Archive for March, 2010
Maybe it’s just me but I’ve been noticing titanium rings a lot more recently. This might be why an actor wearing one stood out to me at the Oscars.
Oscar night is one of the biggest nights in Hollywood. For the elite in the movie industry this is not only the night where they award their own for excellence in cinema, but also show off their outfits and jewelry to their world. While females are usually the main attraction at the ceremonies with their cleavage bearing dresses and million dollar (plus) jewelry, men are not completely immune to the fashion bug. At the Oscars men show off their look with exclusive tuxedos and subtle- well, usually at least- jewelry which adorn their hands, necks and, sometimes, ears.
While I tend to not notice men’s jewelry on celebrities, there was, for some reason, one piece that stood out to me. During the presentation of the Best Picture category, they showed a brief glimpse of Jeremy Renner who starred in the eventual Best Picture winner The Hurt Locker. During this glimpse I noticed that Renner was wearing one of those titanium rings which I’ve seen gaining in popularity in recent years. Renner’s ring seemed pretty standard with its simple shape, and subtle design. Frankly, the only reason I probably noticed it was that one of my friend’s husband’s wears one as his wedding band. Renner is not married nor engaged so I’m guessing it’s purely a style thing.
Though you don’t see them that often, I’ve really become a fan of these titanium rings. At first I thought maybe it was a bit too “industrial” for something like a wedding band, but as time has gone on they have really started to grow on me. I’ve actually started looking into them for one of my friends who is getting married. She asked me what I thought she should get for the men’s wedding band and I was (more then) happy to give her my opinion. She looked into it and was really impressed at what she found.
I’m not really sure why I’m so impressed with these rings. Maybe the fact that they are a bit more industrial-looking makes them seem more appealing on a guy. Let’s face it, as a girl we want are guys to be sweet and sensitive, but we also want them to be a bit tough and rugged. Those shelves aren’t going to build themselves, right?
So as I told my friend these titanium wedding rings might be something to look into. If you’re not all about diamonds and gold and stuff, then this might be a worthwhile thing to look into for your husband’s wedding band.
Kim Green loves to people watch and always seems to notice what they’re wearing jewelry wise, men’s rings and titanium rings
Have you ever picked a pair of uncomfortable yet fashionable pair of polarized sunglasses over a pair of comfortable yet generic sunglasses? Don’t worry we all have.
The problem with sunglasses is sometimes style has a tendency to win over comfort and practibility. For example, have you ever had the choice between a really comfortable pair of polarized sunglasses and a pair that are a bit more stylish yet much more uncomfortable? Have you ever decided to choose the more stylish pair over the more comfortable ones because they were a bit more fashionable? Yeah, thought so. And don’t think I’m here to judge because I’ve done the exact same thing before. After about a week of these large awkward things on your face you realize that picking style over comfort was a really, really terrible idea.
In a way companies have always been slow to blend comfort and practicality. I’m not just talking about sunglass companies; I’m talking about most companies. For women, we have had a history of fashion looking really good but being some of the least practical and comfortable things you could ever put on. Why is it still taboo for women’s jean companies to put pockets on their jeans? Women need pockets just as much as guys but unless you want the industrial jeans most women’s jean companies have refused to add this much needed feature to their garments.
Another industry where comfort and practicality has just recently begun to meld is the car industry. For years American drivers had to pick between a car that looked good and was comfortable and a car that gets great gas mileage. Do you remember the old fuel efficient cars that were on the market before the whole “green” movement started? They were uncomfortable, boxy, and had the look of something that the car companies just threw together. It wasn’t until recent years that they realized that people weren’t going to buy luxury cars unless they got more than ten miles per gallon. Now you have a car like the Mini which gets 30 miles a gallon and looks like something that you would want to drive (and they are surprisingly quite roomy).
While a lot of today’s fashion is beginning to find a way to meld comfort and style, we still have a long way to go to match what guys have on the market. It’s becoming acceptable for girls to wear t-shirts (thank god), though it would be nice not to have to pick between loose and billowy and tight and constrictive. Isn’t there a mid-ground where we can feel fashionable and comfortable? Hopefully NASA has a room full of scientists working on that (heck, after the shuttle is scrapped what else do they have to do?).
Author Kimberly Green picked up a pair of women’s sunglasses from Kaenon.com and absolutely LOVES them – Kaenon is highly recommended for purchasing polarized sunglasses
I heard a story of a man popping the question to his girlfriend at a crowded McDonalds. It worked for him, but is it a great idea for everybody else?
I heard an interesting story the other day. Over lunch my friend told me the story about how her brother proposed to his girlfriend. The guy got down on his knee in front of a crowded restaurant and asked her for her hand. She cried, dabbed her eyes and said “Oh course”. They embraced and the whole restaurant broke out into applause.
Sounds beautiful right? Well the way she told it is was. Of course, what she didn’t tell me until the end of this story was that the crowded restaurant was none other than a McDonalds.
Now, if you ask me where you could get custom engagement rings in Orange County I could probably give you a few good answers. Where should you propose? I’ll give you a couple of pretty solid pieces of advice. But popping the question at McDonalds? Well, you better know what you’re doing.
The reason why this particular proposal worked is that the couple had a history at McDonalds. These kind of wacky proposals only seem to work if there is a history there and the girl finds it cute. This couple actually had their first date at a McDonalds and her favorite treat is a McDonald’s sundae. So for this couple it worked, but if you’re going to do it you better know what you’re doing or it would be a disaster.
I’ve head friends of mine pop the question at Disneyland. Disneyland is always a fairly safe bet (as long as she loves the place) because it is a place of magic and wonder. Plus, if you let Disney know beforehand they will help you out with special arrangements and assistance on the special moment.
Theme parks can always been kinda tricky because of the logistics of having a romantic moment in a place that sees tens of thousands a people per day. Expect big crowds wherever you go in the park so make sure to have a plan before hand… then have a backup plan because you don’t want to be left in a lurch when your favorite ride is closed down on that day. If your women is into romance then pop the question during dinner at one of the theme parks classier restaurants. Trust me, women want romance. If she says she doesn’t then she is lying. Also, make sure you do it at a time when it will still be a surprise. If you’re terrible at keeping a secret then don’t wait till the end of the day to pop the question. That would lead to a very long and stressful day for the both of you.
Author Advice: Simply Google ‘Orange County Jewelry‘ to find the best custom engagement rings orange county
You ever look up at the lights during your favorite sporting event? If not you might be missing one of the most important aspects of the game.
A couple nights I went to a hockey game. One of my favorite things to do is watch sports live and to me there is nothing like watching a hockey game. There is something so awesome about the beauty and the force that you see on the ice. It’s a mix of toughness (both physical and mental), finesse, and luck all put together in a game that is played on the fastest sporting surface known to man.
Of course, none of this would be possible at a live setting without the commercial lighting at the arena. I know, I know, it’s a mundane thing to think about: lighting. We take it completely for granted at sporting events. But without expert lighting we wouldn’t be able to watch our favorite team go out there night after night to beat their hated rivals.
I know it’s obvious, but one must recognize lighting varies from sport to sport, and from arena to stadium. It’s not just about shining lights onto the playing field, it’s about expert planners, electricians and maintenance men and women making sure that the light shines in the right places at the right times and seamlessly melds into the playing area and crowd.
If you really look at the lighting the next time you go to your favorite sporting event you’ll notice that there are different lighting needs for the playing field and for the audience. For the playing field you have to find the perfect combination of lights to make sure the field of play is easily seen by both player and spectator alike without overwhelming them with unnecessary brightness or heat. There is an old phrase in baseball that says “He lost it in the lights on that fly ball”. That type of problem is unavoidable at times but as a lighting designer you have to make sure that that kind of issue is kept at a minimum.
For fans, different arenas and stadium have different levels of lighting for the spectator areas. Places like the Staples Center in Los Angeles like to darken the crowd during games so that the playing surface can be better seen. For football and baseball night games, stadiums have a tendency to keep the spectators in a slightly dimmer light then the playing surface, but still give them enough light to walk, eat and peruse comfortably.
Just a little something to think about the next time you go out to root on your favorite sports team.
Author Kimberly Green has experience with interior decorating and specializes in residential home lighting as well as some commercial lighting for businesses.
For athletes there are is nothing more beautiful than an Olympic medal around your neck. Though they aren’t for everyday use, can an Olympic medal be considered a piece of jewelry?
Is an Olympic medal a piece of jewelry? I know it’s more substantial then say a necklace you bought at Target, but does it qualify as a piece of mens jewelry or women’s jewelry because of its resemblance to a necklace? Maybe I’m just stretching, and I doubt that any athlete would ever wear it on a daily basis, but outside of something like the hope diamond, in my opinion an Olympic medal would be just about the coolest piece of jewelry you could ever wear. Imagine walking into a party with that thing on. Who wouldn’t be impressed?
I write this as I’m watching the Opening Ceremonies of the Paralympic games in Vancouver. Here in the US the Paralympic Games aren’t exactly “Muse-see” TV. Regardless, it’s some of the best athletes in the world excelling at what they do best. It’s essentially the same format as the Olympics with gold, silver and bronze medals with each athlete proudly representing their country. The medals vary slightly from the Olympic ones but still have the basic round design. They are impressive pieces of work which any able bodied Olympian would be proud to have.
So back to my original point: are Olympic medals considered jewelry? Mirriam-Webster defines jewelry as “objects of precious metal often set with gems and worn for personal adornment”. That sounds pretty much like an Olympic medal. No jewels I know, but a good amount of everyday jewelry doesn’t feature gems. Furthermore, the medals can be worn for personal adornment, but like so much other jewelry throughout history they don’t need to be. If you go to a museum and look at a lot of the jewelry on display much of it was maybe worn once and then put on display for the public (like J-Lo’s dresses). So from definition sake it seems that medals would definitely be jewelry.
The thing is that most athletes would probably not want to wear their medals as everyday wear. Besides the fact that they could lose them (by accident or by force), there are also two other factors. First, you look like a jerk wearing an Olympic medal everywhere you go. It’s like “Fine, we get it, you were the best in your field, now stop shoving it in our faces your stuck up so-and-so”. Secondly, with the weight of the gold medal on your chest they don’t exactly look comfortable. It looks like every time they would swing and hit your chest another bruise would occur.
So, do Olympic medals count as pieces of men’s and women’s jewelry? By definition yes. But if you ask an athlete, they would probably rather just keep it in their display cases.
Author Kimberly Green recommends titanium-jewelry.com for an excellent quality men’s rings and other exquisite mens jewelry
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