Wedding band

I almost couldn't believe it when I got the call that my wedding ring was ready for pick up last Friday!

Shiny!

 The ring is mostly white gold.  There is a thin ring around the top that's yellow gold and the bezels for the sapphires on the sides are yellow gold too.  You can see in this photo that it's a little big for my finger.  I need to take it in to be sized down but I wanted to wear it for the weekend.  Hopefully the little size adjustment won't take months.

The diamond was V's great grandmother's stone from her wedding band. There are two small sapphires on each side, my birthstone.  The jeweler was worried that I would get soap and hand cream stuck in the little "bowl" on the ring but I'm not planning on putting cream on while wearing it.

Here's the original drawing we brought in on October 18th.

Today's mail

Real mail is the best (with the exception of bills, parking tickets, and coupons for Arby's).  Today I received a thank you note from my friend, Cara, who I worked with at Pulp Papery.  Cara is a stylish interior designer and event planner (here) and is always up on her etiquette.  Look at the sweet card I received in the mail today for attending her super fun birthday party a few weeks ago.

The neat thing about this card is that once you've finished displaying it, you tear the card in half along the perforated edge and write a thank-you postcard to another friend.  I love this idea!

Who needs a thank you? 

Do you send thank you's regularly?  When I was younger my sister and I sat down (sometimes forcefully) within days after birthdays and Christmas to write our thank you notes.  There was no question about it; you received a gift, you wrote a thank you note (even if it involved a lot of parental prodding).  After so many years of writing notes, it really becomes second nature.  I still send them after receiving a gift, if a friend helps with something, after someone has hosted a party and after interviews... sometimes I send notes just to say hi.  Part of the enjoyment of writing is being able to do it on such cute stationery.  I like to keep a box of thank you's on hand and some of these are definitely catching my eye.

1. White Space Vintage

2. Jessica Guptill

3. Kate Spade

4. PressaRussa

5. greymoggiepress

6. TeamRuster

7.Table Top Made

8. Large print by Nothing Short of Thankful

• For more on when to write thank you notes from the Emily Post site.
• Writing manly thank you's.
• Why Jimmy Fallon is thankful.
• A book that discusses the art of faxing thank you's among other more relevant things.
• And, if you still don't have time for a handwritten note, there's always this website.

If not sooner

In June we started looking online and locally for our wedding bands.  We visited shops that had security at the door and shops where the sales people had bright white teeth and plastic surgery - shops where the rings cost over $10,000 dollars.  There was nothing out there that was unique enough without being over the top gaudy (a look I am guilty of, occasionally).  I was starting to stress that I wouldn't find anything I liked.  Poor me.

Harry Winston, price upon request.  No.

No.

Etsy had some very pretty designs but nothing that I was sold on.  V would come home to find me with my eyes semi-glazed, clicking through page after page of internet websites looking for the one.  

One afternoon I visited a local jewelry shop where the owner has been a goldsmith for over 30 years.  The selection in the shop was a little old fashioned but the owner told me that if I brought in a design, any design, he would make it for me.

After getting design ideas from library books V and I went back to the local jeweler on  October 18th with the design I had (crudely) drawn for my wedding band.  The shop owner and master goldsmith (that's what it says on his card!) said he could make the design and the ring would be ready by December 18th, if not sooner.  We've learned that "if not sooner" is his catch phrase because I have called every two weeks to see how the process is going and after some very friendly chit chat, my ring is always promised by Tuesday, or Thursday, or Saturday of next week, if not sooner.  Every single time. 

V and I visited the shop last Friday to give some final input on the ring before he puts it all together and he said it would be ready either Saturday or Tuesday, if not sooner.  

Today is Wednesday.  

Until the ring arrives I've been wearing my Grandma Smith's thin gold band as a place holder.  It has small rubies and diamonds and was my "something old" and the ring we exchanged on our wedding day.  I usually don't wear dainty rings but I'm starting to get used to wearing it.  If the ring isn't ready soon I may have to get one of these beauties below.  

1. Sara Westermark 2. Jen Lawler Designs 3.Nangijala Jewelry 4. Monica Branstrom 5. Monkeys Always Look 6. Danielle Jewelry 7. Jen Lawler Designs 8.  Izzie's Tales 9. Unknown 10. About Jewelery

V's ring is very similar to #5 with the date of our first date on the exterior and our wedding date on the interior.  It was an etsy find and needs to be resized, which seems to be a common problem when purchasing rings online.

Unique, masculine ring by Lyuve for the medical professional in your life.

A ring etched with your or a loved ones fingerprint by Chris Parry

Are you engaged, married?  Did you partner pick out the ring themselves?  V and I had some discussions about this.  He wanted to pick the ring out himself and I wanted to be able to give my input.  In the end we looked at designs together and agreed on a style that would work.  I feel like the ring (once we get it) will be something we both put a lot of thought into.  I can't wait!