Out with the old...

Three and a half years ago, this amazing guy named Jake asked me if I would marry him. And I, of course, said yes. We had bought my engagement ring the day before at Kay Jewelers and I was so happy to get to wear it now that we were offically engaged!



Jake taking a picture the day after we got engaged to send to my Aunt

My gorgeous ring after I got my nails done!

Our rings together the day we got engaged

Close up of our rings - tungsten for Jake and pink sapphire for me

Over time, my ring started to lose its "sparkle". I realized it was only SUPER sparkly right after I got it cleaned, and I don't live close enough to a mall to get it cleaned everyday. Around the time we got married, I started thinking I wanted to add a wedding band underneath my ring when we got sealed, and one for our 5 year annivsary on the top. We ended up not waiting until we got sealed before we bought a band for underneath, but I returned it the next day - it was WAY too sparkly compared to the rest of my ring, and made my ring look really dull and boring compared to the super thin band underneath it. It took away from the focus of the ring and I didn't like that, so the band went back and I decided I would just deal with not having a super sparkly ring.

And then I started losing weight. And I kinda told myself, if I really do lose as much weight as I want to, I want to get myself a FREAKING awesome present. And the first thing that came to my mind was a new wedding ring. Well, a new wedding band, but keep my same stone. I looked at bands for a while, to get an idea of what I liked and what I wanted and then would stop looking - I mean this is my wedding ring we are talking about! Jake gave that to me, I put it on on our wedding day as a symbol of our marriage and now I want to replace it?! Every few months though, I would start looking again and the cycle would continue - feeling guilty for wanting one, finding a new band, feeling guilty for wanting one, stop looking. You get the picture.

A week ago, I decided I really did want a new one. I would keep my stone, but I really do want a new one. So I bought one this past weekend!

On Saturday, in between session of conference, I went to Shane Co. in Midvale. We looked there for our ring before we found my ring at Kay and we were VERY impressed with them, we just ended up going with my ring at Kay instead because the ring at Kay was larger and less expensive. Because it is lab created. Yes, my old ring was "fake". So naturally, when I decided I wanted a new band, the first place I wanted to look for a new band was at Shane Co.

Getting ready to turn into the parking lot!

My ring on Saturday after 3 years of wear and tear and losing its sparkle

It took a few minutes before anyone was able to help me - they were SUPER busy but I had the most amazing salesman EVER help my look at rings. I went in with the intention to get a halo style ring, but ended up liking cathedral style too.

Top is a halo, middle and lower are cathedral and the pink is my current ring

 I ended up going with a square shaped cathedral!

Seriously, I was dying. I could not stop looking at my hand. It was EXACTLY what I wanted!

I found a similar ring to this one when we VERY first started talking about getting engaged at Schubach. It was WAY too much though so we didn't get it. So finding the same style ring at Shane Co for less was AWESOME!

Close up of my new ring above my old ring

They told me it would be ready for pick up on Tuesday, but it ended up being ready Monday. Since it was Columbas Day, the bank was closed so I was able to drive up and get it as soon as it was ready! To say I love it would be a GROSS UNDERSTATEMENT!!

LOVE it!

I got home and showed Jake, who couldn't stop laughing at how I couldn't seem to take my eyes off my hand. Then I took some side by side pictures of the new ring next to the old ring!

The diamonds are quite a bit bigger, so it definitely sparkles!!

My old ring has a big chunk out of it - makes me kinda sad, but I love the new one so much that it makes it ok!

I am still getting used to having a different ring on my hand when I look down, and I imagine that will take some getting used to. The salesman, for a brief second, tried to talk me into getting a new sapphire too and I am SO glad I didn't do that, from an emotional stand point. Yes, it is a new band. No, it's not the same ring as before. But the stone is the same. Like our marriage - things have changed since we got married {almost entirely for the better, thank heavens!} but the person I am married to is the same. I am really glad I kept my same stone - it helps me remember where I was and where I am now :)

Old ring on the left, new ring on the right

I am incredibly grateful that I was able to get my new ring - and I love that I can't seem to take my eyes off of it. I don't mean to sound vain - hopefully that doesn't come across that way! I am grateful for the ring Jake got me before, but our financial situation is ENTIRELY different now than it was then. We can afford to buy me a ring with real diamonds in it! Either way, I still feel guilty about it. I hope that goes away - I don't want to feel guilty about this, especially now that it is too late and I wouldn't be able to put my stone back in my old ring even if I wanted to. I'll make sure to post how I am feeling about all of this in a week or so, when I can weigh out if it's guilt over replacing my ring or guilt for the price tag ;)

On a side note, I have lost an entire size in my finger! I went from a size 7 ring to a size 6! Awesome huh??