Monday, September 14, 2009

The Saga of the Heart Shaped Shell Covered Jewelry Box


Maybe if we're lucky, I'll keep up with this!!


In the coastal city of Morro Bay, California there is a shell shop called The Shell Shop. This shop has been around since the 1950s and true to it's name, it is a shop for shells. It has everything from impressively large shells for display to carved wooden display stands for the shells, figures of ships made from shells, recycled nets, jewelry, and bins of shells from all over the world that are perfect for jewelry making. And everytime I find myself in or even remotely near Morro Bay I ask my husband the same question everytime - can we go to The Shell Shop? - and everytime, I receive the same answer from him - NO.
Why? Because he knows that not only will I spend a long time in there, but I will also spend money on the one item that has been in the back of my mind and the one item that I have been meaning to get, but never seem to remember - the forever tacky, red velvet lined, seashell covered, heart shaped jewelry box.
I grew up an hour and half's drive (depending on who's doing the driving) away from Morro Bay. Most of my relatives lived pretty close still as well as all family friends. The area of Morro Bay, Cayucos, San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, Atascadero, Cambria, Pizmo, etc was always a quick and easy getaway for pretty much everyone I know. And because of that, pretty much every woman I know has, had, still does own a heart shaped shell covered jewelry box. I used to have one too but can't remember whatever happened to it. I remember both of my grandmother's having one, my aunts all had one, my mom at some point must have had one too, and heck I probably had more than one over the years. It was and still is a very popular item. But unfortunately I didn't seem to have the ability to hang on to one.
At some point though in my lifetime I must have mentioned it in passing to my mother. Since I moved out I haven't gotten over to the coast as often as I'd like too, but my mom and her friends and my family still go quite often. She always tells me when she's going and I always ask her to bring me back something pretty, but I never bothered to mention the shell box just because I didn't think about it ever. So imagine my surprise one Friday afternoon when I received a text message from my mom, whom I knew was at the coast that day, telling me that she bought me a shell box!! I was thrilled and elated and then I went back to work.
A couple of days later she called me and said she would bring it with her the next time she came down to Bakersfield and I thanked her for thinking of it and getting it for me. I asked her if it was nice and she said "Yes, but..." There was a "but"? And it turned out to be a pretty big "but" too. As unimportant as it is, I was literally disappointed to find out that the heart shaped shell covered jewelry box no longer had the red velvet lining. It now had a black velvet lining. Disappointing indeed! While the box now seems slightly simpler and less tacky and somewhat more modern, it's totally lost the kitcshy '60s/'70s feel it had before.
Do I still like the box? You bet your buttons I do!! I finally have me one after all this time of waiting for one and forgetting about them.
And ...
Since I always have a difficult time figuring out how to end my blog postings I'm just going to stop here and walk away.

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