May 4, 2010 Posted on May 4, 2010 in bling | 10 comments

Diamond or No Diamond?

Oct 31, 2009 Posted on Oct 31, 2009 in how it all began | 1 comment

Proposal Stories Part III: She Says Yes!!!

I’ve got chili on the stove, a cold stella in my hand, and just enough time before dinner to tell you all about the best part of the proposal story- the part where she said yes!!!

First a little back story- you remember there was the search, there was the perfect ring, and now the proposal.

And in between there were secret emails, best friend approvals, and a very complicated financial transaction.  See I was in a tiny, tiny, tiny ski town in Canada working after ski season.  We could barely find an open grocery store or restaurant, let alone a bank that could do a wire transfer.  Finally I worked it all out and the ring was mailed to Lil’ Stripe.  She didn’t break it to me until a few days before I came home though that she thought maybe a tiny, tiny diamond was missing! AUGH!

It was.  And so the ring went back to Fay Cullen, and was promptly returned, all diamonds intact, to wait in my jewelry box until the perfect morning.

June 23 was that morning.  I woke up super early and very nervous!  I had plans to take our little bistro table/chairs out onto our roof where I would have breakfast and coffee ready, and the champagne (for mimosas of course) chillin’ in the fridge.

I’d bought us these special coffee cups.

I set a really cute table and perched the little box on the side of the saucer.

I couldn’t find my camera (too nervous) so I had to take pics with my phone…

Finally I knocked on our bedroom window (which goes out onto the roof).

Soon-to-be-Fiancee-Stripes came out, excited to be released from her prison.  Oops! She’d woken up at some point and I’d insisted she stay in our bedroom so she didn’t ruin my breakfast surprise. Luckily she wasn’t too grumpy at having been locked in our room all morning!

I nervously sat down across from her and waited (it seemed like forever) for her to notice the little box.  She finally looked down- and then back at me and I probably smiled like an asshole.

Then I got down on one knee, and spit out a pathetic “Baby will you marry me?”  Seriously, all the super romantic, meaningful things I’d been planning to say just disappeared!  There were some kisses in there somewhere, and a yes (thank god!) and then I went back to my seat while she admired her bling.  I was shaking so badly I couldn’t even enjoy my coffee for a while- and man do I love my coffee! LOL.

Huge sigh of relief.  That was scary and awesome and amazing all at once!

We laughed and talked and admired her ring and drank champagne in the sunshine.  Our cat Piper even got in on the action.

Then we started calling/texting all our friends and eventually we walked down to Banquette to meet them and drink wine.  Yum!  As you all know I’m all about afternoon drinks!  And being engaged!  We headed to another downtown establishment for a few more drinks and various friends met up with us throughout the day as we celebrated our engagement late into the night.

What about you?  Any other at home proposals or were you all on the side of a mountain in a foreign country frolicking with unicorns when your SO proposed?  Any ladies out there that did the proposing themselves?

Oct 29, 2009 Posted on Oct 29, 2009 in how it all began | 0 comments

Proposal Stories Part II: Mission Accomplished- Bling Secured.

So when we left off, I was raving about Fay Cullen and promising to let you in on how I found the perfect engagement ring.  But first let’s clear something up- Fay Cullen is not my aunt, cousin, or in any way paying me to write this. Nope.  She just happens to own a company that was a pleasure to do business with.   And no one even batted an eyelash that I was buying a ring for my girlfriend.  Seriously, no awkwardness whatsoever.  Score!

And score I did.  Betcha wanna see it, right?  Okay, okay, hold your horses!  First I’ll tell you what I was looking for.  Here goes…  I knew I was in the market for a ring that was beautiful, not too girly, not too giant, and pretty tough (for all that chef action, ya know).  This led me to want diamonds and sapphires (blue is F Stripes favorite color) set in platinum.  I wanted it to have detail, but not be some flowery, scrolly monstrosity. AND I wanted it to be super unique and seem like something that Fiancee Stripes would wear, considering she doesn’t really wear jewelry.  A tall order, I know.  This last bit was something of a stretch, but I figured that just like Supreme Court Justice Brennan, I’d know it if I saw it!  And yup folks- I just incorporated a reference to obscenity/pornography in my post about fancy engagement jewelry.  Better get used to it- it’s just the way these Stripes roll!

And know it I did.  I saw it, I loved it, and I kept looking. Waaa?  Then I kept coming back to it because it had pretty much all the qualities I was looking for and it was just so elegant to boot.

So without further rambling (I know, I know), I present the most perfect engagement ring for the most perfect girlfriend soon to be fiancee! Yay!

So there you have it. Ain’t she pretty?

Stay tuned! Next up- nerves, breakfast, a proposal, and a day of drinking in the sunshine!

Oct 29, 2009 Posted on Oct 29, 2009 in bling | 0 comments

Proposal Stories Part I: The Search for the Perfect Bling

So are you ready to see how a two-bride proposal came about?

It all started in Canada or maybe even Miami, or New York?  See I travel A LOT for work and that leaves me missing my stripy counterpart and with a lot of time to fill.  Seriously, you have so much more free time when you’re living in a hotel- no cooking/cleaning/errand running/dog walking or the myriad of other activities that take up time at home.  This leaves me lots of uninterrupted time for internet browsing, and before wedding blogs took over, I already had a pretty hefty queue of design blogs, gossip websites, and social networks on the roster.

At some point, vintage/antique jewelry sites made it into the mix.  At first it felt like a dirty little secret- am I looking for an engagement ring for my girlfriend? for myself? Am I gonna propose? When? How? Whoa this is serious.  Then I stopped freaking out and it just became a part of my routine. Design Sponge? check. Creature Comforts? check. Apartment Therapy? check. Fay Cullen. check.

Never checked her out? You should.  Seriously there is some amazing vintage/estate/antique jewelry out there and I found it to be more affordable, unique, conflict-neutral and all-around awesome then a boring old solitaire. (hush, hush, I have love for ALL things sparkly, but I’ve never been a solitaire girl)

Seriously. Check it.

Classic, funky, sparkle stripe-style:

source, source, source

Rustic, yellow gold (love love) and green (in the enviro-friendly way) to boot:

source, source, source

Crazy, Fantastic, Carnival Style Bling Magic:

source, source, source

So which one did I choose?  Actually none of these beauties…but you can b/c they’re all currently on Fay’s website. Go now!

Then be sure to stop back by to check out the rest of my proposal story- including how I found the perfect ring, kept it a big ol’ secret (thanks Lil’ Stripe) proposed, became affianced, and celebrated with lots of champagne, wine, and sunshine.

xoxo