I've been doing quite a bit of travelling this year, and the one thing that always stumps me is how to properly pack and store my jewelry while I'm out and about exploring the world. Do you have any tips and tricks? The following tips will help you protect and manage your jewelry wherever you travel!

Travel LightSelect items that you can wear throughout the day or evening and choose the ones that go with most of your outfits. Keep a register of all your precious jewelry and make copies. Leave one at home and take one with you on your travels. A video or photograph of special pieces is also helpful for replacement or insurance purposes.

Purchase Inexpensive JewelryThe risk of losing valuable pieces can cause stress during your vacation. A simple solution is to purchase jewelry items that have the appearance of real diamonds and gold, but are available at stores such as Michael Hill for a fraction of the cost. Fake diamonds look almost real, but with the advantage of no panic attack if they are stolen or get lost.

Travel OrganizersA travel organizer for your jewelry will help manage smaller pieces while avoiding damage to jewelry. Excessive exposure can harm items. Some metals may tarnish and scratch. Avoid excessive wear and tangled chains by placing items in a separate case. Check regularly in order to make sure that stones and clasps have not become loose or broken.


Keep Valuables with YouPlace items in your carry-on luggage or wear pieces that are more expensive. Avoid placing any valuables in luggage that you plan to check at the airport. Slip necklaces beneath the neckline of your shirt and turn your diamond ring so that the stone doesn’t show. Carry personal belongings with you while checking into your hotel room.

Insure Valuables Insurance policies can help protect valuables for a nominal amount. Reliable insurance will cover your fine jewelry wherever you go, assuring you peace of mind.

*Disclosure: This is a guest post

Lately I've been obsessed with Etsy. I spend so much time on that site, browsing and adding items to my cart nonstop. I literally have 50 items sitting in my cart right now and it's so hard not to buy it all! Good thing my Visa bill stops me :)

Anyway, we're skipping Manicure Monday this week for something better! I want to introduce you to Christina, owner of the Etsy shop Christina M. Boutique. Christina is based out of New York, selling gorgeous handmade bracelets and necklaces in a wide array of colours and materials. One of the items I've received from her is the Elle necklace in lavender, and I absolutely love how the necklace brings a soft pop of colour to any outfit.

Blazer: bought in Asia | Top & Bandeau: CR | Jeans: J Brand
Pumps: bought in Asia | Accessories: bfrend, Coach & Chrstina M. Boutique
Christina's shop just recently released some new designs, but I'm happy to say she has offered the Elle necklace in any colour to one of my readers! The necklace is a wonderful piece featuring a gold chain & soft ribbon. It will automatically glam up any outfit! If you're interested in winning the necklace, simply follow the guidelines below.


MANDATORY ENTRIES

1. Like Christina M Boutique on Facebook
2. Follow this blog via GFC
3. Leave a comment below about your favourite piece from her shop!

All 3 must be completed for any entries to be counted

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES

1. Follow Christina on Twitter (@Shop_ChristinaM)(+1)
2. Favourite her Etsy shop on your Etsy account.
3. Follow me on Twitter (@littlmissandrea)(+1)
4. Tweet ("Enter to win the Elle Necklace from @littlmissandrea & @Shop_ChristinaM http://t.co/eSEAjX2M")(+2)
5. Follow Little Miss Andrea via Bloglovin' (+1)

Please fill out the relevant fields in the Rafflecopter widget below - those are the only entries that will be counted. The giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents 18+ years of age, or with parental consent. The winner will be chosen randomly on April 6th, 2012, and have until April 10th to claim his/her prize.

Make sure to check out Christina's shop. Good luck everyone!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Finished writing another midterm today! I finally feel like I can sit back and relax.. for a day or two before I need to start studying for another one. Exams at school feel like they've been non-stop this semester. Can't wait til my 4 month break is here! Just gotta get through these last two months :)

I received an email from a reader asking for a better picture of the bouquet ring from the Tony Duquette x Coach accessories collection.

The bouquet ring itself is a statement piece, and the colours of crystals used for the petals and pollen of the flowers look so lovely together. While I know big statement pieces are often a worry for petites, my hands are quite small and I assure you that I love the ring and try to wear it at every opportunity I get! It definitely covers more of my hand than the YSL Arty ring, and is very similar in circumference to my boyfriend watch (pic below). The height itself rises higher than the arty as well, so its not like you can ignore the fact that it's sitting on your hand.











The ring is not too heavy, but may take a bit of time to get used to if you don't wear much jewelry on a daily basis to begin with. When wearing it, I would suggest to let it shine - don't wear anything over the top that would pull attention away from the ring. Be minimalistic if you choose to wear other jewelry, and I think most importantly, confidence is key. If you don't feel you can pull off a larger sized ring, why would anyone think it looks good on you either? Be confident in anything you wear! :)

In other news.. I wanted to share with you some of the jewelry I've picked up lately! I've been on a huge jewelry kick lately - especially if its gold, or if its from BCBG. Seriously, I don't think I should step into another store for a while, because I always buy something before leaving the store!


BCBG Beaded Ball Ring | bfrend COCO Bracelet | BCBG Pave Spike Ring
BCBG Pave Leaf Ring | F21 Anchor Necklace



The bfrend COCO Bracelet by Monika of The Doctor's Closet has such a beautiful design. The pearls add femininity to the gold base metal material. The bracelet is surprisingly lightweight, and the chains almost feel like light plastic - makes me wonder what the material actually is?





The BCBG pave spike ring is current & in stores - you can purchase it online through their website. The ring is lighter than I thought it would be, but still carries some weight to it. I haven't worn it out yet, but can't wait to!



I started writing up this post this morning before I headed to school. And after writing my midterm, wouldn't you know it, I ended up inside BCBG on my way home! I saw this beautiful pave leaf cuff and had to pick it up. So happy that its mine :)

Anyone else obsessed with jewelry lately?

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February 29th happens once every 4 years - and it happens to be the last day to enter my appreciation giveaway! I will be announcing the winner within the next two days :)

Gosh, I'm terrible. I've written three midterms over the past two days and my brain is at the point of meltdown.. It's been quite a while since my post about the Coach & Tony Duquette collaboration.. and I know you want to see what I picked up. All the pictures were taken via Instagram! Yes, I'm still obsessed.

So look no further:

Love, love, love this collection. Hope you enjoyed the eye candy!

And if you haven't done so yet, enter my appreciation giveaway!

After a (somewhat) long absence, I'm back! Last week was extremely cold in Edmonton.. with windchill, temperatures dipped down to -45 degrees celcius. I tried to convert that into Fahrenheit with those unit converters on the internet - all of them failed me! So I took the liberty of doing calculations by hand and figured it out for my American readers. -45 Celcius = -49 Fahrenheit. SO. COLD. Stepping outside of my house was a nightmare.

Anyway. If you haven't heard about this collaboration already, I want to share it with you today! For those of you who have been following my blog for a while now, it shouldn't be a surprise to you that I love the American brand, Coach. This month, Coach has collaborated with the team at Tony Duquette to design a line of fashion jewelry and accessories.

During his time, Tony Duquette was a world renowned artist and designer. He designed costumes and sets for movies, winning him awards, and even designed jewelry for royalty during his career. He has had numerous exhibits at museums around the world and is well respected in the world of art and design.

When I first laid eyes on the preview pictures of the collection, there were a few pieces I coveted. But over the past week.. I have found myself to love more, and more, and more. Here's the pieces I love.

And of course, I've been trying to stick to my new years resolution of budgeting and spending less.. but I've been bad this month. I'll try again in February.. haha



... Anyone want to guess what I picked up?? :) I will reveal everything later this week!

By the way, I'm now on Instagram! Find me! I'd love to see your pictures :)

Hope everyone is having a great start to the weekend! I for one have three midterms coming up next week, so please go out and have fun for my sake!

I picked up this new piece yesterday from BCBG while walking aimlessly around the mall.

I love that it's simple & edgy. Can't wait to play dress up with it.

ALSO, for anyone looking for statement jewelry, or costume jewelry in general, Forever 21 is having 30% off all their jewelry this weekend. Shop, shop, shop and let me know if you get anything! :)

As I had posted back in the month of June, Swarovski recently announced the collaboration with Sanrio to bring about the Hello Kitty collection

The collection is full of jewelry pieces, accessories, and crystal figurines, but I only had my eye on one piece: the crystal pendant.

As the colletion was released on August 1st in Canada, my local Swarovski store received a low number of stock for the necklace, and they quickly sold out. After about two weeks of waiting, the sales associate was able to track one down in Vancouver for me, and then it finally arrived in my hands.

In reality, I didn't know what to expect when looking at the pendant. Sure, I have another Swarovski necklace, but the crystal detailing definitely would not be as intricate as the Hello Kitty pendant. Another curious thought in my mind was regarding the size. In the advertisements, the pendant looked gigantic on the model, whereas the measurements on the website made it seem much smaller.



Once I laid eyes on the pendant, I couldn't be happier.



The actual size of the pendant is smaller than the Canadian quarter, but larger than both the dime & nickel. Personally, I think it is a great size - not so small that no one would take notice, but not so big that it looks tacky.



The drop length of the chain is roughly 25cm at its longest, and can be adjusted to as short as 22.5 or 20cm. It is not heavy when worn, and should be safe from hitting any objects when worn.



The beauty of this pendant is truly seen when shining in natural sunlight. The way the light refracts through the crystal is beautiful. Its so cute and I can't wait to wear it out. The necklace retails $150 USD/$160 CAD, and can be purchased at free standing Swarovski stores or online through their website.

Let me know if you pick out anything from this collection! :)

Thanks to the heads up from miss Steph over at DSK Jewelry, I found out about the upcoming collaboration between Swarovski & Sanrio to bring out the Hello Kitty collection!

While we have all seen the crystallized jewelry and accessories from various brands, like Kimora Lee Simmons, there has never officially been a collaboration with the famous house of crystal to bring forth this iconic character.

Looking at the press pics, I feel like a lot of this jewelry is going to be too childish, or rather blinged out for my liking. There's only one necklace I'm going to pursue:

In stores August 2011. Find out more & see more pictures here