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Tinaciouslee!

Beauty and Lifestyle Blog

Archives for January 2021

Updating My Wedding Set: Pt. 2

January 22, 2021 by Tina Lee Leave a Comment

As I’ve mentioned a blog ago, I’ve decided to update my wedding set because I’ve come across issues with the e-ring’s setting – among other thangs. The first two of the rings were already done and you can check out the deets here. My half-eternity ring has also gone through a transformation but it was a different project because the resetting did take more work.

Here’s how my old eternity ring looked like.

 

My issues with the ring are quite minimal although they did bother me a bit. For one thing, the ring no longer fits so it has to be resized. Also, the gems are very tiny.

Money was tight during the wedding preps and I gotta admit, we didn’t spend as much money on the wedding bands as we should’ve. If I could do things differently, I would do more research and compared rates as opposed to sticking to the same jeweler who did our e-ring. I love my set, don’t get me wrong, but I wish we spent more time looking for alternatives so I don’t have to re-set the rings at all.

Here is the inspiration behind the design:

Here is my recreated eternity ring:

Now for the details: the sapphires used were 4x3mm midnight blue sapphire ovals. These sapphires were part of my stocks and since they’re not getting the love they deserve, I decided to use them instead.

The diamonds are 2mm in size, white VS clarity. The gems are cradled by claw-style prongs. My plan is to wear the ring only when I’m out and about because the prongs are very sharp and I don’t want to scratch the kids with these.

The ring was re-set by Palamuti Jewelry Couture. All I did was shipped the ring together with the sapphires and the jeweler did the rest. They also provided the diamonds for the eternity ring. The process itself is very seamless and organized – something that I appreciate.

It took several weeks to complete the project mostly because that’s their average lead time + it’s the holiday season. The timeline did work in my favor because I had several ring projects before this one and I wasn’t pissing myself silly waiting for a ring. I had several new ones to keep my mind off the waiting, is what I’m trying to say!

I had this one made in rose gold just because I only had one rose gold in my collection and sadly, the main gem has popped out. I’ll turn that one into a tanzanite eye-candy real soon. I just need to complete all my projects before moving forward with new ones.

Here is the new wedding ring worn with my plain wedding band. They look SO GOOD together guys. I am ecstatic!

My next project is a Diana ring, which is a sapphire oval in a starburst setting (diamond halo). At the moment, the ring is being made and I am beside myself with excitement.

 

2021 is going great for me so far, what about you?

Filed Under: Accessories, Shopping

Updating My Wedding Set: Pt. 1

January 21, 2021 by Tina Lee Leave a Comment

Instead of investing in a bag this year, I decided to grow my jewelry collection, starting with my nearest and dearest: the wedding set.

I haven’t worn my wedding set for the past 3 to 4 years. My ring size has grown considerably and after pregnancy, fuggedaboutit. So yeah, my rings were gathering dust in my jewelry box until my cousin and I started talking about jewelry.

The reason why I wasn’t resizing my set is that I wanted to preserve their original setting. But the thing is, I am no longer enjoying my set because they no longer fit me. On top of that, my engagement ring’s delicate prongs are so loose, the diamond started moving around. I was terrified of wearing my e-ring, the gem might pop out!

The Update

Long story short, I finally decided to update my set. I have three rings in the set and each one has its own issues.

Engagement Ring: The e-ring has loose prongs, delicate structure, and a small size. The plan was to create a more durable structure + thicker prongs to cradle the diamond. Has to be done in yellow gold as well because I don’t want to maintain the white gold plating anymore.

Plain Wedding Band: My plain wedding band has to be resized and then done in yellow gold to match the e-ring and the other wedding band (will be done in Rose Gold).

I have commissioned two jewelers for the project. The e-ring and plain wedding band were done by The Family Band, an IG-based jewelry store while the eternity ring was created by Palamuti Jewelry Couture – another IG-based jeweler. Between the two, the former is newer and the latter is very popular among my clients.

My e-ring and wedding band were completed first. I loved the super quick turnaround time. Both rings were done and shipped in less than 2 days.

Review

I love the more durable construction. The band and prongs of the e-ring are thicker so they are less likely to sustain damage from everyday wear and tear.

I thought I’d hate the look of 14K gold on me because my skin tone suits 18K gold better but not so bad at all. I’m currently wearing my plain wedding band with a 5-diamond ring that the hubs gifted me several anniversaries ago. On my right hand is my rainbow sapphire eternity ring, which I got as a push gift for our second son.

Overall, I am loving my refreshed wedding band and e-ring. The e-ring, I won’t wear as much because I’m taking care of the kids most times. But the plain band is getting a lot of wear these days! I highly recommend The Family Band and I have plans of getting one of their signature ring, which is aptly named, the family band, hahaha!

As for the eternity ring, this project will take a while to complete because of several delays. Not the jeweler’s fault but my own!

I had issues sourcing the diamonds. My initial plan was to source champagne diamonds for the ring. Unfortunately, there were delivery problems with the supplier. Eventually, I had no choice but to cancel the order and pretty much wasted two weeks waiting for the champagne diamonds to arrive.

I decided to get the diamonds na lang from the jeweler. They will use white diamonds, to my utter disappointment, but better than nothing.

I’ll write a review soon!

Filed Under: Accessories, Shopping

2020: The Year in Review

January 3, 2021 by Tina Lee Leave a Comment

I greeted the year 2020 with optimism because 1) I was about a month pregnant last January and 2) it’s 2020, 20 and 20. To me, that year feels like double in luck, you know? Turns out, the year was very different from what I – we – all expected. The pandemic thing happened and there wasn’t much going on for the most part of the year. Here’s my annual look back at the year that was!

In January, I found out that I was pregnant with baby number 2.

Pregnancy Journey: Here We Go Again!

I spent pretty much the next few weeks in shock simply because we didn’t think we’d have another baby this soon – I only had one working ovary at this point. But we were ecstatic nonetheless!

Then, I celebrated my birthday last summer – quietly. I didn’t really go out and saw friends because I was in the thick of the first trimester and wasn’t feeling like going out. Mind you, I never had to deal with morning sickness with this one but I still felt tired all the damn time. I will come to regret failing to celebrate my birthday properly because… a week after my birthday, everything pretty much went to hell.

Pregnancy Journey: Every Pregnancy is Different, Indeed

The lockdowns happened and we were unable to go out for 4 solid months. I had to suspend my business operation because none of the couriers were willing to deliver the packages to the city. We spent the long weeks in quarantine at my parents’ house because we want to keep Damien away from possible infection.

From April to August everything was a blur guys. I was dealing with a lot, the pandemic, losing clients, bearing the full brunt of the pregnancy, being pregnant in the middle of a health crisis. Yoikes.

On top of that, my husband also lost some of his clients so it’s extra challenging. But! There is always a rainbow after the rain, things were not as bad. In fact, by September, things are mostly back to the way it was. Most of my clients stood by me through it all, something I am very grateful for. My business continued after the lockdown.

Because my husband lost some clients and he’s taking it very hard, I gave him a gift that keeps on giving: a new business. I put together a home and decor shop. We monetized our garage, which is sandwiched in between two stores. Our house sits in the middle of our town’s business district, you see. So instead of letting the garage go to waste, we used it to build our makeshift shop.

The business is still in its infancy as I write this but so far, it’s been making some profits. I’ve always wanted to have my own home decor and gift shop so this is something that’s been a long time coming. The only thing was, I didn’t think about opening shop right in the middle of a health crisis! The economy’s in the shitter, to be honest, and it’s a miracle that we are able to sell stuff at all.

That, my dears, is my husband’s rainbow. Mine was our second son, Rocco Dorian or Rocky, who was born on the first day of September. I chose this date specifically because I love the BER months and sapphire is my favorite gem. Yes, unrelated to the pregnancy completely but who cares, we’re in a pandemic.

I love everything about my second, he’s so even-tempered and very smiley! Despite the struggle of being pregnant during the time of COVID, we made it.

After the pregnancy, I started doing lots of home improvement works. We had the bathroom renovated, then the garage. We also installed security cameras in and around the home. By November, the bathroom’s done!

December was pretty chill. There’s a new virus strain that’s more than 50% more infectious but who gives a fuck at this point. We’re still quarantining at home but we travel to the city once a month to restock the decor shop.

My online business is definitely booming from November to December and it pretty much funded all the home improvement projects we had. It’s also the reason why I was able to go ahead with my jewelry projects, which I will feature soon.

And there you have it, a quick review of what came down during 2020 here in our humble abode. 2020 was… an interesting year and I was so incredibly lucky that I was able to survive it without losing my life savings, my job, my businesses, and my sanity. It’s been hard for everyone else so I try to give back as often as I can. Thank you papa Jesus for all the blessings!

Here’s to hoping for an amazing 2021, everyone. After last year’s trials and tribulation, the next year HAS TO be amazing. Cheers to the new year!

Filed Under: The Year In Review

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