@Angie, nice. Great minds think alike, lol!

FWIW, I have pearls and I still struggle with styling them. It's true, you usually only see them in piles these days. My strand feels lonely and so "dated dressy" in a casual outfit, and needy and not blingy enough with a cocktail dress.

I have been thinking about this, too, since my own milestone birthday is coming up. I will be watching to see what you get! It is a tough call because you love variety so much that it is hard to think of something you'll wear every day. I would pick whichever one you would use often, forever.

Hmmm. I like the idea of the watch for you since you know you wear watches. Perhaps you need to figure out whether you would wear fine jewelry very often and if that would be in keeping with your style, esp. as you venture into a tougher style now and then. And a Chanel 2.55 bag seems very Natalie. . . .

As to a trip? Seems like a great plan for an anniversary. And a Burberry? I would save it for next year after you have stopped breastfeeding and your size has stabilized. (I don't know about you, but it took me a couple of years for my size to settle down even in the shoulders and other weird places.)

Fun to dream and imagine, isn't it?

The issue here is that different things matter to each person, so our opinions about what we would get might not excite you as much. I'd always go for jewelry for myself (solid gold bangles or diamond studs), and if you go with pearls, I would go with South Seas or Tahitians. Tahitians are larger and their colour makes them more of a statement piece that you might find easier to wear than smaller white pearls.

It sounds like you are most excited about the bag, to be honest, and if that is the case, I think you should get it. And I would definitely get the Chanel in red. It would go well with your style and be more neutral than you might think. I'd go Chanel or Bottega Veneta over LV.

I don't wear a watch, but a watch is a very long-lasting piece if you wear one. My preference would be a mid-size Cartier Ballon Bleu over a Rolex, but brand and style is personal preference.

Congratulations on your upcoming 40th!

Zap, did you see the 2.55 in person? What did you think of the sizes and colors?

I have been secretly mooning over the 2.55 for at least a year, but thought it was too extravagant so I didn't mention it. But maybe as a special occasion gift. And I have a raise coming at work soon. And I have always loved red purses. When I only had one bag it was red (Fossil tote).

Dh is going on a diving trip himself to Australia this month as a reward for wt loss. He wants me to go to Fiji with him next yr on a dive boat for our 15th anniversary but I'm not sure about leaving the baby. We did it 2 yr ago when Ds was 17 mo, my mom came to watch them for a week, but 3 is a lot to handle. That was our first trip away from the kids and I missed them a lot, so last year dh went by himself.

I'm a traditionalist and vote for real jewelry, which will last forever. I really like the luxury watch idea.

Dh asked me again what I wanted and I told him I'd love a red Chanel purse. He actually said he wants to take me out to dinner in the city this weekend and that we could go take a look. I don't know if he knows how much they are though. I just said they were super expensive. I am excited just to go looky-look! Maybe we'll stop by a watch or jewelry shop to look too.

i'm with rachy...old school jewelry. i call it my "fleeing the country" fund. always liquid.

in the perfect world, i would get the cartier ballon in 28mm, or santos. the tank--solo or francaise--is a classic, but a really really common watch so i would get this one used.

if you are looking for pearls, go to mikimoto for education, then buy from http://www.pearlparadise.com/ . i have no stake in this company. i am a very very satisfied buyer. i lust for these golden tahitians.

wait...we were talking about you...ummm, yes, jewelry!

Oh my goodness! What a dilemma! I would choose the watch, first, a Cartier or rolex. Second, the Chanel bag, although it would be hard to pick the color...probably black, but then what color hardware? I think diamond studs are a must have but if you don't wear studs, then, no.

Question for Angie: why do you suggest the larger Cartier tank? I recently bought one for myself, (to mark a personal milestone), and I got the smaller, women's model. And I tried them all on. I am not petite but I do have slender wrists and it just looked better, to my eye.

So I did my usual "down the rabbit hole" thing and went off to research vintage chanel bags. I found this article which seems to have a lot of good information.

http://www.iamstyle-ish.com/20.....o-buy.html