Update: Mediterranean cruise/diamond ring

13 years ago

Some of you might remember when I posted about my DD's boyfriend asking me whether I thought our daughter would rather have a 3 week Mediterranean cruise and a smaller diamond in her engagement ring, or a larger stone and less expensive honeymoon. Well, he proposed last night with the engagement ring he inherited from his grandmother, which was missing the stone. He had taken the stone out and given it to his mother to reset in a pendant years earlier, prior to meeting DD.

Anyway, he decided to ask DD which she would rather have and she said neither. She absolutely loved the option of the Mediterranean cruise, once she learned that Rome, Greece and Egypt were on the itinerary, since these were her main focus of historical study when in school. However she told him she didn't see the point in spending money on a diamond at all, since there are such beautiful cubic zirconias available now.

So they are going to have the band set with a grade AAAAA cubic zirconia, which will cost less than $100.00 and go for the amazing honeymoon. DD said her friend has a gorgeous platinum ring set with one, so perhaps this is a new trend among young people. Anyway she said that she can always replace the stone someday if she ever wants a diamond, but for now she'd rather have the money spent on something they both can enjoy!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (15)

linda_in_iowa
13 years ago
Now that is a girl with a good head on her shoulders. They will really enjoy that 3 week cruise. How nice that a CZ will make her happy.
wildchild
13 years ago
You have a wise DD. Congratulations to her and her fiance on their engagement.
Related Discussions
UPDATE: Garden Circle Exchange Ring September
Q
Comments (89)
Hi I just wanted to express my thanks for YaYa and my pal for checking in on me. I truly appreciate it more than words can say. My pal has asked me to guess who she is....I emailed the person whom I thought it could be....I am not sure I am right as my pal doesn't talk about children in her letters but does in the posts. Hummmm Well soon I will know! I emailed her as I didn't want to post here as I don't want to be the cause of someone finding out who their pal is if they don't want to know!! My pal included scilla "White City" is my package this month!! Can't wait to see them bloom!! I don't have anything like them. Plus the fact that they are white makes me happy to add them to my angel garden in memory of my special nephew. Thanks my special pal for being so kind to me and taking the time not to only send a surprise package my way but always finding the time to write. My pal trains puppies to become therapy dogs which I think is so wonderful!! What a special person. I thank you for doing that as there is such a need for that. I admire that you are able to let the pup go after being trained. Bless your heart as I know that can't be easy! Hugs! Take care and enjoy your weekend!! Looks like some more warm weather! Yippie I may just get caught up on my planting yet!!
...See More
Daily Support Mon. Aug. 16th thru Sun.Aug 22nd
Q
Comments (38)
Thank you so much for the birthday wishes! I am having a great birthday week! Tomorrow I FINALLY get to pick up the new kayak! I'll take it for a paddle out on the bay for a couple of hours.I can hardly wait! Then in the afternoon, I am attending a friend's dtrs going away party. Tomorrow night is our family birthday party at my sis' house. I took my first full day off in almost 4 weeks today.... Whew! Sunday it's church and then veg out ALL DAY LONG!!! George, sweetie, yes I am Greek! But alas, you are not really my type, sad to say. Have you got a brother who is maybe the rugged cowboy type? Wouldn't turn down a spin on your yacht though... ; ) You guys are just the best! love, Tikanis
...See More
I mjust not watch enough TV
Q
Comments (52)
Having gone to dozens of open houses, I'm not surprised few people are able to see past the clutter, bad decorating, and awful housekeeping that many homeowners can't be bothered to change even though it would mean a faster sale or multiple offers. Yes, my husband and I look at things like drainage issues, gutters, heating systems, roof eaves, etc., and I actually will read an entire inspection report if provided. But we're by far in the minority, my RE friend says. We staged my MIL's house. Nice house, great neighborhood, but definitely on the higher end of the area. Market was slowing (May 2006) with more inventory and longer DOMs appearing. Kitchen & bathrooms were good quality, showed well, definitely turnkey but hadn't been upgraded in 20 yrs so lacked the "pro-style appliances and granite" stuff. We moved my MIL out of the house and got rid of everything; giving it away to relatives/friends and remaindering the rest through a liquidator. The rooms were painted (outside was fine); the carpet ripped out of the upstairs and the wooden floors refinished; all window coverings removed (amazing how much sun that house got, I never realized it before!); the downstairs 'bonus room' had the hideous sheet vinyl removed and flat Berber-weave neutral W2W carpet installed. We took all the advice of the RE agent and used the vendors he suggested. My MIL couldn't understand why we needed to do this. She also wanted to sell her furnishing with the house, she was absolutely sure someone would want to buy all her lovely things. My DH and I, as well as the extremely wonderful full-service agent we used, told her that no, people don't want to buy furnished houses. They particularly don't want to spend $1.1M on a classic 3bd 2ba Mediterranean full of somebody else's furniture. To the day it was sold, and maybe even now, she still doesn't understand why the buyers wouldn't have wanted her home furnishings! The stager we used kept the rooms very sparely furnished, just enough to look good. Did a beautiful job in the living room, with big overstuffed loveseat and chairs - LR was oversized compared to new construction around here - and nice large plants. The last was particularly needed since the LR also had a vaulted ceiling so one needed to keep the scale consistent. The house spent 28 DOM and got very close to asking, within $50K. Five houses came onto the market around the same time in her area: all were unstaged, 2 were taken off market after 90 DOM unsold; 3 sold after an average 69DOM with price discounts ranging from 10-18%.
...See More
Golly, It Is QUIET here!
Q
Comments (42)
For those of you with ice dam issues, in addition to having excellent insulation and good air flow in an uninsulated space above the heated envelope (a combo of soffit vents, gable end vents and roof peak vents), DH ( a former builder/contractor) swears by adhesive-backed underlayment membranes (Bituthane is one brand). They go on at ambient temperature and stick (really stick!) to the roof base (plywood or whatever) and then the shingles go on over it - the stuff seals around the roofing nails. Even when we get ice issues over the ell (impossible to insulate it properly - it's 200 year-old construction) we haven't had a leak, and DH used it to solve numerous client's issues with leaks due to ice dams. I have also heard from a friend with a metal roof that they have had some issues, but it was a while ago and I don't know how they solved them. You might want to ask around on the home forums for folks' experience on retrofitting a house with a metal roof. I love water, but for me it doesn't matter if it's a river, a large lake (10 acres to Lake Superior) or the ocean - each has its charm. Bill, I think you need an Isabella Stewart Gardner type of roofed courtyard, but one with a lower roof on the south side for more sun, a larger space than your sun porch. Come to think of it, I wouldn't mind having one of those either, a spot to putter in the winter. I need to check out Defrost's unheated greenhouse.
...See More
FlamingO in AR
13 years ago
Yep, she's a smart and practical girl. He's a lucky man.
kacram
13 years ago
Very cool!
justgotabme
13 years ago
Congratulations to both your darling daughter and her lucky soon to be hubby. Over thirty years ago I told my hubby that I didn't want a diamond at all because they cost too much. Plenty of other more important things to spend that kind of money on when first starting out. I told him then if he thought I had to have a "diamond" I'd take a cubic zirconia, but with all I do with my hands a stone of any kind would just get in the way.
folkvictorian
13 years ago
Smart girl! They'll remember their fantastic honeymoon trip forever!
bearcat_va
13 years ago
I think that is a GREAT choice!! Years ago, DH replaced my engagement ring (which was 1/2 carat) because it kept breaking. Turns out it was poorly made and set. So, he got me 1.5 carat diamond. Don't get me wrong--I love it.

Then, I got pregnant with this baby. My wedding band is a little tight. So I ordered (from ebay) a QVC diamonique anniversary band to wear with my engagement ring. You can't tell the difference and I paid $25 for the wedding band!

Never again will I buy a real diamond...I can't tell you how many compliments I get on my ring.
jannie
13 years ago
My daughter wanted diamond earrings one year. We bought her an amazing set of Cubic Zirconia for under $200, from a jeweler, not over TV.
alisande
13 years ago
Excellent choice!!
gemini40
13 years ago
Well what a smart decision on your DD's part. Now she can look forward to at some point a diamond, or some other beautiful stone for her 25th anniversary or some other special occassion.
nicole__
13 years ago
WOW! I'm sooooooooo impressed. Nice choice!
tami_ohio
13 years ago
Congratulations to them both!

I have a suggestion for them, also. While they are on their cruise, suggest that they do a daily journal of what they have seen and done. Even with pictures, they will quickly forget some details. If they keep a dialy journal, they can come home and do it in a word processing document and insert pictures to go with each day. (Or scrapbook it!) I am not a scrapbooker, but a friend showed us their daily journal. They do it every day, even if it's just one sentance about going to the dr. or a visit from a friend. They are full time RV'ers, and it makes wonderfull memories. He then prints the journal at the end of the year, and takes it to Staples or someplace similar and has it bound. He makes two copies, keeps one and gives the other to his mother. I don't do it daily, but do try to do each day of our trips. Boy, has it come in handy! We forget place names very easily, along with people's names. If they take a laptop with them, they can do the journal on the computer and download the pictures daily. I don't put all the pictures taken in the journal, just a few key photos, the rest stay in a file folder labeled for the trip.

Tami
amicus
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for your good wishes! Being big history buffs, they're both looking forward to the cruise so much, as the 3 week itinerary allows plenty of time for sightseeing. They have decided to buy a better quality camera for their trip, with the money they'll save by not purchasing a real diamond. Tami, your suggestion is a good one and DD does happen to love scrapbooking, so I'm sure she'll agree she'll agree that a journal of the trip will make it easier to recall the memories. I'm thrilled for them and know I couldn't have picked out a better match for DD myself!
socks
13 years ago
Good!!!
patti43
13 years ago
I'm so glad you came back to tell us her decision. Your daughter came up with a solution I would never have thought of. And it's a great one!

Update: Mediterranean cruise/diamond ring

Comments (15)

linda_in_iowa

wildchild

Related Discussions

FlamingO in AR

kacram

justgotabme

folkvictorian

bearcat_va

jannie

alisande

gemini40

nicole__

tami_ohio

amicus
Original Author

socks

patti43

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Update: Mediterranean cruise/diamond ring

Comments (15)

Related Discussions

amicusOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

amicus
Original Author