What We Should Have Registered For (Wedding Edition)

Now that Josh and I are just a few weeks away from hitting our 10 year anniversary I can honestly say that most of the items we registered for are not what we actually needed. If I could go back in time and tell my 23 year old self what to purchase here is the list I would give myself.

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WHITE NOISE MACHINE

You don’t know this yet but your husband sometimes snores. This doesn’t happen super often but you will find it is worse on days that are in between busy 24 hour shifts. Also he falls asleep really quickly and it is nice to drown out his rhythmic breathing while you are still mentally prepping for tomorrow and wondering why you can’t fall asleep as quickly as him.

THE DYSON VACCUM

Keep this on your register. It is still going strong almost 10 years later.

INSTANT POT

Granted, these weren’t available yet in 2007 but if I could I would time travel one back. You will enjoy (gasp) meal prepping large quantity menus in your freezer in the future. I know it sounds crazy but it is true. Embrace it.

STEAM MOP

When you begin to have babies you will understand why this is important. Clean floors don’t last long with little ones but it is nice knowing that you are sanitizing and removing solidified food from your floor. Plus it is fun.

ELECTRIC TEA KETTLE

This is going to be really hard to believe but after your first baby is born Josh will give up soda. Crazy, I know. Because we all know how much he loves soda. You might need to sit down for this next part because after he gives up soda he starts to drink iced tea. Now he does add lemonade to make it a palmer but still, you know how much he despises tea. So add this to the registry and wait about 6 years. Currently we always have two pitchers filled with different iced tea in the refrigerator, so you will be using this kettle multiple times during the week.

CORDLESS DRILL

This is obviously something that Josh would have added to our list. And rightfully so. You will be thankful you have this later especially during your multiple moves, hanging pictures, and building furniture.

SOCKET WRENCH SET

I am still not sure what these are for but Josh seems to be using them all the time. Let him add them to the registry. Or even suggest it. He will be very surprised by your enthusiasm.

STEP LADDER & EXTENSION LADDER

Okay. You will lose count over how many times Josh has to ask to borrow an extension ladder. It wasn’t until this year that we finally purchased one. And it was because we had turned into that family who left their Christmas lights on the house. And yes they are still on now. And at this point we have purchased a ladder but it is so close to the holidays now we are just leaving them up.

I would love to know what items, in hindsight, you would have added to your registry? 

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How to Find a Lost Diamond

I NEVER thought I would have a lost diamond story and I really never thought I would be typing up this post to tell you that I found my original diamond! Yes, you read that correctly. I found my diamond. I cannot even begin to tell you how ecstatic I was or how many times I prayed aloud “thank you Jesus”. Read my previous post if you missed it for all the details.

How to Find a Lost Diamond

This miraculous event happened the day after I picked up my ring with the replacement diamond from Shane Co.. Since I wasn’t entirely sure where I had lost the diamond it was difficult to go back and retrace my steps to a exact location of where it might be. I searched a parking lot, the car, a purse, and the house. Like a mentioned in my previous post, trying to find a lost diamond is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. It felt utterly hopeless.

The day after picking up my ring from Shane Co. I was still searching the house to see if I could locate my lost diamond. I had come to the conclusion that if I was meant to get my diamond back it would truly take a miracle. While cleaning the house again I decided to give it another last ditch effort, even though I was convinced that there was no possible way I lost the diamond in the house. I decided to empty the vacuum canister room by room into a bowl and sift through the gunk.

While vacuuming the third room I heard a clink as something hard hit the inside of the canister. Thinking there was no possible way that sound could have been made by my diamond I continued vacuuming the room. Once finished, I emptied the canister and there inside the bowl I saw it. My diamond. My diamond was in the house the entire time.

I am seriously still in shock as I type this and glance at my ring with the original diamond now back where it belongs. After the initial shock wore off that I had found my diamond my first concern was that I had damaged it somehow while vacuuming. I called Shane Co. and explained what had happened and let them know I would be coming in later that day with my original stone.

How I Found My Lost Diamond

 

To make this long story short, I returned the replacement diamond to Shane Co. and had my original no longer lost diamond inspected for damage (there was none thankfully) and reset in my ring. The staff at Shane Co. was again so amazing and very kind and kept thanking me for bringing back the replacement diamond. While the paperwork was being sorted out I kept singing the company’s praises to other costumers in the store who had overheard what had happened.

In case you are reading this and find yourself in the unfortunate circumstance of having lost your diamond here are a few of my tips on how to go about possibly finding it.

HOW TO FIND A LOST DIAMOND
  1. Pray and pray some more. I am a huge believer in the power of prayer.
  2. Write down everything you have done that day. Where have you gone? What have you done? List anything and everything.
  3. Grab a flashlight. Shine it across your floors, in your car, and every other possible space you have the ability to search. Pay attention to anything that reflects the light or sparkles.
  4. Time to vacuum your carpet. In order to not damage your diamond turn off the bristles. I wish I had thought of this after the fact but thankfully my lost diamond was not damaged. Vacuum the carpet in both directions to ensure you are covering the entire surface area of your floor. Empty the canister into a bowl and have it. It will probably be the only time in your life that you are eager to get your hands dirty from the gunk that you just removed from your carpet.
  5. Check the sinks and drains.
  6. If none of these suggestions worked don’t give up. It may take several attempts to find it in your house. I am a perfect example!
  7. If you believe the lost diamond happened while away from the house notify the management of any store, restaurant, gym, coffee shop, or school you visited.
  8. Check with your jeweler. Some stores like Shane Co. offer lifetime replacement on lost stones as long as the maintenance has been kept up on the ring. This leads to my next point…
 HOW TO PREVENT LOSING A DIAMOND
  1. Take your ring into a reputable jeweler for bi-annual inspections.
  2. Remove your rings when performing heavy activities like lifting weights or doing yard work.
  3. Between visits to your jeweler look at your ring more often. I know you probably look at your ring already but really look at. Inspect the prongs and make sure they are touching your diamond. If something doesn’t look right take it to your jeweler.

But in all seriousness I hope if you have lost your diamond that you are able to find it.

Have you ever lost your diamond? Were you able to find it? Let me know. If you have any other tips on how to find a lost diamond I would love to hear them.

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My Diamond Fell Out of My Ring and Why I Love Shane Co.

Yesterday while driving home with my mother-in-law and Caden in the car I went to play with my wedding rings and instantly something felt different. I had a time-stood-still-moment as I lifted my hand into view and saw this….

My Diamond Fell Out of My Engagement Ring

The diamond in my engagement band was MIA. I had to do a double take and check again one more time but alas it was still missing. I knew when I had felt the pokey prongs with my fingers before bringing my hand into view that the diamond was no longer there but I still could not believe it.

Have you ever heard the phrase “finding a needle in a haystack”? That is seriously how it felt trying to search for my diamond. After coming to terms that the diamond was indeed gone and it would be a miracle if I EVER got it back, I called our friends at the Scottsdale Shane Co. where Josh purchased my rings. I say friends in the best way possible and after the AMAZING customer service I received yesterday at Shane Co. they are more like family.

This is not a product promotion or sponsored post but I am a true believer when you receive excellent customer service you need to shoutout about it. There is so much negativity in the world that when something positive happens we should brag on it for a few moments.

You might be wondering why I ever called Shane Co. in the first place after I discovered my diamond was missing. Shane Co. has a free lifetime warranty policy. The details on this warranty are below.

What’s free for life:

  • Free Maintenance/Repair Work*
  • Free Resizing*
  • Free Cleaning and Polishing*
  • Free Inspections*
  • Free Lost Stone Replacement*

*To keep your Lifetime Warranty active, please visit us for a cleaning and inspection every 6 months. We will inspect, clean, polish and maintain your jewelry for free for as long as you own it. Cleaning ensures that your fine jewelry is always looking exceptional and inspection ensures your jewelry is protected and ready for everyday wear.

Shane Co guarantees:

  • All-metal jewelry made entirely of gold, platinum or silver
  • All merchandise made of gold platinum or silver that contains diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and semiprecious gemstones
  • All merchandise containing cultured pearls
  • All wedding bands made of cobalt and titanium

When family heirlooms purchased from Shane Co. are passed along within a family, the jewelry continues to be guaranteed under the warranty under the standard guidelines.

In case you missed it Shane Co. offers free lost stone replacement under their lifetime warranty policy. I honestly wasn’t entirely sure what to expect walking into the Scottsdale Shane Co. store yesterday afternoon with my mother-in-law and engagement ring sans diamond. I didn’t know how I would be treated or if I would even be able to get a replacement stone. On a sidetone, thank you to Josh’s mom for going with me after just getting off an airplane.

Upon entering the store we were greeted by Brandy who was so empathic to what had happened. She inspected my ring to ensure it had not been tampered with, pulled up my account, and confirmed the amount Josh had paid for the stone. We were then handed over to Ron who continued to work with us for the next two hours. I was treated just like any other customer walking into the store making a purchase.

Shane Co Diamond Education The Four Cs

My mother-in-law and I were educated on the color and clarity of diamonds and shown how to inspect the diamonds. It gave me a new appreciation for the process Josh went through when he purchased my diamond and ring. My ring is truly a one of a kind and it means the world to me that Josh selected it by himself.

The entire staff was so gracious to us and the not so great experience of losing my diamond turned into a positive one for me and my husband. While I could never replace the sentimental value of my original diamond the loss of it was greatly reduced by being able to have it replaced with a diamond of similar quality.

I also want to add in that at the time of our visit Rordan Shane, Tom Shane’s son, was visiting the Scottsdale store. He noticed I was talking to my mother-in-law about the remodel of the store and how nice it looked and walked over to us and spoke with us. He was super friendly and we had no idea who he was at the time. I think we both just thought he was a very friendly employee. Later Ron told us that Rordan was the president of the company and that he was visiting the store. I made a point to find him again and let him know how appreciative, amazed, grateful, and thankful I was to have experienced the best customer service at the Scottsdale Shane Co.

Before leaving I gave hugs to Ron and Rordan. I could not speak more highly of this company. I hope that if anyone is considering buying jewelry this holiday season or in the future and you have a Shane Co. in your area you make your purchase there. You will not be disappointed with the selection, quality, and education of the staff. Thank you Shane Co. for being my friend in the diamond business.

I will update this post next week once I pick up my ring from the store. Before I end this post I also wanted to give a shoutout to Josh’s friend JD who recommended Josh go to Shane Co. to get my ring. Thank you JD a million times over!

Shane Co. Replacement Diamond

UPDATE: I picked up my beautiful replacement ring and the next day something amazing happened. I found my lost diamond.

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