Jonathan & I have been going through a bit of a rough patch for the last 7 days. It’s put an ridiculous amount of strain on our marriage, causing us both a lot of heartache & pain. Thankfully, we weathered the storm, but we desperately needed to reconnect & remind ourselves why we’re committed to each other in the first place. Aside from enjoying long, revealing chats, going out for lunches, taking hot baths, & lazying around in bed together, we figured this would be the perfect opportunity to finally reset his grandmother’s wedding ring for me.

The original ring is at least 40 years, made of 14k gold, the engagement ring & wedding band fused together. When I went to the jeweler, I told her that I didn’t quite know what I had in mind to reset it, but I wanted it made into one ring somehow & changed into white gold to match my own wedding band. Otherwise, I didn’t want to change a thing. I wanted to keep the antiquity & preciousness of it. They don’t make them like this anymore so this is truly one of a kind.

We dropped off the ring on Monday & picked it up with excitement this afternoon. The moment I saw it my eyes lit up.

(The hand in the ‘before’ picture belongs to my sister-in-law, Emily.)

I adore it. Simply & utterly adore it. I can’t stop staring at it. It’s breathtaking, both in sight & in sentiment. Not to mention, the jeweler did an impeccable job.

They took out the diamonds & settings from original wedding band & placed them on either side of the engagement ring. He also transformed the engagement ring into a beautiful white gold, so it matches my wedding band perfectly.

The ring on the bottom in the after picture is the wedding band Jonathan proposed to me with. I know that pairing the two rings together looks a bit unconventional, but I don’t wish it to be any other way. I cherish both rings equally, & I simply couldn’t wear one without the other. In time, I may melt down my wedding band & make it into something a bit thinner, so that it goes better with his grandmother’s ring. For now, though, I am in love with the arrangement as it is.

I know how silly this is going to sound, being that I’ve been married for almost three years now, but having Jonathan’s grandmother’s ring on my finger has made everything a little more real. Last week was such a nightmare, & every time I look at this ring I am reminded of everything we’ve been through & how we’ve managed to keep our love strong & enduring. What we have is truly one in a million & I am so blessed to have such a fantastic husband. He is my best friend & my entire world.

I’d also like to add how incredibly honored I am to be wearing his grandmother’s ring; even more so that his mom finds me worthy enough to wear it. At the moment, I am battling feelings of unworthiness, as though this is too precious of a gift for me to have. I know it’s going to take some time (& a lot less modesty) for me to feel truly comfortable wearing something so special. Not to mention, the idea that I’m wearing actual diamonds on my finger, which is a first for me. I’ve never had something so sentimental in my life, & I am floored to have been chosen as the woman to wear it.

I feel like this is such a perfect, beautiful way to continue my life with him. Not to mention, a great way to start my weekend.

I hope you all have a great weekend, too.

I get a lot of emails asking about what products I use & recommend for hair, face, body, etc. As of lately, a lot of you have been wanting to know my current haircare regimen now that I am natural. I’d like to share that with you today.

Keep in mind, this is still very, very new to me & I’m still learning what my natural hair likes & doesn’t. My regimen is bound to change, but these are the products that are working beautifully for my hair currently.

(All images courtesy of google.com)

1.) Carol’s Daughter Tui Hair Smoothie.

I found out the hard way that shampoo does not mesh well with my natural hair. Most of them are far too harsh on my curls & leave my hair feeling dry & lacking nutrients. Instead I co-wash, which means that I wash my hair with conditioner only. I haven’t used actual shampoo in about a month, & I think that is the best decision I’ve made for my hair so far. My hair isn’t dirty or especially weighed down by using only conditioner. Every time I shower, I wet my hair which keeps it clean & rinses any residual conditioner without stripping it with shampoo.

I love the way this conditioner makes my hair feel & it smells divine.

How I use it: I co-wash twice daily (usually every other day); meaning, I condition, rinse, & repeat. The first time is for cleansing. I lightly scrub my scalp & rinse immediately after. The second time is to nourish my hair. I let it sit for 5 minutes, massaging the conditioner into my hair deeply. Afterward, I rinse it completely, towel dry, & begin the styling process.

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If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I had a bit of an accident yesterday.

While taking Sofie for a short walk yesterday morning, I passed out a few times, hitting my chin on the sidewalk & busting it open. I was alone at the time; Jonathan was out hiking & wouldn’t be back until the afternoon. But thankfully, someone saw that I had collapsed & called the paramedics. Within minutes, I was whisked away to the emergency room.

They ran lots of tests — which included a CT scan, blood work, a pregnancy test (wouldn’t that have been interesting?), a chest x-ray, etc. — & hooked me up to an IV. I received 3 stitches to my chin & a tetanus shot. All the tests came back fine & I was diagnosed as being dehydrated from having had a flu & fever the night before.

Today, I’m feeling better, just weak & sore from the major ordeal from yesterday. My jaw locked up when I fell, so I have little mobility in my mouth, which makes talking & chewing an adventure (nothing but soups, smoothies, & soft foods for me!). My hands & feet are scraped up & I have bruises on my arms. I also chipped a few teeth from the fall, but thankfully they’re my molars. Really, I’m quite lucky that nothing more serious happened, like broken bones or head trauma.

As you can imagine, I’m pooped, so I’m sure you’ll understand that I’ll be postponing the giveaway results until sometime next week.

Unfortunately, I’ll have to put the vegan diet challenge on hold (now is not the time for me to be switching diets when I’m weak & slightly malnourished) as well as cancel my photography class on Sunday. I am so bummed about this, not to mention terribly frustrated. Lying around all day, eating soft foods, & being banged up is quite depressing. But I’m thankful that Jonathan has been here for me. Even Sofie seems to know that her mommy isn’t feeling well, & she stays close by to me at all times.

Now all there’s left to do is heal & wait for the medical bill to come. Because, as I’ve mentioned before, I have no health insurance & I just know that yesterday’s fiasco will cost a fortune. But I’m trying to count my blessings. It definitely could have been a lot worse.

Thank you for understanding & for all the well wishes you’ve given me on Twitter. If all goes well, I should be back on Monday.

& if you have any tips on feeling better (or perhaps some funny stories, links, videos, or jokes to make me laugh) do share! I’m in need of some lightheartedness.

:]