Mini Letter #1: Base

How I frost myself

One bit of lore about me is that I’ve had my ears pierced since I was three months old. I’m serious — there are very few baby pictures of me without little studs winking from my earlobes. My mother, a fellow jewelry-obsessed traveler, always said she loved the look of a baby with diamonds in her ears. So at three months, as soon as it was safe, she took me to the doctor’s office and had him slip a needle into each lobe, replacing it with a sparkler.

My initiation into jewelry had begun before I could even walk.

Look closely — there’s gold in them there ears!

Since then, I’ve gone through phases with my jewelry. I was a victim of the statement-necklace-in-the-club trend of the early aughties, the plastic black chokers of the late ‘90s, and the belly button ring craze of the Jersey Shore era. (Truly considering getting it re-pierced.) All great phases, but all phases that felt like me grasping onto trends as opposed to finding pieces I wanted to wear every single day.

But lately, I’ve settled into a base layer of pieces that just feels correct for me. It’s not minimal, by any sense of the word. But they’re the pieces I put on every single morning, and take off gingerly every single evening. Jewelry has always felt less experimental to me than fashion. I like putting on (mostly) the same jewelry every day. It allows a sense of consistency, a bit of a visual indicator of who I am as a human. So I don’t change it all that often.

Here are the pieces I wear every day — a mix of heirloom pieces and new baubles — and the stories that go along with them.

1. Madewell earrings: I’ve gotten more ear piercings since in the 36 years since my first. These chunky huggies have taken permanent residency in the second holes of each ear.

2. Sezane earrings: I love the elongated shape of these hoops — they’re a little different, and I wear them daily in the piercing holes that have been with me since I was a baby.

3. Simple gold ring: My wedding band was made by my brother’s fiancée from an old necklace of my grandmother’s, and when it was finished, she had some gold left over. So she made me this elegant, chunky gold band that I wear on the bottom of a stack on my right ring finger.

4. Huggie ring: This ring, which is from a now-out-of-business jewelry company owned by a former coworker, sits right on top of the simple gold ring.

5. SOLO Jewelry Arden Gemstone necklace: I met Alyson from SOLO Jewelry at a local artisan show that my mother was working at with her soap and candle company. I was instantly obsessed with her gemstone necklaces. They’re meticulously crafted, incredibly gorgeous, and perfect for layering — and being the Pisces that I am, I believe in wearing gemstones as a way to channel good energy. I wear my Arden every single day. (You can use code Maria15 to get 15% off your order at SOLO Jewelry.)

6. SOLO Jewelry Strand necklace: I have a second necklace from SOLO which is more of a choker — it goes so perfectly with my Arden and all of my other necklaces. An ideal stacking piece.

7. Nameplate: Like most Italian-American little girls, I got a nameplate necklace when I was a little girl. My grandmother’s cousin was a jeweler, and so this came from his shop.

8. St. Gerard pendant: I bought this pendant shortly after Ben and I started trying to get pregnant. St. Gerard is the patron said of mothers and women trying to conceive. This is the only necklace I wear to sleep — I’m superstitious about taking it off, even though the guy’s been dragging his feet a bit.

9. Pearl bracelet: The pearls on this bracelet were actually part of a necklace that broke. I loved them so much that I re-strung them onto a piece of elastic and wear it around

10. Fertility bracelet: Another gemstone piece that is also another fertility piece. The stones of this bracelet are meant to bring good baby energy.

11. Wedding band + engagement ring: I love my wedding and engagement rings. The diamonds and some of the gold are from my paternal grandmother’s wedding ring, and the rest of the gold is from a necklace that belonged to my maternal grandmother. It was so important to me that my rings have family history. The only new piece in either ring is the sapphire, which Ben wanted me to have because it matched by eyes. He proposed to me with molds of a few rings with differently-shaped sapphires, and I got to choose the one I wanted. Our first collaboration.

12. Pinky ring: The last ring is my father’s old pinky ring. (Again, Italian-Americans.) It fits perfectly on my right pointer finger and has the coolest cluster of nugget diamonds I’ve ever seen.

See you Sunday for some sauce xx