Role Reversal: Will Single Ladies Propose to Their Guys on Leap Day, Feb. 29?

For more than 1,500 years, February 29 has been reserved for single ladies who have waited far too long for their guys to pop the question. Leap Day, which hits the calendar every four years, is a time when traditional roles are reversed and women are encouraged to pop the question.

Leap Day marriage proposals have their roots in 5th century Ireland, where St. Brigid of Kildare forged a deal with St. Patrick to permit women to propose to men every four years. In Ireland, Leap Day is also called Bachelor’s Day.

This Irish tradition was then brought to Scotland by Irish monks. Legend states that in 1288, the Scotts passed a law that allowed women to propose on Leap Day. If the man refused the proposal, he would have to pay a fine, ranging from a kiss to a silk dress or a pair of gloves. In upper-class circles, the fine would be 12 pairs of gloves. Presumably, the gloves would hide the shame of not wearing an engagement ring.

In English law, the day February 29 had no legal status, so some Brits believed that traditional customs held no status on that day either. Hence, women were free to reverse the unfair custom that permitted only men to propose marriage.

This theme was celebrated in the 2010 romance/comedy Leap Year. Amy Adams plays the part of Anna, who is frustrated when another anniversary passes without a marriage proposal from her boyfriend. When she learns about the Irish tradition that allows women to pop the question on Leap Day, she rushes to Dublin to track down the boyfriend at a convention just in time to deliver a marriage proposal on February 29.

There is some evidence that more women are considering the idea of popping the question — any day of the year. Pinterest reported in December 2018 that searches on its site for the phrase “women proposing to men” had skyrocketed 336% compared to 2017.

On Christmas Day, Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn shook up the Internet when she proposed to her NHL pro boyfriend P.K. Subban, stating, "Men deserve engagement rings, too." Vonn's proposal needs an asterisk, however. You see, Subban had already proposed to her in August with an emerald ring (because green is her favorite color).

In the fall of 2018, The Knot's sister site — which covers unique proposals — changed its name from "How He Asked" to "How They Asked."

“We are strong believers that inclusivity is not optional," noted Meghan Brown, site director of How They Asked, "and it was about time our name reflected that. How They Asked is a site for everyone."

A recent survey of 500 men by Glamour found that 70% of men would be "psyched" if their female partner popped the question.

Will Leap Day 2020 mark a turning point for traditional gender roles? Only time will tell.

Credit: Image by BigStockPhoto.com

Fairytale Proposal: Animated Couple Star as the Prince and Princess in 'Sleeping Beauty'

A romantic Massachusetts man worked with an illustrator for six months to pull off an epic, fairytale marriage proposal that has gone viral on social media.

In filmmaker Lee Loechler's ambitious plan, animated versions of he and his girlfriend, Sthuthi David, would take starring roles in her favorite movie, Sleeping Beauty. During the pivotal scene, when Prince Phillip wakes Princess Aurora with a kiss, the characters on the screen would transform into cartoon lookalikes of Loechler and David and set the stage for the real-life proposal. Loechler contracted Australian illustrator Kayla Coombs to make it happen.

On December 30, Loechler and David attended what she thought was a special private screening of Sleeping Beauty at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in the couple's hometown of Brookline. Since all this was a surprise for David, hidden in the back of the screening room were the couple's friends and family. Surrounding the couple were Reddit volunteers, who were incentivized to attend the free screening with a pizza-and-beer afterparty.

A YouTube.com video that has been viewed more than six million times shows David's reaction as the hair and skin colors of the iconic Disney characters start to change and there's the realization that she and her boyfriend are now in the movie.

After the prince awakens the princess, he pulls out an open ring box revealing a glistening diamond engagement ring. The animated Loechler flips the box into the air, and the in-the-flesh version pretends to make the catch.

Standing in front of the screen, with the ring in hand, the real Loechler went down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend.

"I love you with my whole heart, including all of its ventricles, atriums, valves," Loechler joked, before clarifying for the audience that David is a cardiologist.

"Oh my God, these poor people!" David responded, not knowing that the audience was made up of her friends, relatives and Reddit volunteers.

“Will you live happily ever after with me?” Loechler asked. David answered, "Yes."

"It's not every day you get to propose to your high school sweetheart," Loechler wrote on his Instagram page. "The only thing better than seeing the smartest person I know completely dumbfounded was knowing we'd get to live happily ever after together."

As the movie came to a close, the title "The End" changed to "The Beginning."

Then, in a cute touch, the screen transitioned to a bold-color test pattern, and then a title appeared that said, "Alt 2 'Sthuthi Says No.'" In this version of the ending, there is a scene of crying dwarfs.

"Hey Riley," Loechler yelled to the film operator. "Can you kill it? She said, 'Yes.'"

Please check out the Loechler's video here...

Credits: Screen captures via YouTube.com.

Music Friday: Tim McGraw Sings About a Breakup in ‘Diamond Rings and Old Barstools’

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you great songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, country star Tim McGraw sings about a breakup in his 2015 hit, “Diamond Rings and Old Barstools.” This emotional ballad tells the story of former lovers who agree to go their separate ways after finally conceding that the relationship has no chance of working out.

In the first verse, McGraw sings, “Diamond rings and old barstools / One’s for queens and one’s for fools / One’s the future and one’s the past / One’s forever and one won’t last.”

In the chorus, he continues, “I guess some things just don’t mix like you hoped / Like me and you / And diamond rings and old barstools.”

Written by Jonathan Singleton, Barry Dean and Luke Laird, "Diamond Rings and Old Barstools" was released as the fourth and final single from McGraw’s chart-topping Sundown Heaven Town album. The single peaked at #11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs list and #10 on the Billboard Canadian Country list. It was also nominated at the 58th Grammy Awards for Best Country Song.

McGraw described how he loves to get lost in the emotion of this song, stating, "The guitar is so filled with regret. It just drips with it."

The son of New York Mets star pitcher Tug McGraw, Samuel Timothy “Tim” McGraw was born in Delhi, La., in 1967. Tim was brought up by his step-dad, Horace Smith, and didn’t know that the famous athlete was his biological father until he was 11. McGraw learned to play guitar while attending Northeast Louisiana University on a baseball scholarship. He signed his first record deal with Curb Records in 1990 and married country singer Faith Hill in 1996.

McGraw is one of the best-selling music artists of all time with more than 80 million records sold since he first burst onto the country music scene in 1992. Twenty-five of his 65 hit singles have gone to #1 on the Billboard U.S. Hot Country Songs chart, and 10 of his 15 studio albums have topped the Billboard U.S. Top Country Albums chart.

Please check out the video of McGraw’s live performance of “Diamond Rings and Old Barstools.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

"Diamond Rings and Old Barstools"
Written by Jonathan Singleton, Barry Dean and Luke Laird. Performed by Tim McGraw.

Diamond rings and old barstools
One's for queens and one's for fools
One's the future and one's the past
One's forever and one won't last

It ain't like midnight and cigarette smoke
It ain't like watered down whiskey and Coke
I guess some things just don't mix like you hoped
Like me and you
Diamond rings and old barstools

The wrongs and rights, the highs and lows
The "I love you's," the "I told you so's"
Past few miles to wherever's home
Another morning waking up alone

It ain't like midnight and cigarette smoke
It ain't like watered down whiskey and Coke
I guess some things just don't mix like you hoped
Like me and you Diamond rings and old barstools

It ain't like midnight and cigarette smoke
Nothing like watered down whiskey and Coke
I guess some things just don't mix like you hoped
Like me and you
Diamond rings and old barstools

Credit: Screen capture via YouTube.com.

Tsavorite's Name Honors the Kenya-Tanzania Border Region Where It Was Discovered

Tsavo National Park on the border of Kenya and Tanzania is home to lions, black rhinos, cape buffaloes, elephants and leopards. The more mountainous western section of the park is also the singular source of a gorgeous variety of green garnet called tsavorite.

Best known as January's official birthstone, garnet comes in a wide array of natural colors, including deep red, pink, purple, orange, yellow, violet, black, brown — and a vivid shade of green that is sometimes mistaken for an emerald.

Tsavorite is technically a green variety of grossular, a calcium-aluminum garnet that derives its rich color from impurities of vanadium and chromium in its chemical structure.

This exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., shows the many shades of grossular garnet — from hessonite (yellow) at the far left to leuco-garnet (clear) in the center to tsavorite (green) at the far right.

According to the Smithsonian's official website, tsavorite was first discovered in 1967 in northern Tanzania and again in 1970 in Kenya’s Tsavo National Park by world renowned geologist, Campbell Bridges. In 1971, Bridges was granted a permit to mine the Kenyan deposit, and in 1973, this variety of green garnet was named tsavorite in honor of Kenya’s Tsavo National Park, by Henry B. Platt, former president of Tiffany & Co., and Bridges, founder of Tsavorite USA. One year later, Tiffany launched a marketing campaign that brought worldwide recognition to the beautiful green gem.

The 7.08-carat tsavorite garnet seen here is on display at the National Museum of Natural History and was donated to the Smithsonian in 1981 by Dr. and Mrs. Marshall Greenman. The gem is set in an 18-karat yellow gold ring and is surrounded by 16 round brilliant diamonds.

Garnets get their name from the Latin word “granatum,” meaning pomegranate seed.

In addition to tsavorite garnets, other varieties often seen in jewelry include pyrope, almandine, andradite, demantoid, grossularite, hessonite, rhodolite, spessartine and uvarovite.

Credits: Tsavorite specimen image by Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0 [CC BY-SA]. Display by Alkivar at English Wikipedia [Public domain]. Map by Lencer [CC BY-SA]. Ring photo by Ken Larsen/Smithsonian.

Actor Wilmer Valderrama Proposes to Model Amanda Pacheco With Pear-Shaped Diamond

Actor Wilmer Valderrama rang in the New Year by proposing to model Amanda Pacheco with a 4-carat pear-shaped diamond ring. Valderrama announced the engagement with a picture-postcard-worthy addition to his Instagram page, which boasts 1.7 million followers.

Set on the coast of La Jolla, Calif., the photo captures the exact moment when the That ’70s Show star popped the question to Pacheco. The couple is shown in silhouette against a wondrous sky of puffy clouds. Pacheco is standing barefoot on a rocky outcrop while locking eyes with Valderrama, who is on bended knee, clutching an open ring box in his right hand.

He captioned the post, "'It’s just us now' 01-01-2020,” and punctuated the phrase with a blue diamond ring emoji.

On Pachecho's Instagram page (43,600 followers), the model posted the same dramatic photo and caption, but added a closeup shot of the ring, which features the prominent center stone set against a delicate diamond band crafted in rose or yellow gold. Jewelry-industry insiders estimated the pear-shaped diamond's weight at 4 carats and the ring's value at about $100,000.

According to experts contacted by People magazine, the pear-shaped diamond is making a comeback, thanks to high-profile celebrities, such as reality star Kelly Dodd, rapper Cardi B and supermodel Natalia Vodianova — all of whom were recently engaged with diamonds of that shape.

The Knot’s "2019 Jewelry and Engagement Study" recently revealed that the pear shape was the choice of 5% of recently married or engaged couples. That percentage places the diamond shape fifth in popularity, trailing the round brilliant (47%), princess/square (14%), oval (14%) and cushion (9%).

Many brides prefer fancy shapes because they add a sense of personality to their rings and because they tend to look larger than round diamonds of equal carat weight, giving the fancies more bang for the buck.

Valderrama, 39, and Pacheco, 28, had been dating since the spring of 2019. Valderrama had previously dated singer Demi Lovato, a relationship that lasted six years and ended in June of 2016.

Credits: Images via Instagram.com/seaweanie.