Fool's Diamonds

I wrote a post recently where I said I was a little tired of my wedding ring. Which still sounds so horrible to me. But I am such a different person now, style-wise, than I was then. Almost three years ago when I chose my bridal setting. I was young and didn't care at all about personal style. I bought a ring that was very reminiscent of my mother's wedding set. And now it just looks dated. Old lady-ish (no offense, mom - in fact, yours probably isn't as old-lady as mine). It's not so much that it's yellow gold. There's nothing wrong with that. But the setting is just so old-fashioned, and not in a cool retro or vintage way. Yellow gold also isn't the best choice for my cool skin tone (looks great on mother dear!).

Anyway, I am getting obsessed with Herkimer Diamonds in a big way. It would be a cheap way to update my wedding ring. Since I already have a real one, an expensive one. I haven't really told my husband how much I've been thinking of it, though. It seems like something that he might take personally or think is weird. I admitted once that if I were to choose now, I'd choose a different ring. He seemed surprised enough by that.

Etsy has some great options. No surprise there. It's funny that I like these so much because it seems like I have for a long time. Several years ago, I loved a raw diamond necklace that Nicole Kidman wore to the Oscars. Then last fall, I fell for a Swarovski cocktail ring. I didn't buy it, because it was/is way out of my price range. And perhaps a little too big for me.

Then I started looking at other cocktail ring options on Etsy, without buying. But now I think I have found my match in the form of a Herkimer Diamond. I want one bad. *Sigh* What to do?

Packing Light

I am not going to claim to be an expert on packing and traveling light, butI just got back from a quick trip to my parents' house and I managed to make this trip (from Saturday to Wednesday) with only one pair of shoes. Now, this wasn't a very long trip and it was a trip to Arizona so I could be pretty sure about the meteorological conditions. But I considered it quite a feat for me to get by with one pair of shoes. Over Christmas vacation, I took three pairs. My husband actually had to pack one of my pairs of shoes because I was out of space. Granted, we were gone almost two whole weeks and had church, family pictures, holiday parties, and Magic Mountain on the itinerary.

I didn't want to do that again, if possible. So this time, I started my packing with a pair of shoes in mind. Then I picked outfits accordingly. Sounds simple enough, but somehow it isn't always. I did have to borrow a pair of flip flops from my sister when we got pedicures, but otherwise I was fine. The shoes I took were some pink flats I bought early last fall. It was sort of a whim purchase and I wondered if I would have that much I could wear them with, but it turns out there isn't much I wouldn't wear them with.

These are one of my favorite pairs of shoes. They are supremely comfortable and versatile. I don't often think ballet flats are that comfortable. They just are too flat. Too thin for all day comfort - no shock absorption. But these ones are great. They do come in other colors, but I only have them in pink. Here is a mock up of the outfits I took with me. I don't believe shoes have to be "matchy-matchy" with your outfit, by the way.

The Great Jean Debate

I know, another post about jeans. This is part venting too.
Anyway, I have been searching for jeans lately. I have two pairs that fit, one of which is a little short. I have another pair that is a size too big, but still fairly new and in good shape so I wear it about as often as the other two. So, in essence 3 pairs, with only one being close to perfect. Not counting, the old, faded, ripped, 2 or 3 sizes too big jeans that I bought in high school and college (which I usually wear to my nanny job, to save my nicer ones from the filth that can sometimes be childcare).

That's not enough jeans, right? I feel like if I had more, I would wash each pair fewer times and they would in turn last longer. Right?

OK, so, I've been on the hunt for new ones but my problem has been that I want them to be cheap. And I mean cheap. Long story short, I have discovered that cheap jeans just don't fit well.

I have in the past been of the mindset that paying over $90 for jeans is ridiculous. I know, every fashionista would probably laugh at me, but you have to remember that I was the anti-fashion for a long time. So now I am thinking that someday (someday) designer jeans just may be a worthwhile investment. Because I am really, really, really tired of striking out on jeans and buying jeans that don't fit well. And seriously, jeans should be comfortable and I/we wear jeans all the time. They are a wardrobe staple, a go-to item, can these days be dressed up or down. It makes sense to invest in a great pair (or two or three).

So that's my goal. Someday I will have designer jeans.