antonio: the golden boy.

i swear, almost every piece i see by antonio bernardo has me speechless, with the possible exception of one word: genius. the fact that he trained as an engineer is explanatory, not surprising. the way his pieces twist and turn, frequently becoming something else...brilliant. (i love saying that. i really should have been born british.) how i would love to get inside his head, or at least into the toy box of ideas that is his studio.

take his 360° earrings (oh, if only i could!) definitely high on the "how'd he do that?" meter. gold wire forms circles that, well, are hard to explain but amazing to look at. round and round they go and where they stop, nobody...wait a minute, they don't stop!

a peek into his showroom in his rio de janeiro headquarters puts you face to face with a giant version of his vivo pendant and earrings. which came first? he's not telling. the sketch, we assume. 

ah, rio. the sun. the water. the absolutely gorgeous people. no wonder his work looks like it does. his minimalist pieces are right at home in this exotic urban locale. and the movement that is integral to so many of his designs mimics every bikini-clad hip on the beach. then there's the romance of the portuguese language itself – can you think of a sexier way to say "bracelet" than "pulseira"? didn't think so.

behind it all is the dashing, affable, man himself (pictured with nicole...she gets to go everywhere!) -- fun and friendly in spite of his well-deserved fame. which is the perfect segue to a very exclusive heads-up...antonio is coming to i. gorman, in actual, live person, in december. you don't want to miss it, but you will have to get in line behind me. it may finally be time to treat myself to antonio's ressonância earrings. then again, maybe i'll wait and see what he dreams up next!

i'll take manhattan.

not that i don't love DC, i do. and i have since i moved here long ago. but a stint in NYC for my first "real" job had me leaving there still loving it. so when an opportunity comes up for a weekend in "the city," i'm all over it. DC finally has great theatre and fantastic restaurants. But new york has broadway. and eleven madison park. 

eleven madison park redefines impeccable service. and innovative cuisine. and, and – well, everything you ever imagined about a top-line restaurant experience, especially when your more-than-generous host declares "we'll all have the tasting menu." omg. this includes a fantasy-fulfilling course served in the spotless kitchen: a made-to-order frozen cocktail for four. cheers.

new york also has the high line – a real gift to the city literally high above 10th avenue. you walk up the stairs on 20th street and can't believe what you see. originally built in the 1930's to move dangerous freight trains off the industrial-district streets, the high line is now a beautifully designed and twisting walkway bordered by lush landscaping with surprises at every turn. worth the trip all by itself.

and when you go into annisa in the village, and you're waiting at the oh-so-stylish bar for your table (that you somehow scored that morning over the phone) and anita lo, herself, walks out from the kitchen and starts chatting with you; you know that this is a special place. chef lo's cooking is as unique as expected, and your waiter pairs it with the perfect wine that is so good, you want to try to track it down later. not only are all the details carefully transcribed for you, but they're on a lovely, printed notecard. even his handwriting is stylish.

then there's broadway. you don't need a crystal ball, just great friends, with great taste in all things theatrical. so when your best theatre buddy says don't miss "once," you immediately obey and snag the tickets before the tony nominations are even announced. wow. a stunning show on so many levels. it deserved "best musical" and every single one of its seven other tonys. it probably deserved the few awards it didn't win. simply brilliant. 

shopping? of course. it's hard to believe the changes to the meatpacking district (awesome) and soho (a little sad.) museums? one should never, ever stop worshipping at the shrine of moma. thank you, new york, for a wonderful weekend. you're still a very, very nice place to visit.

petra in wonderland.

we all know the cheshire cat is smiling. i like to think it's because he imagines himself wearing a collar similar to a petra meiren necklace. bold and sassy – absolutely perfect paired with a big, toothy grin.

nicole discovered petra at inhorgenta this year -- her work has graced the pages of european magazines and the necks, wrists, and ears of characters in movies and models on runways. but this is not "serious" jewelry – petra's whole attitude and philosophy is that jewelry is fun for her to design and it should be just as fun for you to wear. so it's utterly playful, but creatively glam at the same time.

you look at her metal work and realize it is totally new. like when two stark pieces of silver join to become striking earrings that are jewelry lollipops. and, at the opposite end of the spectrum, metal threads are knitted into almost textile-like fine, woven ropes that she mixes up in all sorts of fanciful combinations.

her metals may be precious, but her other materials are, well, plastic. rubber. acrylic. pvc, even. and that's a good thing! because they're sturdy but soft (comfy and lightweight) and they are the vehicle that transports the all-important colors -- bright, happy, gotta get 'em colors.

petra designs for self-confident women who flaunt their own style and wear whatever they please. they wear their petra meiren pieces as if they were headed to the mad hatter's tea party, embracing the wonderland concept of "curiouser and curiouser" with each statement-making step.

(with grateful appreciation for Lewis Carroll's book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and the fantastic imaginations it helped to create!)

don't cry for me.

i am soooo lucky. on two counts. first, i got to attend signature theatre's sondheim award gala honoring the one-of-a-kind patti lupone. before you start pointing out that "don't cry for me argentina" was written by tim rice and andrew lloyd webber and not by stephen sondheim, i, um, realize that. but ms. lupone's role in evita really is a classic. even wikipedia lists it first among her many roles. and it was a better title for this post than, say, "everything's coming up roses" (she also played a fabulous rose in sondheim's gypsy.) but i digress.

the other reason i'm so lucky? i got to wear jewelry from i. gorman for the occasion! this gig definitely has its perks. so there i was, all dressed up in the middle of a monday afternoon, in the store, to pick jewelry for my big night at the italian embassy. nicole was my personal dresser and we had a blast.

since my iridescent bronze top was strapless, we started with the necklace. guess what was perfect? todd reed's 41-diamond stunner. rose cut and raw diamonds have never commingled so well as on this beautiful piece. then it was off to earrings... and not being a matchy-matchy type, we walked away from todd (sorry, todd!) and visited antonio bernardo's gold collection. let's just say i've always had a weakness for his unbelievable 360° earrings. would they work? and how.

it was time to give my very bare arms and hands some attention. a statement ring? a bold bracelet? both? (definitely not!) in the end, peter schmid's one-of-a-kind quartz and brown diamond atelier zobel ring won, hands down (pardon the pun.)

bejeweled to the hilt, i gathered my stash and ran off to deal with a much-needed manicure, makeup, and other girly things. once at the event, i felt like cinderella at the ball – which was exactly what i was. and although not a single piece turned into a pumpkin, it was definitely tough to give up my fabulous gems the next morning! hmmm...wonder where i can go next?

oh todd!

you know the lichtenstein blonde? the one with the dots? and the dreamy, faraway look? that's me. and todd reed. only he has no idea. (note: my fiancé and todd's wife have nothing to fear. really.)

todd is such a sweet, warm, deep soul that his boatloads of talent are almost secondary. almost. where would we all be without his quarry of raw diamonds to fascinate us? you can see the love he has for each and every stone. you can feel his earnestness in every purposeful scratch of metal, every teeny edging detail, every fanciful, tipped angle of each little stone within a setting.

"my todd" – a one-of-a-kind grey raw diamond with a halo of white diamonds. ahhh.

he is quiet and gentle but his work is anything but. it is bold, brash, in your face. even something as small and lovely as an engagement ring becomes a can't-miss-it statement. and when he purposefully goes big? watch out. those rocks rock like nothing else.

todd's palladium cuff bracelet, featuring a stunning aquamarine accented with

grey and white diamonds, won Best of Show at the AGTA Spectrum Awards.

i cornered todd at our recent ring event and asked him to talk on camera. what did i get? you can see for yourself, but all of a sudden we were in deep about the "ness" of diamonds. which made me think about the "ness" of todd: kindness, happiness, artfulness, goodness, cleverness, adventurousness (it's a word! i looked it up!) sweetness, friendliness, expressiveness, cuteness...