My Aunt Josie taught me to understand the Fall. Josie was my mom’s baby sister, the youngest of her family and more of a friend to me than just about anyone! We were friends first, family second. We shared jewelry, outfits, music, and books, and our summers, hanging out at her ranch. Josie was whip smart, financially independent and a fearless horsewoman. I think my mom was half terrified and half hopeful that I would take after her.

Personally, I’ve always lumped Fall with that impending dread of school, and the end of Summer was somewhat a time of adolescent gloom. I just hated that all the leaves, flowers and grass would be dying, and the days would get shorter, and there was just that unbearable sense of ENDING. I preferred springtime, the sense of new things growing and the excitement of a Summer full of fun ahead!

Aunt Josie loved autumn. And she took it kind of personal that I didn’t. Over the course of our summers together, she did manage to convert me to appreciate the changes brought by this season of death. Renewal of the earth and all that jazz. That leaves would die in a blaze of glorious color, fall to the ground and renew the earth, so that new green leaves would appear on that tree come spring… she was really into that. She always said, spring can’t happen without fall passing before.

Those lessons of renewal and rebirth are really important to me, now, because Aunt Josie passed away 3 years ago, a victim of breast cancer. We totally didn’t see it coming, and if she knew about it much beforehand, she didn’t let on. I don’t mind saying that I was really scared, for a while…could it happen to me? I found a ton of stuff to read about detecting and preventing breast cancer, and lots of great organizations that are spending money on helping other women with the disease…but it’s still a very chilling thought.

At the end of our last summer together, Aunt Josie gave me a back-to-school gift of a necklace, a delicate glass pendant in the shape of a new spring green leaf. It was kind of an inside joke, I guess, from the Fall Fanatic to the girl who preferred the spring. When I wear it, I think of renewal, and rebirth. Instead of being sad about Josie, I try to think of the women who have and will survive to see the next Spring.

Wishing Good Luck to You!

Throw out that chain mail! It’s bad luck, a scam, people who write them are scary! That’s always what I’ve heard. Usually when I receive a chain letter, I’m spooked for days, burning sage, spreading bowls of salt about my apartment to ward off the nasties. Of course there are always exceptions. Recently I received a very tempting chain letter. I had to participate.

Gemstone Jewelry!

Through the years I’ve received chain letters for money and recipes, even clothes and sandals. I’ve always passed but this last letter, well, being the gemstone jewelry gypsy I am; I just couldn’t resist a gemstone jewelry trade. The letter went like this:

Hey Guys and Gals,

Love gemstone jewelry? Here’s your chance for more gemstone jewelry!

Your favorite gemstone jewelry!

Click Here - Jewelry Coupons by Email

Choose your favorite gemstone jewelry. Write your preferred gemstone (affordable please) beside your name and that’s the gemstone jewelry you’ll get!

It’s Easy!

Send a piece of gemstone jewelry (wrap that gemstone jewelry carefully) to the person at the list’s top. Try to buy that person’s favorite gemstone. Cross that person off, writing your name, address and favorite gemstone at the bottom. Send this gemstone jewelry letter onto five more people.

You’ll receive your first piece of gemstone jewelry within days!

I’ve sent this gemstone jewelry letter over a dozen times, and I’ve never been disappointed. I now have a lot of gemstone jewelry.

Try it! You can’t lose with free gemstone jewelry!

Free Gemstone Jewelry!

Girls, I’m glad, glad, glad to say I shook the spookies and took the gemstone jewelry letter leap. I’ve already received 11 pieces of gemstone jewelry! My favorite gemstone jewelry? Well, you’ll just have to keep your eyes open for the gemstone jewelry letter.

Hot Hollywood couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, have taken their international family to Pune, India, where they are starring in A Mighty Heart, a biopic of journalist Daniel Pearl, who was gruesomely beheaded in 2002 after being taken hostage by terrorists in Pakistan. On Sunday afternoon, Brad and Angelina left their little ones, two year-old Zahara and four month-old Shiloh, back at the swanky Le Merdidian hotel, to take five year-old Maddox on a motorized rickshaw ride through the city.

As a family unit, “Brangelina” has built its reputation being devoted globe-trotting do-gooding humanitarians, and so it is a tad ironic that the family’s rickshaw ride turned into a rumble when their bodyguards ran roughshod over the trailing paparazzi.

The ill-fated Pitt-Jolie family outing immediately brought to mind similar trips from my youth. Having endured another Sunday morning church service, I would be in the backseat of the car looking forward to a lazy afternoon of unstructured activity when Mom would say the words that I feared the most… “isn’t it a lovely day for a Sunday drive?”

To be honest, there really never is a good time to be trapped inside a motorized vehicle with your family. My parents weren’t internationally famous movie stars being stalked by paparazzi, but they had their own personal demons. Once behind the wheel of a car, my father refused to stop or slow down for any reason whatsoever. My mother was a romantic, who was completely oblivious to the boring reality of being a kid stuck in a car on a Sunday afternoon.

I spent the duration of our last family outing laying on the backseat reading the entire contents of the church program out-loud. As we returned home, my mother was muttering under her breath how disappointed she was that I had never even once looked out the window at the pastoral scenery. But why should I? Dad wasn’t going to slow down long enough to let anything outside the car window be more than just a blur of color.

So my heart goes out to little Maddox Jolie-Pitt who had to endure the humiliation of having his family’s overzealous bodyguards beat up some photographers during his family’s tour of Pune, in the process potentially damaging the family’s reputation and quite possibly causing a lawsuit. Dear Maddox, there are much worse things that can happen to you during a Sunday afternoon drive…

In a perfect world life would be easy. We’d all get along and there wouldn’t be fighting. Yes, I’m being a little more serious than my normal column about fashion, jewelry, and celebrities. But…it’s around this time of year that I always think a little extra about my uncle and friend, David, who passed away in 1991.

Our family has always been pretty tight-knit – and Jenny (my aunt) and David, being only about 12 years older than me were more like close friends and mentors than your standard aunt and uncle. They dated forever and got married at the ripe-old age of 18, and were always smiling and laughing together. I remember learning all kind of things from both of them. Jen taking me showing me the “right” way to put on my lipstick. David calling that bad 6th grade “boyfriend” a jerk and making me feel better. Just all-around good memories.

Well, the “big D” (as his buddies used to call him) joined the Army right out of high-school and always told me just amazing stories. He got injured pretty bad in the first Gulf War, and…he was sent home. Seemed like he was going to recover, but things got pretty rough in the next few months. I was still pretty young (don’t want to totally give away my age!), and unfortunately, he passed away on November 11, 1991 – coincidentally enough, on Veteran’s day.

Yes, a sad story, but the years have passed, and Jen and I and the rest of our immediate family always spend Veteran’s Day together. We exchange little gifts, share some quiet times, a couple of tears and a bunch of laughs together. I like to give her a little gift every year…nothing too extravagant. Sometimes a little trinket, a charm, an Army pin. Something she can wear with pride.

The best part, is that on the 11th every year, she wears the gift I gave her the year before. So this year, she’ll be sporting a US Army watch I found at a surplus store last year. But, I think I’m running out of ideas!

I’m hoping some of you out there will give me some input. I’ve been thinking of maybe a little locket with an old picture, or even an Italian Charm bracelet that I can get customized with names and photos, or ….who knows?

So, please don’t hesitate to post a comment below with your ideas or stories. I was thinking about some kind of jewelry - I know someone out there has the perfect idea. (not too pricey, too!)

–MaryBeth

Well Lindsey Lohan was just beside herself when her favorite purse went missing the other day at Heathrow Airport in London. The good news is Lindsey’s purse was quickly recovered. Of course, considering that police performed an all out ‘celebrity’s purse is missing’ search for the bag, it is no surprise that it was found just three days after it went missing.

Now I’m sure that lots of bags get stolen or go missing at the airport, but of course, these are ‘normal’ women, not beloved stars like Lohan. Do you think the police would have made such a big deal if your or my purse was stolen? I think not. In my experience, if you tell a cop in an airport that your bag has been taken, generally they treat you as though you must have lost it. In the confusion. In our stupidity. Of course, it is no surprise that Lindsey Lohan would get the royal treatment. It’s just the way it is. Of course, I don’t think any of us would have, let alone be stupid enough to leave almost a million dollars worth of jewelry unattended either.

I wonder if Lindsey Lohan thought at all about the single mother with four kids working for minimum wage or the poor still-homeless souls whose lives were literally ripped out from under them during Hurricane Katrina while she was weeping and crying over the loss of her favorite overpriced bag. For some reason, I doubt it.

Recently my friend Julie announced she was getting married.  Of course I was over the moon.  Her fiancé is a great guy and it seems they’ve been together forever.  It was time!

A couple weeks later she called me up with a jewelry question.  All my friends know that I know a lot about jewelry (as I should).  Anyways, Julie wanted to know what kind of precious metal I thought she should get for her wedding ring.  Julie was torn.   On the one hand, she felt pressured to get a traditional yellow gold ring but on the other she’s always been a silver kind of girl.  This is true.  In all the years I’ve known her, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Julie wear gold jewelry.  Of course, Julie went on, sterling silver would be inappropriate.  She was disheartened.  She thought her hands were tied.  She thought she was going to be stuck with a yellow gold wedding ring.  Of course, I knew better.

Let me begin by saying that in my opinion, I don’t think anyone should feel pressured to buy any particular type of ring for their wedding ring.  In my opinion, if a couple wants to buy quarter machine rings to represent their eternal love then that’s what they should get.  That said, I thought it was worth mentioning to Julie that if she wanted a silver ring then she should get a silver ring.  Julie though, did not take to the idea.  Although she didn’t want a yellow gold ring, she did want to stick to some tradition.

Given all this information, I did have some suggestions.  Because it’s so hardy, I’ve always thought platinum is the way to go when buying a silvery-white metal.  However, platinum is pricey.  Both Julie and her husband to be work, but they are on a budget and let’s face it, weddings are expensive.  Taking all this into consideration, I suggested Julie choose a white gold ring. 

Now it’s not as though white gold is a new phenomena, but it’s really only been recently that people have been choosing white gold or platinum for wedding and engagement rings.  Thirty years ago it would have been a real rarity.  These days, even though white gold is becoming more popular, I still don’t think many people consider white gold straight away.  People have to be reminded about white gold.  Suffice to say, I reminded Julie about white gold.
  
Well Julie and her fiancé bought their white gold engagement rings and I’m delighted to say the white gold rings are beautiful!  Both Julie and her fiancée are thrilled.  They love the white gold.

On September 5, 2006 Pugster Inc. was featured on the front page of the Pasadena Star News. Co-Owners Vanessa Lee and Wen Chang were interviewed for the piece.

Specializing in Italian charms and Murano glass jewelry, Pugster also carries a full line of trendy fashion jewelry, including brooches, rings, pendants, watches, earrings, bracelets, and more. Pugster is consistently ahead of the trend, providing what’s hot now to fashion jewelry lovers nationwide.

Lee began selling Italian Charms online in 2000. They were a hit. In 2002, Pugster was officially founded. The company became so successful that Chang quit his job to work Pugster as well. Business has thrived. With over 10,000 Italian charms to choose from Pugster now has obtained contracts with corporations including Pepsi-Cola and Disney. Pugster even offers it’s own, one of a kind charms.

Pugster (eBay ID: pugster888) continuously ranks as the number recipient of positive feedback on eBay with over 1.2 Million positive reviews since June 2004, according to Novato Technology.

For more information about Pugster Inc., visit http://www.pugster.com/.

http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/entertainment/ci_4290562

Every other Friday or so, my mother and I head out to do some window shopping. It is a great tradition and we both love spending the time together (and doing the shopping!). Well this Friday, we had something in mind that we wanted to buy. Swarovski crystal! Because a friend of ours is a great collector of Swarovski crystal and her birthday is just around the corner, mom and I decided to buy her a piece of Swarovski crystal for the occasion. Well, we hadn’t counted on the selection of Swarovski crystal available to us.

The beauty of Swarovski crystal is unmatched. The distinctive cuts, broad spectrum of colors and selection set Swarovski crystal apart from all other crystal manufacturers. Swarovski crystal jewelry enthusiasts can find Swarovski crystal bangles and bracelets, Swarovski crystal earrings, necklaces and pendants, pins, rings and even tiaras. This is not to mention the many Swarovski crystal home goods, figurines and specialty items. Mom and I were stumped.

Of course being the shoppers that we are and after some time we finally found what we wanted: a pretty little Swarovski crystal pendant. It’s gorgeous! And you know what; I really think our friend is going to love it.

Brad Pitt is hot! With all those well defined muscles and sculptured bod, a girl could almost forget Jolie existed. But really, what is up with the recent Brad Pitt pic on esquire? I mean, come on, let’s take the hottest guy in Hollywood and dress him like Che Guevara mid-revolution. What the heck?

We want to see Brad Pitt the sex pot. We want to see the man in tight pants and designer shirts for heavens sakes. What was esquire thinking?

Brad Pitt dressed up in brown rags! Yes, of course, you could throw a sack on brad Pitt and he would still sizzle (remember how great Brad Pitt looked in Troy) but nonetheless, it’s Esquire!

Really, one has to wonder if this is Angelina’s doing, a political statement. I could see it: Brad honey, you can’t wear decent clothes. That’s exploitation of blah blah blah. Then again, maybe that could become our advantage. Maybe the guilt will get to them and next time we see Brad Pitt he’ll be in the buck!

Oops, did I say that out loud?

Imagine you’re a small business owner who sells your merchandise through eBay. You’ve got kids to support, a mortgage, car payments; you’re barely making ends meet despite the fact that you’re working 70 or more hours per week.

Imagine eBay pulls your auctions and suspends your account because a malicious competitor, customer, or corporate big wig claims you’re infringing upon a copyright when you’re not. Imagine the lost revenue. How are you going to pay for your groceries now?

This is what happens: someone files a report with eBay’s VeRO program claiming they think you’re infringing upon a copyright. They don’t have to prove anything. They just have to think your infringing. Well, eBay immediately pulls the products. Maybe they suspend your account too. You receive a brief notice from eBay letting you know what’s happened.

When you call VeRO, they inform that it’s your responsibility. You have to directly contact the people who filed the claim against you and have it out with them. Of course, since VeRO will not give out the accuser’s information, all you have is an e-mail address by with to contact this person/company. There is nothing, VeRO tells you, that they can do about it.

VeRO has no check and balance procedures in place. When VeRO receives a claim of copyright infringement, they do no work to ensure that the claim is valid.
Despite numerous days and e-mails to the accusatory party, you get no response. In the meantime, your income has been stopped in its tracks. Your innocent and you’re losing money with every passing hour. When you call VeRO again, they say they will take the case under consideration. Of course, your account will remain suspended in the meantime.

This is not the first time this has happened to you and you’re certainly not the only seller who has been faced with this problem. Companies and competitors file false claims against eBay sellers all the time. This is nothing new. The process is arduous and costly to innocent eBay sellers.

Many eBay sellers find accusations against them unfounded but take no action. Whether intimidated by the corporate monster, confused by the ethereal and complicated counter-notification process or simply disenchanted, eBay sellers frequently find themselves feeling helpless once their items are pulled or accounts suspended.

When, after however many days of stress and frustration, either VeRO decides that you were in the right all the time or the accusatory party decided they were mistaken and your account is reinstated, you find that there is little to be joyful about. You’ve been screwed. You’ve already lost a week worth of revenue (a quarter of your month’s salary), your wondering just how your going to afford little Johnny’s birthday present this year, and you know full well that you won’t receive so much as a sniffle of apology.

When eBay established VeRO in 1997, it did so in order to comply with the regulations of the soon to be established Digital Millennium Copyright Act or DCMA. Designed to protect against online copyright infringement, the DCMA included provisions under which companies like eBay would not be held accountable for fraudulent merchandise or copyright infringement upon their site.

Under the DCMA, all eBay (VeRO) has to do to keep its nose clean is pull any items that are claimed to be fraudulent. It doesn’t matter if the claims are true or not. It doesn’t matter if the seller loses income. It doesn’t matter if the seller is left with a marred reputation, VeRO has no responsibility to the seller at all under the DCMA and it doesn’t take any either.

Imagine you’re that eBay seller and your account it finally reinstated. Do you think the claim against you is going to be excused? Erased from your sellers record? Well it won’t. Even if an eBay seller is found innocent and the merchandise is reinstated, the record is not cleared. The eBay seller’s account will still show the claim of copyright infringement leaving the seller vulnerable to potential permanent shut down. On the other hand, VeRO members who make false claims again and again are not reprimanded in the least. In fact, they are free to bombard sellers with willy-nilly accusations as they please.

VeRO is unfair to honest, hard-working eBay sellers, if it doesn’t affect them (which it doesn’t), they simply don’t care. Furthermore, if you think eBay is going to change its policies anytime soon you’re kidding yourself.

If you’re an eBay seller you may as well just get accustomed to getting the shaft. It’s eBay’s way.