Autumn is a symphony of colours when every leaf is a flower. It's time for transition and warm spiced fruit tea. Crisp, shivery at times but still bright and clear days are perfectly right to add a little spice to your look as well. Wrapping up in scarves and coats we shouldn't forget to wear jewellery to celebrate this delicious season . Try a subtle scarf pin. It can be with charms to add a personal touch or a simple silver pin but studded with crystals to sparkle up a rainy day. Not a big fan of hats? Add some autumn colours with a romantic hair clip: deep purple, red or black embellished with pearls, flowers and butterflies.

Can't decide on the colour? Choosing jewellery colour for autumn - that's a no-brainer, really . Look around at mosaics of fiery scarlet and burgundy, rich gold, lemon yellow, hot orange and ripe coral, warm hazel-brown and pale silver and many other Nature's breathtaking colour combos that can be used as guidelines to choose a piece of jewellery that will look good with your complexion and style. My personal favourites are lapel brooches in shapes of amber maple leaves. Crystal enamel lizards and exotic multicoloured fire-bird birds look stunning on a jacket lapel as well. Vintage gold or bright purple teardrop earrings, glistening in unison with unpredictable autumn skies, definitely take the cake in terms of what I'll choose to wear today to add more sun.

As autumn's alchemy trails its way delicately through the park near my home, I shuffle along. Hopefully, tomorrow there will be more sunshine and I'll wear a warm amber pendant to go for a stroll in the park and read Basho's haiku:

fragile twigs
breaking off the scarlet papers
autumn wind

My home is swamped with stones, big and small, smooth and edgy. I have this little innocent obsession: while strolling down the beach or a shadowy alley in the park, I'd stuff my pockets full with dear trophies. Some people buy fridge magnets, I collect stones. So wherever I go for my vacation, I have to find a stone or a few and bring it home. I don't have a special place where I store them. They find shelter here and there: on a book shelf, in flower pots, in my jewellery box. Whenever I stumble into them, memories of the place they come from revive spinning in a flamboyant kaleidoscope. I love these encounters.

Colours of the stones. That's what fascinates me most of all. Not only of stones, it could be any splash of colour. Peach, geranium, golden yellow or brown, soft blue, lavender, plum, lemon, tea with milk, lime green, solid black ... The problem is not in choosing one colour. Make colours match – that's what demands real talent . I don't use contrasting colour schemes often but if I do, I do it with jewellery. It's all about balance. If I wear a plain dress with no patters, then I can go for a bolder set of earrings, a brooch, or a bracelet: with stripes, spots and dots. When my outfit is a burst of colour or has patterns, I choose subtle accessories.

Colour is my daylong obsession, joy, and torment. Claude Monet had an extraordinary sense of colour and light. For me colour is definitely a joy and ... therapy. Scents are also a great way to relax. My cappuccino is tempting me so I have to stop here. Mmm, with cinnamon, my favourite.

I like early mornings. Though I could give my whole kingdom for ten more minutes of sleep. Well, the world is a contradiction, the universe's a paradox, and I'm a walking proof of it. One of my favourite morning moments is when on my way to the office I walk by the children's music school. They have their windows open and you can hear clumsy but sweet: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C ...

One more thing I enjoy when I'm still at home – leafing through Vogue and sipping my coffee. I don't usually devour all columns at one gulp; I take it one at a time. The sickening smell of fresh print and smooth gloss. Fresh Vogue with fresh coffee – a healthy well-balanced breakfast . But I do actually read it, honestly.

Now I'm reading about Biennale des Antiquaires (Grand Palais, Paris; 15 - 22 September 2010). It is one of the major annual fairs in the world of jewellery, fine arts and antiques. One of the many participants is the legendary House of Cartier. They will display a collection devoted to the world of birds: a sapphire and diamond brooch in the form of a bird, emerald wing earrings and jillions of other sparkling eye candies.

Can't afford Cartier at the moment . It doesn't mean that it would be a no chicness autumn for me. There are loads of wonderful "everyday" jewellery available: bird brooches, wing earrings, thin bracelets with charms, long chandelier earrings and all kinds of pearl jewellery. These are the main trends. Not new but offering a wide variety for a girl with any budget to indulge her personal preferences.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall who in the land is fairest of all? - You, my queen, are fairest of all." – That's what I thought looking at myself in the mirror at the shoe boutique yesterday .

Mango peep toe platform high heeled court shoes ... Ah, the epitome of glamour and style. A pair of head-turners and jaw-droppers making men's hearts beat faster. Killer shoes! One word that is missing from this list – comfort. Taking the last glance in the mirror I proved it again that beauty is pain. Nah. I loved the shoes but they would kill my legs by the end of a 9-hour work day.

Let's be honest, like most other girls I grew up with the weight on my shoulders of Vogue, Elle and other guides to style and life in general that taught and opened up many things to me but also somehow made me deceive myself that fashion demands a sacrifice. For me it was always a choice between comfort and style, and the scales often tipped in favour to the latter. It did repay though with admiring gazes and compliments and that was probably worth all the corns .

Now that I'm approaching the 30 year mark (sigh), the scales start turning to comfort. What's more important – I realized I don't have to choose. Who said comfortable things can't be stylish? (uggs are forever!). I tend to choose comfy outfits and let jewellery do the work. Yep, jewellery is my helping hand in creating an elegant look. I prefer to invest more time and money into accessories (the pay day is coming – yeeehaaa!). The same dress would look different with a different set of necklace and earrings. That definitely goes lighter on my budget.

As I was about to finish writing, this "what if" type of thought kept bugging me. Can't help it but I need these shoes . Like a strategic weapon preserved for a special occasion – a woman should have something perfect to wear if the employer or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour. Okay, you got me, I confess. I'm a beauty and fashion slave. We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious . Going to get those shoes tomorrow!

Now whenever I visit my brother and his wife, I can't help but notice one thing about their home that I have never thought about before. Quiet and peaceful. That's all going to change in a few months when Vlada will give birth to their first baby.

Children are sweet little angels (when asleep ). They will never listen to your monotonous, righteous lectures about don'ts and mustn'ts but will copy and imitate exactly what you do following your example. I'll have to keep this in mind all the time now because I want to be the best auntie in the world! We don't know yet who our sunshine will be. The future parents want it to be a surprise but I secretly hope that it will be a girl.

As our anticipation amplifies, we're racing around all day trying to check off at least something from our huge to-do lists. I'm leaving baby food and diapers to the parents. I'm thinking about something special that will last. Children jewellery was the first thing to pop up. Not sure what exactly it's going to be: some cute studs or a necklace with her initials. Hmm... choosing a name. That will be another war of the worlds – I see it coming . By the way, if you, guys, happened to run across some beautiful names lately, let me know! We'll consider all options.

No matter what, my "welcome-into-this-world, sweetie" gift will be a lifetime thing. I'm sure she won't be able to appreciate it at once but I'm not looking for immediate feedback. Certainly, we should think about the baby's safety and well-being, so my present will wait patiently until there is no danger for it to be swollen, broken, or simply ... ignored .