A very special birthday dinner

So, after Justin and I went shopping to find my perfect ring style, I got my stinky nose out of it (as much as I possibly could)! I kept wondering how long it would take for him to make a purchase, and I kept thinking of the most opportune moments in which he could propose.

One thing about Justin that I absolutely love is that when I ask for something, he somehow manages to get it. Seriously, he is a great listener (GASP! What?!?! Crazy…I know!); he remembers all of the little clues that I drop, and even picks up on hints I’m not aware I’m giving! Case in point: I was looking for a new bikini online one day, and was oohing and ahhing over one in particular. And, wouldn’t you know it? That little beauty arrived in a box a few weeks later! Good job! Anyway, being the control freak that I am, I did mention to Justin that if I could have the perfect proposal, I would want to be dressed up and look fabulous.

My birthday was right around the corner, and Justin suggested that we get gussied up and go to our favorite restaurant (and, consequently, the location of our first date: Casa Ludovico…seriously, if you are in the Clearwater area, you need to make the trek to this restaurant, it is phenomenal) to celebrate. I spent a few hours going through my closet, unable to decide on the perfect outfit. I had a feeling that it was “the night,” so I wanted to make sure I was picture-ready in the event that I was right (even though my mom assured me that he had not yet asked my dad for permission yet…and I knew that he wouldn’t propose without doing so. My mom LIED!). I landed on a pretty turquoise Calvin Klein dress with a pair of Betsey Johnson heels, and Justin and I went on our merry way.

In the car, Justin pointed out my birthday card that was sitting between the seats. He informed me that I had to wait until dessert to open it. When we arrived at the restaurant and began to eat dinner, I couldn’t help but notice that he was inhaling his pasta at an incredibly fast rate. He had polished off his plate before I knew it, and I began to scoop some of my own dinner over to him. I guess he wanted to get on to dessert as soon as possible!

One of my favorite things about Casa is their tiramisu. Oh my goodness, I DREAM of their tiramisu…it is that good. I dare you to look at it and NOT drool…

(Ok, this is picture from a different event, but its the only photo I have of the dessert...yummm)

We never go to Casa without ordering dessert, and this night was no different. I told Justin to go ahead and order it while I ran to the ladies’ room. When I returned, I noticed a group forming around the kitchen doors. Every single staff member was converging there, and they began to walk to our table, carrying a plate of tiramisu. One of the waiters was holding a bouquet of roses that he presented to me. The light bulb switched on over my little head. Justin prodded me to open my birthday card. It read:

“Katie – I enjoy every day that I get to spend with you. From the first time we met on the beach to the many times we get to just hang out and watch movies. I couldn’t imagine being with anyone else at this moment…”

I looked up from the card, and Justin had produced a small black box (which the bartender had been hiding behind the bar). I stared at the ring in surprise…it was exactly the one I had been eyeing. I am pretty sure that something like “SHUT UP!” escaped my mouth (how classy)…and I was so excited that I missed the rest of what he had prepared to say to me.

I tuned back in to hear him say, “Katie, will you marry me?” and promptly began to kiss him. At this point, the entire restaurant’s attention had been drawn to our table, and everyone was waiting while Justin was giving his speech. Some guy yelled out, “did she say yes?!?!” before he even officially asked. Did I actually say yes though? I’m not sure! I suppose it was an implied yes. When he put the ring on my finger, the entire restaurant broke out into cheers and applause, and I’m not going to lie, I really enjoyed being temporarily the center of attention. Restaurant patrons kept asking to look at the ring, and I was more than happy to show them of course!

With that, we were officially betrothed! The phone calls began on the way home from dinner, where my mom and dad had some champagne waiting for us when we returned! Best…birthday present…ever…

Was your proposal a public event or a private affair?

What you want to know...about us...

So, there has been a little survey circulating around the blogs, so I figured I would add my 2 cents…and let those of you who get to know Justin and I better!

Source

1. What are your middle names? Mine is Marie, his is Lee

2. How long have you been together? We just passed the 1 year mark in mid-October!

3. How long did you know each other before you started dating? 2 weeks! Haha!

4. Who asked who out? After a bit of prompting from myself, he asked me to dinner…so it was kind of a mutual “asking out.”

5. How old are each of you? I am 24, he is 28.

6. Did you go to the same school? Nope! And we have no mutual friends either!

7. Are you from the same home town? I was a nomad as a child; I’ve lived in sooo many places! However, my hometown at the time we met was indeed the same as his!

8. Who is the smartest? Tough…we are smart in different things! For the life of me, I could not do anything financial (taxes? Eeek…that is his thing), and when it comes to other things (book smarts??? And by that I mean the REALLY nerdy stuff), I have him beat.

9. Who majored in what? Me: Psychology, Him: Business Management

10. Who is the most sensitive? Oh gosh, probably me. I’m a mess. He’s my strong, silent type.

11. Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? We haven’t technically been on vacation together yet, but we moved from Florida to Virginia this fall!

12. Who has the worst temper? Hmmm, I’d have to say me, although I wouldn’t say that either of us are hot-tempered people. He is just so much more calm and reserved than I am!

13. How many children do you want? Let’s start with 1…then we can see if #2 is possible…haha! I don’t want to over-commit!

14. Who does the cooking? We are a team! I do most of the cooking, but he prepares any and all of the protein!

15. Who is more social? Me. He’s a little bit on the shy side when you first meet him; I tend to be a bit more gregarious.

16. Who is the neat freak? I’d say we both are neat people…things get messy sometimes, but “messy” in our view is still very clean in comparison to many people!

17. Who is the most stubborn? Oh gosh, definitely me. I’m horrible.

18. Who wakes up earlier? I teach an 8am class 2 days of the week, so me, for sure! At least, at the moment…

19. Where was your first date? At an Italian restaurant, Casa Ludovico, which is also where he proposed 8 months later!

20. Who has the bigger family? Including extended family…probably me. However, considering immediate family only, he has me beat.

21. Do you get flowers often? He’s only bought them a few times. That is ok though…we have a wedding to save for…I don’t need flowers at the moment! I want that money to go elsewhere!

22. How do you spend the holidays? As an engaged couple, we haven’t experienced the holiday season yet. We will probably try to balance between our two families, as we are both close to our parents/families. Thankfully, we all seem to have different customs (ex – my family usually has a Christmas Eve dinner, his family typically has a big Christmas Day lunch), so it should work out pretty well!

23. Who is more jealous? I’m being hard on myself, so I’ll go ahead and say me…probably. But, I am not some jealous freak that would be surveiling his every move or anything! Don’t get any ideas!

24. How long did it take to get serious? It took only a few weeks for it to be serious. It just clicked, what can I say?

25. Who eats more? Most of the time, he eats a little more than I do, but he is also much bigger in size than little ol’ me! We both eat very healthy, so its ok! J

26. What do you do for a living? I don’t particularly like this question! Let me ponder that for a while…hold please…hmmm what do I want to be when I grow up???

27. Who does the laundry? Me…aren’t I nice? He doesn’t like to do it…and I do (no really, I do!)…it works out!

28. Who's better with the computer? Me, for sure! Seriously, the boy didn’t have a cell phone until after he finished college (he got one in 2004, are you kidding me!?!?), if that is any indication.

29. Who drives when you are together? Definitely him! I hate driving…heck…I hate traveling in general (not actually VISITING new places, but the way in which you have to get there).

30. What is your song? Yeahhhh…we don’t have one of those…perhaps we should work on that before the wedding?

Well, there you have it! Feel free to copy the questions and add your own blog post!

A Whirlwind Romance

DistrictofCharm.wordpress.com

As you might have noticed from my post last week, last Saturday marked the one-year anniversary of our first date. Ah, so now you begin to do the math and you realize…Justin and I have only been together for a year at this point, and we’ve been engaged for 4 of those months. So yes…we dated for only 8 months before he proposed.

In comparison to many of my friends/acquaintances’ relationships, I realize that this is a rather brief amount of time. I have had a good deal of skepticism pass my way since our engagement was announced, and I do try to take it in stride. My favorite is when people congratulate me/us and say how much they can tell that we are in love, etc…and then they ask the inevitable question…

“So, how long have you two been together?”

“Just about a year now…”

A look of confusion/surprise crosses over their face, and I typically hear something like, “oh…wow!” or, “you didn’t waste much time, did you?”

Sigh.

So, this begs the question…how long is long enough to “know” that someone is the person you are meant to be with? Is there a specific amount of time that must elapse before you officially are bequeathed with the ability to determine this? Is there a little alarm clock that suddenly “goes off” in your head to let you know that enough time has passed, and you are officially allowed to consider marriage? I think not. Some couples are together for years before a proposal, some just a few months. My parents had a shorter courtship than Justin and I, and they have been happily married for years! And, on the flipside, I know other couples that were together for years before they were married as well! That is the beauty of life, right? At least, I’d like to think so! Love comes in so many shapes and forms, and what is right for one person isn’t necessarily right for others.

I’d like to just throw it out there that I personally focus on how much my fiancé and I are in love, not the amount of time we’ve had together. If you have been with your significant other for years, and you are still as madly in love as the first time you met, that is fantastic! Or, if you have only been together for a short time and you are still feeling the butterflies…that is wonderful as well! I know I still get them.

So…here’s to love! J Enjoy it.

Engagement Photo Love #2

Time for Part 2 of our Engagement picture recap! If you missed Part 1, click here!

All photographs are by Chad Pilster, Pilster Photography...check out his blog and website!

Of course, it started to rain as Justin, Chad, and I drove over to a nearby park. After a quick wardrobe change in the back seat of the car (you know you’re impressed)…it was time for Theo and Lucia to join in on the e-photo fun!

It was time for a close up…

And a few sloppy kisses…

Justin had to mug for the camera…

I love Lucia’s face on this one!

Justin and I aren’t the only ones who love each other; our pups couldn’t resist a smooch either!

We found a great tree for me to sit on! And Lucia wanted to steal the spotlight a bit...

Theo was right at home sitting on the tree branch…and we had to get a tooshie shot!

Get me down!!!

Lets take a walk…

Its a bit of a tangle...

The sun decided to come out for the last few minutes of our shoot, and Chad brilliantly took advantage of the reflection in the water!

And I’ll leave you with this one…I have one more post to share of all the detail shots! Tune in later...

Engagement Photo Love #1

I do realize that it has been a while since our engagement photo session...and I've failed to provide a sampling of pictures and recaps. Bad Katie, bad Katie! But, in my defense, I wanted to make sure that I had ample time to devote to these particular posts! And, since I teased you about it earlier today, I had to deliver on my promise!

Ok, so lets start at the beginning. Justin and I met up with our fantastic photographer, Chad Pilster in Tarpon Springs at the sponge docks. Chad was responsible for suggesting the location; it is filled with shrimp boats, touristy shops, and TONS of Greek restaurants. It was such a good decision...thanks Chad! (also...check out his website too! click here...) And, a shameless plug...he travels anywhere, so if you are looking for a photog, I send along my recommendation!

Before we even left the parking lot to start walking, we had to get a shot in front of this mural on the side of a building!

Then it was off to the shops! Justin and I had some fun trying on silly hats (or...I put them on him!), and Chad had some fun taking our picture through a wind chime.

We had to have a little fun in the rowboats we found!

"I got me a marlin!!!" (gotta love the Austin Powers reference...)

And...apparently we also caught ourselves a shark???

Next, it was time to check out some of the shops and restaurants! We had to sneak a smooch across the table! And yes, we totally match the tablecloth...

Check me out...rocking the shades!

I love this store; it sells handmade soaps, and you can smell the aroma wafting out of the doors!

I'd been hitting the gym hard in preparation for the arm wrestling competition that ensued during the shoot...I'd even been working out those thumbs...can't forget thumb wrestling!

I may or may not have cheated...

One of the waiters at this restaurant wanted to get in on the action of our photo shoot - apparently my reaction was to stick my tongue out at him!

Hmmm the thought of food makes me hungry...let's get some ice cream!

By the way...sharing an ice cream cone is hard to do!

Then, I proceeded to hang on a lamppost and sneak yet another kiss...

We walked down by the docks where the shrimp boats are tied up, and I thought I'd show off my balancing skills.

After our stroll down the sponge docks, it was time to head over to the park to meet up with our pups...whee!!!