Is He the One?? February 17, 2010
Posted by Jill Renee in : Just Jill, Romantic Tips , comments closed
Statue of David
So you have been dating for the required nine months or longer and you are thinking that a proposal of marriage is the logical next step but are you really sure that is what you want? (ed. note: A collection of video proposals)
Sometimes we take that important next step because we have reached a certain age, we have dated a certain amount of time, or we want to start a family and the biological clock is ticking away! We want it and we enter into our commitment for some valid reasons, but maybe we need to step back and make sure we are not rushing things. Patience now can save years of heartache and pain later.
Here are some questions to ask yourself:
- Is your significant other well suited to you?
- Do you like the way he treats his family?
- Do you share the same values?
- Are you happy with the life path he has chosen?
- Are you happy with the person he is now? (Most likely he won’t be changing after you marry.)
- Can you say that you never ask yourself, “Oh, he won’t behave that way after we are married” or “He’ll want children after we are married”?
If the answers to any of these questions are no, you should think about your relationship and whether you are in the right place. It is true like the song says that “breaking up is hard to do” but it will allow you to explore other opportunities and pay off in the long run.
Hollywood Engagements and Our Fascination with Them February 11, 2010
Posted by Jill Renee in : Engagement Rings, Just Jill , add a commentBig celebrity news on the web:
- Kristen Bell is engaged to Dax Shepard and shows off her stunning three carat platinum ring at the Grammy awards.
- Russell Brandt and Katy Perry out furniture shopping while she flashes her new engagement ring!
- Miley Cyrus is definitely NOT engaged this was confirmed by Miley herself to Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet at the Grammys. Her ring was a cheap bobble she picked up for herself in London.
While I find all of this engagement news interesting what is really important is that these stars are setting some trends about jewelry style. We all watch what jewelry the stars are wearing because the designs are usually unique and stunning and something that we can adjust to work for the not-so-famous of us.
Trends and styles emerge that are worth adapting. The main issue is often getting the price point down while still maintaining the integrity of the basic design. Once this is accomplished an affordable alternative to a very expensive jewelry item can usually be purchased. After all imitation is the best form of flattery!
Tips for the Perfect First Date February 5, 2010
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There are few things more nerve racking than going out on that first date. What will you wear? What will you talk about? Where will you go and what will you do?
Once you get past all the wondering it’s time to relax and take things one step at a time. Do something that you enjoy to do. Wear what you are comfortable wearing. Now is not the time for a complete makeover and some four inch heels. You will most definitely be uneasy if you change your entire style for the date. Make sure your clothes are comfortable and that you are not constantly pulling on your waistband or worrying about tripping over your pants!
Now is also not the time to try out ice skating or even bowling if you have never done these things before or if your date has not.
Now is also not the time to try out ice skating or even bowling if you have never done these things before or if your date has not. Go someplace easy and keep the date to a few hours at most. Leave the exotic restaurant for the second or third date and choose someplace that offers a wide variety of options including some vegetarian choices.
The most important thing is to be yourself and to be honest about who you are. This does not mean rambling on about all of you personal business. Keep some things private until the relationship has time to grow. Most importantly let your date know whether you have had a good time or if the connection was missing. That way you both are on the same page when the date is over.
The Valentine in America – A History February 1, 2010
Posted by Jill Renee in : Just Jill , add a commentWhile Valentine’s Day had been celebrated in some form since the third century, A.D., it did not catch on with any momentum in the United States until the 1840s. A holiday with a variety of possible beginnings, Valentine’s Day evolved into a holiday used to celebrate love and affection. People would give trinkets and cards, and in the 1840s a woman named Ester Howland started the first wave of mass-produced valentine greetings in the U.S.
Esther Howland Valentine, circa 1850: "Weddings now are all the go, Will you marry me or no"
Born in 1828, Howland graduated from college in 1847 and shortly after received a beautiful and intricate Valentine’s greeting from a business contact of her father’s. This man was English – the tradition of exchanging cards and gifts to celebrate Valentine’s Day was a mainstream practice in England and the rest of Great Britain by the mid-eighteenth century – and his card to Howland gave her a grand idea.
Esther Howland ordered fancy paper, lace, and flowery decorations from England and started making valentines. She spread the word about the practice, and started taking orders for custom and stock-style valentines. The response was tremendous, and she was not able to produce the goods for all the orders she had. She asked friends to help her assemble the cards, and put out her first ad in The Daily Spy, a Worcester paper, in 1850.
Again, the response was tremendous. She set up an assembly line in her house to assemble this first year’s worth of valentines, and she eventually set up shop for a business that would bring in $100,000 every year.
Though Howland used a lot of traditional English designs in her cards, she did come up with a few things on her own. The lace paper that she ordered from England was par for the course in Great Britain. Howland wanted to add some punch to the look of the card, so she started putting bright red or pink paper behind the lace to show the intricacy of the lace paper (which was copied from handmade tatted lace).
Another style that became popular in the latter part of Howland’s career was the shadow-box style. These cards had a built-up section with a 3-D design. Shortly after these successful cards, Howland sold her business to George C. Whitney, who went on to manufacture the necessary materials for valentines in the United States, rather than continuing to order them from England. Whitney stayed true to Howland’s designs, and modern-day historians are hard-pressed to distinguish between the two, naught for Whitney’s distinguishing trademark of a red “W.”
Prior to Howland’s business, people in the United States who wanted to send Valentine cards to their loved ones either had to order them from England or make them personally. Certain people who showed a talent for this craft would then be commissioned to make cards for others, but it was Howland who first mass-produced the valentines for American customers.
Today over one billion valentine cards are purchased annually. Along with cards, people buy gifts for their loved ones on Valentine’s Day. These gifts range from small tokens of affection to large items, like diamond engagement rings or expensive quality jewelry.
Easy Steps for a Great 2010 January 31, 2010
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source: http://lowenddslr.com
A new year brings with it new hope. If you have been looking forward to the new beginnings of a new year try something new!
Volunteer at a local charity.
Nothing makes you feel better than giving to others and there is a great need for community volunteers.
Get a make over
A new hairstyle or a new outfit can give you an instant lift
Forgive someone
Let go of old grudges. Holding onto past hurt only keeps the pain alive. It does nothing to lift you up.
Learn Something New
How about taking a class at a local school or learning how to crochet? Learning new things keeps you young!
Turn Off the TV and Read More
Whether its War and Peace or People Magazine reading helps you focus and calms the mind.
A Valentine’s Day Classic – Dinner and a Movie January 28, 2010
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How about dinner and a movie this Valentines’ Day? You can do the cooking or order in and rent a movie for a perfect and inexpensive evening of romance.
We have some movie suggestions for the most romantic night of the year. If you want to go through a box of tissues opt for epic classics like “Casablanca”, “Titanic”, “Love Story”, “The “Notebook”, “The Way We Were”, or “An Officer and A Gentleman”. If you like a little laughter through your tears try “Ghost” “Breakfast At Tiffany’s”,” A Walk In The Clouds” or “Sleepless in Seattle”. If you prefer lighter fare opt for “Moonstruck”, “You’ve Got Mail”, “Bridgette Jones’ Diary”, “How To Loose A Guy in Ten Days”, or “How I Married An Ax Murderer”. If these movies don’t stir your passion, you can view the top 50 romantics movies at IMDB.com and choose one yourself.
You can visit a cooking website like the FoodNetwork.com for some great romantic meal suggestions and they will even tell you how hard or easy the preparation will be so you don’t get in over your head. Just don’t forget the popcorn and have fun!
Check out our Valentine’s Day Jewelry Specials.
New Valentine’s Day Tradition January 26, 2010
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source: funmunch.com
Valentine’s day is right around the corner and it’s not too early to start planning your day. Tradition holds that couples present each other with sentimental cards and presents on the holiday devoted to love.
Many choose this day as the perfect opportunity for getting engaged or married. It’s a great anniversary on which to celebrate your love for each other.
My husband and I take this day and use it as an opportunity to pass on a kindness that was shown to us when we were a young couple. We had just finished eating dinner at a Chinese restaurant and had asked for the bill. When our waiter returned he informed us that the bill had been paid by someone else. The kind benefactor had enjoyed seeing a couple in love sharing a meal and picked up our tab! We were quite flabbergasted and grateful to the kind stranger who we never saw.
Now every Valentine’s day we go out to a local restaurant choose some happy couple and anonymously pay their tab. It brings us much more joy than you can imagine discretely watching the shock and smiles from our unknowing recipients. We think this is the perfect Valentines present to each other and it has become our yearly tradition.
However you celebrate this special day we hope you enjoy many special moments and create some Valentine day traditions.
See our Valentine’s Day specials.
How to Recognize Canadian Diamonds January 6, 2010
Posted by Jill Renee in : Canadian Diamonds, Diamonds , add a commentCanadian diamonds provide a new alternative to people who want to buy diamonds, but are not comfortable with buying pieces that are potentially “conflict diamonds.” A “conflict diamond,” by the UN’s definition, is a diamond mined by a non-legitimate government force in order to fund a rebellion. Additionally, some people are still concerned about the legitimate governments that deal in diamond mining and production, because there is a lot of talk about human rights violations in those circumstances as well.
While diamond production and mining has become far safer and more politically-correct in the past few years, one way to be absolutely sure that no wrong has been done by producing the diamond you buy is to seek out a Canadian diamond. Canadian diamonds account for only 15% of all the diamonds in the marketplace, but they account for 80% of all Excellent and Ideal cut diamonds.
Other diamond miners and producers have caught on to the popularity of Canadian diamonds, and have tried to mislead consumers by marketing their diamonds (mined in places other than Canada) as Canadian diamonds, so there is a little confusion in the diamond marketplace about how to recognize a Canadian diamond. There are only two ways to be sure.
One way to be sure is the GNWT Certificate of Authenticity. The GNWT (Government of the Northwest Territories) certification system tracks the diamond all the way from extraction from the ground to its velvet cushion at the jeweler’s. This is important, because some diamonds mined in Canada are still sent to Asia or Africa for cutting and polishing – which gets you back into the sticky questionable human rights territory. GNWT-certified diamonds guarantee the diamond in question was mined in Canada, and handled ethically (most likely in Canada the whole time) all throughout the process.
The certificate bears the GNWT’s polar bear insignia and includes a Gemprint of the diamond. A Gemprint is just what it sounds like – it is a “fingerprint” of the diamond: a digital scan of the landscape of the diamond so you can be sure the diamond you’ve bought is actually the diamond that is certified.
To take the precautions one step further, each Canadian diamond that is mined, cut, and polished in the Northwest Territories of Canada come laser-imprinted with a unique serial number. The number can only be seen with a microscope, so no worries about staring into your pretty gem and seeing somebody’s serial number. The number is etched into the girdle of the diamond (which is the “rim between the flatter top and the pointed bottom”) and is proof-positive that the diamond is legitimately a Canadian diamond.
Again, while diamond mining and production practices have improved a great amount in past years, the extra piece of mind obtained from buying a Canadian diamond can make all the difference for someone who still has questions or concerns about typical diamonds that are mined in the usual places and could potentially be in league with those who have questionable business practices. Additionally, Canadian diamonds are some of the cleanest, brightest, most perfect diamonds on the market. Isn’t your special someone worth the extra effort?
Planning the Perfect Wedding November 23, 2009
Posted by Jill Renee in : Just Jill , add a commentYou’re engaged and hopefully you purchased your ring from me so you’re off to a great start. Now the hard part begins.
You need to find a location, a dress, invitations, a cake, pick music, choose attendants, flowers, honeymoon, and on and on…
It’s enough to make Las Vegas look real good… but still you’ve got to get there, get a hotel, get a dress, pick a chapel, and on and on…
So what to do? Relax, take a deep breath and trust that everything will work out because it always does. I really believe that things work out just as they are supposed to work out and the world keeps on turning.
My own wedding was 28 years ago and it was perfect. We had about three hundred people and the date was August 7. Not too worry about the heat though because we were getting married in Buffalo NY. August would be warm but not unbearable. WRONG, it was the hottest day and the location for the reception had no air conditioning…catastrophe right? No not at all. Even though I was wearing long lace sleeves and a cathedral length train…I didn’t even notice the heat. Our guests kept the bartenders busy and danced their socks off. No one seemed too bothered by the heat but to this day friends and relatives comment about how unusually hot that day was in Buffalo.
The bridesmaid’s were wearing the ugliest peach taffeta dresses man ever created but I loved those dresses. One friend, a beautiful red head hated the color because she said it clashed with her hair. She said she could live with the dress as long as I added a hat to the ensemble. The hats they wore were chosen by my friend and looked like something a lady born at the turn of the century would wear on a long day riding a horse. She was happy and the others went along with the wearing of the “hats”. Boy do I have great friends!
It was time for the first dance and we had forgotten to choose a song! So the bandleader approached me with a list and told me to pick one quick. I got to the E’s and saw the Barbara Streisand classic “Evergreen” it was as good as any other. So bingo our wedding song is Evergreen. You won’t find it on any of the top wedding song lists but it worked and whenever my husband and I hear it we giggle at the memory.
I had spent some time picking out the four tier flower covered cake with the cute precious moments couple perched on top. When it came time to cut the cake everything went off as planned, bride and groom both had a little frosting left on their faces. Only later did I find out that the REAL cake had been dropped on the way into the reception and that the one I cut was made from cardboard with a real cake layer on the top where we cut it. The cooks had sheet cakes in the back that were cut into pieces and brought out to the guests. The only person at the wedding who knew of this catastrophe was my grandmother and she handled it perfectly! I found out after the honeymoon.
We were excited about the Caribbean cruise we would take the next day for our honeymoon and had safely stored our luggage for the early morning trip. When we arrived on the boat and began to unpack we found someone had found the luggage and filled every square inch with white rice. We had rice in every pant and shirt pocket, bottle top, and compact in our luggage! We were still finding rice in our pants cuffs and shoes months after the wedding!
Although this may not sound like the perfect wedding that you may expect it was perfect in every way. The bumps are really what made it perfect and memorable. I hope this helps you to relax a bit while planning your “perfect wedding” because you know everything will work out exactly as it should to make your day perfect!
Danforth Diamond Salutes Our Troops September 29, 2009
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We have been very fortunate to have many service men and women as our customers over the last few years and we have had the pleasure of making and sending these rings overseas to military bases in Iraq. Although, we never actually have met these brave men and women in person we have developed some great long distance relationships and love hearing updates. Sgt. Alen Culver sent us a beautiful wooden plaque and an American flag that was flown aboard a US Army C-23 Sherpa on the night of August 9 2009. We all treasure these gifts and have them hanging up on the wall in our office.
In addition I recently have had the luck to get a behind the scenes tour of the USS Nassau at the Naval base in Norfolk, Virginia, Helicopter Squadron FOURTEEN (HM-14) “Vanguard” at the NAS base Norfolk and Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
The USS Nassau’s primary role is to transport Marine Corps personnel. In addition, the cargo areas can transport trucks, tanks, artillery and large amounts of supplies. The deck is capable of holding 10 helicopters and the ship is equipped with a full service hospital complete with operating rooms. This is indeed a floating city with 3,000 inhabitants. Not your average inhabitants though…these men and women can handle any crisis the world hands them at a moment’s notice.
Commanding officer Malcolm H. Potts, CDR, USN welcomed us to the HM-14 “Vanguard” helicopter squadron. These helicopters serve to search out enemy mines and have performed many humanitarian deeds around the world. Capable of airlifting heavy construction equipment, they were recently deployed to help rebuild the region of Taiwan where floods had devastated the countryside. These dedicated men and women of Vanguard are capable of deploying anywhere in the world within 72 hours!
The last stop on our amazing tour was to see the jets at NAS Oceana. Oceana is a working airport that has navy fighter planes taking off and landing all day long. This master jet base is home to seventeen strike fighter squadrons of F/A-18 Hornets and F/A-18 Super Hornets. The small cockpit and the operation of these jets is not for the faint of heart…only the very brave need apply! In addition, this naval base also serves as a training facility for many elite units and is an alternate landing site for the space shuttle.
I truly enjoyed seeing the ships, helicopters and planes on my tour but what was most extraordinary was meeting the servicemen and women that make all these machines work, run and perform their duties. They give us their best each and every day and sacrifice so much to protect the freedom we all enjoy. I admire and respect every one of them and am very thankful for the wonderful day we shared together.
God Bless You All,
Jill
