Something new, something blue

When it comes to luck and us over the past twelve months—a job loss two months in, after having relocated to a new country; a forced rushed marriage for a visa and the abandonment of our early plans for a big wedding in the summer of 2018; an arduous and bank-breaking job hunt; an eviction—let's say our track record isn't great. And this week we can add one more tick to that tally: a lost engagement ring. On Monday afternoon while packing down a microscope at work, I looked down at my finger only to realize to my horror that all that remained on my finger was this empty shell of a ring:

No matter how many boxes I turned over, the stone was not to be found. (At least I felt vindicated in my beliefs that no one should wear something that expensive on a finger! While emotional, this didn't amount to a massive financial loss.)

The best course of action was to find a replacement, but every road I electronically wandered down led to head-aches and even worse wallet-aches. Luckily, if there's one thing I learned over the course of my (two) wedding(s) this year, it's the wonders of ebay for discounted online shopping. No sooner had I opened my app than I'd discovered a world of broken marriages ending in diamond rings posted for auction at a fraction of their original price. Still, I held firm on my stance against the mass marketing ploy that is the diamond engagement ring. But ebay doesn't restrict itself to the "forever" stone: I dove in for an Ernest Jones blue topaz, sapphire, and white gold replacement, with Nicolas's nod of approval.

My precious, version 2.0

While I can't pretend to be thrilled about the loss of such a special ring, the replacement hasn't left me too disappointed.