Melissa Gorga Evil Eye Necklace as seen on Real Housewives of New Jersey

This week while watching the Real Housewives of New Jersey, I spotted an evil eye necklace on the show’s new star, Melissa Gorga.  It was a really pretty gold and crystal necklace with a multi-strand chain and it was very eye-catching. I pointed it out to my mom (Lana) who is an avid Housewives fan and she said that, on first glance, it looked a lot like a necklace that Jewish Gift Place sells by Israeli designer, Michal Golan. I mentioned to her that I thought she should blog about it, in case fans of the show were looking for it! For some reason, she really wasn’t jumping on the idea, so I decided to take matters into my own hands!

After rewinding and carefully reviewing the footage a couple of times, I realized that this was, in fact, the necklace that she was wearing! A quick search of Melissa Gorga’s blog led me to discover that it was a very popular necklace and that fans were trying to hunt it down! Melissa wrote: “I have been getting a lot of requests for the evil eye necklace that I wore on the show last week.  I called the store that I bought it from but they are sold out so now I am on a search for it for all of you!  As soon as I find it, I will let you all know where you can get it from! There is a box on my site where you can enter your email address, sign up and I will send an email to everyone when I find it!”

Very excited, I contacted a blog that writes about the fashion of the Real Housewives, www.BigBlondHair.com, and they got the word out that you can find Melissa Gorga’s Evil Eye Necklace at Jewish Gift Place! Other blogs followed – www.Housewifestyle.com and www.the-budgetista.com! The phones have been ringing like crazy and the orders are pouring in! This necklace is so hot! My mom brought the necklace home yesterday and I got to see it in person! It is gorgeous! I can picture wearing it with a black dress or a white tank top this summer! It really catches the light!

Sizing of the Michal Golan Evil Eye Necklaces: Michal Golan evil eye necklaces come in various sizes — from petite to large. It can get a little confusing so we’re posting this picture to give you an idea of the size of the necklaces. The crystal and gold evil eye necklace that Melissa Gorga is wearing is considered a medium. This image shows the necklace sizes: (from top to bottom) medium, small, petite and a quarter for comparison.

Evil Eye Symbolism: There is a lot of symbolism behind the evil eye. One of my friends happened to be over yesterday when my mom arrived and showed us the Melissa Gorga necklace. My friend thought that it looked very Egyptian. That’s because this symbol has been seen in many cultures for thousands of years! Everything (and I mean everything!) you ever wanted to know about the symbolism of the evil eye can be found in our collection of articles on the subject, which is called, “What is the Evil Eye?“

My Sister, Jenn, the Ultimate ‘Savvy Auntie,’ Becomes a Mom & Great Jewish Baby Gift Ideas

I am SO SO SO happy to announce that my sister, Jenn, and her husband, Rich, have become the parents of a beautiful  little girl!   Sophia Faith was  born on May 17, 2011 weighing 6 lbs. 3 oz.  Little girls do not get any cuter than this!!  And doesn’t Jenn look AMAZING!!  I looked like hell after childbirth and Jenn looks like a glowing model!

I know that Jenn is going to be an awesome mom because she is the most AWESOME aunt!  And now that I just finished reading the book, “Savvy Auntie” by Melanie Notkin, who owns www.SavvyAuntie.com, I realize that Jenn has been a “Savvy Auntie” all along.  She first became an aunt 12 years ago when my nephew, Sky, was born, and then 3 weeks later, my son, Joshua, was born.  She is now the proud aunt of 9 nieces and nephews. She was always a natural at it – the kids absolutely LOVE her! She does the most fun activities with them, like planting flowers and horseback riding,  she gets them the most awesome Hanukkah and birthday gifts, and when the boys are at her house, she shows them the BEST time.  She also knows how to keep them in line, too.

Last month, when she was 8 months pregnant, I thought it might be the last chance for Mike and I to get away for a night and leave the boys with her (I had mercy and only left her 2 out of 3).  She was big and tired all the time so I rented 3 movies and told her to just let the boys watch movies and play video games all day and night and that she shouldn’t leave the house at all.  NOT JENN!!  In all her exhaustion and hugeness, she took the boys to Coney Island for the day where the boys had a BLAST!

Jenn is the epitome of a Savvy Auntie, but if  you’re an aunt, or friend, or mom like me who can use a refresher on little babies, then I highly recommend reading Melanie’s book.  Melanie covers what babies, toddlers, and kids are like, what they like to eat, what toys are appropriate, and what games they like to play, and much, much more.  It’s like the ultimate resource for anything there is to know about the behavior of kids and how to be prepared for them.  And how to be the coolest Aunt ever!

One of the topics Melanie covered in her book are religious rituals and observances that may surround a child’s birth, specifically a bris for a Jewish boy, a simchat bat for a Jewish girl, and a baptism for Christian child.  Since I’m all excited about becoming an aunt again (I now have 10 nieces and nephews!), I’ve been looking through our Jewish baby gift collection for something special for Sophia.  I thought I’d share with you my favorite Jewish baby gifts.

“With Each Child the World Begins Anew”

Gary Rosenthal, a wonderful artist and philanthropist, makes two of my favorite Jewish baby gifts.  He makes a tzedekah box in pink and blue, and a mezuzah in pink and blue, that says, “With each child the world begins anew,” in Hebrew and English.  I love that profound saying.  What makes his pieces even more special is that they can be personalized with the baby’s name printed in gold lettering on the fused glass.

I LOVE Studio Roja’s Noah’s Ark Mezuzah with the beautifully detailed pictures of the animals on the ark.  This is a very popular children’s gift.

Also very popular, and not just for Hanukkah, is Naturally Wood Creation’s personalized name menorah.  You can even put two rows of words to include the baby’s birth date, if you want.   I just filled an order for two of these menorahs for twins with beautiful names, Luca and Mia.

Congrats Jenn and Rich!  You are blessed.