Ring Shopping

Well, it was bound to happen. Nate and I (finally!) went engagement ring shopping tonight. I've been mentioning doing this, both jokingly and seriously, for a while now. Mostly since our year anniversary in March. We'd tried to set some time previously but life (usually Nate's work) kept getting in the way. I sort of expected the same thing tonight so when Nate called and said that we had plans for the night I tried to be a good girlfriend and give him an out by playing dumb. He wasn't going to have it, though. He mentioned right off that tonight was ring shopping night and he was ready to go.

I was a little concerned as we were leaving as the one jewelry shop I wanted to hit closed at 6pm and it was 5:30 by the time we left Richland (the store was in Kennewick). But we made it with 15 minutes to spare so I figured I'd show him the ring that I'd picked out when my mom and I had visited there earlier and call it good. But I was wrong. After pointing out the ring (sans center stone) he wanted to see what it would look like with the center stone and then starting asking questions. How do you tell a good diamond from a bad one? What's the rating differences? How much is the typical price you spend? And so on. It was really cute how he was getting into it all.

Then, the shocker of the evening. Nate asked if there were any men's wedding bands he could try on! What?!?! This was TOTALLY unexpected. I figured we'd look at my ring, he'd say it was cool, and then we'd leave. Next thing I know it's past 6pm (store closing time) and he's trying on rings. Granted, he only tried on four and he had this cute red flushed face going on the whole time, but he did it. On his own and without prompting. How could I not love him?

No, we didn't buy anything at that time. And truthfully he's probably going to have to special order the ring he decides to get me. The 'in style' right now is white gold or platinum and I want a yellow gold ring. They're practically non-existent in stores. Kantor Diamonds (the store we were at) had six out of two cases. But you carry what's selling, I suppose.

So our first ring shopping extravaganza ended on a good note and I spent the evening grinning from ear to ear. I can't wait for the next trip to see how that one ends up. One step closer to the big M. Marriage!!!