WIBTW (What I Bought This Week): NYC

I've just come back from two weeks working in NYC (which you will hear a LOT about in upcoming blog posts to follow), so this week's pocket money was spent in the Big Apple. We didn't have a lot of free time but my speed-shopping skills are pretty well-honed and I managed to pick up a few gems whilst there.

I discovered J Crew big time whilst out there, as although I've heard the buzz for years I've never actually been in a store till now. So I went a little bananas. But if you are selective the prices are really good (some stuff like dresses goes up to a few hundred quid) and I got a wool jumper, cargo pants, a scarf, horse print socks (of course) and a really lovely silk print skirt for less than £200, which I think is very good.  The customer service here was amazing (Simone you rocked), as it was most places in NYC. Us Brits have a lot to learn, I hate to say.

Kate Spade was a bit exciting. I wanted a lot in here, but as my bank called me whilst I was in there to check my card hadn't been stolen, I limited myself. I needed a new wallet and I got a gorgeous patent coral red one.

The cool shops of Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg were VERY tempting, with amazing designer jewellery but a little out of my price range. However I found an amazing jewellery designers shop opposite one of our many hotels on 8th Avenue called Phoenix Roze where I bought the cutest gold necklace with 'C' charm. I wear it every day now - it replaces a similar one that I bought last time I was in NYC and recently broke. So that's allowed, right?!

Here are some snaps:

Granny knows best

Isn't it funny how you don't appreciate things at the time?

I love vintage charm necklaces and have wanted a gold coin necklace for a while now, always cooing over Laura Lee's beautiful designs when I go into her shop in Covent Garden, and an obsessive fan of Anina Vogel's pieces she makes from reclaimed vintage jewellery. 

So you can imagine my utter joy yesterday when I found this necklace wrapped in cotton wool inside a little plastic box, tucked away in my old jewellery box. I couldn't believe it. My Grandma's old gold sovereign necklace she wore all the time that was passed to me after she died when I was in my early twenties. At the time I perhaps didn't appreciate the beauty of it, but kept it safe as a memory of Grandma Elsie. The cigarette-loving, Ibiza-going Essex girl.

It's a 1913 King George V sovereign, with King George on one side and St.George slaying the dragon on the other.

I've yet to find out if it's a real gold original and therefore probably worth a bit too, but I'm not really fussed. It's just nice to wear something that belonged to her and I love. I'm so glad I found this!

Thanks Grandma, love Chloe-Jane (as I was always known to her) X