Win a Colin Cowie Wedding!

Colin Cowie Weddings is giving a chance for four couples to win a dream wedding at the Empire State Building in NYC on Valentine's Day 2012.  You also have a chance to win $100,000!

Wow!  I wish I were getting married.  I would so do this.  Actually, I could do this.  It can be for a vow renewal, too.  Hmmm.  Maybe I will enter.  :-)

Click here to get all the details.  Hurry.  You must submit your entry on or before December 9.

Have fun.

credit:  Colin Cowie Weddings

Gift Registry - Do Something Different

Here's a great article I came across today from Get Married's DIY blog. These are some great ideas if you don't want the traditional gift registry.

Read "How to Register for What You Really Want" at getmarried.com. Click on Blog and choose How-to Blog from the drop down menu.

Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wish everyone a very safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

I will be taking the rest of the week off, but thought I would share with you a little blurb about the history behind us celebrating Thanksgiving Day on the last Thursday every November. Enjoy!

In the fall of 1863 the Civil War raged across this country taking the lives of the best young men that this land had to offer and threatening to tear the nation in two. In the midst of such chaos and bloodshed it would have been easy for the country's leader, President Abraham Lincoln, to raise a defiant hand toward heaven and question the wisdom of God. But, that is not what President Lincoln did, instead, he sat down and penned the following words.

"The year that is drawing to its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of such an extraordinary a nature ... (that) No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It is seemed to me fit and proper that they should solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens ... to set apart the last Thursday in November ... a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings ... and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and Union."

Happy Thanksgiving!

photo credit:  Martha Stewart

Caring for Your Jewelry

You just got engaged.  You now have that beautiful, gorgeous, sparkling diamond on your finger, but how do you keep it looking that way?

Here are some short, sweet and to the point tips on caring for that bling.

• Take your ring to your trusted jeweler to have it professionally cleaned and inspected, at least once a year.  They will inspect it for loose fittings, worn prongs, etc.  You can also ask them how you clean it yourself at home during the course of the year.
• It’s a good idea to clean your ring regularly to avoid buildup of dirt, which could dull the “sparkle.”
• Periodically, check your ring for loose fittings or other possible problems that could lead to a lost diamond.  If you even think something feels or looks wrong, take it off and bring it to your jeweler immediately to have it inspected.  You don’t want to take any chances of losing it.
• When you are not wearing your jewelry, keep it in a soft bag or compartment in your jewelry box and keep all pieces separate so they do not become scratched.
• This is a no-brainer, but worth mentioning.  Try to evade heavy hits or whacks to your diamond.  Diamonds are one of the hardest gems; however, they could chip if hit at the right angle. 

Keep that sparkle!

photo courtesy:  Mervis Diamonds