NaBloCleanPoMo Day #10 Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend

When I was but a young girl, I sometimes thought diamonds were commonplace.  Everyone had diamonds!  I had pearls, garnets (my birthstone), sapphires...all those other lovely gems but diamonds.  Consequently, I didn't get my first pair of diamonds until the age of 30.  You can read the full story here.  After I got my first diamonds, I learned how to clean them on my own.

Now, I have a diamond engagement ring and I use my grandmother's diamond wedding band as my own.  They are soldered together, but still need a bit of cleaning now and then as well.  I often forget to clean my sets of diamonds, and they get a bit cloudy and lose some of their sparkle.  Thankfully, diamonds are easy to clean!

Ring before

Earrings before

Step 1: Soak in warm, soapy water

Step 2: Clean gently with a soft-bristled toothbrush

Step 3: Finish with a quick dip in a windex/water solution

Rings...sparkly and back where they belong

And my earrings, back to their lovely, sparkly selves!

51/365 Souvenirs

This is a pearl necklace I had made in the Epcot "Japan" at Disney World.  You can pick an oyster, they open it for you, and then you get a pearl!  I loved doing this as a little girl when I went to Disney.  Both times as a child, I picked oysters that had twin pearls.  I had earrings and a ring made.

This time, Lauren and I both picked oysters, and had our pearls set in pendants.  Lauren's was a gold color 8mm pearl, and mine was a pinkish 7.5mm pearl.  Mine is set in a flower setting that I really like.  It may be my new favorite piece of jewelry (other than my engagement ring, of course!)