Growing up, we always had some sort of jade jewelry around. I remember my cousins each had a piece carved into the animal of their Chinese zodiac sign, which they wore on red strings around their necks. I had fun little pieces, like Buddhas and tear drops and even a pair that formed a heart – perfect for best friends to share. When I graduated from college, a few of my aunts and uncles were able to make it over. One of my aunts gave me a jade bracelet. It’s one of those that is never meant to be taken off. We carefully squeezed my hand through and got it on… over five and a half years later, it’s still here and I’ve never removed it! In Chinese culture, jade is believed to have protective powers and it becomes an extension of your body. It is probably one of the luckiest pieces of jewelry you could ever give or receive and is rife with tradition. Keeping it close to your body is supposed to be good for your qi, ensuring a good flow of energy throughout your body to help you maintain good health. No wonder it makes a great (and very meaningful) gift!
Posts Tagged ‘jewelry’
365great Day 354: jade
365great Day 342: boutiques
I’ve been shying away from most large chains when I shop. Nowadays with all the shops on the internet, it’s super easy to find sweet little boutiques selling much more unique items for good prices. I’ve come across quite a few and even follow these two on Instagram – on the left is a necklace from Stone Rush Jewelry and on the right is a shirt from Hazel & Olive Boutique. I also recently bought a necklace on sale from Cents of Style. It’s a lot more fun shopping these e-stores than going out to your typical big box store. I find the selection far more intriguing, with personality and flair. It’s much more fitting to my preferences and a far more comfortable shopping experience. I’m glad I’ve stumbled across these brands because they offer some great products!
The holiday break
With just about a day left before Panda and I headed back to LAX to return to our life out east, I started to feel anxious. It had been a wonderful two weeks, exactly the sort of healing, growing, relaxing, and enjoying I needed. I was kind of worried about getting back into things at work and all the other obligations being back entails. Luckily, the transition hasn’t been that bad at all and I’m happy to be (what is now) home.
Here are some highlights from my time in balmy SoCal. Other moments included hanging out with my mom, chatting with my cousin (and helping her get a new laptop at Best Buy), enjoying quiet moments alone at the mall, meeting up with some AKPsi pledge bros, grabbing lunch with an old UCLA AFROTC friend, catching up over tea with a friend I met at a Gogobot event, a session with my microdermabrasion guy (it’s been over a year!), relaxing at my fab reflexology spot, and reminiscing over old pictures (many that will slowly make their way into blog posts).
And off we go on our winter vacation.
We got upgraded to first class on the way in! I smartly brought a blanket.
As we took off, I tried to spot our new condo with little luck.
The creepy gray clouds tried to climb over the fluffy white ones…
Breakfast is served! I enjoyed the potatoes au gratin best.
Gettin’ frosty up here but I’m toasty in my blankie. 🙂
What’s that brilliantly bright light in the distance? I think it was probably a large lake catching the sun.
First order of business at home is to hang out with Missy.
Umm, how does this even happen to an apple?!
I discover a new favorite snack at the mall: Tornado Fries! Take a whole potato, swirl cut it, spread out along large stick, fry, and sprinkle on various powders for flavor. Fun!
Had my ring cleaned at my jewelers for the first time since getting it and it was nice to catch up with the owner.
Hehe, Missy doesn’t mind that the pillow is crushing her. She loves snuggling with me anyway.
For my birthday, I basically hopped from restaurant to cafe to bakery to restaurant. Happy taste buds and belly!
Oops, we over-ordered for food. Two people got what five probably should have.
Missy walks all over me and I love it.
When she’s like this, how can I work? Too cute.
I had a quiet NYE just watching the show on TV.
Ringing in the new year with this guy jamming on his electric guitar! #culvercitycharacters
Lol, I never got to check out the Westwood Farmer’s Market once it was moved to Thursday, and now here I am.
My absolute fav to get at Gushi.
Little miss princess.
Trying out a new pizza joint in DTLA with my Gogobot buds.
(re)Met a Gogoboter and we do some selfies.
Got together with old friends who I met the year I met Panda! Yes, the picture is intentionally blurry.
I couldn’t leave LA without bringing some treats.
At the airport, I got dinner since I hadn’t eaten all day.
I thought we got a pepperoni and mushroom, but we accidentally left off the mushroom part of the order. Oh well!
365great Day 121: stud earrings
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A nice simple pair of stud earrings are my default jewelry item. I put them in, I forget about them, and they always go with whatever I’m wearing. Every few months when I remember that they’ve been in for a long time, I’ll swap them out for a slightly different size or shape. I pretty much always go for the cubic zirconia look since it’s shiny without attracting too much attention and the white/clear/silver coloring matches just about any color you throw its way. I can look more dressed up without having to do a thing. I’m all about low-maintenance solutions like that! A good pair of stud earrings is just great.
That ring thing – help!
Ok, so I’m still pretty new to this whole engagement thing and I am so curious what people (especially women) typically do with their rings. Do you wear it all the time? Do you always take it off to wash your hands? Do you often forget it at home? I have no idea what is normal for ring-wearing behavior and I could really use some guidance. My parents are from a generation of Chinese who did not have rings, so growing up I didn’t have role models for that sort of thing. In fact, I’m not sure if any of my relatives have rings. Well, they might have rings, but not really wear them. However, my generation of cousins are getting married now and I think some of them have rings. Still, I don’t think it’s as common or as big a deal as it is in the US.
I’m always concerned about getting the ring wet so I make sure to take it off to wash up. I’m also very careful about where I put my hand since I don’t want to scratch it up or anything. I see older women who seem to have had their rings on for so many years now that they basically forget about it. Do they also meticulously take them off each time they wash their hands? It seems like such a hassle.
What about at home behavior? Do you just keep the ring(s) on all day, every day the way I do with my stud earrings? Or is there a special place you keep your rings at home? How do you make sure to remember to wear them? Or do you just leave them and forget to put them on frequently? Just yesterday I was running late and headed out completely forgetting my ring. I figured it didn’t matter since I was getting a massage and would have to remove it anyway, but I felt a little bare. Should I just keep it on at home too?
Oh and speaking of ring etiquette/habits, do you wear yours on the left or right hand? I’ve seen both and I know different cultures have different habits, but in the US I kind of expect them to be worn on the left hand. Yet I’ve noticed a ton of people wearing rings and bands on their right ring finger… are those just decorative or is there some other meaning to that? Or is it just due to personal/cultural differences perhaps?
And finally, why am I even so concerned about this? I’m sure everybody has their own way of doing it and really it’s a symbol that I don’t need to show to the world all the time. Just because I don’t have a ring doesn’t mean I’m not committed and just because I have a ring doesn’t I’m bound. When it comes down to it, it’s what’s in my heart and mind that matter and I don’t need other people to know what my relationship status is. But, since we live in a society where we do use symbols like these and I do have a ring, I’m super curious about what other women typically do.
So tell me, what ring habits do you have?
The making of a ring
How I designed and created my engagement ring
Now that I am officially engaged, I can finally talk about my ring! You see, I knew about it all along because I was the one who got to help create it. Panda and I had discussed getting engaged sometime after he completed grad school – little did I know it would be the very day of his commencement! At the end of 2012, I had started to get interested in rings and decided to start looking to see what I might like. When I found certain things that appealed to me, I’d share them with Panda and he sort of got into it too, also sharing what he found. While he was on the east coast and I was on the west coast, we found ourselves browsing jewelry stores separately and sending each other photos or links.
When he was able to visit for the holidays, we went into a local jeweler’s (Manya Jewelers) together and before I knew it, we were agreeing to design a ring with her. I had not expected to get started so soon, but hey, I pretty much knew what elements I wanted, so why not? We pointed out some designs I liked and what I wanted to be incorporated: a purple center stone, a curved band, a small diamond on the bottom of the ring, a cool side profile (inspired by Vera Wang designs like this side profile), and a marquise shape if possible. We showed Manya a few of the rings that had those traits so she could visualize what I wanted and she got to work!
Selecting the center stone
The first order of business was choosing the center stone, which would determine a lot of other details for the ring. I had assumed the only purple gemstone is amethyst, so that’s what I figured we’d get, but then I discovered purple sapphires. I’ve always liked sapphires, but blue is so popular and overdone, plus purple is my favorite color; this combination of the two was just perfect for me. Purple sapphires actually come in a huge range of shades, so Manya got four for me to choose from. She had me put them in between my fingers as shown so I could get a feel for how they’d look against my skin tone. They also came in slightly different cuts, but all square to roundish. Can you guess which one I chose?
Drawing up a CAD model
Once my center stone was chosen, Manya knew the dimensions she could use to build the ring around it. This was all done in CAD with precision. She had measured my ring finger size on a previous visit, so she had all the sizing numbers she needed. I got that fun, funky digital model soon after to show me what it would look like. I could ask for any revisions based on that, but I didn’t need any. The posts in the design are high and extend beyond the actual height of the gems because they are later filed down (see top right of the first image for the CAD drawing). Manya warned me of this ahead of time so I wouldn’t get confused when I saw the drawing!
Making a 3D wax model
I don’t have a picture of this phase, but a wax model of the ring was made to ensure it was the appropriate size and to give us a feel for how the ring would look in real life. It looked like a plastic model, but apparently the wax is pretty delicate so you can’t really handle it. It’s meant to help you visualize the actual ring before they melded it so you can request any extra changes before they get too far into the process.
Molding the ring
Once the design was approved, the ring band/setting was made. It came very bare and simple as pictured. This was then tried on to ensure it would fit well and that the sizing against my finger looked good. Since it needed to be polished and filed down slightly, it was actually a bit tight and I wasn’t sure I could get it on or off! Luckily, Manya’s a pro with this kind of stuff and had a bottle of Windex ready. She sprayed my finger to make it more slippery and we were able to carefully get the ring on and off without trouble. It was fascinating to see the ring before it was all polished and the stones were set. I kind of liked the raw look of it.
Setting the stones and polishing the ring: final product
My wonderful engagement ring, complete with purple sapphire center stone, curved band, marquise shape, and…
Every step of the way, things were confirmed, so all that was left after this was to set the gems and polish up the ring! Within a month, we were able to go through the entire process and have the final product in our hands. That’s pretty awesome! It came in an elegant black box, all shiny and wonderful. When I went to pick it up, we did the final step of adding a small diamond to the bottom of the band, as I requested. Of the 5 design elements I wanted, there was only one that we didn’t get around to. I’m pretty happy with that! I love how creative Manya was in making the curve of my band look somewhat like a marquise cut since we couldn’t actually incorporate that shape gem into the ring. All in all, I’m very satisfied and I’ll make sure to get a cool side profile the next time I design a ring. 😉 I love how different it is from every other ring I’ve seen. It’s still obviously an engagement ring, but there are details that are unique to me and my ring.
…small diamond on bottom of ring. 😀
365great Day 89: The Buttercup LA
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I was recently introduced to this lovely new shop on Sawtelle. At first I was skeptical of “amazing macaroons” – they just aren’t my type of dessert. But there’s something about these that is just fantastic. Perhaps it’s that rich creamy filling that isn’t too fluffy but has some real meat to it, so to say. I’ve got to say, I have found a new appreciation for these treats and I’d definitely recommend anyone in the area to swing by! The people at the shop are super friendly and I love that the store features local artists – you can get canvases for your walls, greeting cards for special occasions, even jewelry for your favorite lady! They’ve got some pretty amazing candles too, which are shaped like cupcakes and look so good you could practically eat them. This is a gem of a place tucked away in the Olympic Collection building; everything about it is great!
365great Day 55: TOUS
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TOUS is a fun brand of jewelry that often uses their signature teddy bear shape in their designs. It’s pretty cool how creative they get with it sometimes and my ring is my favorite example. This was a gift from Panda for Valentine’s Day and while at first it may look like flower petals wrapping around the Murano crystal, it’s actually the shape of a bear! I absolutely love it because it is so unique and unexpected. Plus, I love the delicate/dainty feel of it. But back to TOUS – they have styles ranging from cute to elegant and most of their pieces manage to incorporate a bear. The versatility yet consistency of their brand is pretty amazing, and I find that’s what makes them great.
Valentine’s surprise
I’m not usually one for fanfare, but I do love a nice surprise now and then. Look at what Panda got me for Valentine’s! 🙂
What’s this?!
Peeking inside…
Baby Panda checks out the treat.
The red box opens up like flower petals to reveal a jewelry box.
Cute little round jewelry box topped with a bell!
The next layer is the baggie.
Almost there!
Yay, a cute little ring!
Look carefully and you’ll notice the “petals” are actually the TOUS bear wrapped around a sweet little Murano crystal.
Spiraled shell rings
These were pretty cool rings at a store in the Keys, but were way too big for actual wear (at least on my fingers).
