To me. Love, me.

"... care is cast in to my heart
and true love locked thereto."

- Henry VIII

Went to the mall to replace my boots but never made it to Macy's. Instead I picked up a "famous $5 t-shirt" from Old Navy (2k6 Valentine's edition: quite ugly but for $5 it'll do), and then wandered up to Le Lotus Bleu, where the employees always outnumber the shoppers. Creepy. Since I was on that side, I decided to peek at the Harry Winston and Tiffany displays (candy-themed!), and then thought it would be a good time to get my Tiffany heart-toggle necklace adjusted, like I've been meaning to for quite some time.

Tiffany, gentle reader, has "Intelligent Design" down pat. Intelligent Design is placing customer service in the very, very, very, very, very back of the store. Beyond the Paloma Picasso jewels, beyond the new Atlas arrivals, beyond the classic 1837 ID-tag-themed displays. A guy shopping for his ex-wife snorted (snorted!) at a Japanese tourist trying on one of the bracelets. "It's a frickin' dog tag," he said (he said "frick" in Tiffany!). Then he asked the sales associate to show him a Paloma Picasso necklace - "but nothing that says I care," he added. "It's for my ex-wife."

I tried on a 3-charm necklace for fun. (It was on the way to Customer Service, after all.) But it was $325, and from a foot away you could barely see the stones in each charm. I like Paloma Picasso but have never tried anything on, for fear of loving something so much I can't leave without it. I saw an 1837 ring I liked, and after I tried it on, I liked it even more. Miraculously, they had it in my size. I'm pretty used to be disappointed where rings are concerned - every time I see a ring at Macy's (big fan of pink CZ) they are always out of my size. Of course one should expect Tiffany to be better stocked, but it was still a cool surprise. Also, the design had immediate significance for me.

So I bought it.

I'm not a label whore (truly - I've been known to wear jewelry handmade by my eight-year-old cousin.) But I cannot resist Tiffany. My Elsa Peretti eternal circle, one of the few pieces of jewelry I wear all the time, was a graduation gift. The heart tag bracelet (and toggle necklace that I had such a hard time parting with today) were gifts as well. Sadly, I had to stop using the heart tag keyring Bon gave me as a Maid of Honor gift because the screwball would come undone so often, and keys would fall everywhere.

Solo shoe shopping comes with a heady rush; solo jewelry shopping comes with a unique serenity. And where one shoe victory tends to lead to another, one meaningful piece of jewelry leads to a contemplative but satisfied drive home.