A Treat Today (and One in 51 Days)...

This was as delicious as it looks. I've found myself eating a lot of "junk" chocolate lately and am renewing my pledge to decadent, delicious chocolates, preferably individually wrapped with pretty foils like this little guy. I stopped by Lindt this weekend while my husband and I were checking out the gorgeous Christmas displays in on the Church Street Marketplace. Soon Church Street will be lit up with with millions of twinkling white lights dripping from trees...it's so beautiful. We always try to make it down for a walk along the magically lit street on Christmas Eve; sometimes it's very late and we are nearly the only people out. I absolutely love it; every icy breathful of air, every scent of snow and most of all the feeling of my hand snuggled into my husband's coat pocket. We might not make it more than a few blocks some years (I remember one in particular when the wind was whipping off the lake so strongly, it took our breath away and made our clothes feel like tissue paper!).

Church Street at this time of year holds another special memory for us as it's just one short block to the park where my husband proposed, sometime in December, 6 years ago. (Is it awful that I don't remember the date?). I remember the whole thing, I swear. Just not the date.

I've decided that along with decadent chocolate, it's time to treat myself to something else. Something really, really special that I would normally turn my frugal and practical nose up at (I tried to convince my then-fiance that I didn't need or want a diamond engagement ring...but he won). I'm turning 30 in January and I've decided to buy a beautiful ring to commemorate the new decade. Now, I have to tell you, I don't feel 30! Not that 30 is old by any means, it's just that I still see myself somewhere around 21 or 22. And even though I know that 30 isn't OLD, it's older. I mean, one can't be quite as reckless at 30 as one was at 20. Then it was expected and tolerated; now it would just be weird...and sad in a way.

So, when we were on Church Street this weekend, I checked out some jewelry shops. Nothing really stood. There were some beautiful rings, but nothing particuarly piqued my interest (except one gorgeous delicate silver vined piece with a brown diamond which was over $2800!) I put it down very quickly and thanked the nice lady. The last shop we came to was IT, I knew soon after stepping foot inside. It was a tiny little shop tucked away from the hubub of the busy street and noisy pedestrians. There was folk-y music playing an older gentleman working on a piece in the back. I didn't see anything at once that caught my eye, but I had a brilliant idea. Why buy a piece already made when one could have one made, especially for her? I talked with kind gentleman and set up an appiontment for later this week. Let me tell you, I have been sketching like there is no tomorrow! I've also found some beatiful vintage rings on Ebay which might be able to be used for inspiration. I want something simple and elegant and classy and lovely....do you think that's too tall an order?