Napkins and a variation of folds hold a fascination for me.  Be them cloth or paper… I always appreciate the time and creativity of an interesting pattern and fold.  And, they contribute so much personality to the table setting.

Love the organic yet chic feel of this table setting!

How clever… using pretty rubber bands to hold down the napkins for a casual, outdoor reception. {below}

3 table settings images above

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last two images

Interested in exploring different folds?  Find a variation of napkin folds and etiquette instructions here.

As always, I appreciate you stopping by! Let me know you were here…

One of my favorite sites for men~ is the Art of Manliness.  It’s classy and fun and full of old-school and new-school information for the manly man of any age.  For instance~ today’s post…  How to tie a TIE.  You certainly don’t want  floppy and unsymmetrical knots on your wedding day so this instruction will help!

So, get your tie on and check out this video tutorial {as well as written} series on:  the most popular knot~ Four in-Hand {aka Schoolboy knot} the Windsor knot…  the Half Windsor… and the Shelby knot.  There’s even a snippet or two on which knot  should used based on the fabric of the tie and the formality of the event.

And, there’s LOTS more where that came from~ you can also learn about old-school shaving… that’s better for your face as well as the environment in  How to Shave Like Your Grandpa! A Fabulous Read!  Enjoy.

Share one sweet thing about life today…

cool image: Sweet Sweet Life blog

Love is in the air folks… and wedding bells will soon be ringing for two of the sweetest and talented people here at MagnetStreet.  Johnathon  {software developer} proposed to Lisa {Graphic Designer} last week.  So fun and so exciting~ Lisa shares their proposal story with us today…

Setting: Thursday, June 11, 2009 at MagnetStreet
Participants: Lisa + Johnathon

He woke up feeling ill, so while we normally work out on Tuesday and Thursday during lunch, he wasn’t feeling up to a run.  However, I still wanted to spend time with him, so I asked if we could go for a walk instead.  He still wasn’t sure about that, so I suggested we take a shorter walk on a nearby path, maybe grab lunch on the way?  He agreed, but said he had to run to the bank first.

Background: This path happens to be the path where we had our first date.  Neither of us had explored it before (and we both happen to love exploring), so when he invited me to walk it with him last October, I couldn’t say no. We walked and talked about our churches, then came to a fork in the path and took the one that went uphill, which happened to lead to a bench overlooking a valley of trees – a perfect sunset location.  It was here that we discussed more non-first-date topics like politics and the cause of the divorce rate among Christian marriages…and something about that talk made us think there could be something special about this connection.

Back to the story: He returns and we drive to the path, start walking and he says “we should probably go to that bench.”  It wasn’t far, so I agreed. We sat on the bench, reminiscing about our first date experience, looking at the scenery, I’m thinking “what a beautiful, sunny day…” when he says “I made something for you.” Now I’m starting to get suspicious. He pulls out a stack of photographs – it is a series of photos. He wrote a poem on pieces of paper, then took a photo of each piece. So I’m flipping through this poem-story about us being two halves, him searching for me, finally giving up and challenging God to find me, then God brings me to him, he sees how perfect we are for each other, and then the last page mentions asking my dad for his blessing, finding the perfect ring, asking a big question, and as I’m reading the last line – he gets down on his knees, pulls out a ring, and asks me to marry him!

I said maybe.

JUST KIDDING – I said “yes,” of course!

It was incredibly sweet, and the best part is that I’ve been expecting a proposal, but somehow still wanted it to be a surprise. He decided he wanted to propose on that bench, the ring came in that morning (that was his trip to the “bank”), and then I suggested we go to that very spot! So it was a complete surprise, and perfectly orchestrated.

awww… SWEET!  I love a great proposal~ don’t you?  Thanks Lisa and Johnathon for sharing it with us and CONGRATULATIONS!  Stay tuned for more from this  b2b…  Lisa will be back to share wedding planning for their October wedding. yay!

I did mention that Lisa is a talented graphic artist didn’t I?  Check out her Save the Date Designer’s Choice for June while the rest of Lisa’s designs can be found here.

have a great weekend!