You just have to love Mona Lucero’s boutique. Her shop is located on 15th in the bustling area where East Highlands and the Platte valley areas converge, and the funky goods she carries reflect the hipster tastes of the neighborhood. I popped in last night and fell in love with half the store. An apple green silk skirt with an oriental print caught my eye, although the reality of my current waistline made it purely wishful thinking for now. Jewelry, however, is something I can still fit into, and Mona has stocked the store with great pieces from the best designers from NYC and LA, along with plenty of talented locals. Denver designer Amy Khan’s hammered silver and gold birds from the Little Wings collections are gorgeous, and her chunky “O” necklace with tumbled blue quartz stones is definitely on my wish list. Another local designer, Gemma Huang, has added a few updates to her Yellow Rabbit designs, but I still love her heavy sterling silver skeleton keys best. The substantial pendants are absolutely crave-worthy, studded with sapphires, diamonds, and semi-precious stones. As I wandered the store, I was tempted by a fab handbag by Tutela Handbags, another locally-based design group. I have two Tutela bags already — an Ethel and an Agnes — and they never fail to garner questions and compliments. The latest bag I’m drooling over is the Louisa design, done in a mod sixties white, teal, and red geometric upholstery fabric, finished with a bold red lucite handle. Delish. But in the end I was a very good girl. I skipped the jewelry and bags for myself, and only bought one teeny, tiny thing. I absolutely had to have the Ice Bat Ugly Doll for baby. He’s the cutest little ugly thing in the world, and though his bio says that everything he touches turns to ice, I found the fuzzy little critter rather heartwarming. Of course we’ll see how long I can resist that handbag. And the jewelry. Good thing Mona is always stocked with the things I like best.