[krpeters]

Thanks all for the advice -- I had forgotten about the skill boosting spells, definitely a worthwhile way to gain access to higher level spells. Magic items are a bit more micromanaging involved, but I can see how they'd worth the effort to get another bonus level.

So it looks like the order is:
1) Gems
2) Spells
3) Items
in order of ease of use.

Thanks all!