I win!

That's right, I won a necklace! I follow a relatively new blog called Beantown Bride. This blog is geared to local Boston brides (and grooms) as well as local wedding vendors. They showcase local businesses, tips for wedding planning, and real weddings. Every couple of weeks they will post a new giveaway. They have had photography sessions, gift cards, beauty, and accessory prizes.

I've entered a few, but to no avail, until now. M. Flynn teamed up with Beantown Bride to give away a pearl necklace. They asked applicants to tell them about their most sentimental piece of jewelry. This was the winning entry:

"I have a large ceylon sapphire ring that was given to me by my grandmother on my 16th birthday. My grandfather was a American businessman in the Phillipines when the Japanese invaded the Philippines in 1942. He had purchased the raw stone during his travels and had it on his person when he was captured and interred. He spent 38 months in a Japanese prison camp and hid the stone (which would be considered contraband) from his captors, moving it daily while he struggled to survive. He met my grandmother upon his return to the US when he was released, and had the stone cut and set into a lovely gold ring with a leaf pattern that he designed himself, and proposed to her with it 12 weeks after they met. They were married 50 years. I always coveted that ring, and she chose me of her 7 granddaughters to pass it to the next generation."

Fortunately for me, the winnder did not claim her prize. I was the runner up with this entry:

"My most prized piece of jewelery is a necklace I've had since I was 9. I visited China for the first time in my life at the age of 9. During my visit, one of my aunties gave me a jade pendant. It is in the shape of a turtle, but looks like an apple or a heart depending on how it's turned. My parents purchased a gold chain to go with the necklace on the same trip. I wore that necklace every day, for the 10 years, until the dainty clasp almost broke. 14 years after the our first trip, we took our second family trip to China. I took the necklace back with me and had a jewlery fix the clasp. It is good as new, but resides in a box. I hope to pass it to my future children."

Photo credit: Me!

I've had a couple of friends comment that winning must be an omen and a sign for our marriage. I don't know about that, but I do know about free stuff.