Bands of Love

Fabulous ring shot of my brother & sister-in-laws' rings
Taken by our photographer, the talented Timothy Glenn Photography

RZ & I have our wedding bands!

The search started in August when we visited a few stores before settling on the store where RZ purchased my beautiful engagement ring. We narrowed it down quickly: RZ chose a classic platinum band while I chose a delicate, channel-setting band. Yet we were both torn between two bands of different thickness. Since we were in no rush, we agreed to come back another day.

Another day came in late November. We hooked up with the same, kind salesman & made our final selections within minutes. Then we were given the option of engraving our wedding bands. I was afraid another decision might set us back. The wedding date options was dismissed because we're good at remembering anniversaries (did we jinx ourselves?!). We picked our married monogram because it's personal & sweet.

A few weeks later, our engraved wedding bands were ready for pick-up. I was so excited! And the bands are beautiful, just perfect as a symbol of our wedding vows.

Only one question remains: how can I wait one month to wear my fabulous wedding band??!!

Bridal Shower Christmas Tree

RZ & I love decorating our home for Christmas & this year, it's extra-special because we have the bridal shower ornaments. Each guest brought a Christmas ornament to hang on our tree. I came home with two, large baskets of beautiful ornaments. We had the most fun sorting through the ornaments to see who brought us what ornament. We couldn't have picked better ornaments ourselves!

We won't decorate our Christmas tree until Sunday so, in the meantime, I placed our modern Christmas "tree" in its usual spot on the dining room table. I picked the first eleven ornaments from one basket & decorated our modern "tree." Not only does it look beautiful, we look at the ornaments & think of our family & friends. Love, love.

From left to right . . . First is the snowflake ornament from my sister Mary who knows how much I love decorating with snowflakes. Second is the angel ornament from dear family friends Laurie & Julie who know a thing or two about angels in our lives. Third is the Starbucks ornament from my Mom who drinks Starbucks lattes like water. Fourth is a classic Christmas tree ornament from my fun friends Teresa & Marisa. Fifth is the snowman & penguin ornament from our darling flower girl CJ. Sixth is the checker cab ornament- just like our wedding day transportation!- from our beagle Bailey. Seventh is a beagle ornament in honor of Bailey from three sweet kids in our family. Then we have another beagle ornament in Bailey's honor from my Aunt Tami's wild menagerie of cats & dogs. Ninth is a bling engagement ring ornament from my cousin Chloe to commemorate our engagement. Tenth is a framed engagement photo from my Aunt Tami. Last but not least is a cupcake ornament from my Aunt Dee who knows I love a good cupcake.

The rest of the ornaments from the bridal shower are saved for our Christmas tree. We are lucky & blessed to have Christmas decorations hand-picked by our family & friends to treasure forever!