2013 Valentine's Day Presents for the Hubs

Ryan is weird about surprises.
By weird, I mean he ruins theme epically ;)
I'm just kidding, well sort of.  I ordered him a new phone case that he's had his eye on for quite some time and of course, Amazon packaged it with a book I had ordered.  So although I was trying to be subtle with a box that was supposed to be "empty," Ryan grabbed as soon as he got a glimpse of this mysterious thing in the box.  So with that, he ruined one of his first surprises so in suit, I told him what his second surprise was as well.

The second surprise was one that had continually been bugging me and this was Ryan's wedding band.  When we got married, we didn't have very much money.  So Ryan purchased both of them, just plain bands.  While he was deployed, I saved up some money and had a custom ring made for him.

Johan from Jewelry by Johan on Etsy

It was absolutely stunning, made out of metal and wood by the Etsy shop, Jewelry by Johan.  Of course, I didn't know Ryan's ring size and it wasn't exactly convenient to have his finger sized while defending our country in Afghanistan.  I did a little detective work and with the help of Kay's Jewelers was able to find his ring size.  I really do applaud them though because I didn't know for sure where Ryan purchased our bands, so I couldn't even give them a city.  All I could say is where he was currently stationed in California and the surrounding cities.  This was all through e-mail and a couple of days later, I received an e-mail back with ring size.  I was so delighted.  I even found a handmade heart-shaped wood box, where the lid slides perfectly into place, and I kept the ring there until he returned from his deployment.

Ryan loved the ring, but it was a little too bulky for his taste.  The ring he had worn for the past year was very slim and this one was significantly wider.  So sad to say, he rarely wore this new ring.  I was disappointed and ultimately a little pissed off.  I became determined to find him a better alternative, one that he would actually wear.

If you've been to my blog before, you're familiar with my hometown being in Wisconsin.  That's where Ryan and I grew up, where we met, where we had the opportunity to date and ultimately I'm a proud Sconnie.  I was browsing Etsy pages and I came across a Wisconsin ring designed by Nicholas at The Ring Tree.  I became completely enamored with the idea of having that be the new band for Ryan.  So I ruined the surprise by showing him the sample ring on the site and he loved it.  It was the perfect solution because the ring is so symbolic of who we are and where our families are from.

The Ring Tree by Nicholas on Etsy

Isn't it a handsome ring?  Nicholas was wonderful to work with and we ended up getting it as a silver coin option since my husband wears it on a daily basis.  Nick actually suggested it and the ring has such great craftmanship.  He had pictures up as soon as he received the coin and kept in touch with us throughout the entire process.

Ryan received the ring the other day and he now wears his new wedding band daily.  It makes me so happy and I love the ring, it just looks so sharp! 

With two surprises down, I still have the tradition of the two cards and I may have a couple tricks up my sleeve.  

Maybe this bartending kit?  Ryan loves to make mixed drinks now.

 

 or a few books?

 

Admittedly, I picked this one up for myself since my husband read it on deployment.  I swear, Ryan is one of the hardest people to shop for.  I think I've found myself something awesome and he's already purchased it for himself or he's already read it.  Oy vay.

What are you getting your honey buns for Valentine's Day? :)

Thanks for Reading!

You'll be seeing a lot more of Autumn from "The Unreal Life" on my blog, so make sure to check out her page!