My Mom Takes My Jewelry. Has for Years. I Can't Even Be Mad.

My mom is from Glasgow.

I was born in Aberdeen - though I moved to Austin when I was five, so Texas got me pretty early. But Scotland never really left. It's in how my mom talks. It's in the family and friends we still have there. It's in the way everything feels right the second the plane touches down.

We've been going back together for years. Just the two of us. No real plan. No agenda. We wake up, get in the car, and see what happens.

It's my favorite thing we do together.

 

The Isle of Skye and the Best Kind of Luck

About six years ago we almost learned our lesson.

We showed up to the West Coast of Scotland and the Isle of Skye with absolutely no reservations. The way we always do. And it quickly became apparent that this was not going to work anymore. Everything was full. We scrambled. And somehow - the way Scotland trips always seem to go for us - we got lucky.

There was a cancellation, and we pounced on it.

The Isle of Skye was everything. We had no plan, which meant we had the best possible plan. Wake up. Drive. Stop when something looked beautiful. Have tea and snacks somewhere tucked into the hills. Make up our own day tour on the fly. Lots of laughter. Lots of not knowing where we were going and not caring even a little bit.

We were last there two and a half years ago. We're already hoping to make it back within the next year. It never feels like long enough.

 

One Stack. And Whatever She Can Get Her Hands On.

Here's where my mom and I have never once agreed.

I put my jewelry on before I leave Austin. One stack - necklaces, bracelets, anklets, rings, earrings - and it stays on for the entire two weeks. Through the flights, the ferry crossings, the long walks, and the longer drives on single-track roads. Through the adventures and the rain and the accidental detours that turn into the best parts of the trip. I never think about it again. It just goes with me.

My mom is a completely different story.

She changes her necklaces, bracelets, and earrings daily. Sometimes it seems like she works through an entire collection piece by piece - a different combination every morning, very specific opinions about what goes with what, what works with what outfit or color.

What she does not do is buy any of it.

She takes it.

From my bathroom when she visits. From the racks at the Treehouse, when she sweet-talks one of the makers into something custom. From a market table, before I can stop her. Whatever Tula she fancies, she fancies it immediately, and it becomes hers. She is the founder's mother, and she operates accordingly.

I can't even be mad about it. She has excellent taste.

Neither of us is right. Neither of us is wrong. That's actually the thing I love most about Tula Blue - it works both ways. You can put one stack on and live in it for weeks or months straight. (That's me!) Or you can bring everything you own and enjoy choosing something different every morning. (That's Granny!)

The jewelry handles both. And so do we.

That's the thing about traveling with Tula Blue - if you go my route, you genuinely never have to think about it. No jewelry case. No removing it at security. No worrying about saltwater or humidity or losing a piece somewhere between the Isle of Skye and Edinburgh. It goes through TSA, on the rainy walks, and to the nicest dinner you can find in a village with one pub. Same pieces. No decisions. The best travel jewelry is the kind you forget you're wearing - and that's exactly what this is.

Or if you go my mother's route, you pack more than a few pieces and make a different stack every morning. Both are perfect.

For the complete guide to building a travel and adventure jewelry stack - waterproof, metal-free, and made to never come off - we wrote the whole thing here. Best Adventure Jewelry for 2026 And if you want a deeper look at the best travel jewelry and necklaces specifically, that guide is here too.

 

What My Mom Has Taught Me About Living

My mom has a good time. No matter what the day holds.

It honestly doesn't have to hold much of anything - an afternoon at home, a walk around the neighborhood, a trip to the store. She's smiling through all of it.

Life hasn't always been easy for her. It hasn't been easy for any of us. But she keeps choosing joy anyway. That's the thing about her.

And somewhere in watching her do that, year after year, I started to understand something about jewelry too.

Real life isn't the special occasions. It's the daily stuff. The ordinary Tuesdays. The morning workout class. The cup of tea in the afternoon. The laundry that must be folded. The hours spent watching the games and practices. The moments that don't have a ceremony but add up to everything.

Jewelry should fit that life. Not wait for a better one.

It shouldn't be precious and fragile and saved for when things feel significant enough. It should be there for all of it - the days at home, the travel and adventures, the rain, the ferry crossings, the mornings that are nothing special and somehow end up meaning everything.

That's what Tula Blue is. Jewelry you can live in. Not jewelry you save.

My mom's Tula vault is a decade of exactly that. And I hope she keeps taking it from me. I love that she loves it as much as she does.

That idea - jewelry that becomes part of a person over years - is something we think about a lot. If it resonates with you, this is one of my favorite things I've written about it.  He Wore It Every Day for Years. Then It Was Gone.

 

 

Live on Whatnot - May 5th

Here's something a little different this Mother's Day.

My mom is joining me live on Whatnot on Tuesday, May 5. And she's bringing pieces from her vault. (Whatever I can talk her into bringing, anyway.)

We're auctioning off some of her personal collection - pieces she's worn and loved, some rare finds, some things that came out of my bathroom and probably should have stayed there. It's going to be chaotic and fun and very us.

Come join us. 

 

The Best Mother's Day Gift Is One She'll Never Take Off

Or change every single morning. Either way is fine.

If you're looking for something for the mom who travels, moves, adventures, or just refuses to slow down - here are the pieces she'll reach for again and again.

The Everyday Pearl Necklace - simple, beautiful, the one that quietly becomes her favorite. 

The Adjustable Pearl Necklace - wear it long, short, or anywhere in between. No clasp. Works as a necklace, a hat band, or wrapped as a bracelet. Perfect for the mom who always has somewhere to go and wants one piece that does everything. 

The Journey Bracelet - three strands of rope with pearls of all different sizes knotted across every strand. Looks like three bracelets in one. Made to mark the journey we're all on - worn through every adventure without ever coming off. 

The Total Tula - our most versatile statement piece. Three sliding pearls you can position anywhere across the front - wear it long like a bolo, as a choker, or down the back. The only piece of Tula I take on and off myself - because when it's on, I'm dressed up. For the mom who has everything. And will absolutely find a way to take it. 

 

 

We're going back to Scotland as soon as we can make it happen.

I'll put my stack on in Austin and not think about it again until we land in Edinburgh.

My mom will pack half her Tula vault and arrive at the airport with at least ten pieces of Tula Blue already on.

And it will be absolutely perfect.

Happy Mother's Day to every mom out there. Especially mine.

 

 

Looking for a Mother's Day gift she'll actually wear every day?

Explore our most meaningful pieces - handmade in Texas, built for the life she's already living.