.

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Stephen would craft plastic bracelets at home and then sell them on the bus for a dollar a piece. The jewelry was constructed of shiny plastic beads strewn onto an elastic band. They would glimmer in the sun with their brilliance. I wanted a bracelet beyond anything, but I never found myself with any money to purchase one. It is a tragic happenstance of being six years old. One of the few cons in a neglected pool of positives.

I watched daily as Stephen’s jewelry supply would dwindle.

I am not going to lie. It was panic inducing.

So, I did what any self respecting child of six who had a crush on a child of nine would do. I begged. I pleaded. I sniffled. I moaned.

“Please. Please, Stephen. Please can I have a bracelet? Just one. Just that clear one right there. Plee-e-e-e-assssssse.

“Oh! And I love you.” That always works, right?

And every day I would watch Stephen get off of the bus with his bag of sparkling sensations while I held my sad bare wrist.

One day while we were all seated in the back of the bus and it had begun its long journey through the winding roads that would lead to The Forest Station, Stephen did something unexpected.

Before I could begin pleading my case for one of his creations, Stephen scooped the clear plastic bracelet out of his bag and placed it in my hand.

I could. Not. Believe. It.

It felt perfectly weighted on my small wrist.

It was amazing.

It was at that moment that I was convinced that Stephen loved me, too.

At the age of six, I had no words to express my gratitude, so I can imagine I stared at him like a cartoon kitten with eyes too wide to blink.

Stephen exited the bus swiftly, probably immediately regretting his generous decision as I waved frantically to my love from the window.

The next day I wore my bracelet and I excitedly waited for my soulmate the bus after school.

Stephen did not show up.

This was repeated daily for a week before it became common knowledge that Stephen’s family had been transferred to another ranger station. I never saw him again.

I lost the bracelet soon after, but the generous and innocent gesture of a sweet boy who did a kindness towards a much younger girl stayed with me to this day.

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I found a similar bracelet recently. It was more than a dollar. But not by much. I guess inflation never reached the beaded bracelet industry. It was a good thing that Stephen got out of the business when he did.

When I wear my new bracelet I think of us Mountain Kids formed together in a common bond of weary time travel. I think of twisting roads and tall trees. Of a bag of similar but entirely different bracelets. And I think of how one small act can shape one’s entire future.

I wear my shiny bauble and I smile.

This time I know what I would say to Stephen. And it would be simple.

“Thank you.”

I would say those two words and I would hope they would convey more than gratitude for a simple piece of jewelry. I hope they would impart the appreciation from one child to another for teaching me that a selfless act of kindness can leave a mark that lasts a lifetime…

Coupled with a small obsession for shiny things.

It’s The Little Things: World Market Jewelry

I love cheap jewelry. I am a loser of things. I cannot be trusted with nice jewelry. As of now, I have one diamond earring and one gold earring from the two sets my husband has gifted me.

This thrills him.

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If you sign up for World Market’s World Explorer Card (not a credit card just a frequent shopper type of program), they send you coupons in the mail. For my birthday, they sent me a coupon for $10 off $10 or more.

Plus, they happened to be doing 20% off their jewelry that day.

He. He. He,” went the voice inside and outside of my head. I might have even rubbed my hands together in maniacal glee.

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Mama was gonna get herself a free little bracelet. I knew exactly what I wanted. This gold one with cool embroidery going through it.

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But when I got there, I found more pretties.

And, well, it was my birthday.

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So, I bought two of those gold cuffs.

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And two of these bracelets.

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And some bee earrings.

Whew! I sure showed them! Yep. They are ruing the day they sent me that coupon.

Wait!

I just bought how many bracelets?

Well, one of them was free.

And, hey, it was my birthday!

It’s The Little Things: cheap jewelry that is gorgeous, too. And my ability to justify just about anything.

Have you purchased jewelry from World Market? Where do you like to purchase your jewelry? Are there any inexpensive bohemian options I should know about?

Bermeja Tunic Dress

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You would think a girl whose favorite novel being entitled, “Name of the Wind”, would be more interested in names than I am. Blame it on having the most popular name of my generation. A common name. And you will start to see the reasoning behind my conditioning. A name might be what is given to you, but the words you have earned by which your name is described to others, are your own.

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Lately, I have become more intrigued by the names of things. I think it also has to do with naming blog title posts each and every day. Do I give the post a funny name? A punny name? One that makes me smile? Or do I stick to what the search engines want and keep it boring and simple? I try to do both.

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This dress has the name Bermeja Tunic Dress. I decided to look the word “Bermeja” up. Imagine my surprise in discovering that the name of this dress is controversial. Historical. Quite interesting.

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Bermeja is a tiny island in the Gulf of Mexico. Or was a tiny island in the Gulf of Mexico. Or might or might not have been a tiny island in the Gulf of Mexico. Nobody knows. Because either it disappeared or it simply never existed.

There are many theories about the island. I found my information on Lonely Planet. You can click there if you wish to learn more.

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The reason this is even more interesting to me is because on the day these pictures were taken, I wore my Holy Holey Girdle. Yes, you read that right. I will have to do a post on it sometime.

Well, this dress ended up being shorter than expected and we ended up having to edit Holy Holey Girdle out of two pictures. This led me to feel many mixed emotions. I have never edited a picture before by erasing a flaw in it. I want to be true to myself. But I also don’t want Holy Holey Girdle to get all of the attention.

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It is kind of addicting. This fixing of one’s flaws. I am not going to say this will be the last time I do that. In fact, I will say, that will definitely not be the last time I do that. But in an effort to be real, I will share an unedited picture on tomorrow’s Keepin’ It Real” post, complete with a glimpse of Holy Holey Girdle.

‘Cause if it is about names. The truth in names. Then I want my name to be a real island. Of truth. Even if the truth can get ugly. At least it won’t sink with the weight of lies.

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Paired with the dress, are my new Tarara Gladiator Sandals from Anthropologie (they are almost all sold out, but other stores have them. Bloomingdale’s has them here). Tarara is a small town in Cuba. In New Zealand, Tarara means fast talker (source: Wikipedia).

These sandal boots were made for talkin’…

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Had you ever heard of Bermeja before? What are your thoughts on names?

*The bracelets and necklaces are a mish mash of older pieces (similar bracelet here) and Forever 21’s Globetrotter Beaded Cuffs. The turquoise necklace is from Simply Livly on Etsy and the other necklaces are old layering necklaces from Anthropologie (similar here).

* I shared this on The Pleated Poppy!

It’s The Little Things: Bracelets

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I started this blog while I was still discovering my personal style. And I still am discovering it. I think self discovery is always an on-going cycle. With that said, I used to not like to wear more than one accessory. And sometimes that is still true.

But lately I have wanted to layer more and more.

The less clothes I get to layer as the weather warms up means the more accessories that get to take their place.

I bought my first bracelet last year.

It was so exciting.

I have since added a few more:

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This Free People Hammered Stacked Multi Cuff was a recent acquisition as I try to push myself past my comfort zone.

My husband thinks it looks like shower curtain rings.

When is he going to learn that when he compares something to something else weird or funny, that just makes me like it even more?

Forever 21 has a very similar version in gold. I really like that one, too.

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I wore these Forever 21 Globetrotter Cuffs yesterday. They are my absolute favorites. They are also less than $5 each. I love them so much, I hope they last.

The turquoise layered bracelet was one of five that I purchased last year for $4 each. They are sold out, but Forever 21 has some fun colored bangles in a similar color vein here. And I saw almost identical ones at Target yesterday.

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I own two of the Anthropologie Scalloped Monogram Bracelets. One with my husband’s initial and one with my own. I think these are feminine and sweet. I like the little details on them.

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One weird fact (of many… Too… Too… Many) about me is that I love octopuses. I think they are brilliant creatures that we still have not studied enough. So, when I saw Modcloth’s My Pet Octopus Cuff, I knew it was being added to my collection. This bracelet is fun, but I will say that I have small wrists and this moves around a lot. I think this would fit better on a girl with larger wrists.

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I purchased this yellow wrap bee bracelet two weeks ago at Nordstrom Rack for $10. I could not find a link for a similar bracelet (or rather, I could not find a link to a similar bracelet at a reasonable price. I am not going to link to a bracelet that costs more than most dresses). The brand is Dazzle. Each bug had a different color. There was a pretty kelly green one, too, but my heart belongs to the bee. Ever since my grandmother passed away, I feel more drawn to my heritage as a daughter, granddaughter and great granddaughter of many generations of beekeepers. So when I see a piece of jewelry with a bee or bees on it, I pounce.

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It’s The Little Things: A small accessory to bring a little more fun to an outfit. And a little more joy to my heart.

Have you gotten into the bracelet love this season? Do you layer them? Do you have weird jewelry rules like me (you will never see me wearing a necklace and earrings. It has to be one or the other)?

*Disclosure: The links in this post are affiliate links. Clicking on a link will result in a small commission for this site.

P.S. Speaking of bracelets, Heather from the shop, Peacock Fairy, has some pretty bracelets, too. She is giving away a beautiful necklace.. It ends tonight at 9:00 p.m. PST. Please do not forget to enter. Thank you!