Jill Zarin’s Secrets of a Jewish Mother and Evil Eye Jewelry Spotting

Another Evil Eye jewelry spotting! While I happily settled in last night to watch the season 4 premiere of the Real Housewives of New York and, of course, the 100th episode of Andy Cohen’s Watch What Happens Live!, I caught a glimpse of Jill Zarin wearing an evil eye necklace! I jumped up and grabbed my iPhone to take a picture of the TV screen so I could show you all! I read on www.dailyfrontrow.com that Jill gave the evil eye necklace as her signature gift last Hanukkah season. Of course, her Jewish gifts cost considerably more — upwards of $10,000! That’s fine if you’re a housewife, but for those who want to dress like Real Housewives but are on a REAL housewife budget, there are plenty of options. (Check out our entire collection of Evil Eye Jewelry and learn a little bit more about the symbolism of the evil eye in our article called, “What is the Evil Eye?“)

The video clip that Andy showed last night where I noticed the evil eye necklace on Jill was actually from last season and that got me thinking — how many other other pieces of evil eye jewelry have I missed on the Real Housewives ladies? Well, a little research revealed that the answer is at least one! Caroline Manzo of the Real Housewives of New Jersey has also been sporting this fashionable symbol. I’m sure there are others, and I’ll keep my “eyes” open and report back!

Secrets of a Jewish Mother

Andy Cohen may have been having poking fun last night at how many times Jill Zarin and her mother, Gloria Kamen, plugged their now year-old book, Secrets of a Jewish Mother, on his show but, hey, who can blame them? Jill’s been taking a beating on the show so there should be a little payback! Their book is an opinionated guide to life, with advice on all areas of life from friendship to career, marriage to parenting. There is even a cute quiz at the back of the book to determine if you are a Jewish Mother. A portion of all the proceeds of the book are going to charity, so it’s a worthwhile buy.

At Jewish Gift Place we have a special place in our hearts for Jewish mothers, being that we are all work at home moms! I myself have been trying since last Mother’s Day to get in touch with Jill Zarin (through tweets, emails, blog comments, phone calls) so that I can ask her some questions about her book, Secrets of a Jewish Mother, and her experiences with Jewish motherhood. Well, Jill is a very busy lady, and I haven’t made any headway in getting a shot at this.

Melanie Notkin of Savvy Auntie and her bff Jill Zarin (photo credit to www.savvyauntie.com)

I must say that Melanie Notkin at www.SavvyAuntie.com has made this look easy because she posted a great interview with Jill Zarin, Jill’s mom, Gloria Kamen and Jill’s sister, Lisa Wexler, called, Secrets of the Real Jewish Aunties. Melanie explains that she has a soft spot for the Zarin family because her own Jewish mother died over two decades ago. She found Jill Zarin and her family to be warm, genuine and generous of heart. Bravo Melanie! (No pun intended!) Great interview! I must admit, I was more than a little envious when I read Melanie’s post entitled “Real Friendships of New York City” on her instant and lasting friendship with Jill. (…here’s what, Melanie, I grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, not far from Zarin Fabrics, so I kind of feel like Jill and I are meant to be besties too! We’ll talk…)

Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 8, 2011

With Mother’s Day approaching, we need to start thinking about our Jewish moms, these women of valor, and how we can honor them this year. There will be more to come on this topic in the coming weeks but I think it’s fitting to end on this note and pay tribute to Jewish moms ( and all moms!) everywhere, “A woman of valor, who can find? Far beyond pearls is her value.“