top tips for buying wedding rings (randor jewellery)

pic-2Top tips for buying wedding rings

The engagement ring is one of the most thought-about pieces of jewellery one will ever buy. It has to be perfect, right? But what about the wedding ring? It’s just as important! After all, it will spend forever on your beloved’s finger, snuggled right up against that engagement ring you took weeks to pick out. So, how do you find the perfect wedding ring? Here are some top tips to make buying that important piece of jewellery as effortless and fun as possible.

Know your budget

Once you get inside that jewellery store it’s very easy to be tempted to spend more than you can necessarily afford. Because of that, it’s important to go into shopping for your wedding ring with a clear idea of what you can afford. As a general guideline, consider allotting about 3-4 percent of your total wedding budget to your rings. The more you can afford to spend on your wedding, the more you can afford to spend on your rings, and vice versa. Having a budget before you step foot in the store will help you to stay focused. Don’t look at rings you can’t afford! Remember, there are beautiful choices at every price point.

pic-3Be metal savvy

There was a time when most weddings came in a choice of either gold or, well, gold. Nowadays, there are so many choices in terms of metals it can be daunting to make a decision. However, familiarizing yourself with the options can help narrow down your choices. Gold is still the most popular choice for wedding bands, but these days gold isn’t just gold. There is rose gold, white gold and traditional yellow gold to choose from. Then there is platinum (a more pricey choice) and titanium, which offers a more budget-friendly choice. Budget isn’t the only consideration when choosing metals, however. Certain metals look more complementary on certain skin tones. In addition, some people’s skin is more sensitive to certain metals than others, so you should take that into consideration as well. Finally, personal preference should always guide the choice as well.

Look for a deal

Never buy in the first store you visit. Even if you end up circling back to that store to buy the ring you saw on your first trip out, it’s always a good idea to visit more than one store to look for the perfect ring at the perfect price.

pic-1Rings don’t have to match

Although it is common for brides- and grooms-to-be to purchase rings in a set, it’s not necessary to do so. Each person’s ring should reflect his or her own personality and taste, and that could mean that they don’t necessarily match. This is also true of cases where perhaps one ring is a family heirloom and the other is a new purchase. It may be impossible to truly match one ring to the other, but by choosing rings that match each person’s personality the result will be a set of rings that is truly unique to the couple.

When it comes to wedding rings Toronto stores have an abundance to offer. There’s something for everyone!

Randor Jewellery

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road trip : british columbia

Screen Shot 2014-07-17 at 9.26.37 PMIf you can recall this post from the beginning of last summer, my mum and I flew across the country to see the house that she thought she had fallen for. What then ensued felt like an episode of Catfish. At first, the home appeared to be my mum’s dream house. In person, it was a different story, and was very rough around the edges to say the least. Typical Catfish. After flying back home and reconsidering it, my mum changed her mind and fell in love with it one more time. Then she purchased it! Although she would never admit it, she’s a hopeless romantic.

Screen Shot 2014-07-17 at 9.25.01 PMThese Instagram photos were taken during our last trip. If you would like to see exactly what we are up to, then you can follow me here.

IMG_7153

Until Friday!

<3

Emory

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cocktail recipe : petit punch vieux (d.w. alexander)

dwalexander - cocktailsI don’t often share any cocktail recipes on my site because, quite frankly, my skills and knowledge in regards to alcoholic beverages are quite limited. I rarely drink, but when I do, I tend to leave the bartending up to the professionals. 

When Nick from D.W. Alexander approached me to feature a cocktail on my blog, I jumped at the chance to do so. Not only could I learn how to make a delicious drink at home, but it would be coming from from the experts! The fact that they are also Canadian sealed the deal, in my mind.

D.W. Alexander is a Toronto-based bar that dates back to 1877. With infusing the past with the present, D.W. Alexander has become one of the cities top-five speakeasies. It’s obvious to see why.

Emory

dwalexander - barPetit Punch Vieux

There is nothing better than summer. This is the season of relaxation and holydays when you are able to put all your worries behind and enjoy your life just a little bit more. Naturally, summer brings hot temperature, short sleeves and cold drinks, all of which are great for our mood.

Whenever a person is planning a vacation or thinking about summer, he always has a picture of tropical island in his head. Unfortunately, most of the people don’t have the means to travel to tropical paradise each year. Many of us can only imagine that vacation in our heads. Luckily, with the introduction of Petit Punch Vieux, that tropical island is just a little bit closer than before. This cocktail was invented by Benjamin Jones, an employee of Clement rum distillery located on Martinique. Of course, given that the mixture has rum in it, this was actually a good commercial for the Clement rum itself. Although the drinks seems jovial and naïve (especially judging by its name), it is quite a strong beverage. It is great for summer but the fact that it is filled with alcohol and has pretty stiff taste, means that it can be drank even during the winter. Lime is a great addition to the cocktail, reducing the strength of the rum for just a little bit.

Petit Punch VieuxIngredients

2 ounces Martinique rhum agricole vieux, such as Clément V.S.O.P. or La Favorite
0.5 ounces cane syrup, such as Petite Canne
2 fresh lime wedges

This drink is served in a small Old Fashioned glass. First, you need to squeeze the juice from one lime wedge while rubbing the rims of the glass with the other. Then, toss in one spent wedge inside. Fill with ice, syrup and rum and mix until the cocktail is chilled.

Cocktails such as this are great for summer. They are just the refreshment that we need when we visit a local bar or club. You can find similar drinks at D.W. Alexander cocktail bar, one of the famous Toronto lounges.

D.W. Alexander Bar

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mama and emma in oliver

1.jpg1-2.jpg2.jpg3.jpg4.jpg5.jpg 6.jpg9.jpg 10.jpg11.jpg 12.jpg13.jpg15.jpg16.jpgA few weeks ago, my mum and I took our first trip together in eight years. Our last vacation was in 2006, and I had just completed the first year of my postsecondary schooling in Toronto, Ontario. That summer I moved back to Saskatoon to live with my parents and to finish my degree at the University of Saskatchewan. Picture an anal retentive daughter who felt a little unsure of her future, a mother who flew by the seat of her pants while holidaying, a bullmastiff puppy who chewed everything in site, and a group of cabins that weren’t fit to live in all dumped in the middle of the woods with a patch of grass for a beach. Yet, the somewhat disastrous nature of that trip has since turned into hilarious and subsequently happy memories. It is certainly one that I will never forget. 

Our destination for this vacation was Oliver, British Columbia. My mum recently put an offer on an acreage two provinces away from where we live and had yet to see it in person. A few days before the sale was to be finalized, she made the decision to fly out there. My brother and his family live only a few hours away from the property, so the trip doubled as an excuse to visit them. The original title of this post was going to be “Nev And Max Do Oliver.” Have any of you seen Catfish? Based on our personalities and my need to document everything, my mum was dubbed the carefree Nev and I was her more organized partner Max. I was hoping that our trip was going to be a much smoother ride than our previous one eight years ago. However, with Nev in charge of planning, Max was thrown into Nev’s world of where anything goes. As they say, “sh*t got cray,” and like the show nothing was as it appeared to be. Similar to the program’s victims, we witnessed firsthand that falling in love with something online is a hell of a lot different than loving it in person.

14.jpgThat is not to say that it wasn’t a great trip. The weather was perfect, the mountains and lakes were breathtakingly beautiful, and we laughed throughout it all. I really did have the best time with my mum. I just need to learn that traveling with her will always be an adventure. More importantly, in the end we accomplished what we set out to do. Oliver really is a beautiful place, but my mother has yet to determine if it’s her kind of beautiful. 

<3

Emory

  • Hello! My name is Emory. I am a wife, mother of four (three on earth in heaven). This is our life on the Canadian prairies.
    email: helloscarlettblog@outlook.com

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