Designing My Own Engagement Ring...

Firstly, I'm hoping no one notices the gap of just over a year between this post and the last one... 

Secondly, I must divulge the fact that I am currently involved in one of the most exciting and inspiring experiences of my life so far - designing my own engagement ring! 

Yup, after four years, looks like the boyf and I will be making it official... ;) And I must say that - despite the romance and element of surprise that so many girls dream of - I couldn't be happier putting the proverbial cart before the horse and having been given the opportunity to design my ring.

And so, with no further ado, herewith a sneak preview of The Ring...

The Inspiration:

I wanted to stay away from the traditional white diamond and nothing could be more 'me' than a soft-pink stone set in a halo of smaller white diamonds. Initially I thought that Pink Sapphire would be the perfect stone, but upon research I found that very pale pink sapphires are very rare... So in stepped Morganite! My jewellery designed happened to have the perfect pink piece of Morganite in their showroom, and as my eyes clapped onto it, I knew that this stone was THE ONE!

* Text Insert from Here.

How appropriate!

Morganite:

Belongs to the Beryl family of stones (the little sister to her big brothers, Emerald and Aquamarine).

Morganite (Pink Beryl) gemstone meaning

Morganite is the stone of Divine Love. This delicate yet powerful stone opens one to the frequency of the universal heart.

Morganite attracts love and maintains it.

Morganite promotes abundance of the heart and prosperity of love.

It assists in connecting with Divine Love and angelic energies:

• Helps to release unhealthy emotional patterns
• Aids in developing trust
• Brings a sense of joy and inner strength

Healing properties of Morganite

Morganite is used by healers to counter stress and stress-related illness. Asthma, heart problems, impotence, lung difficulties.

* Text Insert from Here. How appropriate!

My little piece of Morganite Heaven ;)

The Instructions...

Here are some pages from the presentation I made for the jeweller....

The Final Sketch:

Just received these on Friday from the jeweller... Have approved them, now we wait for the 3D CAD drawing and from there it goes to the workshop for the goldsmith to handcraft...

So exciting! I cannot wait... Shall post any new developments :)

Xxx
Leighla

Bachelor Style

Loving this friend's apartment - boy's paradise in the centre of CT. Finding himself after a separation and doing a fine job tapping into his inner naughty boy!

Remote Shopping Spree!

So with the boyf in Israel this past month, I received one of those phone calls last night that most girls only dream of... The all-famous, toe-curling "what do you want me to buy for you?" phone call... *Sigh*

Needless to say, I think I may have taken it to a level far beyond what he expected - as in, he'd probably thought (in typical, naive male style) that I'd respond with a shortlist of 2 or 3 key items, along with strict instructions on colour, size, dimensions, etc. No such luck! In typical me-style I responded with a barrage of mood boards, images from Pinterest and screenshots from the H&M and Zara iPhone Apps... (Sorry about that, babe! But you opened Pandora's box). Not to mention strict instructions on what to select from sale rails for the summer 2012 season (just starting here in SA) and then from the upcoming winter season. Poor guy. The best bit of advice I have for him: find a friendly shop assistant about the same size as me, show her the pics, give her my sizes and let her do the shopping for you.

Some of the pics I sent to him:

I'm sure he gets the just... :) Just three more sleeps....

Xxx

White with a touch of Zebra

Have fallen in love with this simple, classic but funky idea for a bathroom. And it's one that can easily translate for any room. Take one predominantly white room, add a pinch of wood & steel to texture and top off with a beautiful Zebra-print focal piece:

Find more inspiration for bathrooms here.

Love it!

Kitchen Tea - Alice-Style!

I suppose I'm officially at that age: people all around me seem to be getting married, having kids, etc etc etc. *yawn* (not really, I'm secretly very envious!)

A friend of mine is planning a bridal shower/kitchen tea for one of her school friends and I thought it might be a fun little project to help her with, given the amount of free time I currently have (and also fuelled by some bitchiness from a fellow bridesmaid towards her - I'm rather protective of my friends!) 

So I drew up some mood boards with images I found on Pinterest and thought these slides were just too cute not to share on my blog... Who knows, maybe one day I might become an event planner! Or better yet, find an excuse to throw elaborate, OTT parties at least once a month;) 

I just hope my friends will be putting this much effort in for my kitchen tea when the time rolls around... *hint hint M & J* :D

Xxx

Hello Friday

Wonderful Friday!! Just spent a small fortune on cosmetics and fragrances at the Prestige Cosmetic Sale at Black River Park. What a wonderful shopping experience... Apart from the 1.5 hour wait in the queue.

Spent a small fortune on 3 perfumes (two for me and one for my gran), La Prairie foundations, Guerlain lipsticks, eye-liner, gloss, blusher, a Kanebo masque, more Shisheido make-up, the works! Well worth the long queue and definitely something I would like to attend again. Unfortunately offer only open to employees based at BRP...

Here's a pic of all my takings:

Kinda spent more than I intended. Far more. About R1700 more. Oops. But, seriously, it was a once-in-a-lifetime sale! And I now have Christmas and Birthday presents for every close to me. A bit of girl rationale, if I say so myself...

Happy Friday!!!
Xxx

Sour, with a hint of sweet...

That describes my day today. Well, so far it's only been sour but it can hopefully only get better. Mainly because I am finishing work early, going for an Yves Rocher facial and then for a home workout (using my kittens as weights. Just kidding, they're too heavy.) before settling in for the evening.

Am really keen to get to know the Yves Rocher range better - I love the eye cream so far, but I have been very concerned that the Cure Solution Anti-Fatigue cream is just far too rich for my skin. I think turning 30 made me panic and run for the richest, creamiest anti-aging formula I could lay my hands on! So this facial, by a trained Yves Rocher specialist, should help me get a better idea as to whether the range is even suited to my skin type. Looking very forward to trying the below serum... I'll keep you posted on the feedback.

Am on Day 2 of my new Super-Healthy Living Plan, custom-designed for me, by me. A few things I need to shed before summer arrives. A couple of kilograms, a bad habit or two, you know the drill. It's the practice round for our New Year's resolutions. More on this to follow.

A little side-note: this is the view from my boyfriend's balcony - he's staying at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. Am more than just a little bit jealous... Look at the beautiful building in the far right of the horizon!

King David Hotel, Jerusalem

Yves Rocher & Beautiful 30's

Wow - quite the hiatus I've taken! In the past few months I've re-thought the direction that this blog should be going in... Having just turned 30 and having a not-quite-minor obsession with all-things-beauty-and-cosmetics, I've decided that a bit of branching out is in order. A small divergence from home decor, a little deviation from the norm... And a whole new look to go with it!

As I mentioned, I have just turned 30 and I have been on Regim-A products for 2 years now - which I have loved and have absolutely sworn by, along with regular Regim-A skin peels. However, a change is as good as a holiday and I found myself needing something a bit more geared towards the early signs of ageing that inevitably accompany your 30th birthday... Cue the Yves Rocher range of cosmetics from Woolworths. A very inexpensive range of premium cosmetics. I won't lie, with prices this low I am slightly skeptical of their performance but I will keep you posted because my skin will tell me all about it if they are even vaguely sub-par.

To kick-off my collection (and to test out the wares) my first purchase was the incredibly well-priced Yves Rocher Serum Vegetal Dazzling Eye Cream (R180), along with the Yves Rocher Cure Solutions (Day & Night cream in one - R215), which promises to revitalise one's skin by 30-odd percent in the first month. The consultant said that this moisturiser 'prepped' the skin for the next phase of products from the Yves Rocher line. So we shall wait and see. I started with them last night. Fingers crossed that the results from this particularly wallet-friendly product range are great...

Look Up!

Just love this chandelier...

And the pressed ceiling just makes my heart skip a beat!

 I'd love to look up in the foyer of my dream home and see a site like this...

And to make a pin-board from a salvaged, antique pressed ceiling...

A Little Secret

I have a little something up my sleeve. It's one of the most powerful, incredible feelings. And I'm keeping it secret - for now at least...

Let me just say that life changes every day, we evolve, we learn and ideas morph from tiny little wells of thought to fully-fledged offspring...

After the storm the leaves start to settle, the rain dries and flowers come out. Let's see what happens...