Thursday 20 November 2014

Precious Things

I'm quite an unadorned kind of gal. I rarely make up or jewellry. My hair has been the same style (apart from a couple of dodgy perms) since I was little. My eyebrows are untidy and my toenails hardly polished. It's not a boast. I'm not necessarily proud of my generally unkempt appearance. I'd love to know how to apply make up properly. I can happily spends eons picking up, inspecting and then putting back eye shadow trios in Boots. I have a friend who always wears lovely necklaces. My favorite section of The Antiques Roadshow is the jewelry. And I was very taken this year by a contestant's earrings on GBBO.

engagement middle. 21st left. just because right.

I have three rings given to me by my Dad. One for my twenty first, one for my engagement (it's complicated. Marc never got round to it, and Dad found a bobby dazzler for his girl. He sent it in the post. Can you imagine it) and one just because. They are beautiful, and I hardly ever wear them. They are actually precious, in that the stones are real diamonds and sapphires. They scare me little I have to admit. The above photo does not show them off at their best, because they glint and sparkle like nobody's business.

Before I had children, I always thought that I'd pass them onto the daughters I would most definitely have. I didn't have them. So now I think that maybe the boys might like to give them to their girls when they are older. Maybe as an engagement ring, if that's the path they eventually travel. Or maybe I'll give them to my grand-daughters, if I have any.

I should wear them. They are kept out of sight in a box at the back of my knicker drawer. And while I'm at it, I'll have a make over at one of those counters, have my hair styled, get my eyebrows waxed, paint my nails, pop on a pair of heels and sashay down the cobbles of Fore Street as if I'm Elizabeth Taylor.

I quite fancy being a diva.

Leanne xx


If you'd like to read more Precious Things,
 pop along to the following contributors

Sarah at Mitenska

20 comments:

  1. My engagement ring came from Ireland and I never take it off. It goes swimming, rock pooling, running. riding. climbing and it does baking, washing and gardening. I managed to get my hair cut today (first time in ages- although I realised I'd forgotten makeup when I sat down and looked in the hairdresser's mirror)... xx

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  2. Your rings are beautiful Leanne, just like your heart! I think that beauty comes from within, so if you want to do the hair and make up thing go for it if you want to, but don't think that you are not beautiful or precious because you don't. I cannot imagine Liz Taylor walking down Fore Street!! That would be quite a sight wouldn't it....... I am sure that when the time comes for passing on your rings you will know just who to give them to and they will be exactly the right person! Thank you for sharing them with us. xx p.s. I love the jewellery on the antiques roadshow too! xx

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  3. The rings are very pretty, Leanne. Maybe you should try wearing one for a bit just to be sure you don't want to keep them. You might find that you quite like wearing it. Jay didn't get me an engagement ring either. It was by mutual agreement. I'm not big on jewelry, and we were planning to backpack around Europe as soon as we finished university, so put the money towards that instead.

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  4. Pretty rings .. you never know .. the boys are young yet .. they may want them when they are older .. or a Grandaughter may want that link with you .. they are not something that can be replaced. For the space they take up .. i would say .. do nothing for now.

    Vicky x

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  5. Those rings are beautiful, every single one of them. You should wear them! I wear the same rings every day but I do have one very special one which I inherited from my Grandma and I adore. I am a little scared of it, to be honest. You could sell it and put a deposit down on a house. I only wear it on "special" occasions. She'd be horrified - she wore it every day, for gardening, washing up, cooking, everything. She was cool like that. :-) xx

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  6. What gorgeous rings, lucky you. I fear I may never own a diamond. I don't have fancy hair or nails or anything, but I love jewellery too. I have some nice necklaces and things, but they don't get worn very much. A lot of my day is taken up with mud and washing and cleaning and so forth. Not so much opportunity for sashaying about in sparkly things. Maybe one day... CJ xx

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  7. Beautiful rings - I love glittery things. I think I over do it sometimes as the house is boy dominated!

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  8. Wear them! Really, do. I always wear my engagement ring which has seven tiny diamonds. My mum left me all her jewellery. Some things I just can't bear to go through yet (clothes, mostly - and recent photographs) and I brought her glasses home from the hospice and can't bring myself to open the case.
    But I'm slowly bringing bits of jewellery back from the house. The things I always remember her wearing. There's a ring heavy with diamonds which she bought herself as a gift when she retired (I too worry about donning something of value but it fits perfectly), and amber earrings. And little diamond earrings too, which she recently gave me with a note tucked into the box.
    I always wear something of hers to try and feel close to her, and it's usually a little piece of her jewellery.
    Don't worry about the diva makeover but do consider wearing the rings. They contain memories.
    S

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  9. Once again, I'm awed at how alike we are. Why don't we live closer? We need each other in real life because we would be such a good pair. I hardly wear any jewelry either. Just my wedding ring (tiny sapphires and diamonds in a gold channel-setting; my sapphire engagement ring is in a jewelry box; I haven't worn them together in a long time). And then a tiny pair of diamond solitaire earrings which were a first communion gift from my grandpa. I rarely change them, maybe twice a year for a day. I think less is more, personally. I have just a few items that I truly love and I'm very happy that way.

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  10. Oh, and I meant to say that the sapphire isn't my original engagement ring. That was a silver ring with Native American engravings that belonged to my husband. He took it off his own finger and put it on mine. I wore it for awhile, until he bought the sapphire, then I gave it back. Later, when I was pregnant my hands were too swollen for my real ring so I wore his again. Then I went back to mine and he's been wearing it again for awhile. He wears it on his right hand, with his wedding ring on the other. It goes back and forth, it's all good. :)

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  11. Oh my, they're beautiful. I agree with Sarah, wear them! Lovely post Leanne. Bee xx

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  12. Those rings are beautiful! You should wear them and get the joy from them - then pass them onto your granddaughters! I had my mother-in-laws rings in a drawer for years, eventually decided to have them made into one ring......and love it! Wear it every day! And you'll feel like a princess if you have a make over! Enjoy.

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  13. Oh, they're lovely! I have the tiniest diamond in my engagement ring but can't wear it these days as the setting is too high. After I'd flicked it off once too often getting it caught up on stuff - pastry, I baked into an apple pie without realising! - I had to put it away. I defintely think yours need an airing once in a while.

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  14. They are beautiful and why not wear them before you pass them on when the time is right! Your boys will have a memory of the time you were wearing them! Anita xx

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  15. They are lovely though best worn rather than a knicker draw...for sure :)

    Nina x

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  16. Hi Leanne, I found you through ThistleBear. I'm a have a teen daughter and two little boys........am loving reading your posts. You live in such a beautiful part of the world. I travelled around Cornwall a few years back. You must wear those rings - a different one each week! Elaina

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    1. Oooh hello! I think the general consensus is to wear them. I have popped the engagement ring on. But it looks rather bling, I must say. What was my Dad thinking!
      Leanne xx

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  17. Your rings are lovely and they are too good for the knicker draw! I don't wear much jewellery either but I would be lost without a wedding or engagement ring. Sarah x

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  18. what a sweet Dad, he was obviously determined his girl was going to wear diamonds. That's just so sweet! hope all is good and have a great new year. X

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  19. Jewelry truly is precious, especially when the items are an heirloom that has all been passed down the generations. Make sure that you get your items cared for by a professional if you ever deal with problems. I've done this before myself and have had great luck with it all. I've always made sure to care for my items as well.

    Ricky Rowe @ Find A Jewelry Expert

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