10 Ways to Layer Your Jewelry...Part 1

I think I take it for granted that I layer my jewelry with the ease of a fashion stylist, I can actually go through my extensive jewelry wardrobe ( I'm a jewelry designer 😉) and choose 3-5 necklaces, 4-5 bracelets, 3 rings and magically layer them in the time it takes to brush my teeth! Ok I get it, not everyone understands the art of styling and layering ( if I may call it an art ) wether it be jewelry or clothing; this talent was conceived and nurtured from my early years as a model in the fashion capitals of the world, having been styled by the best of the best when I was seventeen and eighteen years old!!

 

Looking back it floors me to no end, how did this little Connecticut girl with little or no style get in such a position, but that's another story all that matters now is that I did and that's why I can actually give pointers on how to layer and style jewelry. 

The art of styling never changes, true fashion comes in and out, goes round and round, but if you learn how to style yourself this is a talent you have forever, haven't you seen those wonderful older ladies with style, full makeup, hair done to the max, head to toe dressed for God knows what, I love them for I understand their Love of fashion, their need to look put together.

Stacking Jewelry is not an easy thing to do but I have included a lot of images to help.

The silent rule with necklaces is that you want to create depth, flow, and either oomph appeal, laid back ease, or boho extravagance. You can mix tiny thin chains with long chunky beaded necklaces, make sure pendants don't lay on each other in odd positions but lay easily. I do mix silver and gold this is not for the novice though since you need to know what shades of silver go with what shades of gold.

Elle McPherson in Turchin jewelry's

            Long Necklaces

    From The LOVE COLLECTION

 

Metal Combinations

1. Shiny gold mixes well with shiny silver 

2. Antiqued silver mixes well with antiqued gold or bronze

Colors:

I like to stay in color families, that dosent mean I just wear brown with tan and chocolate, I will mix the colors of the sea, for instance turquoise with orange coral look delicious and summery, one of my favorite vacation combos!

 Ebony black looks rock in roll with antiqued silver, and down right chic with shiny gold!

Aqua marine pairs beautifully with other soft pastels like light green Peridot, rose Quartz, translucent Moonstone and magical Labradorite.

Lengths

 One of my everyday easy layered looks are my two tiny silver chains with my diamond half moon, star and T initial pendants, just below choker length, and one or two long flowing necklaces, one beaded for sure with a pendant and one with just beads or just chain.

I personally don't like mixing too many long necklace with pendants unless the necklaces are very light and delicate then it's easy and beautifuly boho to add two or three together.

Tea For Health

Regarded for thousands of years in the East as a key to good health, happiness, and wisdom, tea has caught the attention of researchers in the West, who are discovering the many health benefits of different types of teas.

  

Studies have found that some teas may help with cancer, heart disease, and diabetes; encourage weight loss; lower cholesterol; and bring about mental alertness. Tea also appears to have antimicrobial qualities.

“There doesn’t seem to be a downside to tea,” says American Dietetic Association spokeswoman Katherine Tallmadge, MA, RD, LD. “I think it’s a great alternative to coffee drinking. First, tea has less caffeine. It’s pretty well established that the compounds in tea – their flavonoids – are good for the heart and may reduce cancer.” Time.com listed the following as benefits of drinking tea. 

1. Tea can boost exercise endurance. Scientists have found that the catechins (antioxidants) in green tea extract increase the body’s ability to burn fat as fuel, which accounts for improvedmuscle endurance.
2. Drinking tea could help reduce the risk of heart attack. Tea might also help protect againstcardiovascular and degenerative diseases.
3. The antioxidants in tea might help protect against a boatload of cancers, including breast, colon, colorectal, skin, lung, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, pancreas, liver, ovarian,prostate and oral cancers. But don’t rely solely on tea to keep a healthy body — tea is not amiracle cure, after all. While more studies than not suggest that tea has cancer-fighting benefits, the current research is mixed.
4. Tea helps fight free radicals. Tea is high in oxygen radical absorbance capacity (“ORAC” to its friends), which is a fancy way of saying that it helps destroy free radicals (which can damage DNA) in the body. While our bodies are designed to fight free radicals on their own, they’re not 100 percent effective — and since damage from these radical oxygen ninjas has been linked to cancer, heart disease and neurological degeneration, we’ll take all the help we can get.
5. Tea is hydrating to the body (even despite the caffeine!).
6. Drinking tea is linked with a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease. When considered with other factors like smoking, physical activity, age and body mass index, regular tea drinking was associated with a lowered risk of Parkinson’s disease in both men and women.
7. Tea might provide protection from ultraviolet rays. We know it’s important to limit exposureto UV rays, and we all know what it’s like to feel the burn. The good news is that green tea may act as a back-up sunscreen.
8. Tea could keep waist circumference in check. In one study, participants who regularly consumed hot tea had lower waist circumference and lower BMI than non-consuming participants. Scientists speculate that regular tea drinking lowers the risk of metabolic syndrome (which increases the risk of diabetes, artery disease and stroke), although it’s important to remember that correlation does not equal causation.
9. Regular tea drinking might also counteract some of the negative effects of smoking and might even lessen the risk of lung cancer (good news, obviously, but not a justification forcigs).
10. Tea could be beneficial to people with Type 2 diabetes. Studies suggest that compounds in green tea could help diabetics better process sugars.
11. Tea can help the body recover from radiation. One study found that tea helped protect against cellular degeneration upon exposure to radiation, while another found that tea canhelp skin bounce back postexposure.
12. Green tea has been found to improve bone mineral density and strength.
13. Tea might be an effective agent in the prevention and treatment of neurological diseases, especially degenerative diseases (think Alzheimer’s). While many factors influence brain health, polyphenols in green tea may help maintain the parts of the brain that regulate learning and memory.
    

Back To Yoga in Miami

  I won't lie, I was scared, would my body hold up, would I strain myself, push myself?? Well I decided to wrangle out of my routine and give it a go! I'm talking about getting back into yoga after 6 years!

In my late 20's I discovered the power of yoga, in Miami at that time Madonna was practicing with a teacher and making yoga cool, that's not exactly why I tried but hearing yoga in the NEWS here and there interested me. The yoga I began practicing I can best describe was showy, I know that sounds weird, so I'll explain. The mostly women in class were blessed with outstanding bodies and since it was Miami wore little to cover those bodies, our ( also Madonna's ) teacher who became quite notorious was quite the character, completely full of his own ego, he controlled his classes with a strange sexual energy spiked with obscenities. I truly doubt he was like that with Madonna, she wouldn't have dealt with any one else's ego, and to be honest after a dozen or so classes I'd had enough myself. 

I flowed in and out of yoga classes for the next decade and a half from Hot Yoga ( Bikram ) power yoga, flow yoga, alignment yoga, on and on, settling mostly into Power Yoga, a vinyasa based yoga that is done repetitively and quickly enough to bring on a serious sweat, develop a nicely toned body especially arms and back since you are basically doing a series of modified push-ups. 

At the same time I was injuring myself frequently, pushing myself too hard, looking at other students in class wrapped up like pretzels and trying to duplicate with painful consequences. It was my Ego this time, instead of being in my own space and enjoying my own yoga practice I allowed myself to quietly compete with other students, who could stretch further, wrap further, stand still longest. How embarrassing and ridiculous looking back now, but hey that was then today I'm older and wiser!

 I had a baby five years ago and even during my pregnancy didn't practice yoga for fear of miscarrying, I had miscarried a year before my son was conceived at 43.

So to make a long story short I decided to begin my new foray into yoga with a wiser approach to my body that I am determined to take care of and nurture through yoga instead of torture. 

The class was amazingly beautiful, easy to follow, and yet I felt relaxed, strong, confident, and aligned.

If you're ever in Miami check out the Green Monkey Yoga Studios, Allaine Stricklan is my teacher for Alignment Yoga, Love Her!

Theresa Turchin Part 2 Tenacity Baby

I've been promising to post more parts of my personal history since starting this blog, and really that was only a couple months ago, as much as I've wanted to share I never wanted to sound full of myself or God forbid, yawn, boring, but just wanted to give a fun and factual overview of why I started this blog, (to share what Ive learned) and what my cred's are to be doing so.

Ok so here goes if you read my first blogpost ever you would know I was raised in a little town in Connecticut, Simsbury to be exact about 40 minutes outside Hartford and almost three hours outside   NYC. Looking back I can see now that I always had an entrepreneurial spirit, from corner lemonade stands, cookie stands, whatever I could sell stands, making the most of my weekly chores for $$ to fibbing about my age at fifteen (no one checked) and being hired as a waitress at a neighborhood Italian Eatery; I was terrible, constantly forgot orders since I was never taught a thing but had a great attitude, Big smile, and Farrah hair, I got amazing tips but then they found out how old I was and had to let me go since I was serving alcoholic beverages...oops.

I had a few more jobs, sales clerk at a local five and dime (yes a long time ago,the 1980's) and at a small mom and pop Drug Store, neither of these establishments exists today. It was only two years after my waitressing gig that I was signed with Elite Models in NYC. I NEVER  had a plan I just went with the flow and when opportunity presented itself I grabbed it and wouldn't let go.

I remember when I was sixteen, still in Connecticut I was trying to get some modeling test shots done so I could get a portfolio started, I called this local Hartford based photographer I found in the yellow pages (the book for searching way before google), I must have left five, six, seven messages and finally on the last call got a hold of him and we did some great pictures!

A year later after I was signed with Elite in NYC he booked me for a local catalog with a few other local girls and NYC models, I'll never forget the story he told all of us as we were doing our makeup in the dressing room about the little Simsbury girl that didn't leave him alone until she got her pictures, he praised my tenacity in front of everyone, I felt super proud and to this day always remember that moment and to never give up but keep trying and so far it's panned out pretty nicely!

Zara Love Hate Relationship

My husband loves Zara the clothing store, not so much for the cheap prices and European design but firstly for the fit. For an American man he is unusual since he is very slim and just about 5'8", he says anyway, I'm 5'8" and I'm taller but that's not the point in this post(😉).

Zara clothes fit him perfectly or closer than any other brand without alterations, which is huge no pun intended and the style of Zara is of the moment Euro-Cool. The other day he said he was going to stop by the south beach location so I went online picked out some tops that looked cute at a price tag of between 39.00-59.00 each and sent the pictures to his iPhone with size specifications. He came back with the three tops in the sizes I asked (I just learned a new way of shopping.... In Love) and all three fit perfectly and in person were cuter than online, the fabrics felt expensive and the style's were very modern. My husbands choices for himself had the same impact, then I began to wonder, what kind of fabric are these clothes made with, and how long will they really last being washed time after time. Do you dry clean them to ensure they will last, they're so cheap does it matter, maybe I would buy that do it yourself dry cleaner for the dryer, Dryel I think it's called.

 In any case I was so excited by my new tops that two weeks later when I was in the area of Zara I made time for a pit stop to check out their New South Beach location. Walking in the front door I felt like I had found a secret fashion destination in Europe, it's been close to thirty years since I lived in Paris but this store and it's fashion sense reminded me of stores I frequented back then, oh the memories. Back on subject here I danced around the store with armloads of goods piled high until my arms couldn't bear the weight and I aimed for the dressing room with a giddiness I haven't felt in years. The sweet attendant showed me my room and inside I was about to try on and soon own all the seasons must haves for a fraction of the price, oh I couldn't wait! One item after another was put back on the hanger for mostly fit issues, but I still had high hopes, so I did another round of the store this time with a keener eye than the first light hearted attempt. An hour later standing alone in my fitting room with not one garment, I began to think I could have probably chosen five or six items priced between 20.00 to 89.00 each but I kept finding fault with each one, was I being too hard on this inexpensive fashion brand, should I have adverted my eyes to jeans that didn't give my butt the boost I'm used to, the t shirts that didn't fit just right and don't hug the curves I want to hide, the white men's inspired shirt that had a tad too much starch sending the collar and cuffs alarmingly straight, should I have ignored the cool sweat pants whose crouch was too baggy and legs were too tight? 

In hindsight I should have grabbed a few of their spaghetti strap t shirts great for under jackets blouses, ect, a pair of the jeans were pretty awesome if a bit tight on my muscular calfs, I probably could have taken the slight tension for fashion, or could I have? I like any other women on the planet like a good deal and Loves a great deal, which for me is to find a fabulously made garment at half the price or more, that kind of find will make my day! I still like Zara don't get me wrong but I won't ever fill my closet entirely with the brand, a few pieces here and there still give me that Giddy feeling of the secret store I found with cheap prices but won't make me end up feeling I'm wearing cheap clothing!

Who Pays For Lunch?

'I remember a decade ago when invited to a business related lunch that the person who invited paid, or the person that wanted your business paid. In the New economy the lines are much grayer and smudged it seems, it's all very confusing and could even end up causing bad feelings if the person who ultimately pays feels taken advantage of. 

My husband and I were looking at locations for a New store for our brand Turchin Love and Light Jewelry with a real estate agent the other day, we met her at her office at 11:15 and spent a couple hours in her car driving around the city, my stomach was growling by 1:00 so I mentioned that we should stop and eat. Our agent helped us choose a good but pricey restaurant she frequents and was silent as the bill came, but as usual in such situations my husband swiftly took the check and paid without missing a beat, I guess I wasn't so surprised that we paid but that she didn't offer or even say Thank You, that silence was the thing that truly bothered us so I started to do some research on business lunch etiquette and protocol.

In today’s economy According to a New York Times article about power lunches, Laura M. Holsen says, “Not surprisingly, the politics of the business lunch have tilted toward the haves versus the have-a-littles. Nowadays, picking up the check is often a reflection of whose corporate balance sheet is in better shape.”

Basically, when people pick up the check, they are asserting their company has more money than the other.  So does this mean the person who makes more money is supposed to pay?   Or should you employ traditional wisdom:  the person who arranged the meeting, pays for the meeting? Well If this is true our realtor's Company would be the bigger (by far) entity and according to this article should have paid. I would have been fine with us paying but a Thank You would have gone a Long way! 

People lets not forget the simple yet profound etiquette of Please and Thank You.😊

***UPDATE **** Our realtor sent us an email two days later ith some updates on properties and did say Thank You or lunch!! Phew.....I was really wondering!!!

Comfy Shoes With STYLE

If you ask most women ( and I've asked a lot ) comfortable, cute and sexy shoes do NOT go in the same sentence, but I was on a mission to prove them wrong and wrong I did, or did I?

Ok you can't compare Kork Ease or Taryn Rose to Christian Louboutin and Jimmy Choo, I get it, for that kind of sexy you will have to suffer, unless you do as I have done and bought all kinds of gel insoles, foot beds and the such, which give me a few hours of somewhat comfort in some designer brands, but all in all it's not good I end up throwing the shoes across the floor as soon as I enter my house, ok not really throwing just sort of sliding ( too expensive to throw) but I do feel like throwing these over priced torture bearers!!

I have been doing my own serious research in the hope to find this oxy moron of a statement, sexy comfy shoes. I live in Miami where women on a daily basis pry their delicate feet into 5 inch and higher heels, and not just a night, our jewelry Store (Turchin Love and Light Jewelry, www.turchinjewelry.com) is in the heart of Miami's Design District across from a very famous restaurant, Michaels Genuine and I see women who lunch daily come strolling in with their (gorgeous mind you)7 inch torture chamber Christian Louboutins, extremely pointy and spiked and deliciously sexy Valentino's, and I first lust at the sheer beauty, come to my senses then gawk at how they manage to get around, obviously they can't be going back to the office, I secretly imagine (like me) that they have a stash of flip flops and cushy sneakers in the back seat if their cars that they eagerly slip into after a luncheon with the girls.

Then I remember how I used to treat my feet in my teens and twenties, and how I could stand for hours in a club with terribly made five inch heels on, God must give us the energy and pain tolerance in these years to ignore our aching feet, but wakes us up to the truth later in life, how unfair! 

So my hunt goes on, and I am happy but sad to say although I found some very cute, even slightly edgy styles I didn't find anything that is all out sex kitten. So that being said some of my favorites I've tried and loved ( my feet too! ).

Andre Assous make a very cool shoe, his foot bed is cushioned and he uses elastic banding on some of his styles that doesn't look granny, I have had compliments in Miami on his shoes, I really like his black suede and rivet styles for fall.

I have never tried Gentle Souls but Freind's have and Love their comfortable and vintage inspired designs, I love the tall gladiator myself!

Kork Ease are very light and also cushy to walk in though pretty high, I'm not afraid of some height so love these styles for spring and summer.

Rock port is a more conservative brand that delivers comfort with style, check out their cheetah print booties, I would give them a go, anything animal print I always say!

Good luck in the Hunt for your comy cute shoes and please let me know what Yiu find I would Love to hear from you. 

Hugs, Luv, and Comfort....ahhhh

Theresa