We're in a funny cycle right now - where I'll go for weeks without thinking about wedding stuff too much, and then where it's all I can think about and right at the forefront of my mind. This past week has been the latter - and I have to say, I love it. It'll be nice when it's closer and it's one of the only things I can focus on but I'll take what I can get.

This weekend we caught up with the boy's brother and girlfriend, as they had just moved into a new apartment (with London city views!) and we wanted to check it out. It's just the two of them; J has asked M to be his best man at the wedding, and they get along really well - but don't really celebrate things like birthdays or buy each other gifts or anything. I can't understand that, so we brought along a bottle of bubbly as a house-warming gift for them, and lucky we did.. as they announced that they'd gotten engaged the night before! I did my best not to bombard them with questions since I remember from personal experience just how overwhelming that can be, but it will be exciting to see what they plan and when they set a date. I wonder if M will ask J to be one of his groomsmen?

Anywho, seeing her beautiful rock of a diamond led us to talking about wedding bands. My biggest fear with ordering wedding bands is basically down to my hands. You may call them slightly large for a lady; I call them man hands. It's ok, after twenty five years on this planet learning to love them (despite a certain jeweller actually laughing at my ring size when I was younger, ouch) I'll admit it - I have super large fingers.

If you've been a blog reader of mine before the move over here to "Breathe Gently" you might remember these posts: the one where my engagement ring was sent away to be resized just a mere day after our engagement, and the one where it finally came back to me all those months later. That wait was really, really difficult. But to this day, I've always been worried about what would happen when it came to choosing wedding bands - because no matter what kind we purchased, it would need to be resized and I would have to wait. (Patience is not one of my strong points.)

So here came the hard part: choosing the type of band to match to my ring. Jase has already decided that he wants the simplest of all white gold bands that he can find, and that's that. He'll be easy to buy for: we'll probably wait and get his ring back in Australia a few months before the wedding. Other than a watch, he doesn't wear any jewelery at all, so a ring is a big deal for him! I'm still torn about what to do with mine. Because I still think my e-ring is super beautiful and awesome, here's another picture for you - observe, the chubby man hands & wonky fingers!

The reason that the resizing took so initially, was because of the stones set in the half band that you can see. Logically, the easiest way to remedy that was to go for a simple white gold band at around the same width as the e-ring - 3mm. The plus side to this was also that it was the cheaper option too. But then, I really wanted to see how a sparkly band would pop against the my ring, so wanted to try a few on for size. Um, crazy move.

First things first, we went to a handful of random jewellery stores nearby. The plain gold band was nice, but was just that - just nice. Not dramatic, not amazing, just simple and nice. But alas! We couldn't find a diamond band to match the width or the size of my e-ring band. I tried on loads. They all looked wrong. One helpful friend told me that the only way to get a real match would be to head back to the store where the engagement ring was created... a fact which I relayed to Jase with glee, and then watched as he turned a nice shade of pale. I didn't specifically want or need a matching wedding band from a certain store, but it was worth looking anyway - so off we went.

And wow. I forget just how beautiful everything is there until I go and look at the display cabinets. I know it's super expensive and that you're partially paying for the brand, but the service at Tiffany & Co is great and they really, really know their jewels. I showed them my ring and they brought out a few options to try on, but there it was: the exact matching wedding band, right down to the size and sparkle of the diamonds. Of course, I had to examine it stuck on my knuckle with my e-ring loosely over the top, but you get the idea - it was beautiful.

What happens next? I have no idea. We haven't made up our minds yet - and I'm still in two minds, because one side of me is jumping for joy at the sight of those matching bands but the other side is feeling overwhelmingly guilty, because we could use that money to go towards our travels home or the wedding itself.  They have ordered in the wedding band in a bigger size for me to try on properly, so maybe we'll go look again and see what happens - or maybe we'll stick to the traditional gold band. It's early days yet, but I certainly want to get it ordered as soon as possible, because we'll be out of the country for a few months travelling later this year which will make ordering and waiting for a delivery to be virtually impossible to plan for. I guess we'll wait and see.

What do you prefer: the idea of plain, matching or mis-matched wedding bands? 

I love hearing about engagements. I love reading proposal stories and I love seeing how thought out, or how random and spontaneous, they are. In the midst of my latest quest to learn about all things wedding, I've been trawling through photography websites and I always (always!) end up hunting for the ring shots.

Rings are just so personal, you know? They are so different for everyone - there's no one perfect ring. The important stuff is what goes into the purchasing, creating or handing-down of the ring, and that's why they mean what they mean. But then there's the creation itself: what style, what size, what colour, what cost? For some, it's a whopping two-carat piece of bling. For others, it's a simple gold wedding band. Maybe it's both? Maybe it's neither.

I remember the first ring Jason gave me, as an anniversary present a good few years back. It was a beautiful ring, and one that I still own - a white gold band with a gorgeous little diamond stone. I remember sometimes, on the sly of course, parading around with it on my left hand, trying it on for size and seeing what it felt like to have a ring there. I remember thinking how perfect it was, and wishing that it was an engagement ring.

And more recently in my 'woe! I am not engaged yet' phase, I remember hunting down my future non-existant engagement ring. I found one I liked on the internet and eventually went and checked it out in person. In more than one store. On more than one occasion. In more than one continent. (What? We were in the vicinity of Tiffany & Co on 5th Avenue! How could I not check it out!)

If you're curious, this is the ring I lusted over for a very long time.

I know what you're thinking, right? Bling! High hopes much? But believe it or not, I'm not a big girly girl. I didn't specifically want a ring from that store. I just liked the style, and figured it was a starting point. I saved it to my bookmarks. I may have even dropped the occasional subtle (?) hint every now and again. I think I may have even dragged Jase into the Bond St store here in London, casually hinting that 1-carat would be just fine, thanks.

(Oh my goodness, just typing that makes me feel like such a cow. I had no shame!)

It's not the ring that I'm wearing on my finger right now.

The boy tells me that he went and checked out my dream ring and wasn't that impressed with it in person. He then went on to choose one that he liked, and that he thought I'd like too. I have loads of people asking me how he chose it, and at the end of the day - it was all him. I think that's what I love the most. I love that he knew me well enough to know I'd love the ring, regardless of me never laying eyes on it before.

At the end of the day, whether he proposed to me with my dream ring or with a token gesture, my response would have been exactly the same: something along the lines of 'OH MY GOD! ARE YOU SERIOUS? OH MY GOD. QUICK! PUT IT AWAY!' (We were standing near water, people. I was terrified it was going to fling off my hand and into the murky depths, or something.)

I got my token gesture. I wore my £10 ring with pride while my official ring was resized. For nearly three months, I proudly flashed that hand and shared our happy news.

The rest is history.

My engagement ring is the perfect fit for me - in all senses of the word.

I'm really looking forward to being able to wedding plan. At the moment, I'm planning the wedding planning, which makes perfect sense in my head but not much sense when I write it down. I can look, but there's not a great deal I can actually DO, and at the moment that's just fine with me. Okay, I lie: it's more than a little bit frustrating, but what can you do?

Ha! I know what you can do! You can book an impromptu visit home to get a head start on everything, that's what you can do!

Yes, during one random lunch break a few weeks ago, I decided to have a quick peek at flights back to Australia for a visit - and it worked out quite nicely that I had some holiday allowance ready and waiting to be booked in. A few text messages later, and everything was booked: I'll be back down under in April for a two week visit, and I'm super excited.

I know it was literally only a year ago that I was sitting around back home, just itching to be back in London, but it's different now. This time around, I have my shiny Visa, and can head straight back here to my boys nice and easily. And this time around, I have a mission - to cram in as much wedding stuff as possible! I'm planning on stealing my mum and MOH (hee!) and checking out all of the churches and venues I've been ogling online for the last few months.. and maybe even put a deposit down on one that catches my eye. It's going to be awesome!

So in the meantime, it's back to trawling the web for ideas and inspiration, and watching my bookmarks folder continue to expand!

I have a dilemma. It's kind of wedding related.

You see, I'm fine with having a long engagement. I'm not a particularly girly girl, I have never had dreams of pretty pink floral arrangements or floofy white wedding dresses. What I am though, is a planner. I need things organised. I like being in control.

(If you think that sounds bad, you should see my desk. Everything is in drawers, labelled, or in special compartments. I function so much better when things are sorted.)

With that said, here's where I'm befuddled. How much planning can one do for a wedding while living abroad? I know Janet pulled off a stunningly beautiful destination wedding in Mexico, and that I'm sure there are loads more of you that are much more experienced with all things wedding than I am.

I can look, yes. Thank goodness for websites - I can spend hours searching and exploring and trying to figure out options. But I'm hesitant to actually book anything without visiting first, without being there and exploring and seeing if it 'feels' right. It's the same with the church and the reception, and most other things too.

That being said though, and if I did leave it until I went home before I sorted anything out.. well, that leaves the slightly obsessive compulsive planner in me breaking into a cold sweat. Nothing is set in stone yet, but I'm hoping for a May 2011 date - and if we're not heading home for another year, that really only leaves 5-6 months to sort everything out. Is that too short? And what am I supposed to be beforehand?

AAAAH.

I'm not sure what I want. And I know it's early days, but I really want to start cracking along and following some kind of schedule. Or at least making my own list of things to do, so I can feel like I'm doing something, rather than just sitting here staring at my ring all day long.

Anyway, what do you all think? Planning-related thoughts and advice welcomed!

I didn't mean for things to get so quiet around here, but I suppose that's a good thing. I've had a really busy couple of weeks, things have been going well over here.

I've been showing my engagement ring to anyone who dares walk over to my work desk. As in, HI, HOW ARE YOU?! -shoves ring in face- LOOK!! Everyone has been great at the ooh-ing and aah-ing that I've come to expect. It's so much fun!

I got a new job at my work, technically a small promotion, so I've been throwing myself into that. I'm still working in education/recruitment, but now I get to focus on international teachers who are making the transition to the UK. It's fantastic, because I get to co-ordinate international things from here in London, and it's something that I went through myself just two years ago on the other side. I also get to work crazy hours and have a laptop/mobile that I can use to work from home on the odd occasion.

One of my friends from home, Julie, came to stay with us for a few days - she's now off trekking around Europe on a Contiki tour - but it was nice being able to show her around a few local haunts. She managed to take in Stonehenge, Bath, Salsbury, and some central London landmarks, in 2 days: not bad!

I was filmed for television. The Brit version of 'How to Look Good Naked' to be exact - and no, I most definitely was not naked, thank the heavens. We were walking down High Street Kensington doing some shopping, when a whole stack of cameras started walking towards us. My reaction was to swerve and walk around them, but Julie got caught up in them and ended up calling me back. They ended up asking me if I wanted some fashion advice (errrr...) and started to picked my outfit apart.

I should cut in here to give you some background on this: I had woken up at 6am to meet Julie at Paddington after her flight arrived - so I had the world’s fastest shower, threw some clothes on in the dark and was out the door. I was wearing a knee length denim skirt, plain black long sleeved shirt and knee high black flat boots. They told me they liked my boots (as the camera panned down to my legs) and that I needed to put on a belt and a blazer and WORK MY CURVES.

Yes, Gok Wan told me I had fantastic curves and to show them off. Riiiight.

It wasn't until the cameras walked away and we kept on shopping that I realised that I HADN'T BRUSHED MY HAIR THAT MORNING AND IT LOOKED HORRIFYING. One day I am going to be watching Channel 4 at night and the show will come on, and then I will see myself. And then I will die of shame. And my tombstone will read: "She may have curves, but she really should have brushed her hair."

I sucked up the pain since my first try at Spin class, and have now made it my Monday morning 7am pain session. And guess what? I'm getting much better! Last week was an endurance class with a lot of build-up climbs and flats, and I managed to do the whole thing. I think I'm fast becoming obsessed.. but once a week is more than enough for me right now, thankyouverymuch.

Have I mentioned that I've got an awesome fiance? Because I have.

So, back to all things engagement - let's just say that now I have the actual ring on my finger, literally this time, I've started thinking ahead a little more. For the last nearly three months, I've been content brushing people off when they ask about when and where and the details... but I'm actually starting to get incredibly excited at the prospect of planning. Real, actual planning. It's very exciting.

I'm still stuck in the limbo stage of not knowing when we're even moving home, let alone setting a date, but I can start researching - that'll tide me over for a little while. Be prepared for a whole lot of wedding related rambles, and most likely a few fits of frustration along the way - but it wouldn't be a wedding without a few of those!

My engagement ring is finally back!

(You can start wailing with excitement now, I know I have been!)

It's been a long road, with a couple of hiccups along the way, too.

Last week, we received a call from Tiffany & Co saying that the ring was finished its resizing work in New York and was on its way to London to be hallmarked. The message ended with the lady thanking us for our patience, and reassuring us that the ring would be back with us soon.

That message made the wait even more bittersweet - because I knew the ring was nearly finished, but I still had to wait for it to be completed. I snapped about a week later, and ended up harrassing Jason to make a phone call and see what stage it was at. He was told by a customer service rep, that the ring was still in New York and not expected back until late November.

Looking back, I think it's safe to say that this is when I had my first Bridezilla moment. Hey, nine weeks of waiting does not a happy fiance make.

I flipped out a bit, and sent a panicked email to Tiffany & Co - asking them exactly where the ring was and why we'd received two conflicting stories. We got a call the next day apologising for the confusion, and restating the first message: it's in London, but not ready yet. Back to the waiting game.

I got home on Wednesday afternoon earlier than usual, just after Jason got in. He was standing in front of our wardrobe looking like a deer in the headlights, and blurted out 'What are you doing home so early?' He looked so guilty that I asked what he was doing, and he sighed and told me I'd spoiled his surprise - and then pulled out the ring!

So, that's the end of my story. It's strange.. now that I have it on my finger, I feel more 'officially' engaged!  The ring is even more beautiful than I remembered, and seems to match my hands perfectly. And oh! The sparkle. I went to work yesterday and kept stopping mid-typing sentence to just stare at it as it caught the sun.

The boy did such a great job. Enough of my ramblings.. here's the bling!

Announcing an engagement certainly results in a mixed bag of emotions.

Having the whole experience happen while we're living abroad is awesome. It's a story I won't ever forget, and means the world to me, because it's something Jason and I have experienced together. In the past month, we've had a lot of support and well wishes; with cards being sent to us across the waters, lots of phone messages and texts, and of course the sweet comments and emails that have made our day.

The part that is the most difficult about being here though, is being so far away from family and friends. When it comes to celebrating the engagement and sharing the excitement? We're sort of stumped, or at least on pause for the time being. We both have made some great friends through living and working here, and they do seem legitimately pleased for us, but it's not quite the same. My work friends don't know Jason, Jason's work friends don't really know me, so the idea of holding some sort of engagement dinner freaks me out a tiny, tiny bit.

I miss my family, I miss my few good friends at home, and I can't wait to actually share it with them in person. I suppose that's one celebration that we'll still have to look forward to - when we do eventually move back home for good, but I still have this pang to celebrate it now, while things are still fresh and giddy, and exciting!

There's also been a little bit of disappointment, especially from friends who I thought would have been happy to hear the good news. I realise that this engagement is not the most important thing that is going on in people's lives, and I certainly wouldn't expect people to drop what they're doing to jump on the wedding bandwagon with me. At the end of the day though, the propsal was something pretty major for me, something that I've been hoping for, for a really long time.

There are a few people who I had hoped would have shown a little interest in the news .. when instead, there's basically been silence. No emails, no congratulations, or really just no interest in it at all.

I suppose it's a good indication of who really does want to be involved in the lead up, and who is just along for the ride. It still stings though, I'll admit. I wonder what will happen in the future.

In other friend news, it's not long now until I see Julie and Kirby, my girlfriends who are heading over to the UK for their own respective adventures. I hope I'll have the engagement ring back and resized by then, so we can go all girly and indulge in a little squee-ing. It's good for the soul. I'm also planning on persuading Kirby-photographic-genius, to take some pictures of Jason and I, if we can rope him into it, of course!