Who says egg crates can only be used at Easter?

I got an idea from Sherry, over at YoungHouseLove, to use a ceramic egg crate to display jewelry. She uses it for all of her jewelry, as she is a minimalist, but if you know me, you know I am not a minimalist, and there's no way my jewelry collection would neatly fit into 9 sections in any container. So I decided to get one and use it to display some of my favorite pieces, and some that I wear too often to even bother putting back into the jewelry box every time.

Here's her version, containing her limited collection of earrings and a few other favorite pieces, and here's mine:

1: These have been my go-to earrings lately. Anytime I'm wearing pink, brown, a combo of the two (which is often), these are the ones I reach for - they're fun, funky, and are good for fidgeting with all the little hanging beads.

2: I can't remember where or when I got this dangly, button bracelet, but it matches everything. It has many colors, but they're all subtle enough that it can be a chameleon piece, coordinating with whatever outfit I wear with it.

3: This is my favorite purchase from our cruise to the Bahamas. When we ported in Nassau, Bonnie and I were both so excited to find all these amazing deals on jewelry, based on this presentation we received on the ship....yeah, those deals make a $5000 ring $1500-$1800, which is still way out of my price range and out of my jewelry league, which is exactly what I said to the manager at the first store we visited so he'd stop throwing out new negotiated prices. No thanks, dude. I'll stick to my Target and Kohl's fashion jewelry.

   Anyways, after we had given up on the jewelry front, we walked past a store with an awesome charm bracelet-style chain necklace with a Bahamian coin as a pendant. I fell in love at first sight and went in to see how much it would set me back. Of course, that model was $150, but they had the same pendants on a cheap chain for $40 - SOLD! I got the 15-cent piece, which is a square shape instead of round, and I love it! I've worn it almost every day since we got back home.

4: This is a brand new piece that I haven't worn yet, but it has to be on display anyway. I found this in the museum shop at Agecroft on our trip last week, and needed it. I need a lot of things, don't I...hmmm. It is a pewter, monogrammed pendant designed to look like a wax seal. Lovely.

5: Briefly in 2008, I was an independent demonstrator for Vantel Pearls. It’s a home party company, where you pick an oyster, shuck it and find a pearl (or maybe 2!) inside. I was fascinated by it after the first party, and was looking for some extra money at the time, so I signed up to be a demonstrator. It was fun and the money was ok, but after one of my paychecks bounced and the lack of customer service I received while trying to resolve the issue, I quit. But, I’ve tried very hard not to let the business side of the situation affect how I feel about the pieces I had purchased along the way. These are my 2 favorites – a simple ring, mounted with both a blue and a white pearl, and another blue pearl mounted on a starfish-shaped pendant. Love these – if I’m wearing blue, I’m probably wearing either or both of these!

6: This is the first piece of jewelry Dave bought me while we were dating. It’s a 3-diamond pendant, I suppose to represent the past, present, and future, and it means so much to me. He used to always joke that we weren’t at the “precious metals and gems” stage in our relationship, yet…and then one day he gave me this. I think it was Valentine’s Day, but can’t commit to that. Very sweet.

7: I haven’t used this since I stopped working for Vantel, but it is an awesome business card holder from Brighton. Dave bought it for me when I started my business venture, along with a matching pill box – maybe I should have seen the hassle headaches coming! Foreshadowing!

8: I bought this mirror at Ikea for $10 and it is a perfect fit in my bedroom – it sits on top of my jewelry box and is right by the bedroom door, so on my way downstairs in the morning, I stop there, put on my makeup and jewelry, and I’m off!

9: Love the jewelry box that holds the rest of the collection. It’s one of the stand-up cabinets, similar to this one, and makes it look like I have more jewelry than I actually do. There are 5 or so drawers: 1 for rings, 1 for bracelets, 1 for fancy stuff, 1 for scarves, belts, sunglasses, and 1 for hair stuff. Then it has doors on either side to hang necklaces and the top is on a hinge for ring storage, but I don’t use that. I just have some special pieces in there, like my class ring and other things I’ll never wear again but can’t get rid of…