The Midlife Woman » woman

Diamonds, a Valentines Day Necessity?

Kathleen — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:35:48 +0000

Valentine’s Day is only a few weeks away. I prefer not to “go big” on this ancient, and nowadays excessively commercialized, day of love. You see, our wedding anniversary is barely one month later, and to me a more appropriate reason to splurge. This year we are celebrating 25 years of marriage, woo hoo!

I‘m a practical woman or perhaps midlife has matured that youthful dreamy romantic gene. Either way, I never was a material girl. An expensive yet beautiful bouquet of roses is a waste of money in my opinion. Moreover, my thinking is diamonds are appropriate for long lasting love occasions. An expensive anniversary or engagement-sized diamond is an excessive gift for Valentines Day in my humble opinion. Rings or another jewelry piece with sparkling diamond accent chips is more acceptable for a Valentines Day gift. After all, how many pieces of fine jewelry do I really need?

In fact, when hubby and I married, my diamond engagement ring was handed down. It was a beautiful, old-fashioned setting, mind you. One of those charming engagement rings where the small diamond is surrounded in platinum, illuminating sparkles with the grand illusion of a large diamond and set on a gold band. I was quite happy to be given that diamond engagement ring.

This fact gnawed at the hubby. He sincerely believed a BIG diamond was something I should be blessed with. Knowing what he really thought was truly a beautiful display of love and more than enough for me. On our 10^th anniversary hubby prevail over my practicality and purchased a marquise cut diamond ring. I have to admit it is a sparkling beauty; I love the diamond ring. The elongated shape adds length to my short finger and brilliant colors sparkle in nearly any lighting. It was well worth waiting for although the hubs may not agree.

Diamond Facts

Similar to radiant cut diamonds, the marquise diamond is a multifaceted cut. However, the marquise radiates a bow-tie effect when light reflects on it. It produces an effect of dancing lights and radiates in the sun. This characteristic has been credited for its wide popularity among engagement rings.

For the ultimate representation in a diamond ring, one can purchase a heart diamond; that is, a diamond cut and polished in the shape of a heart. Many claim by doing so results in the loss of potential brilliance and fire. In other words, the intense brightness and those spectral sparks of blue and green, yellow and red are lost in the cut. However, did you know that some cut diamonds possess hearts and arrows?

According to whietflash engagement rings, “With special viewers it is possible to clearly see a pattern of eight symmetrically spaced arrows when observed from the top, and eight symmetrical hearts when viewed from the bottom of the diamond. By combining optical symmetry with outstanding proportions and impeccable finish, diamonds will perform at peak levels with regard to brightness, scintillation, and dispersion (otherwise known as brilliance, sparkle, and fire)”

Twenty-five years of marriage hasn’t changed my view on Valentines Day gifts. I still prefer a small gift of love and time together rather than an elaborate, expensive gift of diamonds. A box of fine chocolates or better yet, a box of chocolates from our local Chocolatier Norman Love is a superb presentation of love. Even at midlife, date night with dinner and a movie, is another appropriate and romantic Valentines Day gift and one I’m still rather fond of too.

How about you, what is your opinion on diamond rings and Valentines Day gifts?

Kathleen

Hey, there I'm Kathleen. My friends call me Kathy; to my kids I'm Momia. Life has afforded me many hats: Mom, wife, sister, friend, business owner... and most recently a midlife blogger. From college to marriage and babies, in the midst of business and wealthy boomers, midlife retrospection validates this extraordinary journey called life.

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How to Start Customising your own Clothes

guest post — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:17:57 +0000

Make-do-and-mend has taken on a whole new meaning in recent years. Fast throw-away fashion made the original make-do-and-mend culture virtually obsolete. Why get the sewing machine out to fix a hem when we could pop out to the shops and buy a new dress for the same price as a trip to the movies?

Now though a growing number of people are going back to basics and taking responsibility for their own style. Customising clothes and making new from the old is a great way to save money and get your creative juices flowing. Whether you get involved out of necessity to make your money go further, or because you are fed up of wearing the same thing as everyone else, there is a form of customisation of everyone.

You don’t even need a sewing machine; you can start with a basic sewing kit of needle, thread, scissors, ribbon and sequins. For a super easy way to jazz up a tired cardigan try replacing the buttons with colourful, mismatched alternatives. You can buy buttons very cheaply, or scavenge thrift stores for bags of buttons. Embellish a handbag without even touching a needle and thread by getting some ribbon and tying it round the handles. This is a great way to make your bag match your outfit by just changing the colour of the ribbon.

Three easy projects to get you started:

Got some old jeans lying around? Perhaps they’re too tight on the legs or are stained on the knees? Then chop the legs off and make a pair of denim shorts! Not only have you then got some free shorts, but you are in control of the length, great news if you want to hide your legs. You can leave them as they are, or embellish them with sequins, buttons, beads or applique patches.

Bored of your sweaters? Give them a vintage inspired update by adding lace. Find some thick lace trim in a matching or contrasting colour and hand sew it around the hem or sleeves. Alternatively, cut a Peter Pan collar template and use it to add a Peter Pan lace collar to a lightweight sweater or cardigan.

Want to make something totally new? Try this rope belt. You will need a length of rope, double it up as many times as you like and measure it to fit your waist. Leave an extra six inches to tie a knot. Get two key rings and feed the rope through the eyes of the key rings, tying in a sailors knot. Tie one big knot in the middle of the belt, this will create the centre of the belt, and there you have it! A rustic belt for spring’s nautical trend.

Emma Waight is a freelance fashion writer for clothes.org.uk. For fashion news and style advice follow clothes on twitter.

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A Day in The Life of the 50′s Housewife

guest post — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:42:50 +0000

The retro look is definitely back in fashion. Interior designers are turning back to the 1950s for inspiration when it comes to art, colors, and furniture, but would they like to actually live in those times?

Many of us dream of a simpler time, when it was possible to disconnect for a while, and not feel like you’re always connected to work thanks to the Blackberry, email, and social networking. However, we forget about all of the other technological advances that we enjoy these days. If we had to give up our Siemens appliances, electric showers, dehumidifiers, and zip taps, would we really be happier?

The Daily Routine

In the 1950s, people had to work a lot harder. Husband and wife would both arise early. The man of the house would leave for work while the woman would get the kids ready for school, and make a start on the housework. 1950s women were encouraged to take pride in their appearance, so there was no lounging around the house in slippers – instead, they would get fully dressed up, makeup and all, even if they had no plans for the day.

Housework would take up most of the day. Between hand-washing clothes, cooking, cleaning, and dusting, the average housewife would burn a lot of calories! The labour saving Siemens appliances of the modern day didn’t exist, so elbow grease and persistence did most of the work.

Daily chores would be broken up by a walk to the local greengrocers and butchers. Convenience food wasn’t available, especially during the early 50s when rationing was still in place, so families lived on simple diets with a lot of home cooked food. The average adult woman would consume around 1,800 calories per day, and burn a lot of those through hard work, so obesity was rare.

Few households owned a fridge, so food was bought fresh as it was needed. Clothes washing was done by hand (as washing machines were even rarer than fridges), and even baths could be a chore – modern central heating and fancy zip taps were non-existent!

When the kids got home from school, and the husband arrived home from work, the family would enjoy a pleasant evening meal together. After that, the children may be enlisted to help with the washing up, while the husband puts his feet up to relax after a hard day’s work.

Since there was no internet, and phone calls were an expensive luxury, most socialising happened either in shops, at the weekly coffee morning, or as door-step gossip. In this respect, they certainly knew how to have fun in the 1950s. Rations, hard work, and limited luxuries were offset by resourcefulness and creativity when it came to socializing.

For many households, bed time came early in the 1950s. After a hard day’s work, or a day spent busy with housework, or at school, people were tired when night-time came. Instead of spending the night watching TV or playing on the computer, it was normal to be in bed by 10PM.

Returning to the 50s?

Could you go back to the 1950s? Certainly, the more active lifestyle had some benefits, but the convenience of modern day life, and the ability to spend more time pursuing our hobbies, has benefits too. What do you think?

This article was written by Amy Fowler on behalf of The Kitchen Appliance Centre, who offer state-of-the-art kitchen gadgets including zip taps and Siemens appliances for the 21st Century house wife (or house husband!).

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