Change can be good thing!

Change has always been a pretty fearful thing for me, but I recently learned that it can also be a very good thing. Yes lovelies this picture is of me dressed as a Hindu Bride for our recent Hindu engagement ceremony. For those of you that are keeping score we’ve had double parties since we are having double the ceremonies, Hindu and Jewish. I was honored to be celebrated and embraced in Honey’s culture and yet I was fearful to be seen like a fish out of water. Or embarrass anyone!

It took me several weeks to look as comfortable as I do in this picture. And how did I do it? Well, I had to let go and stopped fighting the change. I also saw how happy it was making the people around me. Can I also tell you a little secret? I felt like a true princess dressed in a sari with so many yards of gorgeous fabric and jewelry.

And my father flew to San Francisco to be apart of the ceremony and in addition to Honey’s family and friends we had our friends come and support us as well. The engagement ceremony felt like a taste of what the Hindu wedding ceremony will feel like.

So lovely, why do we fight change so much?

As soon as I stopped fighting, I felt a sense of calm come over me. I suddenly knew that I was being pushed and pulled in all of the right directions. The next day I saw these engagement photos and felt comfortable and happy. It felt like we had gone through a true rite of passage. Plus Honey and I felt loved and supportive. Have you ever struggled with making change? Tell me sweetie do you think change can be a good thing?

Our love story: The proposal part II

We walked around the base of Coit Tower and looked out at the view. And then Honey suggested we take the elevator to the top of the Tower to see the entire city. The elevator was packed with tourists and they had picked a wonderful, warm and clear day to see San Francisco. What they weren’t expecting (and neither was I) was they were about to see a proposal as well.

The elevator took us to the top and we started to walk around to see the 360 degree view of San Francisco. We went over to each concrete window of Coit and as new scenery would appear, Honey would tell me about our memories there together. We looked over at the Golden Gate Bridge and he reminded me of the times we’ve been on the bridge together. We looked at the financial district and he told me about the day we first met. Then we saw the Ferry building and Honey talked about how we've gone to the Farmer’s Market Saturday mornings. he then pointed out the Hyatt which is where we spent our first New Years together.

At this point I had tears in my eyes… a lot of them.

Honey talked about our present life together and said some wonderful things about his hopes for our future like how he can't wait for us to be a family and grow old together.

I was very touched and looked away through a window to the beautiful scenery of the Bay. *(I took the beside Coit window photo on the engagement day.)

He then said, “The only place that we don’t have a good memory of is at Coit Tower.” I turned around to ask him what he meant...to see Honey down on one knee and holding a small jewelry box.

'Would you do the honor of being my wife and marrying me?"

It was a wonderful and romantic question that I was happy and shocked to hear.

I’ve been told that I didn’t say yes, but stood there. I threw my arms around Honey and hugged him tight and he had to remind me to look at the ring and put it on. He also had to gently remind me that I hadn't answered his question.

This is so like me lovelies...I forgot to say yes. I told him over and over, "Yes, yes, I will marry you."

Tourists were watching us and gently asked if they could take some pictures of our moment. I’m so thankful that they did.

Later on that night we went to dinner at our favorite restaurant and some friends came over with some champagne and dessert to celebrate. And you know what...Honey was right... this was a wonderful Bloggable engagement story and I will always think of San Francisco and smile.

Our love story: The proposal

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I wanted to share with you our engagement story. I’ve been waiting to share this proposal story with you and I thought Valentine’s week was the best time. Don’t you agree? And not only did Honey want our engagement story to be wonderful, unique and romantic for years to come, but he told me it also had to be “Bloggable", for you lovely followers.

If you haven't already, you can click here to catch up on our love story. Be sure to scroll down sweetie.

Our engagement story began on an unusually warm August day. San Francisco is not known for its warm days and the city becomes very still. Most restaurants, stores and apartments do not have air conditioning as the Bay usually cools us down.

It was a random August Thursday and I was working from home. Honey called and said he was coming home early. And then he asked me out on a day date.

I was super excited and wasn’t sure where we were going.

He told me we were going to one of my favorite places to check out Coit Tower. I thought back to the last time we had been to Coit Tower years ago and our trip there hadn’t gone well. (Click here to read about our first date).

You see Honey and I were friends for a year before I discovered I was in love. During our friendship, there was one night where Honey set up a date night took me to Coit Tower and then to dinner. Over dinner he told he wanted to date and I told him I wasn’t ready.

Awkward…

So three years later, we went back to Coit. According to Wikipedia “Coit Tower is an art deco tower, 210 feet (64 m) of unpainted reinforced concrete, that overlooks the entire city. The tower, which stands atop Telegraph Hill in San Francisco's Pioneer Park, offers fantastic views of San Francisco including the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park ("Aquatic Park"), Alcatraz, Pier 39, Angel Island, Treasure Island, the Bay Bridge, Russian Hill, the Financial District, Lombard Street, and Nob Hill.”

OK,e back to the story, Honey was very calm and playful. He made sure I had my camera because he knew I love to document. What he didn’t realize was the usually not busy Coit Tower was filled with tourists that day due to the warmer weather.

We walked around the base of the Tower to look at the views of the Golden Gate Bridge. And then Honey suggested we take the elevator to the top of the Tower to see the entire city. Now the story starts to become a little blurry for me. What I do remember is after he bought us the elevator tickets, he handed them to me to keep. And I’m so glad he did because I still have the tickets in my wallet today dated the day we got engaged. (Such a romantic)...

Little did I know that I was going up the Coit Tower elevator a single lady and coming down engaged.

Can’t wait to find out what happens next…then come back this Wednesday sweetie for the rest of our proposal story. Happy early Valentine’s Day! Do you have plans yet for V-day?

Our love story: Finding the perfect dress

Why do women put so much thought and effort into finding the perfect dress for an event? Well, my frenzy of finding the perfect engagement dress for our last weekend’s engagement party turned out to be a great story. I was still in the store when I said, "I have to post about this."

Thanksgiving drive down: For months I was looking forward to the drive with my Honey from San Francisco to Los Angeles. No matter how much you love spending time with someone, a road trip always tests your patience. On the drive, we drank our coffees, munched on chips, sang some songs and 450 miles later we finally got close to my families home. And then it happened, Honey suggested that we go to the outlet mall before we get there. Sorry Dad, we were so close…

I loved the idea, but I also felt guilt trickle down my spine.

With less than an hour before the stores closed for the holidays, we made it to the outlets. I felt a shopping 'sense of calm' come over me. My good side told me to find some perfume and my bad side told me to find the perfect dress. We ran into a discount perfume store and found holiday sales without the crowds and bought two perfumes for the price of one.

Boom done. Then came the hunt for THE dress.

Next, we ran into the White House/Black Market and Honey grabbed a dress off the rack that he liked. I put it on in the change room and loved it. I even had enough time to try on some pants. I met Honey at the register to pay. I was shocked to see my dress was rung up for only $20 (see dress below).

I looked at my watch and we had enough time for shoes….

I drove the back roads to my family’s home, just in time to wear my $20 dress to the party. And Honey was sworn to secrecy not to tell anyone. He did tell my best friend. Plus I felt pretty, oh so pretty.

It was the best $20 I’ve ever spent!

Liked this post? Check in next week sweetie for part 2 of the engagement party story. Tell me, do you find the perfect dress or does the dress find you? (If you haven't yet, you can catch up with our story here).

Inspirational Weekend Quote

This inspirational weekend quote is brought to you because ...Happy Thanksgiving to you and to your family. And if you don't live in the States, I hope you had a lovely week filled with gratitude.

We had an easy drive down to L.A. and am enjoying being with everyone. Tonight is our engagement party so please cross your fingers and send over some good vibes. (I'll post about it this week).

I am grateful for many things this year. Thank you for all of your blog support, care and ideas. I love this inspirational weekend quote, "I did absolutely nothing, and it was everything I thought it could be." Ah to be a lady of leisure. Doesn't this quote say exactly how you feel today?

Should men wear engagement rings?

I have been struggling with a question that I hope you can answer. Generally speaking, why don’t men wear engagement rings? Future brides wear a ring to show that they’re almost taken. Other then his word, what does a man have to show that he’s engaged? Well for one thing, an empty bank account for purchasing that amazing engagement ring, but what else?

The other night Honey and I went out for drinks with his sister to a lovely SF wine bar. The place was packed so we sat on the same bench as another couple. Out of nowhere the man, not the woman, asked if we were newly engaged. I giggled and answered, “Yes how did you know? He stated, “I knew because your ring is so shiny that I can’t stop looking at it.”

My theory is that planning a wedding can be very time consuming and stressful, a gorgeous ring is a wonderful reminder of why your going through the stress.

Unfortunately I’ve had engaged friends that didn’t make it to alter. They made the right decision to not marry that person. But did they give their engagement rings back? Well one did and two others didn’t. According to Wikipedia: “In some states of the United States, engagement rings are considered "conditional gifts" under the legal rules of property. This is an exception to the general rule that gifts cannot be revoked once properly given.”

“The story of men’s engagement ring history is far shorter. For centuries, only women received either engagement or wedding rings, but today the vast majority of men wear wedding rings, and an increasing number also receive engagement rings. This trend began during World War II, when many men were faced with years separated from their loved ones, and simple rings served as reminders about the people they’d left behind."

I love this background information about the history of engagement rings, don’t you? Comment below and tell if you would wear or want your partner to wear a man-gagement ring?