John Greed Jewellery, the Valentine Bloggers Challenge

The wonderful people over at John Greed jewellery offered a challenge to the blogger community to create a Valentine's wish list, in the form of a mood board, with a minimum of four items from their website, and up to the value of £250. I don't really enter this type of challenge normally, but when it involves the beautiful jewellery at John Greeds' well, I jumped at the chance! I find it very difficult to choose things for myself and I was very tempted to choose gifts for my Mother and my children, even though this is just a wish list and not an actual shopping list. But the instructions ask for our wishlist, specifically a wish list of jewellery "that you'd like to receive this Valentine's day" so that is what I have done. My choices were fairly easy considering the huge range of incredible jewellery available from John Greed jewellery, as every single piece I chose has meaning for me. Here are the pieces I have chosen, that I will be lucky enough to receive if I am the winner of this Valentine's day bloggers' challenge!

My Wish List

Swatch watch £51

You can find this amazing watch here on the John Greed web site. It is the Swatch Draconem, designed by tattoo artist Tin Tin. I love the artistry of tattoos, but have never felt they suited my life style, so, apart from the very small one I have on my hip, which was to commemorate my 50th birthday, my own little rite of passage into middle age, I have steered clear of them. This watch is a beautiful compromise, as I can wear the work of this amazing tattoo artist and enjoy his design every time I check out the time, but still be visibly tattoo free.

Pandora elephant charm £30

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 Elephants have always been very special to me. Their familial ties are so similar to our own human ones. They partner for life, they keep their children with them for years, and if they loose a child, or their partner, they pine for the  rest of their lives, I just love them. I had a life long dream come true last year when I got to ride an elephant through the Indian jungle, and this Pandora charm will always remind me of this special animal and that very special time in my life. You can find this Pandora charm here.

                                                           

Pandora breast cancer bracelet £120

This is the Pandora Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign bracelet, which you can also see here. The pink enamel charm has the pink ribbons of the breast cancer campaign decorating it. Not only is it beautiful, but 15% of the purchase price is donated to the Breakthrough Cancer Appeal, how wonderful is that? The pink ribbons mean so much to me. My son't best friend lost her Mother to this awful disease and the tragedy of that loss will always be with me, and right now one of my oldest and dearest friends is fighting the battle of her life, so I would be thrilled to wear this symbol of hope in honour of these great women.

Spirit Dhyana earrings £13.95

Along with admiring the beauty of these Spirit Dhyana earrings, they also appeal to my spiritual side -  Dhyana is a term used in both Hinduism and Buddhism. In both religions the term means reflection, to look within ourselves. And in this fast paced world we all live in, it is both refreshing, and at the same time relaxing, to forget about the outside world occasionally and  to meditate on our inner most thoughts. I think these earrings will serve to remind me to slow down, to look within myself and to live in the here and now. You can find these earrings here.

Pandora charm £30

My final choice, is this silver Pandora Buddha charm. The Laughing Buddha symbolises happiness and  peace, and most Westerners mistake the laughing Buddha with Gautama Buddha, the one who reached enlightenment, they aren't one and the same, but this Buddha still has spiritual meaning for millions of people world wide. As a Buddhist monk he was poor, very poor, but had an always present smile, showing us that money is not needed to bring happiness. This charm will be a reminder of that fact during these difficult economic times.You can find the Buddha charm here.

So there you have it, my beautiful and symbolic wish list from John Greed jewellers. Five incredible pieces with a total price of £244.95. At first I obviously thought of romance and all the jewellery that seemed special and representative of my relationship with my wonderful partner Dave, but we show each other every day how important we are to each other therefore, I decided to use the challenge to choose items that symbolise other things, people, and memories that I love.  I feel so lucky to have had this opportunity, and the reminder that love comes in many forms, even on Valentines' day. It isn't always about our romantic loves, sometimes it is for those we have lost, our spirituality, our secret loves, and our love for our selves.

Finally, remember  on this Valentine's day, " You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection" (Buddha)



***If anyone else would love to enter this challenge you may do so on the  John Greed website***