Hmmmm....What''s This?

[Mara]

haha platinum rock, i won't be sporting a 3.32 next year unfortunately, maybe in another 5 or so if i can wheedle it out of darling hubby!!!

lorelei, we had some yummy eats last time in houston, this sounds horrible, but living here in the SF Bayarea is that we have some really great food, lots of variety, and fabulous restaurants, so i am a total food snob. haha just ask aljdewey how hard it was for me to choose a restaurant on our trip last time... i was asking the concierge 'okay what are your top 3 restaurants'...and he named off a bunch of chains that i wasn't interested in....'okay...what about your top 5'...he named off some other random sounding places 'hmm okay what else is there'...

alj was like 'are we going to get to eat tonite??' ... but we did manage to find a great place that night where they had the fab sangria, yum!! can't wait to go again.

headlight, maybe WF will take pity on me and send me home with a temp bauble for a week...haha AS IF...i can dream!

moonriver..i know it's gone from a week to a few hours for shrinkage to set in.

 

[kathleenmv]

Oh my golly...I''m a little tardy, but huge congrats on that huge, gorgeous, glorious rock!

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[aljdewey]

Date: 4/9/2006 2:18:42 AM
Author: Mara
haha platinum rock, i won''t be sporting a 3.32 next year unfortunately, maybe in another 5 or so if i can wheedle it out of darling hubby!!!

lorelei, we had some yummy eats last time in houston, this sounds horrible, but living here in the SF Bayarea is that we have some really great food, lots of variety, and fabulous restaurants, so i am a total food snob. haha just ask aljdewey how hard it was for me to choose a restaurant on our trip last time... i was asking the concierge ''okay what are your top 3 restaurants''...and he named off a bunch of chains that i wasn''t interested in....''okay...what about your top 5''...he named off some other random sounding places ''hmm okay what else is there''...

alj was like ''are we going to get to eat tonite??'' ... but we did manage to find a great place that night where they had the fab sangria, yum!! can''t wait to go again.

headlight, maybe WF will take pity on me and send me home with a temp bauble for a week...haha AS IF...i can dream!

moonriver..i know it''s gone from a week to a few hours for shrinkage to set in.

I never thought finding a meal could be such a CHALLENGE! LOL

Seriously, I just can''t wait to go to spend time with Mara, my partner-in-crime, and the kind folks at WF. We''ve been cooking up this trip since our last visit - knowing the upgrade is on the horizon.

I''ve actually known about the stone for a LOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time now, but was under penalty of death not to open my trap! lol

It''s a stunner, and I can''t wait to see it in person.

WOO-HOO - Houston-bound, baby!

 

[Lorelei]

You did well Aldj not to open your gob as we say here! It must have been hard! I will be living through you guys vicariously as the saying goes and I hope you do another thread like last time as we will be NEEDING regular bulletins! Also we will need menu details of everything you have to eat please! Seriously I know you guys will have the best time!

 

[KristyDarling]

Your trip is going to be so fun, Alj and Mara! We are going to want LOTS of pictures! Try on every rock and bauble you can get your hands on! And Mara, I so hear you on the food snob front. I''m hopeless in that way, too!

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 4/6/2006 11:02:21 PM
Author: Mara
heeh wow you girls were anxious today!! i came home to a flurry of posts!

...hehe you gals are too cute, every time i see more posts to this i get excited. oh and also i talked to leon about the head and he seems to think that something like jcrow''s head would work and he can also modify and round out my rectangle metal piece that the head sits on to make it more ''fluid'' and match with the new head. i''m so excited about that!! he said that he will have something ready for me to look at when we get there so that i can get an idea of how it will look on my ring!

WooHoo! Now THAT is exciting news! I am dying to see what he has in mind! FUN & FUN!!!

And yes, it''s RIDICULOUS how quickly the !#$% shrinkage sets in. What I think happens after about 2 carats or so is that it takes such a BUTT LOAD more size to really visually "show"! I mean, think about the huge visual difference between a .5 and a 1.0 carat. Even between a 1 and 1.5. But after that, DANG! The GOING gets so STINKIN'' s-l-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-w. So once we get to almost 2.5 it takes such a HUGE (and expensive!) JUMP in carat weight to become really noticeable to us. And THIS is NOT good news for shameless size girls like us, girlfriend!

Also... my 2.36 looks SO SMALL to me (on a size 4.75 finger) - but Dem''s looks HUGE to me. Now explain THAT!?! (It''s the diamond equivalent of a distorted body image, I guess! Haha, maybe we should call it Diamond Anorexia!) YEP, we are all SICK, SICK, SICK!!!

Oh, and one more thing. I know you love the dramatic "TA DA!" all-done, lookie here, presentation threads, but hasn''t this been oh-so-fun???!

xoxoxox
L

 

[Diam100]

Lynn - If & when I finally get my 2.5ct and it suddenly begins to morph into a tiny pebble on my size 5 finger I swear I'm going to lay down on my relative's couch who happens to be a psychiatrist and submit to a psych evaluation. Maybe I can convince that practice to give pricescopers a discount for shrinkage! (lol)

Mara - When the heck do we actually get to see this upgrade? Will it be the second or third week of May? I think I'm more excited about seeing yours than I am about my own.

 

[Sundial]

Lynn your post made me laugh! Since my center stone is less than 2 carats, at least I don''t have to have a "butt load" of bigger diamond if I decide to upgrade again!!!

And Mara thanks for letting us live vicariously through your upgrade adventure.

 

[Mara]

hehe Lynn you are sooo bad for my diamond hopefulness!!! i think that this stone will definitely look bigger, but how big is the million dollar question!! i think yours and dem''s both look huge IMO!!

i should have the actual ring back in my grubby little paws with new head stone on or before may 12, our 2nd anniversary!!!! so exciting!

oh and we will definitely regale you gals with more houston tales of fabulous food and baubles...!!

 

[Julian]

I have an idea!

Mara, if that HUGE rock ever starts to get small... you could put it in one of those super high temporary settings!

You know, when the diamond sits like 5 feet off your hand!!!!

 

[pinkflamingo]

My picks for food- I lived in Houston for 6 years, and I think the food beats just about anywhere- if you know where to go. Food here in Tampa, or in Seattle (where my parents live) just does not compare.


Mi Luna in Rice Village- Tapas bar, very fun, food and atmosphere is really fun on the weekends. Mi Luna

Little Pappasitos on Kirby- Great Tex mex, and fajitas are superb. They bring out this fresh garlic butter sauce.... mmmm Little Pappasito's

Central Market- high end grocery store, the best out there, hundreds of breads and cheeses from all over the world. It makes whole foods seem small and very boring. It is stylized like an open market, they have great takeout, worth walking through if you love food. Central Market

Barnaby's- the original is a hole in the wall, but the food is to die for. They have this amazing sirloin burger topped with tons of bleu cheese- it is so tangy it sizzles on your tongue. http://barnabyscafe.com/index.html

Amy's Ice Cream- Homemade icecream, very unique flavors, marble slab style. Amy's

Mark's- If Greg goes, you need to go to this restaurant. It is very nice, the food is fabulous. Mark's

Mission Burritos- These are so wonderful, cheap and fast. They are much better than Chipotle or any of the burritos chains. I personally love them better than Freebirds, but some love Freebirds.
http://www.marks1658.com/welcome.htm

La Strada- Very fun for Brunch. Go for people watching, they will be dancing on the tables by noon. Mimosas and Bellinis are in pitchers, so much fun!! We always had b-day parties here!La Strada

 

[Mara]

thanks pink flamingo! the place we adored last time was americas, and we also had steaks at pappa bros which were just fabulous. i typically am not a chain person at all esp with all the yummy independent places around here...i love small hole in the wall places!

lol julian, that''s a great idea on the 5ft high setting..ROFL!

 

[valeria101]

Date: 4/10/2006 12:24:31 PM
Author: Mara

that''s a great idea on the 5ft high setting..ROFL!

Not quite, but almost

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 4/10/2006 11:41:17 AM
Author: Mara
hehe Lynn you are sooo bad for my diamond hopefulness!!!

Oh girlfriend! I don''t mean to rain on your parade!

You know I think your new stone is a beauty and a KILLER and oh-so-very DROOL-WORTHY!

And yes, it is *BIG*!!!

And I know, know, know you are going to ADORE it! (As will we ALL!)

But the undeniable fact is, you and I are shameless, incorrigible size-mongers and we will never be truly satisfied until we can no longer lift our left hand! That, I am afraid, is the sad but true fact!

But in the meantime... look out, world! Mara''s soon to be in the 2+ Club!

 

[HOUMedGal]

Mara and AlJ: I''d LOOOVE to hook up with you ladies for drinks and whatnot on that Friday! Would be perrrfect!!!

 

[Mara]

yay annie...can''t wait to see you again!! i guess by that point i will be ringless..

...having given WF my rings that day!

lol lynn...i know girl, we are two (three if you count dem!) serious sickos!!! custom straightjackets studded with diamonds and everything!

but don''t worry, mine will not look as large as yours, because of your tiny finger girlfriend!! finger lipo.

 

[marvel]

Just wanted to add my congratulations!! Can''t wait to see the final product...although, I know this isn''t the final upgrade and we can look forward to more bling from you

 

[jewelgal]

Mara - I had to tell you, you know I love D''s, right? Well the other day I tried on a nice sized J and it was as white as can be! Hurry up and post some pics!!!!!!! Can''t wait to see the bling!

 

[diamond_quester]

Great mock-up comparison! The new stone is definitely larger.

Amazing what a difference 1mm makes. It looks awesome on your finger, so hope it''ll tide you over for a while. So... how long do you think is respectable before one can request a first upgrade?

 

[Mara]

hehe jewelgal, that means alot coming from an avowed D lover!! J''s can be really fabulous!!

diamond quester, hmm an acceptable timeframe? oh 6 months?!

marvel...thanks...i hope to collect other types of bling after this upgrade!! onto other items? hehe.

 

[hlmr]

Date: 4/7/2006 12:34:13 AM
Author: Mara
Wellll....I had Ana make this mockup comparison for me when I found the stone...so maybe this will tide us all over with a little visual eye-candy??? I hope that the 2.32 actually looks a little bigger...is it just me or does it not look that big?!?!?!?

I'm sick, sick I tell you!

It definitely looks bigger Mara. I think you can really notice the difference the most in the fourth picture - the full hand shot! I'm sure it will be absolutely fab!

 

[cutey TT]

Hey Mara.

I was out of town all last week, so I missed this thread... Congrats on the new stone -- it looks awesome! I''m sure you''ll be extremely happy when you get to see it in person. What a fun project! Can''t wait to see photos of the finished product!

I live in Houston as well, and there are definitely *yummy* places to eat. I''m surprised that when you asked the hotel concierge, they only named a bunch of chains...shame on them!

Sounds like you already tried two of my faves the last time you were here: Americas and Pappas Steakhouse. DH''s favorite by far is Bank Jean-Georges in Hotel Icon. While you''re there, check out Whiskey Bar (owned by Rande Gerber, Cindy Crawford''s husband).

I think someone suggested Marks (also yummy). If you want someplace eclectic, try Ruggles in Montrose. They have totally awesome desserts. I''m a major sucker for desserts. Hugo''s has a really great Sunday brunch (Mexican). We''ve taken some of our out-of-town guests there, since the types of foods people want to try while in Houston tend to be BBQ, Mexican, and steak.

I''ve been meaning to check out 17 in the Sam Houston hotel, but since we had the baby, going out to dinner at nice restaurants doesn''t happen anymore.

Let me know if you want additional suggestions.

 

[Demelza]

Wow, this thread has really taken off!!!! I haven''t been checking in as much because I''m still feeling ick and it seems like suddenly the thread is 10 pages long!!! Not surprised, of course, as we''ve all been waiting for this upgrade for a long time!!! I feel honored to be mentioned as the person who first directed Mara''s attention to the stone. I was shocked she hadn''t seen it yet, particularly since I don''t often browse WF''s diamond inventory (too tempting, hehe). Anyway, the first thing I noticed about the stone was the size, then the color, then the clarity, then the perfect angles, and I couldn''t believe my eyes. It had Mara''s name written all over it! I knew it had to be HERS. And I''m so glad it is!!!! Can''t wait for reports back from Houston AND the barrage of photos!!! Besides waiting for my nausea to subside, it''s the thing I''m most excited about in the forseeable future!!! Is it May yet??

 

[Ann]

Yippee, this is sooooo exciting. A new bauble and a honker at that!

Mara, I have heard from a friend that Cova''s is a great little place for wine by the glass and a simple meal. The owner''s name is Monsterville! He is a Master Wine whatever and really has some super wines in his place. I am hoping to go soon.

Ya''ll have fun!!

 

[butterfly 17]

"Kayla you are insane.

You just got your new ring and that was a 2ce upgraded thing in a span of a few months. Now, a few months later, you want to upgrade AGAIN for only .2mm? Totally not worth it. Plus you may have to re-work your custom setting that you just got!

What does your hubby say? He must be pretty accomodating!

I would cool your jets a bit, WAIT....and upgrade like another 5 years down the line....to something like a 2.75c/3c or so...make it count. Forget the incremental stuff, it will not make you happy because every few months you will be thinking you want ''just a bit bigger''.

And get something else in the meantime.

I thought I was bad but you take the cake!!"


By the way, Mara, do you remember this post? I was reading Pebbles post about upgrading and I remembered when I thought about upgrading by 20 points and everyone told me not to do it because it was not worth it and went back to read the old thread. I really wanted to do it more to upgrade the color than the size, actually. I have a G and wanted an F.

Oh, and for the record, I never upgraded twice, I got the 1.5, was never really happy with the size and exchanged it right away for a 2 carat.

i just thought it was funny when I look back that you told me to forget the incremental stuff and upgrade in another 5 years, when how many upgrades is this now for you? Like the third, right? And haven''t they have all been in increments as well?

Apparently, I am not as bad as you!

 

[Mara]

lol kayla that seems like forever ago!!!

from 1.5 to 2c your diamond was way more than just .2mm right?!?! 7.4mm to 8mm??? i think for a while you were considering a smaller stone than 2c right?

haha i upgrade EVERY YEAR, not every 2 months AND i''m keeping my setting. so you were still worse!

plus after this one i''m cut off.

justification is a beautiful thing!!

 

[Mara]

thanks cutey, heather, ann!!! after seeing mata's new upgrade i am definitely even more excited as the time draws near!

i also just bought the canon 550 online so i'll have a new camera to take pictures with which is doubly fun!

dem i'm so happy you surfaced...who knows if i would have found this amazing stone before someone else snapped it up without your hawk eye going to work for me!!

 

[Kaleigh]

I''m glad you got the Cannon 550, then we can see lots of pics. Make sure you take a ton when you go to Houston. I want to see lots of bling!!!

How is the setting going??

 

[butterfly 17]

Date: 4/14/2006 3:21:54 PM
Author: Mara

haha i upgrade EVERY YEAR, not every 2 months AND i''m keeping my setting. so you were still worse!

plus after this one i''m cut off.

justification is a beautiful thing!!

Well, in my defense, it wasn''t 2 months, it was a few months later and actually I got the 2 carat in 2003, but I thought about upgrading to the 2.23 in 2004, so it wasn''t even in the same year!

Also, you can''t even count it as an upgrade, because I never did it, I kept my stone.

And yes, justification is definitely a beautiful thing!

The crazy thing is, I have grown to love this stone so much, I would not dream of upgrading it. Not to mention that I am so careful now with this diamond, I can''t imagine if I get a larger one. I wouldn''t wear it probably!

Anyway, I am happy that you are getting a new larger diamond. I can live vicariously through you!

And now that I know you are getting your new camera, I get to see nice crisp pictures as well!

 

[diamondfan]

Congrats! Your ring is great! Wear it in good health! And, like all the people have said, if someone tries to rain on your parade, do not let them, though this is hard in the moment. There are always people who will be petty and meanspirited because they are jealous. I have upgraded twice since I got my engagement ring 15 years ago. I got a large stone this time, and cannot believe how jerky some people can be. Nasty comments about why did I need such a big stone, where was I going to wear it, was I afraid, didn''t I think it was a waste to get it from a retail store...on and on just not nice stuff. I even kept it from my own sister because she was one of the likeliest to be nasty out of envy. My stock response is that I am lucky to have a hubby who loves me and can afford to indulge something I love, even if he does not feel the same. Also, to be blunt, unless they are paying your bills or you are not feeding your kids so you can have the ring, I say, it is nobody''s business!!!! Bottom line, enjoy it, do not worry about future upgrades or shrinkage (you can deal with it when and if it happens) live for the now and smile whenever you see it.