You know I love story telling – it’s one of my favourite things and why I love my blog and being on radio. Story telling comes in many forms.

One of the forms I’ve come to love is through sentimental pieces. Pandora jewelry is all about celebrating unforgettable moments.

I’m like a magpie to women’s wrists and absolutely love seeing what women wear around them. Some go for dainty, some go for chunky, some mix and match, some wear so much arm candy they jingle as they walk and some go for the minimalist look. I always find myself drawn to the Pandora Charm Bracelets. They are so beautiful and always eye catching. They’re also such a conversation starter.

Last year October I was contacted by Pandora and asked if I’d like to go into a store and select a birthday present. They had thought my birthday was November. After telling them it’s only the 4th of February, they suggested I still go into store and get an early birthday gift. I was so excited and so grateful.
I thought I’d save this post for around my birthday!

Not only does my charm bracelet tell my personal story, but every time I look at it (it never comes off my wrist) I am reminded of the very day I got it too, which is a story within itself.

The Friday morning I was scheduled to go into store, was the day after I took my pregnancy test, which said Positive. I had just come from blood tests, which confirmed my pregnancy! It was such a happy day of synchronicity – my very own unforgettable moment!

I arrived at the V&A Waterfront store and was greeted by the friendly ladies who took me through the whole process. 

Firstly, I started with the Silver Collier bracelet, that is actually so pretty on it’s own as a minimalistic bracelet too.

I then chose a silver safety chain. This is so clever. If for some reason, the clasp opens, instead of the bracelet falling off and possibly being lost forever, the safety chain keeps the bracelet safe and stops it from falling off your wrist, and it keeps all the charms in place.

Now for the charms. Each charm tells a story and can represent whatever you want it to. I thought this would be so difficult, because there are so many to choose from. It’s also important to think about factors, like do you have a colour scheme? Do you want ones that dangle? Do you want glass beads?

Oh the choices!

I decided to stick to charms that really spoke to me, told my story and brought me joy.

These are the charms I chose and why:

1. Love is Forever with clear Cubic Zirconia. This is dedicated to Socrates and our love and marriage.
2. Family is Forever with clear Cubic Zirconia. This is dedicated to my entire family and our growing family. I was feeling even more sentimental when I chose it, especially since I had just found I was going to become a Mom. I wanted to burst with happiness and it took everything not to shout it out to the ladies at Pandora!
3. The Silver Eye Dangle With Blue, White, Black Enamel. This evil eye is for protection. You’ll notice I constantly wear the one around my neck, so I wanted to have this on my wrist. I got this one in particular in honor of my late Father-in-Law.
4. The butterfly dangle charm with clear Cubic Zirconia’s represent my late Gran. I always think of her when I see butterflies.
5. Queen Bee – this is for me – to always remember my own strength and worth.
6. The Star Pave Silver Charm With Cubic Zirconia is to represent my career and to remind me to always strive for the stars and celebrate every success and learn from every bump too.
7. A BFF charm – in fact you get 2 matching charms, so the one I gave to Karolina with a bracelet of her own for her birthday!

The tattoo on my wrist is my Mom’s handwriting. It’s the word “Essence” – a reminder to always remain true to my essence, no matter what.

Want to shop the look? Click here: https://www.pandorashop.co.za/shop-the-look/bailey-schneider.html … Oh and some of the charms are on sale!

I love that I can continue to add charms. In fact, I received 2 new beautiful charms. A flower charm from Karolina and the baby carriage from Sox, to celebrate my pregnancy with Baby G.

Thank you Pandora, for the most sentimental gift and for the unforgettable moments!

Photography: Stephanie Young, Trésors Studio