I rocked these all over the world and on a night in Kyiv, one decided to slip away!

Chilean wines are some of my favorite on earth outside of New Zealand. My quest for these wines landed us in Casablanca wine county, northwest of Santiago. After a mid-morning tasting, we decided to drive a little further to the coast and visit Valparaíso; Pablo Neruda’s home, La Sebastiana is there after all and is a must-see.

La Sebastiana is situated at the top of a greatly pitched hillside and after a couple of hours of wandering the property, we began down the steep incline looking for lunch. It was uncanny how similar this was to San Francisco. The cobblestone streets split down through brightly colored neighborhoods ending down at the historic harbor on the Pacific Ocean. We spotted quite a few funiculars along the way and made the easy decision to take one on the way back up. No way I was climbing up those streets, my glutes won’t allow it this time!

Once we reached the bottom of the hill, we were able to find large empanadas accompanied by regional wine - ridiculous delicious! We popped in and out of small shops, admiring the liberal use of graffiti that adorned the outsides. There was no real motif amongst the art, only a juxtaposition of flavorful colors and dream imagery.

I wasn’t on the hunt for anything in particular in Valparaíso, we had visited Pomaire a few days prior and the trunk was full of lucky three-legged chanchitos. There was a small pop-up stand adorned with brass rings, bright tassels, and llama furs on the street across from me.

I gravitated towards the brass and discovered that there were more than rings, there were these gorgeous boho/hippy style earrings; they were a pretty reasonable price to boot. My only problem? I couldn’t decide on which shape and design to go with; seriously stared at the selection for a solid five minutes, I wanted to take them all home. After a long bout of deliberation, I had to eventually leave it up to my better half to do the selection for me. He picked out a pair, paid for them, he handed me a little paper bag with a large smile, “I hope you like them” - how could I not?! They had the most intricate little details, he really paid attention to these, they were lovely. I wanted to purchase more from the vendor but had decided to be a bit more responsible, there were still a few days left to the trip. The wide selection of brass and bronzed jewelry was enviable; the store owner and I chatted a moment and exchanged emails. I needed another pair, just, maybe not right now.

Let’s fast forward to a year and a half later. A year and a half of traveling, dinners, events, photo shoots and countless days of work. I adored the earrings and wore them every chance possible. Everyone has their go-to accessory they can’t do without and these were my “it” pair that fit with any outfit ensemble.

We traveled to Kyiv for a friend’s birthday celebration, and as all birthdays go in Ukraine, it became awesome fairly quickly. A delicious spread of meats, cheeses, pates, Georgian wines and local vodka lay before us and the night was young. Going between venues required walking on slippery sidewalks and over mounds of snow, imagine how difficult this becomes as the night progresses. My earrings kept getting caught up in my scarf, occasionally pulling one out, but I would catch it and put it back in. Sadly, I stopped paying attention and one wiggled its way out and onto the ground somewhere - gutted!

It was a total loss, no way I was going to find it - gone. I kept the other part of the pair with the hopes of one day finding a replacement. My girlfriend, Christina, found a pair that was similar in Costa Rica, but was unable to go back to the shop before she left - drats!

Later that summer, I decided to clean out my travel backpack, and guess what I came across? The vendor from Valparaíso’s contact information! After an email written in badly grammar’d Spanish (I tried), she responded that she no longer carried the ones that I had, but just received a shipment with a myriad of different patterns. I wanted a pair but couldn’t decide which ones, so went ahead and bought one of each; I learned my lesson this time.

Finally, after more than two, I have my replacements - and a new reliable vendor!