Our two-ring circus

Today was a very busy day. We started by seeing nine (count them nine!) apartments. A few were promising but we have to really sit down, compare, and crunch some numbers. Oh yeah, and before that we dropped off a bunch of completed invitations with a friend who would give them out at church on our behalf (for some reason fiance thought that we shouldn't give them out ourselves b/c not everyone is invited, not that we had time to go today). So after driving and walking all throughout Forest Hills, we headed to Ctown to finally pick out our rings. Me being a plain gal, I just opted for a plain band slightly thicker than my e-ring with a tiny, round, single diamond in the middle. That way it's not very flashy nor very plain. Originally I was thinking of jazzing it up a little by having parts of the metal with the brushed look but I ended up not liking it. Instead, the band is just plain white gold (or at least I think it's white gold -- I totally forgot to discuss metals with her), very similar to fiance's, but his is slighter wider and w/o a diamond. I figure if I want something flashier later on, we can upgrade in ten years or so. Maybe (hopefully) by then we won't have all these crazy expenses all at once. So, with engraving (we have to decide what to engrave too) and the comfort fit, our rings total $380. (I felt a compulsion to share the price for ppl who need an idea of how much to set aside.) I'm not sure if this is a deal or not (I'm guessing it is b/c fiance is somewhat related to them and that's where he got my e-ring), but I'm greatly relieved b/c I thought the rings would be much more expensive. Oh and for those who don't know about comfort fit, I think it will make for a happy groom (or at least the ones I've talked to couldn't stop raving about it) b/c the extra roundedness on the inside of the band makes less contact with your skin so that it's more comfortable.

With the rings checked off our list, we walked around the corner to get something to eat. That's when we passed by the restaurant that we're having the banquet at and it was totally gutted inside and boarded up outside (this is the "circus" I refer to in the title, but not as fun, if you find circuses fun). It looked like what a restaurant in Beirut would look like, minus the one Chinese guy sitting inside guarding the place. The new carpet that they had just installed a few months ago was unrecognizable (probably not even there -- too dark to see) with all the debris everywhere. The only things left that I could see were the pillars (which I wouldn't mind if they were replaced/removed). Even the lights were gone so that the only light source was this one construction lamp and the daylight streaming in from outside. Supposedly they will be done by the middle of next month which throws a wrench into my plans (they had originally said the beginning of the month and you know how there are always delays with construction) b/c I want to set the menu (so that I can print the menu cards!!!) and I also want to see how the place will finally look like in case I need to get anything to decorate the place. Grrr!!! Everyone who reads this blog, say a daily prayer as you read that the restaurant will be back open in time!!