JaimeLynne

Quote: Originally Posted by Rachelle E. Those rings are gorgeous Jaime!!! I love the Tacori too...the detailing is beautiful. That being said, I'm a big fan of the high quality diamond. So I say find a setting you love and then get the best diamond you can for it. And I absolutely reccomend buying the highest quality possible even if it means going down in size a little. All that gorgeous diamond sparkle comes from the quality...not the size. You'll be happier in the long run w/ a higher quality stone. AND, even though the price of gold has gone up a lot recently, it's still a lot more affordable than platinum. So if you do find a white gold setting you really like I'd choose that over the platinum for sure...and like you said, spend that extra $$ on the diamond!! :-) I am SOOOO excited to see what you pick!!! And I do agree w/ the other girls...if you are just in LOVE w/ that other setting...at least check to see what the price of having it custom made in white gold would be. I know my DH saved a lot of money by having mine made privately instead of at a retailer. Forgot to mention that they can order the Tacori in White Gold - that might bring it down $450 or so... They are both beautiful rings

Here are my thoughts on getting a ring custom made: 1) The customer service at RBs is AWESOME. They work as a team and you can really tell. Plus I work in sales on commission and would hate to go buy somewhere else after they worked so hard with us. I know that sounds bad but honestly I would feel guilty. 2) The extended service plan at RBs is also AWESOME. It even covers straight up losing your ring (or theft, etc) for 1 year. I would also have a 60 day return policy, lifetime diamond replacement, free engraving, they clean/dip the ring right in front of you (they have "Master Jewelers" on site so you never have to send your ring off) and you get their concierge service for life. This costs $199, and you get a $100 gift cert. to put towards another piece of jewelry (WB) so really it's about $99 in the end. Having this extended service plan means a lot to me. Plus they have the usual diamond upgrade. That being said, you can't change the setting but you can change the diamond. I'd also like to say that I am not completely in love with the Tacori over the Kay. I REALLLLY love the Kay setting! The slight curves in the band make it feminine and elegant to me. I had 2 females come into the office and both chose the Kay on my hand over the Tacori (one knew the price difference and one did not - both gave their honest opinion). I'm definitely buying a loose diamond. I even thought of just buying the setting for now (since we have to sell my other rings first to put towards this) w/the CZ in it and waiting on the diamond. Not sure. I want to go back in and look at slightly smaller diamonds. Honestly the .5c will not work in the Tacori but is the only one that would fit budget wise for that one. I would like at least a .75, and I want to look at other diamonds in between .75 and 1.00 They buy a lot of 1c's in bulk so they sometimes get really good deals on some. He showed me 2 that they had gotten at this "deal" - one was really crappy and the other was ok, except that it has a noticeable speck if you look close enough. This kind of ruins it for me. I have a speck in one of the smaller diamonds on my current ring and it totally bugs me when I look closely at it. Please keep your fingers crossed for me! Send out all that jewelry luck! haha Lizz ~ I'm getting a new ring because we have gone thru 2 WBs with this E-Ring. Nothing has felt right. The ring is just a little too much bling for me (3 stone w/baguettes on either side) and I want something more elegant. Honestly it was the very first ring I looked at and little did I know that my very sweet FI went and bought it behind my back as soon as I left the shop! Sneaky fellow He was actually the one who suggested that we start all over.

Oh no Steph! That blows. I mean, I know he's just a "kid" but come on.....

YEAHHHHHHHHHH...... OK.... We were at our local fav pizza joint Coalvine's sitting NEXT TO TROY AIKMAN (!!!!!) when the freaking storms came and we had to move inside. Made it home safe and sound though - looks like the storms have passed

Quote: Originally Posted by roxych1k I really would love to make it to the Robbins Brother's store to pick out my ring, but it's several hrs away (i live in San Antonio) and my fiance is in Japan, so little problem there. He wants to have the ring by the time he gets back in June so we are looking into places that you can do phone orders or order online. Ring shopping hasn't been my thing, too many to choose from!! Have you tried Diamonds, Engagement Rings and Fine Jewelry at Blue Nile? From what I hear they are pretty good. I shopped around there first to get an idea of what I was looking for. Looks like a good site. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On another note, for those of you who red my Red Bull post Sat. night (LOL ) you know I don't do caffeine. Welllllll.... we stopped off at World Market first (not knowing we were going ring shopping afterwards!!) and I had a free sample of coffee. SO I was totally jacked up on caffeine and I hadn't eaten in hours. At one point I literally thought I was going to pass out I was so overwhelmed. I think the diamonds powered me up though and I somehow made it out alive *ALSO* I will be selling my old E-Ring and WB to put $$ towards this new ring. I'll post it up once we've figured out the price. Not sure anyone on here would be interested but I'll probably do a slight discount for any BDW person that would want to buy one or both of them.

Quote: Originally Posted by Kat81 Tacori is my weakness. I FREAKIN' love their rings. Mine is a Tacori inspired ring. (Tacori is sooo expensive) LOL Kathi - I didn't recognize any of the designer's names until I came to the Tacori booth and then I accidentally said out loud - "Ooooh, I know that from the forums!" The salesman and FI just kinda looked at me funny and then ignored it It is sooooo beautiful but the setting is $1k more than the Scott Kay ~ That's a LOT to put towards a fancy, schmancy diamond!!!! Quote: Originally Posted by Pisces they're both beautiful rings. YAY to ring shopping! Cheers to that!

I would just like to say that Robbin's Brother's is an AMAZING store. Excellent service!!!! And yes, you have to go into the bathrooms and read what's on the wall. Priceless - I won't ruin it for you Anyways, we arrived there around 4:30 and didn't leave until 8:30 (last ones in there!). Definitely found my top 2 choices. I think I know which one I'm going with but I wanted to post them both here (I totally thought of y'all when I was trying so desperately to decide! LOL ~ One of you Dallas girls needs to come with me next time!!! ). The more expensive of the two (Tacori, platinum): The Tacori is beautiful, but since the setting is so expensive we would only be able to get a nice .5 center stone or an "ok" 1 carat stone that would still be over our budget. By the way, this one looks like a Princess cut in person because of the prongs... Soooo... here's the one I think I'm going with!!! (Scott Kay, White Gold) With this one we could definitely get the "ok" 1 carat stone or possibly a "really good" 1 carat stone. It is sooo beautiful!!! It has the "hidden diamond" too that I've been looking for (u can't see it in this pic) *EDIT* I found these pics off of Scott Kay's website - you can see the hidden diamond... Oh man, ring shopping is soooo fun!!!! :) I took y'alls advice and tried on all the styles, just in case. I kept coming back to the Scott Kay ... until the salesman showed me the Tacori, that is!! GAH, this kept me there an extra TWO hours!!!! LOL Such a hard decision! I really love the etching on the Tacori but I also like the hidden diamond on the Kay and that the Kay is slightly wider band... plus, of course, I can get a bigger/better diamond with the Kay...

Quote: Originally Posted by DreaW Pets please..... You can have another excuse to show off pics of your new baby! hehe

LOL you poor thing <--- laughing with you not at you How great that they're throwing you this surprise shower though! Try your HARDEST to FORGET about it! Seriously, just try and drop it from your mind, go about your life and go with the flow. I know, easier said than done but that's my advice

Quote: Originally Posted by JamaicaBride062108 Impatiens and Marigolds are also great for hot weather and do come back after droughts. You might also want to plant some PennyRoyal. Its a green, ground cover type plant that wards off Mosquitos! Marigolds look like they might work but it says that Impatiens need shade, which they won't be getting on our uncovered Texas roof deck!

Quote: Originally Posted by Betsy Hey girls - I just changed my siggy to my bouquet! I made it myself out of flowers I bought from Hobby Lobby, tied ribbon and stuck in my bling bling starfish! I love this pic!! I'm impressed that you made your bouquet yourself - looks great Betsy!

Quote: Originally Posted by becks Vinca is great. Also, you might look at geraniums - they are really hearty and bloom all summer. The climbing variety looks pretty dangling down the side of a planter box, too. I also love bouganvilla - I had them when I was in LA - they are great in the sun and are in color most of the season, because it's actually the leaves that change to pink, purple or whatever. The flower is a teeny tiny little white thing in the middle. Geraniums, good idea! I wonder why they weren't on the list... Here's what I found about Geraniums: Lush growing geraniums look good in a bed all by themselves, or mixed in with other annuals. They also make attractive edging plants for the flower garden. In fact, these versatile plants are perfect for any spot that calls for a splash of vibrant color through-out the season. And, of course, they're always popular mainstays in containers, hanging baskets and window boxes, as they thrive in pots and mix beautifully with annuals such as lobelia, vinca vine, petunias and verbena. Light: Most types flower best in full sun, which means at least six hours of direct sun a day. If you live in a hot region with regular summer temperature over 90 degrees F (32 degrees C), plant your geraniums in a partly shaded spot. Many geraniums do quite well in part shade, but they won't flower as prolifically.

I am very sorry for your loss. It sounds like he was a great man.

Ok, that really was a tough one! I decided to go with pets because we love taking pics of our little guys and showing them off. Maybe June's theme could be vacation spots (if it doesn't win this month)...

I agree that a scaled down version would be perfectly acceptable. Like Kathi and Sarah said, they probably won't even notice. Definitely don't stress yourself out over this.

Yay Edna!!!! I'll have to go check out their site... Congrats, I know you've really been looking into this lately - good to have that AND the videographer checked off!

Quote: Originally Posted by TA Jill Jamie, that's a great list. Keep in mind that a lot of those plants are perennials, so they really won't do well being brought in the house for the winter, they're meant more to be planted in the ground and they'll come back every year. Most perennials also only flower at one time of the season, so they won't have flowers the whole summer. As far as pansies, they typically like a cooler temperature. For example, pansies are one of the only things that can go outside right now where I live because it's still cold at night. Usually if pansies get too much heat, they start to get really stretched out, so if you have somewhere you can put them that they'll get some sun, but it will stay sort of cool, that would be a good spot for them. Thanks for your advice Jill - sounds like I've got an expert on my hands! Too bad about the pansies. Petunias look pretty too but for them it says to "Beware of afternoon sun, however. This low growing annual won't put up with riding off into the sunset." That said, here's what I'm thinking so far. Let me know what you think... ~ Zinnias The common zinnia, a favorite old-time annual flower, has now been joined by the narrow-leaf zinnia in the Texas garden. Both have the traditional round bushy head and attract butterflies like crazy. But the narrow-leaf far surpasses the common in terms of low maintenance, having none of the mildew problems of the common. However, the smaller narrow-leaf --- in only orange, white or yellow --- can't beat the colors available in the good old common zinnia. Keep seeds of both to try again next spring. Periwinkle, Vinca Madagascar periwinkle is a warm season annual in Texas that will often reseed itself prolifically. They are quite drought tolerant and enjoy the heat as well as humidity. The blooms resemble a phlox with white, pink or purple or one of those colors with a center of the other. They cover the 2' plant throughout the spring until fall. The drawback of this favorite in recent years has been a tendency to develop wilt disease when planted to early in a wet spring. If this happens, it is likely that you will not be able to successfully grow periwinkles again in that soil, except those that have reseeded themselves. Daisy Our native Blackfoot daisy (Melampodium) begins blooming in late spring and goes until frost. It is much smaller (6-12") than what we traditionally think of as a daisy--- the shasta daisy --- which is in the chrysanthemum family. Shasta daisies hate heat and humidity though, so not a good idea for much of Texas.

Oooh, just found a very cool thing for Texas ladies. Texas gardening tips-picture database of plants,flowers,trees,shrubs It's a form you fill out with the section of TX you live in, type of lighting, type of leaves, etc. It gave me a large list - I'm excited because Pansies are on there and I used to love those when I was little. I have fond memories of my mom growing them in her garden. She definitely had a green thumb so I'm hoping I may have inherited at least a little bit of that... Here's the list it came up with: Amaryllis Artemisia Aster Black-eyed susan Bluebonnet Butterfly weed Celosia, cockscomb Coleus Coneflower Coreopsis Creeping jenny Crinum lily Daisy Datura, Jimson weed, Angel's Trumpet Daylily Dianthus, Pink, Carnation Dusty miller Gaura Gayfeather Golden dewdrop Hyacinth Indian blanket Iris Johnny Jump-up Lamb's Ear Lantana Louisiana phlox Mexican bush sage Mexican heather, False heather Mistflower Moss rose Oxalis Pansy Pentas Periwinkle, Vinca Petunia Pickerelweed Pink indigo Rain lily Red yucca Rose Ruellia, Mexican petunia Sage, salvia Scabiosa, Pincushion flower Sedum Snapdragon Society garlic Stoke's aster Turk's cap Verbena Water lily Yarrow Zinnia ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Plenty to choose from! If you have experience growing any of these, please chime in!

Quote: Originally Posted by JaimeLynne I think I'm gonna have to go get an old fashioned milk shake now (made w/Blue Bell, of course) ... Btw, I did get my strawberry handmade milkshake. Thanks ladies... hahaha

I would like to plant some colorful flowers in pots on our roof deck. It gets full sunlight during the day, with few areas of light shade. We're having a BBQ a week from Sunday and I'd like to make it look a little "happier" up there. Last Summer we had two gorgeous Hibiscus plants but unfortunately we lost them over the winter. This time I'd like to go for some smaller potted plants. So, here are my "wants" : 1) Bright, colorful flowers 2) Needs to do well in full sunlight and the Texas heat 3) Fairly easy to maintain I would really like to get into this and work at keeping these plants alive so I'd love your suggestions, ladies! I'm also going to be researching and looking in "The Houseplant Encyclopedia" that FMIL got me, but so far I haven't found what I'm looking for. I know I can go to the nearest nursery but I'd like to have an idea of what I'm looking at before I go... TIA!

Quote: Originally Posted by Leia78 I love It's-It ice creams, especially the mint ones (which are hard to come by). They have them in an ice cream vending machine at work. If I'm having a really stressful night or I just want to indulge at 3 am, I get one...it's my guilty pleasure. Wait, wait, wait... You have an ice cream vending machine at work?!? Ok, I am totally craving ice cream right now!!!! I think I'm gonna have to go get an old fashioned milk shake now (made w/Blue Bell, of course) ...

Wow, the resort photographer did a really good job!!! You look beautiful ~ CONGRATS!!!!

Yay, that's great news - CONGRATS!

I say if you want to then definitely ask your FSIL. I'm sure she will appreciate the thought

Can't wait to hear what you thought and see the pics! We are aiming for a HM to Jamaica