A Gracious Plenty

About Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th occurs one to three times a year.  This year January, April and July will have a Friday the 13th.

Do you consider Friday the 13th as a day of bad luck? Whatever you do, don't walk under a ladder and don't let a black cat cross your path! After the movie "Friday the 13th" came out in 1980 (yes, it's been that long!) many people started to live in fear of this day.

Throughout most of recorded history, the number 13 has been seen as an unlucky number. Did you know that if are afraid of the number 13, you suffer from Triskaidekaphobia?

Historically, Friday has been viewed as an unlucky day of the week. However, we now find this hard to believe, after all, Friday is TGIF!! However, in the past, when you put the unlucky day of Friday, together with the unlucky #13, many people believe only bad things can happen.

Interestingly, there is a sizable number of optimists, who embrace Friday the 13th and the number 13. They shrug off the superstition and go buy lottery tickets with the number 13 in it.

 

 

About silver quality

With the rise in silver prices, many companies have shifted to selling silver-plated jewelry. When shopping for jewelry, you should always be clear on the type of silver jewelry being advertised. If you want sterling silver, be sure item is described as ‘sterling’. If it is described simply as ‘silver’ AND the price is low, the item may just be silver-plated. A Gracious Plenty does not sell silver-plated jewelry, all of our jewelry is .925 sterling silver or purer in the case of our hand-stamped pendants. While silver-plated jewelry has its place in the market, like for trendier items, our jewelry is of a more classic design, that can be worn for years and even be passed along to become family heirlooms.

Hand-Stamped Silver Jewelry

At A Gracious Plenty, all of our hand-stamped pendants and charms, as well as our necklaces, earwires, clasps and other components, are made of .925 sterling or .999 fine silver.   

 

       

Each one-of-a-kind pendant and charm is created completely by hand here in our studio at A Gracious Plenty. We are continually adding new pieces to our hand-stamped silver jewelry collection - so check back often!

 

 

A Note about silver pricing

We hear a lot about the cost of gold being so high, but did you know that silver prices have also skyrocketed over the past year? In fact, the cost almost tripled!

At A Gracious Plenty we are keeping our prices as low as possible by keeping our overhead low, including our advertising costs.  We have found that the best advertising available is word of mouth referrals by our wonderful customers!

First day of Winter!

In the United States and the rest of the northern hemisphere, the first day of the winter season is the day of the year when the Sun is farthest south (on December 21^st or 22^nd). This day is known as the Winter Solstice. In the Southern hemisphere, winter and summer solstices are exchanged so that the winter solstice is the day on which the Sun is farthest north.

A common misconception is that the earth is further from the sun in winter than in summer. Actually, the Earth is closest to the sun in December which is winter in the Northern hemisphere.

As the Earth travels around the Sun in its orbit, the north-south position of the Sun changes over the course of the year because of the changing orientation of the Earth's tilted rotation axes. The dates of maximum tilt of the Earth's equator correspond to the first day of Summer and the first day of Winter, and the dates of zero tilt to the first day of Spring and the first day of Autumn.  

 

Our Monogrammed Awareness Bracelet

 
 
Our Monogrammed Awareness Bracelet in sterling silver, featuring a classic heart charm with a ribbon engraved on one side and a monogram on the other.   

The Gift of Awareness

“I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next.
Delicious Ambiguity.”         ― Gilda Radner

 

This post is not about monogrammed gifts.  It's about something completely unrelated but something we felt important to highlight here for our friends and customers.  The gift of awareness.

Last week I blogged about how September is International Women's Friendship Month.  Importantly, it is also National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. 

Ovarian cancer is not the most prevalent women's cancer, but it has one of the highest mortality rates, primarily because it is so tricky to detect.  Symptoms are vague, and existing screening tests are not very accurate.  Typically, by the time ovarian cancer is diagnosed, it is in its advanced stages, and the prognosis is poor.

This was my mother's experience.  She was diagnosed with Stage IV ovarian adenocarcinoma at age 48, and she passed away in 1999.  I've quoted Gilda Radner above because she, too, died from ovarian cancer.  Even as Gilda was dying from the disease, she used her comedic gifts to bring joy and comfort to others.  Like Gilda, my mother had a 'joie de vivre' that she sustained and shared until the end.

In memory and honor of my mother, this month I encourage you to take a moment to learn more about ovarian cancer, for yourself and the women you love.  Below are a few resources I hope you will find helpful.

Ovarian Cancer National Alliance

National Ovarian Cancer Coalition

Gilda's Club / Cancer Support Community

Graduation Gift Ideas - We Agree with the Experts!

About.com's Parenting Teens pages have lots of suggestions for raising your kids including their Top 50 Graduation Gift Ideas. A Gracious Plenty provides these gifts, both mid-priced items (Engraved Jewelry, Money Clip, Personalized Graduation Item) and economical gifts (Picture Frames, Desk Accessories). Visit our selection of personalized graduation gifts and start shopping!

Special Savings for You on Custom Silver Jewelry -- For a Limited Time!

To reward our loyal blog, Facebook, and Twitter fans and followers, we are giving you the inside scoop  on upcoming events at A Gracious Plenty 

Effective Saturday, May 15, 2010, we will be raising our prices on all of our custom silver jewelry. These pricing changes will be made to both engraved and hand stamped pieces. The new prices reflect the  consistently rising cost of our fine silver materials.

We're posting here since you may have been considering one or more items. This is your opportunity to secure them before Saturday! Submit your order by 12:00 midnight Friday and you can make your purchase at our current, lower prices.

We truly appreciate your business. And as always, may you be blessed with a gracious plenty!

Our Hand-Stamped Jewelry is Silver - and GREEN!

As we celebrate Earth Day 2010, we thought it might interest you to know that our hand-stamped silver pendants are made entirely of pure, recycled silver.  Yet another reason you will feel special wearing your personalized hand-stamped jewelry from A Gracious Plenty!

Happy Earth Day Everyone!