Diamonds are a girl's best friend

Marking each milestone and special occasion in my life with diamond jewellery sounds outlandish. In my case, I am referencing the smaller, more affordable range and not the million dollar bling. I try not to go into deficit in the pursuit of pretty things. It helps when your family members feel the same way as well.

Starting with the basics or shall I say classics that will last you a lifetime. My 16th birthday present from my mom, a diamond tennis bracelet in white gold. From far it looks like a sparkly gold bracelet.

With Jewelfest open to the public from tomorrow onwards, have fun searching for your own presents! My 18th birthday present, 0.4 carat diamond solitaire ring in white gold (picture above).

To celebrate my first job after graduation, my mom bought me this eternity ring that can be worn 2 ways. A normal band of diamonds and by also flipping out the inner yellow gold band to form a puzzle ring.

My 2nd job. I bought a diamond graffiti ring in white gold for myself. It broke once and costs as much to repair.

My sister's wedding, a diamond sunburst pendant to match my dress. Below picture is my mom's jewellery, that was worn to match another outfit. I like the earrings, that are designed to look like you have 2 ear holes on each ear.

Another diamond ring to celebrate my 3rd job (picture below). It's a ring casing and I bought it with the intention of setting a princess cut diamond in the center. But, on 2nd thought, the loose diamond looks better as a pendant.

26th Birthday present, another diamond bracelet. This time little flowers in a row.

A huge diamond pendant from my mom. It's now a staple in my wardrobe for all occasions. It's not a common design and discreet enough not take grab attention away from the bride, speaker etc. There isn't even a hook. You have to just string the chain across.

I first heard about coloured diamonds when I was still a teen. Soo rare that they are only found in the Australian mines. Not sure if this is still true. I only own 1 piece of coloured diamond jewellery, that is a cognac diamond ring (pic below). The rich silky brown colour coupled with the inner fire of diamonds make it seem more wholesome than any other coloured gem.

Blue Topaz

My other birthstone is Topaz. Naturally occurring in yellows, orangy (rare), blues, reds, pinks and even colourless. The colourless variety are often coated with treatment to create Mystic Topaz.

My favourite colour is the blue. It ranges from a light sky blue (almost white) to a deep dark London Blue, covering just about every shade in between.

In mysticism, the topaz is attributed with a cooling, styptic and appetising effect. (Source: http://www.gemstone.org/gem-by-gem/english/topaz.html)

Rocks Grill

It's near my office. Good for after work drinks coz it's tucked in a corner, away from the maddening crowd. It's actually just the 2nd flr of The Sail, next to the escalator. Great view of the Casino construction from the full length glass windows on 1 side and a wall of rocks on the other. Be quick tho' the restaurant only seats 15.

Freshly baked warm bread that looks like it came from Culina's ovens? Still good. With self serve olive oil & vinegar dip. Good news is the waiters clear the entire wood block after each patron.

The prices are expected of any The Sail tenant. The food really depends on what you order. Sides are separate but quite spectacular (e.g. truffled mashed potatoes). As for the mains, go for quail, steak or ribs. The other dishes are only average.

Beading Classes

I finally signed up for jewellery making lessons. Bought myself a complete set of tools in pink and a couple of fasteners to get started.

The shop has the widest range of semi-precious to precious stone I have ever seen. I tried my luck asking for gold and black coral, which they had! Surprisingly (see picture above). Sometimes, they even bring in blue jade. Talk about accessibility. I am going to need a 2nd job for this.

I have been a self taught hobbyist for years. Starting out with my dad's soldering iron and coloured wires to create bangles and pendants. Progressing onto hobby wire for art classes and eventually beading.

I realize spending habits don't change, they just grow in proportion to your current salary. So as you earn more, you spend more on the same things. This is evidenced in how much I spend on this hobby. I spent a good portion of my allowance back when I was a kid at Japanese hobby stores that sold imported beads. Nowadays, I buy wholesale strands of semi-precious stones. Above picture shows some leftover strands of turquoise, rose quartz, pearls and corals I haven't used yet. My dad used to buy us spools of wire and iron to fuel our habit. I think that is why me & my sis love wholesale quantities of stuff even til today.

My Websites

Jumping on the blogshop/Website bandwagon:

Much easier than renewing my auctions on eBAY every other week. Partly operational only as I just set them up last night: http://sites.google.com/site/raspberrycreaminc/home

My other internet site that I am going to link to my blog: http://sites.google.com/site/beginthebeginning/home?pli=1

Several things I have to work out, like the concept, theme and more importantly hooking up invoicing & payment options. Will probably be selling some of the jewellery, bags & other stuff my sis and I have made in the past =P

Welcoming any ideas or feedback from everyone. For now, this is going to be my new past-time.

Mid-Autumn Festival

Today is also my Dad's Bday!

The mid-autumn festival goes by many aliases; lantern festival, mooncake festival, Full Moon. They all describe how the Chinese celebrate this day. Traditionally, you drink tea and eat mooncakes (lotus paste in a baked pastry), light a couple of lanterns and have the children play with fire. All whilst admiring the full moon (always appears on this day).

EZlink Cards

Endured a long queue in a stuffy station at peak hour to change my old ezlink card (above) to the new CEPAS compliant version (below). SMRT listed yesterday as their last day to swap the cards for free (figures right, I am so last minute). Luckily, paper signs at the station indicated they were extending it to 7 Oct *whew*