How to Clean Your Favorite Fashion Jewelry

Do you have select pieces of special jewelry that is worn weekly-maybe daily? It's not long before these turn into a collection of tarnished chains, rusty necklaces and dingy pearls. Don't worry you aren't alone! Because contact with makeup, heat and air may dull and darken your favorite jewelry, all budget fashionistas need a quick guide on how to clean fashion jewelry without spending a lot of cash. No need to give your local jeweler a call because you can use common household products to clean your bling bling at home...for less!

Things You Will Need to Clean Fashion Jewelry:

• Cornstarch
• Alcohol
• Talcum powder
• Warm water
• Towel
• Cold water
• Soft cloth
• Mild liquid detergent or soap
• Woolite
• Cotton bag
• Ammonia
• Jeweler's cloth

MAKE YOUR PEARLS SHINE!
[This may come in handy with The Carolina Cup just around the corner!]

Combine 1 tablespoon of mild liquid soap or Woolite in a cup of warm water. Immerse your pearls in the sudsy mixture for 20 to 30 seconds. Gently dab your pearls with a clean cloth to remove excess moisture. Lay your precious jewels flat on a small towel to dry. **To prevent scratching of the surface, store your pearls in a small cotton jewelry pouch, away from your other jewelry.


REMOVE KINKS OUT OF CHAINS!

For tangled and knotted chains, first sprinkle them with talcum powder or cornstarch to untangle. If your knot is large or super tight, push a small straight stick pin through the middle of the tangled metal. Turn and twist the pin gently to free the tangle in the knotted chain. **To avoid discoloring and tarnishing of your favorite jewelry, store your baubles in a padded box or velvet-lined jewelry sleeve after each wearing. You won't have to clean it as often.


CLEAN YOUR GOLD FASHION JEWELRY WITH AN AMMONIA SOLUTION

Want to spruce up your jewelry before a hot night on the town? Mix 2 tablespoons of liquid detergent (like Dove or Dawn), 2 cups of warm water and 1 to 4 drops of ammonia into a plastic bowl. Soak your gold chains, rings or bracelets in the solution for a MAX of 10 minutes. Once they have soaked, rinse the jewelry in warm water to get rid of the ammonia residue. Rinse your gold jewelry in alcohol to add shine!


CLEAN YOUR SILVER FASHION JEWELRY WITH LIQUID SOAP & WATER

To clean your silver chains, bracelets, and earrings, use 4 to 5 drops of liquid soap and 2 cups of lukewarm water. Then, rinse them in a cold stream of running water and then blot with a dry towel. For stubborn stains, mix up a paste of 3 parts baking soda with one part water. First, wet your silver jewelry with a stream of cold water from your facet. Smooth the baking soda and water paste on the jewelry with a soft and clean cloth. Rinse your jewelry completely and dry on a flat small towel.


Thanks to these tips you can clean your gold, silver or pearl jewelry at home quick & easy..for less!

Who is the new owner of McAuleys? And what does she do there?

As most of you already know, Missy is no longer the owner of McAuley's. I realize very few of you actually know who I am, and since Missy's letter in January promised a blog introducing me, I figured it was about time. Some of you are probably wondering, "Who is the new owner of McAuley's? And what does she do there if she doesn't work in the store?" First of all, my name is Kelin Quigley. Other details: I'm 28, recently engaged, mother of an adorable schnauzer named Ruby, attended Clemson for YEARS but never graduated, employed at McAuley's since August of 2006.


Me & my fiance Chad


Last year's birthday cake... The girls at McAuley's were thoughtful enough to put Ruby's picture on it :)
Now... Moving on from personal things and on to McAuley's. As you know, I don't work in the store, and I never have. In addition to the responsibilities that come along with business ownership, I've retained all of my previous duties as an employee of McAuley's, including the accounting, website maintenance & order fulfillment, and facebook. If you click the live chat button on our website, I'm the one who answers. For (almost) every product you see on the website, I took the pictures and put it up on the website. If you place a website order, I'm the one who charges, packages, and ships it. There's much more I do, but it's far less interesting and would not make for a very exciting blog. So, I'll show you where I work! I always enjoy seeing behind the scenes pictures, so I'm hoping some of you might too. I've been on an organizing kick this week trying to make it faster and easier to get things done, and I'm pretty proud of what I've accomplished. If you're one of our many online customers who've never actually seen or been to the store, I'm sure you'll be surprised to see we're not working with a big warehouse and a huge staff!


Here's where I spend my days.... And sometimes nights.


My drastically improved picture-taking area. I won't call it a studio because only professionals have studios, right?


Here's where your website orders are packaged


Packaging supplies... ready for orders!
Now, if you haven't been to the store this year, we hope you'll come soon and see all the hard work we've done on updating the inside of the store! Here's a sneak peek for those of you who haven't seen it yet...





That's all for now!

Spring Top 5 Essentials

When Spring comes, we often become overwhelmed with all the cute clothes and don't know what to buy on a budget! I hate after I get home from a long day of shopping and find that I have bought a lot of similar items or don't have the right accessories to pull an outfit together. If you are like me, here are five Spring essentials that you will want to have in your closet this year!

Spring Break Essentials

It's been a long, cold winter, but Spring Break is finally here! For those of you spending a week in a warm and sunny place, here are some Spring-Break-I'm-going-to-paradise-and-I-need-to-look-great essentials!
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Obviously, a bathing suit is the first thing on your packing list! There are lots of great places to shop for bathing suits, but I find it easiest to go to Target, your favorite department store, and Victoria's Secret because you know you are sure to find something between these 3 places!

Bandeaus with a medallion, buttons, beads, starfish, shells, etc. at the center is one of the hottest swim trends for 2011! Pictured above is a bathing suit I purchased from Victoria's Secret for my Miami trip. It has beading in the center of the top and on the sides of the bottoms.
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Chances are you haven't had a chance to get in the sun yet, and if you're white as a ghost and ready to look sun-kissed, you will need an awesome spray tan! Skip the harmful UV rays at the tanning bed and try a self tanning spray such as Vicky's Secret. Speaking of harmful UV rays, you will want to avoid those as much as possible if you don't want to look like a raisin by the time you are 30. Sunscreen is a must!

I love using Neutrogena Ultra Sheer UV Sunblock. It is not sticky and doesn't leave you feeling yucky. It is easy to wash off after a long day at the pool or beach which means you can go from day to night easily and comfortably.
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If you don't like to apply sunscreen to your face as often as you know you should, try wearing a chic, floppy sun hat. We just got some great ones in this past week, all under $25! Click here to check them out!


They are great to wear to the pool, beach, or out and about during the day. Even if you aren't in a bathing suit by the pool, you are still getting lots of sun on your face & need to be protected from the UV rays. You will be stylish and stand out!
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Time to put up the boots and get a pedicure because your toes won't be covered up anymore! Sandals are another warm weather necessity, so why not trade in those old rubber ones for some that are stylish enough to wear during the day and for dinner or a night out on the town?


Our tan wedge sandals are only $32.50 and are a great sandal to transition from beach to party easily, and make the walk home from the party pain free! Today, we are also expecting some other great black braided sandals that will be perfect for outfits needing black shoes rather than tan!
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You will want your clothes to do double the duty on Spring Break to avoid paying extra baggage charges for your flight so a nice pair of denim shorts is key. We just got in iT! denim shorts that are versatile to wear different ways for only $78.


They are casual enough to wear with your bikini, but the dark wash and clean pockets are nice enough to rock with a pair of wedges and a light tank for a night on the town.
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You can't go on vacay without some cute shades, but rather than spending oodles on the hottest designer look, grab some that cost under $10 so you don't flip when they get scratched by the sand, swiped by the pool or taken by the ocean. If you still want to take your nice pair, wear them when you know they will be safe & free of being destroyed!

Depending on your style and face shape, you know what works best for you. A new 2011 Spring trend is cat-eye glasses so if you aren't afraid to try something new grab a pair! If you aren't sure of going all the way with the cat-eye craze, meet in the middle with subtle cat-eye glasses like the ones above.
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And lastly, of course you need CLOTHES! If you plan to go out each night for dinner and/or out on the town, don't forget to pack cute summer dresses that show off your tan! Also, pack several light weight tanks and tops to pair with your jean shorts & wedges. We have many dresses, skirts, shorts, tanks, & tops that arrived this past week. If you need help finding the perfect outfits to take, we would love to help you! If you are a local customer, come in the store and we will work on your budget! For online shoppers, live chat with us on our website or check out our facebook!

Alexander McQueen Spring Summer 2011 Shoes

The butterfly influence leads to very interesting shoes from Alexander McQueen this Spring/Summer. Wouldn't it be fun to try these on?

What we do is all for you!

While the design and decorations have recently changed at McAuley's, some things are staying put! We know change is always scary but we are still your local boutique providing the best clothes and trends for you to enjoy! We want to remind you that everything we do is just for you--that's what sets us aside from large companies and malls. Let us know what your thoughts are...we want to hear!

Ahh...I want it NOW!

I know it is so frustrating when something comes in and you love it, and then you miss out on it. No girl likes to hear, "Sorry your size is sold out!" But we rarely re-order our merchandise for a reason--not to frustrate you! The only time we usually will re-order merchandise is if it is something really basic or it is something that we sold a few to people online who don't live around here. We feel it is important because the whole point of shopping in a local boutique is to make sure you don't see someone else around town wearing your outfit! This is why we want to provide one-of-a-kind pieces for our customers. If you miss out on something and are dying to have it, we always try our best to help you out. But don't worry because we always have new shipments arriving and will make sure to find you something even better!

A little help please?
We are always excited to help you as fast as possible! While shopping our online store during normal business hours Monday-Friday, we have the live chat option available. This is a great way to get any questions you may have about the fabric, how a style fits, or whatever else you may need, fast and easy! It is much faster than commenting on our facebook photos (which we still love to hear from you on there!) or e-mailing us to ask a question. You get an answer right then and there from someone who is physically at the store and knows what the clothes are like, rather than a person working in a warehouse whose only seen the clothes either in a photograph or packaged in plastic wrap. We are also working on making the live chat option available on weekends!

We know you...
If you have shopped with us in the store, and we are familiar with your past purchases and how things tend to fit you, we can help you when you place a website order! We will suggest another size than you have ordered, if we think it would work best on you. This saves you the trouble of sending something back and waiting to get the other size shipped to you.

You always get the first pick...
Our local customers always get the best selection because it takes us at least a day after something arrives to get it up on the website. As soon as we receive a shipment, we always let you know through facebook & twitter (@shopmcauleys) so you can come in and get the first choice! We want you to have the convenience of ordering online, but if you do see something on facebook that has not been uploaded to our website, you can call us at 864-226-7773 or e-mail us at customerservice@mcauleysboutique.com to place your order!

Oh so many ways...
We know shopping online doesn't always give you the best idea of how many different ways you can put an article of clothing to work, so we always like to go the extra mile to show you different ways of wearing it. Someone's idea can be totally different than ours, so we also love to see how you put your outfit together by sending us a picture that we can post to our "Happy Customers!" album on facebook. It is another great way to share your style to McAuley's customers.

DASH Miami

I've been in Miami the past 5 days so that is why you haven't been hearing much of anything from me on here, twitter, and facebook but I am back now & have some exciting things to share with you! Yesterday, we went to the Kardashian's DASH store. They had such cute clothes, but we were hurried to make our flight so we didn't get to spend much time there trying on. I bought a t-shirt with their logo on it for $60 & silly bands that were shapes of them & other things to do with fashion for $10 (hehe, don't think i'll ever really wear them).

This is my sister and me standing out front of the store. It is located on a busy street in Miami called Washington Ave. We were unsure of exactly where it was so after grabbing a bite to eat we walked about 10 blocks to find it.

All the girls inside the store. You can notice all the water bottles lined along the top. They were see through and had a picture of all the Kardashians on the inside.

Me in front of the counter. The girl working was so nice and friendly.