Saturday, April 9, 2011

goin' to the chapel and we're gonna get married... some day!

so it has been decided: mike and i are gettin' hitched! we have nothing planned out, so i really shouldn't even be talking about it quiet yet but i just can't keep my big ol' mouth shut! we have agreed to get me a ring before some sort of official announcement has been made.

as i've said before we're/i am in the process of moving to central california from southern california and i have been assigned the job of finding what type of engagement ring i'd like. this means i don't get to pick my ring per se- mike has made it very clear that he wants to pick it out for me and surprise me with some sort of real proposal. of course since i'm a vintage gal i opted for something vintage. i had hoped his grandmother's ring was still around but sadly it isn't. my grandmothers well, are still in use! one thing i've noticed is that i've been reading a lot of blogging about how buying vintage = recycling. well that's sort of the way i'm looking at my ring. i am a nurse so i don't want some big honkin' cathedral ring that's gonna get snagged on gloves (or worse - the patient!) and that's not really my bag anyway. i really would love an art deco diamond but i think i am going to opt for something more 1940s/simple - for now! i am not opposed to upgrading to a nicer ring but it just seems like at this point in our lives a $4000 ring is not practical. sure we could save up but right now i'd rather use that money to pay off debt or for a down payment to our own house! really when you think about it (or at least i look at it this way) a ring is just a ring. it's a nice gesture and sure i'd be upset if i never got one, but i don't feel like the three Cs are what my marriage should be based upon. mike pointed out i may be able to find something in a pawn shop and the thought of it made me wince but i gave in (this gives him an excuse to look at guy stuff too) so we've started making our rounds and much to my surprise i've found many nice sets hiding in pawn shops! i've also checked some antique stores around here in clovis/fresno but i think antique store generally =s higher prices. i haven't found anything in store that screams "Lauren!" but lord knows i'm willing to keep looking!

the good news on the hunt for an engagement ring i did get to throw in some antiquing too. i am a big pyrex fan and i can never decide on what pattern i like. yesterday i found a white pyrex casserole dish with the blue snowflake pattern with lid on the super cheap so i snagged it up. my kitchen has a bit of an identity crisis in that i have a lot of metlox california palm and franciscan starburst (my absolute fav!) dishes in blues and then lots of reds! some how this works for me so i'm happy to have a new dish to add to my collection. another thing that scares me is using all this plastic (hello cancer! or maybe that's just the worry wart RN in me) so a throwback to old glass dishes is fine by me!

also monday i am thinking about applying for a 1950s three bedroom house for rent up here in visalia - wish me luck! apparently i went from 4th in line to 1st in line based on my application. on one hand i am more than sad to be leaving my little apartment by the sea but i would gladly trade in a one bedroom with no laundry facilities for a three bedroom HOUSE! which also means - hello boston terrier! mike has promised both aubry and i that when we move we can get a dog. i've been patiently waiting for what seems like forever so i just keep reminding myself that. plus (at least for the interim) i will be keeping my job in so cal and living with my mom 2 nights a week until i decide that yes, i can hang with the san joaquin valley and move up here permanently (that was a big part of the "gettin' hitched" factor - i don't feel like i want to make that sacrifice without getting a ring on my left hand first - knowwhadimsayin' ladies? mmm hmm.) so without further ado: engagement ring pr0n! and don't worry, i'll keep it to a minimum.

here is what i like:
 

here is probably something along the lines of what i'll be asking for (maybe with less yellow gold? i'm not a big fan):
 

we also found this awesome mens ring that we thought just maybe instead of going the traditional route, to get something like this- we are both huge tikiphiles!
 

1 comment:

  1. Well! Congrats to you, officially or unofficially! I really like the idea of the Tiki rings. Maybe you could find one with diamonds for eyes! Wowza, that would be cool. Another good place to look is Etsy, believe it or not. They have a lot of interesting nontraditional options. COngrats again on the big news :-)

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