Etsy Monday: Ring Stands

A great gift for the recently engaged is a ring stand.  Everyone feels a little differently about when its appropriate to take your ring off, but many women take their rings off to shower, go to the gym or do housework.  Why not give them a safe place to keep their ring, where it is not likely to get dirty, damaged or worse, fall into the sink!?

Check out these ring stands from two different sellers on Etsy:

Hand Blown Ring Stand by Providenceartglasss

Pressed Art Glass Ring Stand by Wolfartglass

Check out their Etsy stores for more colors and shapes.

Guest on a Budget: Consumer Reports

Planning a wedding comes with a never ending to-do list.  While you may take your time picking out a new vacuum cleaner on a pre-engaged day, when it comes time to register, you may not have time to thoroughly research every small appliance.  At the same time, who wants a blender that will break when you are making frozen margaritas once back from your honeymoon (who can blame you for wanting to keep the feeling alive?!)  For this reason, and many more, a copy of the latest consumer reports is a handy wedding gift.  The bride- and groom-to-be can bring it with them to the store of their choice and have no post wedding regrets about what they scan.  You can easily pick up a copy at your local bookstore or order a copy from Amazon.

Consumer Reports

Check out my Amazon Store for more engagement gift ideas!

Thirsty Thursday...Ring Drunk Style

One of my friends sent me a link to a gag engagement ring.  What would you think if you opened a box like this?

And then found that instead of being a ring, it was in fact...

A mug!

Fred 2-Carat Cup Platinum

And check out this bling...

Diamond Ring Mug

Would you sport one of these at the office? Home? Halloween Party? Speaking of Halloween Parties, I think this would be a great addition to a Bridezilla costume!

5 Ways to Pop the Question Without Uttering a Word

Worried you might slip up?  Not one for words?  Well here are five ideas for planning the perfect proposal that speaks for itself!

1.) The right music!  The day you propose is one of the most memorable days of your life.  Apparently, musicians feel the same as us mere-mortals since a few of them have written songs about marriage proposals.  One of my favorites is Train's Marry Me.  Lyrics like this melt my heart: "Forever can never be long enough for me to feel like I've had long enough with you."  This song will forever be on every playlist you make for one another.  Are you a woman proposing to your significant other?  Try Amanda Marshall's Marry Me.  

2.) A good luck charm! A charm is a perfect gift for those with and without charm bracelets.  If she has a charm bracelet, this is a thoughtful way of proposing.  If she doesn't, she should!  Charm bracelets are staged gifts.  Never worry about another Birthday, Valentine's Day, Anniversary or [insert gift giving holiday of choice] gift again, get a charm!  This proposal is also great as a stand-in for a ring.  If you are looking for something non-traditional, but still sentimental, build an entire charm bracelet for places you have gone or charms that symbolize traits that you love about her.  Even if you do propose with a traditional ring, there are bound to be a few occasions where her ring is getting sized, cleaned, or fixed or where its just inappropriate to sport the rock.  She can easily substitute in the bracelet.  Here are a couple of charms to help you propose.  Let's hope they bring you good luck! 

Links of London

Tiffany & Co. (Must be custom engraved) 

3.) Wrapped up!  A velvet box with the jeweler's name embossed inside is expected.  Spice it up and add a little surprise with a special keepsake box.  Something silver and engraved (her name, marry me, some inside joke... you decide!) or a limoges are good choices.  A nice box can turn into storage for the ring should she need to take it off, and will certainly be displayed on her dresser. 

Tiffany & Co. 

4.) Fortune says....!  Play it cool by ordering chinese.  Surprise her after dinner with an inedible desert.  These silver fortune cookies are customized to say what you wish.  Try "Good fortune came my way the day I met you" or there is always the classic "Will you marry me?"

One Passion Place

5.) Kaleidoscope love!  This is the ultimate way for nerds (don't worry, I am one too) to propose!  Remember Kaleidoscopes?  Well this one has a proposal written inside! Hide it as part of a scavenger hunt.  

Kaleidoscopes to You

Got another idea?  That is what the comment box is for!

Guest on a Budget: Previously Loved Magazines

So you are in your late twenties and early thirties.  All of your friends are getting married and engaged, including you!  Here is a great engagement gift idea from the already married to your successors.

Remember those bridal magazines and planning books that are collecting dust in a corner somewhere?  Why not regift them?!  Previously loved magazines and books are a great environmentally sustainable gift.  Spice them up by writing a nice dedication to your friend in the beginning of a book, or by pairing the gift with some bride specific flags like the ones below.  Continue the eco-friendly theme by avoiding wrapping paper and just tying then together with some nice grosgrain ribbon around them (bonus points if you use the brides intended wedding colors).

Brides Silver Marking Flags

Guest on a Budget: Engagement and Wedding Shower Gift Ideas

Wedding season is in full swing! If you couldn't already tell by how busy your calendar is, I bet your checking account is starting to notice. Between engagement parties, showers, bachelorette parties and weddings, your trips to Bed, Bath and Beyond are probably as frequent as to the grocery store. Below are some budget ideas that would work well for an engagement gift or a wedding shower gift. Have more good ideas? Be sure to leave them in the comments.

Step 1: Be web savvy and don't be ashamed to check the online registry frequently

Keep your eye on the registries. I find that Macy's has the best and most frequent sales. Look every few days. Bedding and small appliances frequently go on sale, especially around holiday weekends (including the holidays no one you know actually get off). My last two wedding related purchases were on sale. The first, I saved 15% on a Macy's purchase, the second, I saved 75% on a Crate and Barrel purchase. Patience and planning ahead are key!

Step 2: Pay attention to sales and coupons

Hoard your 20% off Bed Bath and Beyond coupons (and the $5 off $15 purchase ones too!). Don't be ashamed to go back more than once, buying a single item at a time with your coupons! Picking up some basic cooking tools (think: spatula, whisk, measuring spoons) with a coupon is a great steal. Add a cook book that you got at Borders with one of their continually emailed 40% off coupons or add one you make yourself for a complete gift! Sign up for the following email spam: BB&B, Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, Target, Amazon, Williams Sonoma, Borders, Shutterfly and wherever else your friends are registered!

Bed, Bath & Beyond: Spatula

Step 3: Skip the shipping costs

If you live near a Crate and Barrel, you can order out of stock items through the store. The items will be shipped to the store for free! Other retailers have the same policy. This even extends to many clothing companies!

Step 4: Get creative

Make a cookbook. We all have some standard recipes that we make all the time and love. Add those to a few of your mom or grandma's classics or maybe one or two you adapted from a cooking idol, and make your own cookbook. There are a few ways to go about this: crafty or techy. If you are crafty, type them up, print them on nice paper and find a scrapbook to include them in. If you are techy, or looking to be efficient, look to a website like shutterfly where you can make your own photobook. This may take a while, so plan early. Take pictures of some of your finished products for your cookbook and work your magic on shutterfly. They have an easy template for recipes. Shutterfly is another website that fills your email box with coupons. Typically before Mother's Day and Father's Day, shutterfly will offer a percentage off photobooks, or even a free one (just pay shipping)! The best part about this is you can reorder them for other showers, mother's day (grandma's too!), Christmas/Hanukkah and house warming gifts. As I write this, photobooks at shutterfly are 30% off.

Step 5: Mix and Match

Wine Coasters, Corkscrews, Stoppers and Pourers: These come in varying price ranges. Check the happy couple's registry to see if they already registered for any of the above. Crate and Barrel has some popular wine coasters that are very nice looking and only $11.95 (see above). Stoppers and pourers start a little lower. Pick up one of these and gift it with a bottle of wine. If you buy a semi decent bottle of wine or a bottle that will be substantially better a later date, include a note about hoping the couple saves it for their 10th anniversary.

Crate and Barrel: Classic Wine Coaster

Pitchers and Decanters: These come in a variety of prices, starting around $15. Gift a pitcher with a bottle of wine (can be cheaper), and the remaining ingrediants for sangria (seltzer, orange, lime, lemon, etc.). Include the sangria recipe for a nice bundled gift that will look like you put lots of time, money and thought into it. Skip the extras for the decanter and gift it with just the wine.