So pleased to announce that.......................

.............the wonderful (Tiffany) Taylor Kenney has joined our boutique.
For most of my American friends,family and customers, you will probably already be aware of her gorgeous designs. But for all my European friends, family and customers she will certainly be a new designer for you/us.

Apart from her designs conjuring up everything that epitomises Mediterranean summers (see her pieces below), what really struck me was what a lovely person she really is.
Trust me, I have dealt with my share of designers who are real brats; the type that believe you owe "them" a living, despite all the free PR and marketing they get from being on our site (sorry, rant over!). Tiffany on the other hand was SO gracious,accommodating and down-to-earth that we really want to pull out all the stops for her.(We have also been approached by Marie Claire (UK) and Good Housekeeping magazines to feature in their mags this summer, and we hope this will give a real boost to her profile in Europe when we are featured).

Just take a look at these gorgeous designs:

>The Crete Necklace is a long statement piece, composed of a vibrant turquoise drop framed by a hand crocheted gold border. The pendant measures 1.5 inches in length and drops from 30 inches of gold filled chain - €88.00


The Vanessa Necklace drops a colorful cascade of brilliant gemstones, including amethyst, garnet, blue topaz and smoky quartz, from a delicate gold chain. This necklace measures seventeen inches long, with the gemstone drop creating an additional two and a half inches of length. 14 karat gold fil -€148.00

(I am definitely buying one of these for summer as it is my namesake!)



The Noelle Necklace is composed of a delicate strand of grey freshwater pearls leading to a stunning sky blue amazonite drop framed in crochet. The drop measures one inch in length. A very unique and lovely piece! Eighteen inches long, 14 karat gold fill - €88.00


The Lily Earrings are glowing baby blue aquamarine drops encased in a frame of handwoven crochet. Such beauties! Just over one inch long. Gold filled earwires - €85.00


The Branch Earrings are meandering gold vermeil branches which have been adorned with tiny blue-green sapphire drops. Finished with gold filled earwires, these earrings measure two inches in length - €85.00



The Celeste Earrings are luminous gold circles lined with teal apatite gemstones.. Suspended beneath these circles are cascades of peridot, apatite and fairly traded gold vermeil faux coral branches. Length is 2.75 inches. Gold filled earwires - €85.00



I personally have already ear-marked some pieces I want for the summer. I would love to hear your thoughts/views.

As a special promotion, we are offering all our blog/Twitter followers a 15% discount on any Taylor Kenney product from our site (there are many more products displayed there). This offer will end on Sunday 13 March 2011.

What my dog Lola taught me.

When I lived in the UK I had a beautiful little terrier called Lola.
Lola was an absolute “babe”. She could lift my spirits within minutes of being with her. She always could sense if I was sad or morose, and at times like this she would quietly come and park herself near me; it was her way of saying “I’m here for you”.

Lola and I would go for long walks, play, run around the garden, visit my Dad who lived up the road (she seemed to always sense when I was visiting him) and generally enjoyed our time together as only man and dog can. But one day Lola taught me a lesson that has come back to me many, many, times.

It happened one day when my husband and I had just returned from a business trip, and as always Lola made us feel so welcome with her wagging tail and little yelps and jumps (she only had little legs). She was so excited to see us she started running all over the place like a little demented thing. So her and I went for a walk in some open spaces. She carried on running around like a terrier on acid ( just try and imagine this!)

After a while it was time for us to go back so I walked up to Lola to put her leash on her. The minute she saw me coming she bolted for it in the opposite direction. I ran after her, but the more I chased her the faster she went. And let me tell you those little legs have some power in them. I chased, and she continued to run faster. The more I chased the farther away she got. This kept on for about 10 minutes. All I kept thinking was how was I going to explain to my husband that I lost our baby; our baby who has tiny little legs and is no taller than a few inches high. Lola obviously thought this was a new game because every time I stopped running, she kept turning around and looking at me, as if to say “catch me if you can”.

Suddenly a new idea came to me. I turned around and started running away from Lola. Immediately she chased after ME, and came right up close so that I could put the leash on her.

So what did this teach me? Well, solutions to our problems are sometimes like Lola. The more we chase after solutions, the farther away they seem to be. The answers seem to run away from us. However, when we stop running and put the problem out of our minds, the answers start running toward us.

Don’t run after the answers to your problems. Just relax, become quiet and let the answers flow into your mind. The longest conversation we have is with ourselves from the moment we wake up to the moment we fall asleep.

Because we are busy talking to ourselves, the internal noise crowds out the very answers we’re seeking. It is in becoming still that we start to hear the answers to our problems; we start to recognize the still small voice of the universe.

It doesn’t matter what the problems are. It could be a matter of money, relationships or health. The same force that solves one problem could solve any of the others. All we have to do is stop running, get quiet and create an environment in our being where the solutions can come to us.

As Lola proved, desperately running after the solutions to your problems causes more resistance, and the very solutions you need will run away from you (it’s one of the principle rules of the Law of Attraction). Stop running, quiet your mind, stop thinking about the problem (this is really important!) and the solutions will come and find you. This really works. Try it!

What solutions do you use for solving your problems?

The Winners Are........................................??

OK, our Twitter competition ended and we were completely over-whelmed by the number of followers we attracted. Our goal was a little ambitious, and I seriously never thought we would get there. So imagine my surprise and appreciation when we surpassed our goal.

So our worthy winners selected by random.org (sorry don't know how to put the image on my blog!) are:




1st prize-@helgwd
2nd prize @altdawn aka The Alternative Wife

(so pleased one of the winners selected was from the blog).

A HUGE thank you to everyone who played. Sorry, if you didn't win, but we will have another competition very soon.

As a thank you to all who participated,we are offering a 20% discount on anything from our boutique for 1 WEEK ONLY (offer ends Wednesday 23 Feb). Gift vouchers cannot be redeemable against this offer.

Valentines Best-sellers!

This is just a very quick post to keep you all posted with what sold best over Valentines (lots of lucky ladies out there today!!)



Of course these are an obvious choice, and this colur and the gun-metal grey (the same ones that are the 2nd prize in our competition) sold very well.



Many of these bracelets were bought with the names of both of the couple engraved on the discs. This is one of my favs for an occassion like Valentines.



Of course Stacking rings are very popular now, so it was inevitable that these would sell well. A great choice as the recipient can add to them as she pleases.


We also sold quite a few of this gorgeous solid silver cuff,which has been designed using real buttons. This will certainly make a girl stand out from the crowd!



Thankfully the men in our lives weren't forgotten either!

There you have it!
Don't forget tomorrow is our competition draw, so keep your eyes peeled. Good luck to all my lovely friends (I wish you could ALL win something!)





All items available from LUXURIA

SMELL THE FLOWERS ON YOUR SIDE OF THE PATH!

This is a really wonderful story…………

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course the perfect pot was proud of it’s accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of it’s own imperfection and miserable that it could only do half of what what it had been made to do. After 2 years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream.



“I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to the house”. The old woman smiled, “Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path but not on the other pot’s side? That’s’ because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.”


Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it’s the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You’ve just got to take each person for what they are and look at the good in them.


SO to all my “crack pot” friends, what flaws have you embraced? Whatever they are just remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!!!!

What Colour Are You?

Being a Psychologist,and now a jewellery designer, I am intrigued by what colours say about a person, and how they see the world.

I am intrigued by the insight you can gain from simple questions about colour; viewing the depths of the person, and seeing the coloured glasses they view themselves through.

I saw this questionnaire (I'm really sorry I can't remember where!) and I have adapted it slightly to learn a bit more about the lovely people who follow my blog.
The original questionnaire was very long (about 50 questions) but I've condensed it as I know time is of the essence for most of us. So I have listed about 15 "adapted" questions below, and will do some others during another post.

Do take a few minutes to play in the hope we can learn more about each other; it's just a few minutes of fun. My answers are in bold italics.


1) What’s your favorite colour?
Deep, rich purple

2) What’s your least favorite color?
Brown (any shade!)

3) What comes to mind when you think about your favorite color?
Rich jewels


4) How does this color make you feel?
Warm,rich, opulent

5) Has ______ always been your favorite color?
From about age 30

6) What does color mean to you?
Beauty, happiness


7) How do you use color in your daily life?
Usually with my jewellery, a good scarf, a small accessory


(Jewellery available from Luxuria)


8) Are you comfortable letting someone else choose the colors you live in? the colors you wear? Perhaps to live in, but not to wear



9) Is it difficult for you to make decisions involving color? If so, why?
No! In fact I had my colours professionally done about 20 years ago, so I know what suits me and what to steer clear of


10) Would you paint your bedroom your favourite colour?
No, but I have used my favorite colour for accents in the past



11) If not, what color would you choose? Why?
Purple would be too heavy in a summer climate. My current bedroom is a soothing Duck Egg Blue


12) What was the last purchase you made based heavily on color?
A bag from Loewe


13) What color was that purchase?
Black and cream

14) What drew you to that color?
It's classic versatility


15) What color do you most like to wear?
Black



p.s for those of you pulling your hair out thinking I've spent "colour" wrong, I haven't. Blame it on my Britishness ;-)

Book Reveiw-29 Gifts

OK, despite being an avid reader (I devour books!) I have never felt strongly enough to do a book review; that was until I read this book- ’29 Gifts’ by Cami Walker.


This is a book about 33 year Cami Walker who was diagnosed with MS a few months after she got married. Her life is about to change forever just as she starts married life with her beloved husband. She really has given up the will to live as she realizes that so many of her dreams will never now come to fruition. Then Cami receives an uncommon prescription from a friend, an African medicine woman named Mbali Creazzo: Give 29 gifts in 29 days. The very skeptical Cami was told “you will be focusing on what you have to offer others, inviting more abundance into your life”. After much reluctance and internal battles, Cami decided to give it a go. She astounded with what unfolded in her life just through the simple act of giving.



29 Gifts is a poignant and unforgettable story of embracing the natural process of giving and receiving-showing just how simple, daily practises of altruism can dramatically alter your outlook on life. It’s not about giving huge amounts of money and expensive gifts. It’s about “giving” a friend a shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen, “giving” something you’ve made, “giving” a gorgeous shell you found on the beach.........the list is endless.



What Cami found was that she had a fundamental shift in her mindset that resulted in a greater sense of freedom and joy. She actually was able to engage in life instead of just tolerating it; showing up in the world in a different way.

I have found personally that giving does other things for the "giver" also:
i)when you give with an open heart, you receive the profound gift of humility
ii) gratitude keeps your heart open
iii) giving opens space for me to receive. The Universe hates a vacuum and it will do it's utmost to fill it.
iv) when you give from a place of service, honesty and fullness you feel revitalised
v) when I practise making mindful connections with others, my life feels meaningful-therefore it is
vi) I rarely move back into a place of scarcity when I remember to give mindfully each day



Cami has a fab website www.29Gifts.org where thousands have now joined the challenge to give for 29 days (why 29 days? You have to read to find out why). She also has a Facebook page where she posts her daily gifts.


I’ve decided to "officially" become part of her worldwide goodwill movement; a collective mission to create a grassroots revival of the giving spirit in the world. As of writing her book nearly 5,000 people in 38 countries have committed themselves to the challenge by signing up on her website. I started my challenge on 1 Feb 2011 and will keep you posted here; why not join me?



Finally, what’s your view about giving? Should it be something that is done anonymously. Is secret giving more powerful? Or do you believe that it’s not necessary for a gift to be kept secret for it to be transformational.
I would love to hear you views.

Luxuria Competition Update!!!!

OK friends, we started our competition 4 days ago, and I am so overwhelmed by the response, that my gratitude has got the better of me (again!).

When we started the competition we had about 250+ followers on Twitter, and our goal was 800 followers. However, despite selection 800, deep-down I thought maybe it was just a tad too ambitious. Well much to my shock, in just 4 days, we have nearly reached 700, and we still have 9 days before the competition ends.

So I have decided to throw another prize into the pot as a thank you to eryone who has supported our competition!

Second prize will be these GORGEOUS Swarovski crystal heart earrings which are in a shade called 'Night-shade'- a divine gun-metal grey. When these catch the light they are really stunning, and I think the lucky recipient will be the envy of all her friends! I have a pair and have had many clients wiling to buy them directly off my ears! They really are beautiful.


Second prize-What do you think?

So my lovely friends, your chances of winning a prize from LUXURIA has just shot up!

Competition Time at LUXURIA!!!

OK, here's our first competition for 2011.

The prize is this beautiful ring in rhodium or pink gold plated (pink-gold plated as shown), in Amethyst, in the size of your choice (depending on size availability).
Isn't it gorgeous?



All you have to do is become a follower of ours on Twitter. We need to reach 800(hoping this is not too ambitious!) followers by 16 Feb 2011 for the draw to take place. You can follow us @VanLuxuria or click on our icon to the right.



If you are already a follower, you will be automatically entered; I would also like to say a sincere thank you for following us.
Is your job done? Not quite. We need you to tweet about the competition so that we reach our number! (I know you thought you got off easily)




GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!

Who Said Anything About Being Perfect?

It's time to leave Perfection town




Dear God

“Help me not to be a perfectionist (did I spell that correctly?)”
“Help me to relax about insignificant details, beginning tomorrow at 7:41:23 am”
“Help me to not try to run everything….but, if you need some help, please feel free to ask me…..”

Mmmm, sound like someone?

Where exactly have we got the message that we need to be perfect? Where was that written down, because I can’t for the life of me seem to remember ever seeing it anywhere. And yet, we all try to be perfect.

Well I don’t know about you, but I’ve decided to give up striving for perfection and have decided that EXCELLENCE is a better objective.



When we aim for perfection in everything, I think, we are unconsciously setting ourselves up for certain failure. After all there’s only ONE way to be perfect in any particular endeavour and SO many ways (an infinite number of ways) to be less than perfect. For example:

*What does it take to ruin a perfect day? Just one little 15-seconds of unpleasantness

*What does it take to ruin the perfect “significant other?” Just one little annoying habit



But excellence takes into acount our “imperfections”.

Subsequently, it also becomes extremely liberating to stop demanding that everyone else be perfect too (and believe me THEY also feel liberated!)

I discovered that my own urge to be perfect was a need to CONTROL everything and everyone. But we don’t have to control the creative process. In fact, we can’t!!! We just have to get what we really do want clear in our minds and proceed from there, through the rest of the process. Now instead of thinking about being “better than” or “the best at…”, I just aim at being really good at what I am doing. It now feels right, and it gives me a LOT to reach for, because there’s definitely a “gap” there to relax into. But now, this objective doesn’t beat me over the head every time I make a little mistake….and it keeps me from beating other people over the head when they make mistakes too!




Hmmm, maybe you would like to resign your position from the Perfection Police.
I mean think about. People who call themselves perfectionists are really IMperfectionists. They are always looking for what’s wrong, not what’s right.


So my prescription: Expect excellence from yourself in a way that motivates and inspires you, but don’t set yourself up to fail at being perfect every minute.

The 3 Reasons People Come into Our Lives

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person.


Image via stylesncream.blogspot.com


When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then without any wrong-doing on your part, or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring this relationship to an end. Sometimes the ending is created by death. Sometimes they just walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.This is usually really hard for me-letting go. But as I have grown older I have come to realize (through trial and error) that trying to force these friendships to continue is usually detrimental, and can lead to a once beautiful friendship becoming quite toxic.


Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelieveable amount of joy. Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.


LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons, things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.
My best friend Pri and I have been friends for 20+ years. We now only see each other once a year (when I travel back to the UK), but when we do it is like NO time has passed. We simply pick up where we left off. Of course we communicate year-long by phone or e.mail. When either of us needs a listening ear we always know the other will be there. On the other hand, when either of us have good news, we are the first to call each other. When she recently graduated from University as a mature student I am sure she could have heard me cheering from Spain! Also when I started my boutique, she was the first person I told, and she was my first customer. She is definitely a "lifetime" friend and I couldn't imagine my life without her being in it (without us living in each others pockets). In fact I love her more than I do my own sister (but that's a whole other post!)


Any thoughts?
Do you have a "Pri" in your life?

Love her or hate her!

Well this month Victoria Beckham is gracing the cover of yet another Vogue (UK) for the sixth time on her own! Pretty impressive I think.

Now she has had her critics for as far back as I can remember but I have always loved her. Why?

It doesn’t seem to matter who knows her, they all seem to say the same thing; she is the funniest and most down-to-earth person they know. That surely doesn’t come easy when you have the world at your feet, are married to one of the most gorgeous men on the planet (well I think so!), and seem to have clothes and shoes that the rest of us can only dream of.

I remember when she appeared in Ugly Betty, the cast and crew were so surprised that she arrived at the studio only with her husband and her children; not a PA in sight!

Simon Cowell (who certainly doesn’t suffer fools gladly) said that she was the most down-to-earth celebrity he knew. That really is a compliment.


What I like about her is that all the time the British and Spanish press tore her to shreds, she just kept her head down. She didn’t retaliate; she just kept working hard at everything she did.

All my Spanish friends hate here and I think that is purely down to the press she received when David Beckham was playing in Spain for Real Madrid. She resisted living in Spain for many years, spoke of her dislike of garlic, and the Spanish have never forgiven her for that (if it's true).

Thankfully the US press (who love a “trier”) embraced her, and consequently she has come into her own and blossomed. I for one am really pleased for her. The British (especially the British press) seem to love building people up only to then get great pleasure from tearing them down. This has thankfully not happened since she moved to the US where the whole family have been embraced. So why are we Brits so surprised she wants to stay in the US?

She is definitely like Marmite; you either love her or hate. I definitely love her. Beneath the glossy mane, false eylashes and Berkin bags is a fighter with a steely ring of determination that never falters ; I love that!

What’s your view?
See more of the interview at www.vogue.co.uk

Our Divas Don't Sleep!

OK, so here we are just finishing the first week in January, and when most people are shopped out and recovering from the holiday season, the Divas that buy from our boutique are still shopping (I am not complaining, just very, very grateful!)
Here's the items that were most popular as we kicked off 2011.


OK this was actually bought at the end of December by my wonderful blog friend Adrienne over at The Rich Life on a Budget
In fact she bought the new color called Fume (which is so new I don't have a photo from the designer yet).Basically it's a gorgeous smoky, brown, tobacco color. Adrienne bought it as a reward for her new exercise regime (pop over to her blog and read all about her efforts; it's truly inspirational if you are in a "fitness funk" after the holiday indulgences). I'm hoping once her ring arrives she will post a photo so you can all the see the new color.




A few people purchased this ring this week.As you can see from the second photo, it opens up like a locket and is deep/big enough to put a sentimental momento inside. One customer wanted to put a lock of her sisters hair after her sister died from cancer at the end of last year. How heartbreaking!




If you are all "glitzed out" after the party season, these earrings seem to be quite popular; I think it's because after all the glitz and glamor, these are still classy enough to wear during the day without looking like a Christmas tree.I know mine have been on my ears quite a bit this week.



Finally the earrings that made it onto the ears of an MTV Diva, sold quite a few at the end of last year and this week. Who is the Diva? Don't be naughty, you know I can't tell. OK, you naughty bunnies, here are some clues: She is a singer-song- writer, she plays the piano, she had a hit last year singing about a very special city in America, and she has just had a baby boy!

OK, so there you have it, a quick update of what our loyal Divas bought this week.







All items available from LUXURIA

Happy New Year from Luxuria!

Well a belated Happy New Year to all my wonderful blogger friends. As some of you will already know from my tweets I went back to a snowy UK for Christmas. After having my flight canceled for 4 days running and feeling like I would never get there, we finally arrived on the 23 Dec.It was certainly worth all the countless wasted hours sitting in Seville airport.



A gloomy day outside Kensington Palace. I always feel really sad when I pass the late Princess Diana's home


I never expected to find them cooking a paella outside an old English pub. Very strange!


Shopping in Fortnum & Masons (London) on Christmas Eve



Knightsbridge Arcade in "Ye Olde England" style; really classy shops



Who said you can't eat cupcakes for breakfast! (Harrods Food Hall, London)



Having only arrived back 2 days ago I am still catching up on all the wonderful blogs I missed, and thought I would just touch base with you all in case some of you thought I had dropped off the edge of the earth!

Firstly I want to start this year by saying a HUGE thank you to all the wonderful friends/followers I have obtained since I started blogging a few months ago (yes, I really am a "blog virgin!") You have all made me feel so welcome on the blogsphere, as well as teaching me so much about how it is all done. I have suffered from serious "blog envy" with practically every blog I follow, and usually have to go and lie down after reading some of your fab blogs in the hope that lying horizontally may help my creative juices (so far it hasn't worked!) Therefore, I hope I can continue to learn from all of you very talented bloggers. It's been an absolute pleasure getting to know you all and I hope our friendships continue throughout this year.

With regards our boutique, I am looking forward to lots of exciting things here at Luxuria HQ. Our first in-house design (designed by moi!) has now been made, and I am just waiting for the samples to arrive. I hope I will be able to show it to you in my next blog post. Here's some hints to wet your appetite; it has been designed specifically for the "pinky" finger and includes black onyx in the design. I can only describe it as decadent, classy and indulgent! Keep your eyes peeled. We may run a competition with this new design as the prize. Have I teased you enough?

Also we are in discussions with more fab designers who want to showcase their wares in our boutique, so as they start coming on board I will let you all know.

So I will end this short post by just wishing you all health, happiness, and of course lots of "bling" for 2011.