My mom may not realize it, but her house near Philly is always a treasure trove of inspiration for me. The last time I visited, however, was over the winter holidays so I was definitely due for another trip up I-95. Although my recent stay was only three days long, we had a lovely time (including a stroll through the new Barnes Foundation). And sure enough, I found little vignettes in her home that sparked my creativity…like this quaint display in the powder room:

Scattered shells and penguins.

The color palette and shell shapes remind me of this necklace by J.Crew:

Delicate enamel disc necklace. Brass, enamel, gold plating.

Continuing with the aquatic theme, I love the decorative, lavender-hued platter that my late father had bought at the famous Gump’s store in San Francisco:

Heart of glass: this floating goldfish is a sentimental favorite.

It makes me dream of this extravagant bracelet by the striking designer Victoire de Castallane for Dior Joaillerie:

J’adore Dior: bracelet from the “Idylle aux Paradis” collection, 2009. White gold, diamonds, emeralds, jade, mother-of-pearl and coral.

My mom also has these candy-like fish figurines:

A sea of three: clearly colorful.

They resemble this dazzling pair of “fighting fish” earrings from Dior’s Coffret de Victoire collection.

Dior “poissons combattants” earrings, 2011.

I could get used to this type of fishy fantasy—and perhaps I’m more into jewelry than I had previously thought!

Selected images via jcrew.com and style.com