My birthday was on Wednesday. Instead of having one big party, I like to celebrate my birthday with lots of smaller get-togethers, usually over the course of the three–day Memorial Day weekend and a big sale in my Etsy shop. This year, I started my birthday with a tea party / brunch with some of my favorite ladies and ended it with a wonderful dinner with my family. But most of all, I celebrated my birthday by playing lots and lots of board games.
Yes, I have to admit that I am a big, big table top games geek. I love playing the classic games like Monopoly, Scrabble, Yatzhee, etc. but I am always adding to my collection of games and I am utterly addiction to some games (like Carcassone, Ticket to Ride, and Settlers of Catan) that aren’t as well known as the games I grew up playing. I got a copy of Dixit for my birthday this year and that was a HUGE hit. Not only was the game a lot of fun to play, I am utterly in love with the amazing artwork on the cards.
Another new game was Marrying Mr. Darcy – a Jane Austen inspired card game where the players are one of the ladies from Pride and Prejudice who are hoping to attract the affections of (and a proposal from) the gentleman best suited to you, including the swoon – worth Mr. Darcy. The game is really fun, especially if you love Jane Austen books, like I do.
I have to admit that I hardly ever win this game but I am usually so amused that I don’t mind. The funny part is that not only does my husband, Rob, play the game but he is usually the winner. Rob has read Pride and Prejudice (and a couple of the other Jane Austen books), mainly because he knows that I love them so much and he wanted to see what all the fuss was about. He has also sat through numerous viewings of the Pride and Prejudice BBC miniseries with me. He doesn’t appreciate Colin Firth’s Mr. Darcy the way I do but he has to admit it is only fair when I remind him of how many times I have sat through Star Wars. But I think I may have pushed things a little too far when I made him watch all of the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Now when we play the game, he plays Ly-di-ya and ruthlessly uses the power of “the adorbs” to swipe my suitors.
Oh well! I may never get to marry Mr. Darcy but at least I can drown my sorrows at being an old maid by designing new Jane Austen jewelry. This week, in between all the games and birthday festivities, I added two new Pride and Prejudice – inspired pieces to my Etsy shop, including a lovely silver pendant with a Swarovski pearl drop and these gorgeous Pride and Prejudice earrings.
There is still some time left in my annual birthday sale, which means you can get a 25% discount on my new Pride and Prejudice necklace and earrings, not to mention the rest of my handmade literary jewelry. The sale ends tomorrow so visit Ciarrai Studios today to take advantage of the discount!
Ciarrai Studios Literary Jewelry 