365 Days of Pearls

Cupcakes AND my favorite golden pearls ... and Happy Birthday to your little boy, baby nurse!

I finally got my ears pierced as a young (too young lol) bride, as my father never liked piercings. Mom later confessed she'd always wanted pierced ears, but it wasn't considered stylish in her day; a "Victorian" leftover and out of fashion. She also confessed to being too much of a coward to take us (I was the oldest of 4, 3 of us being girls) ... not because she was afraid to anger Dad (NOT, lol) but because she was too squeamish to watch. I got mine at a mall kiosk, after a number of my friends had doctors do it who had no mirrors or fashion sense, hence great results and uneven, unlevel holes etc. I staked out all the kiosks till I was satisfied with the safety and fashion procedures ... guess I got lucky with the gun! Shortly after, my mom came to me and quietly asked if I'd take my teenage sister to get her ears done ... and to our great (and hilarious) surprise, my mom had hers done the following year LOL. Dad took great delight ever after, in buying my mom pretty earrings whenever he could :)
 
Aww, I love the walk down memory lane with your jewelry box and all!
 
What a vision that must have been, with all of you girls piled in the car, excited about your piercings! I love J Wanamakers in Philly! ..used to go every Christmas just to see the displays!

This trip was circa 1969. We would always go to see their holiday displays...getting dressed up, going to see the show and the Magic Christmas Tree.
 
Those goldens are amazing.

I had my ears pieced at 16. I had been asking for years, and my mother wanted to wait until I was "old enough". I guess since I was old enough to drive, I was old enough to take care of my ears. Anyhow, our family doctor did the deed with one of those guns. One ear was just o.k., and the other needed to be redone since the nail went wonky. The redone one has a straight hole, and the other angles slightly upward. I've just dealt with it, and never had it redone.

I always used 14 kt or 18 kt yellow gold or platinum earrings, and I always kept the weight light. So, my holes have never stretched out and I've never had an infection. I still prefer smaller pearls, since they are just more comfortable. I hate getting stretch marks on my ear lobes. My mother and sister never got their ears pieced and they never wear earrings. I wear earrings every day. Earrings are easily my favorite type of jewelry. Along with the hair, they help frame your face so nicely.
 
I agree, Red, earrings are my favorite jewelry too! I will leave the house without a necklace (occasionally), but NEVER without earrings! haha I agree, 16 is old enough! I'm sorry about your one ear. I've actually been thinking of getting mine redone too as my doctor marked my ears a little bit low for my taste. ..maybe one day
 
Haha! Thank you, amti!
Thanks, SunSeeker, Pareltje, BWeaves, kalmen, pammbw, MSC, Cathy, Sanippy, And Red!
 
OMG, those steel studs are hideous. I had my ears pierced at a piercing shop, and I picked the gold style studs, which actually looked sort of nice. But I couldn't wait to get rid of them and wear my new pearl studs. I actually got those old studs out last night, and I realized I could see the MOP shell bead through the nacre. Size wise, they are 7 mm, which is comfortable and looks nice, but I'm wondering if I want to go 1 mm bigger.

OMG part deux, ARE THOSE DINOSAUR SPRINKLES? Love it.

And your SS pearls just look like real gold. Wow. And they go great with the gold dots on the Boden top.

The steel studs were not pretty. I was teased about it at school and felt mortified.

Your piercing shop sounds luxurious! I had my second piercing done at 15 with my best friend. We were both *thrilled* and feeling so sophisticated. I don't think either of us told our parents. That time there was a pretty good selection of earrings. They had birthstone ones in gold and I chose garnet since it's my birthstone. It was done with a gun and I don't remember it hurting that much, probably because my bff was there:cool:

Lol, yes dinosaur sprinkles. It's what my little guy chose. He wanted to decorate the cupcakes himself but he has a cold so I said no. The people in his class won't appreciate dinosaur cupcakes laced with virus ; )
 
Baby nurse, your pearls are gorgeous. I just love checking in with this thread to see the lovelies. I get a kick out of the stories too. I was late to the ear piercing party apparently, waiting till I was 15. I was child #5 out of 6 so my parents were pretty much exhausted all the time and I was left to my own devices. Got my second holes done at the age of 50. I had lots of pretty earrings and hated that I could only wear one pair at a time, so - more holes for more pretties.

Love this story, pammbw. Wow 6 kids, you had so much company!
 
Those goldens....siiiiiiiiiiiigh. so lovely! ETA: very happiest of birthdays to the wee one!!

I got my ears pierced as a baby by my doctor. He used 14kt studs (the ones I usually wear in my second hole). I got my second hole done at a jewelry kiosk in the mall when I was 12, using one of those guns. They got infected a LOT for the first few years I had them. Side note: in high school I worked for a store and was trained to pierce ears using "the gun." They are the worst. They jam all the time. I felt sorry for all the kids that got their ears pierced where the gun jammed, that must have been painful. I just got my third ear piercing a couple weeks ago and I went to a professional piercer who used professional grade piercing jewelry. I must say, the difference is night and day between the pro gear and the crappy studs those guns use. There's no turning of the earrings necessary as they are completely smooth so there's nothing for the interstitial fluid to form a crust onto. And the experience was wonderful too; very similar to when I got my nose pierced. Highly recommend professional piercers for ear piercings!

Wow, YOU were an ear piercer!! I had no idea there were so many problems with the gun.

Do you think it was less painful to get your nose pierced because it's less sensitive than an ear lobe? I had my navel pierced when I was 25. I felt like I was getting old and needed to do something to recapture youth. Sigh. Anyway, that really hurt.
 
Cupcakes AND my favorite golden pearls ... and Happy Birthday to your little boy, baby nurse!

I finally got my ears pierced as a young (too young lol) bride, as my father never liked piercings. Mom later confessed she'd always wanted pierced ears, but it wasn't considered stylish in her day; a "Victorian" leftover and out of fashion. She also confessed to being too much of a coward to take us (I was the oldest of 4, 3 of us being girls) ... not because she was afraid to anger Dad (NOT, lol) but because she was too squeamish to watch. I got mine at a mall kiosk, after a number of my friends had doctors do it who had no mirrors or fashion sense, hence great results and uneven, unlevel holes etc. I staked out all the kiosks till I was satisfied with the safety and fashion procedures ... guess I got lucky with the gun! Shortly after, my mom came to me and quietly asked if I'd take my teenage sister to get her ears done ... and to our great (and hilarious) surprise, my mom had hers done the following year LOL. Dad took great delight ever after, in buying my mom pretty earrings whenever he could :)

LOVE your stories, Cathy.

Kudos to your mom for getting her ears pierced and to your dad for spoiling her!
 
I love all these stories ! But it made me think about my own ears....I actually do not remember getting them pierced.. I know I was in my 20's as I refused to do it in High School because EVERYONE was getting it done and I was determined not to follow the crowd. How weird I don't remember ... maybe I was drunk...
Hahaha...that's how I almost got a tattoo...and I think almost married once...might have been the same vacation.
 
Those goldens are amazing.

I had my ears pieced at 16. I had been asking for years, and my mother wanted to wait until I was "old enough". I guess since I was old enough to drive, I was old enough to take care of my ears. Anyhow, our family doctor did the deed with one of those guns. One ear was just o.k., and the other needed to be redone since the nail went wonky. The redone one has a straight hole, and the other angles slightly upward. I've just dealt with it, and never had it redone.

I always used 14 kt or 18 kt yellow gold or platinum earrings, and I always kept the weight light. So, my holes have never stretched out and I've never had an infection. I still prefer smaller pearls, since they are just more comfortable. I hate getting stretch marks on my ear lobes. My mother and sister never got their ears pieced and they never wear earrings. I wear earrings every day. Earrings are easily my favorite type of jewelry. Along with the hair, they help frame your face so nicely.

Like you, one of mine was done at a slight angle. It's not noticeable with small pearls but anything 9mm up and I can see a droop; it drives me nuts but I'd never get it redone.

I agree, earrings are so important because they're right by your face. I never felt that way until recently, preferring necklaces to earrings.
 
Day 119:

Shades of gold today. I'm drawn to these colors lately. It must be all the blossoming fruit trees, daffodils and tulips out there. Spring smells wonderful and is that much sweeter for having taken so long to arrive :eek:.

Golden akoya from Hisano of little h jewelry and cream akoya from JCPenney. The golden akoya are about 5mm and the cream ones about 6mm (my 1st pearl necklace purchase!).

IMG_6500.jpg

IMG_6501.jpg

IMG_6509.jpg


I really liked the look of these two together and then thought, why not add a bit more. I almost reached for the Kojima akoya Keshi that I layered with last week's goldens but chose a multicolored South Sea strand instead. This piece formerly belonged to Pkinnew who purchased it from Pearl Paradise.

IMG_6498.jpg

IMG_6499.jpg

IMG_6496.jpg

IMG_6513.jpg

IMG_2158.jpg

IMG_2159.jpg

IMG_6522.jpg
 
Normally I drive my car to pick up my youngest from school. A week ago I had to walk there because my car had broken down. It was our first really hot day and I thought I was going to melt, but it was so beautiful out! Everything green and blooming and smelling INCREDIBLE! I would have completely missed it had I driven.

Took these just outside the school.

IMG_6213.jpg

IMG_6214.jpg
 
Oh my god, these look incredible together. And the blossoms are so lovely.
 
Back
Top