About a year into dating Dean, I became antsy (bordering on psychotic) to get engaged. There were non-stop engagements surrounding us. I was so happy for them, but SO mad at Dean for “dragging” it on. When we left dinner with yet another person who told us he’d be proposing shortly, I yelled, “It’s raining engagements Dean; it-is-rain-ing-en-gage-ments!”

Little did I know, he’d spent the day driving to Hartford to have lunch with my Dad and was proposing the following day. By some miracle, he still went through with it.

I remember the shrill in my voice as we told our loved ones. And now that I’m no longer psychotic (at least about that), I love the call from friends announcing they’re engaged. It’s usually followed with a plan for an informal engagement/ring viewing party and because it’s often before registries are made, I’m stumped on what to bring the bride-to-be in a hurry. I started making an easy bouquet and my friends have loved toting them all around town, like the recently engaged Beth:

You can just ask your local florist to make you a small bouquet or you can make it at home. All you need is: flowers, a rubber band, ribbon, a pin, and scissors.