When I was a kid, we had some close family friends, the Manfredas. Mr. & Mrs. Manfreda had come from Italy and settled in San Francisco, finding a home in the North Beach neighborhood and raising their three children. This was a family that was serious about their food. In fact, they converted the entire lower level of their home (which would have ordinarily functioned as their garage) into one giant kitchen and dining room with a massive table where friends and family would gather together for any reason to celebrate over a big meal.
During many a get together, out of this basement kitchen would roll enormous piping hot platters of homemade pastas: spaghetti with fresh marinara sauce, baked ziti, when we were lucky, pasta alla carbonara , and on, and on. Every dish was always delicious, made with love, and with every bite you knew that life, friends,…
I haven’t had to do it but I would imagine that picking out an engagement ring that your betrothed will wear for the rest of her life might be a teensy bit stressful. Just a hunch. One way around this is to let her choose her own ring, that way she gets exactly what she wants and the pressure is off. Of course, you don’t want to show up to the engagement empty-handed, which is where these necklaces from Giles and Brother come in.
Their Single Rhinestone Pipe and 10 Strand necklaces each feature a ring so while you’re still giving a nod to tradition, it’s piece she can wear for years to come (and to all of her pre-wedding events).
Or if she’s stolen your heart (I can’t help it, I’m knee-deep in love over here), one of their Heart…
In keeping with our engagement ring theme today (engagement season is just around the corner but you don’t need me to tell you that!), I have to share with you this awesome alternative to the traditional engagement ring – the Stump ring by Digby and Iona. Isn’t it so much fun? It’s made with sterling silver and can be customized with both you and your honey’s initials.
And while this ring might not take the place of your actual engagement ring, it could be a great placeholder until you have the chance to design one together.
Seattle has it going on wedding event-wise these next couple of weeks! For brides, there’s Get Hitched, Give Hope tonight while the Get Engaged Tour is specifically for wedding vendors (keep reading for details!).
Get Hitched, Give Hope: Engaged Couples – Meet with Top Wedding Vendors
Tonight don’t miss out on the Get Hitched, Give Hope event. You can read about the details more in-depth here but just know that if you’re looking to plan a wedding, there are going to be killer deals on wedding services, and it’s all for a great cause!
Plus, you can enter to win the honeymoon that we’re giving away with Honeymoon Wishes. Three days and fours nights in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico at the Hotel Buena Ventura Grand Honeymoon Suite. How great does that sound?
The event takes place tonight at the Four Seasons Hotel…
We are so proud to be taking part in this year’s Get Hitched, Give Hope event. Do you know about them? They’re an organization of wedding folks that raises money to grant breast cancer patients’ wishes by throwing a big ole party once a year. All sorts of wedding vendors either donate or heavily discount their services and then let the public bid on them. 100% of the money raised goes to granting wishes so not only do you get a swanky cocktail party (it’s at the Four Seasons, enough said) and great deals on wedding services but it all goes to a great cause.
This year, they’re looking to raise $50,000 which would grant the wishes of 12 women. Just so you get an idea of what this means, here are some of the wishes they granted last year were:
-Susan and…