totally distracted!

It's so hard to concentrate when I have something so pretty on my finger!

I love my ring- I had mixed feelings about the e-ring to begin with because:
1) W just started school and I didn't want him to demolish his savings account for an extravagant ring
2) At work I have to wash my hands, put gloves on, etc. so it had to be able to withstand a lot of wear and tear
3) I'm really not that fancy myself
4) I didn't want a diamond (due to the inflated prices and the whole conflict diamond issue) and W didn't want to get me a "fake" diamond (aka moissanite, which I was okay with cuz it's gorgeous!)
5) I like sapphires or other gemstones, but they had to be durable and the sapphires I had seen online were really dark.

Leave it up to the FI to find the perfect ring! I refused to go shopping with him because I wanted to be surprised, but I threw him a bone and sent pictures of things that I liked. I wanted a really unique ring with an antique feel (if not an antique itself).

He ended up choosing a beautiful round cut sapphire with channel set diamonds on the top sides, caesar engraving on the other sides, and a surprise diamond underneath. He even checked to see if they could find out where the smaller diamonds were from, but unfortunately they don't trace those. The sapphire is perfect- it's not too dark, and it takes on different hues in various lighting. I was really surprised when I first saw it, but now it's hard for me to take my eyes off of it. I love it more each day...not just because it's pretty, but because I'm starting to really understand the implication of this ring.



With that in mind, I'm trying to think of an engagement present for my FI. I don't want to get him a ring since he's waiting for his wedding band, but it seems so one-sided to receive something so expensive and meaningful and give nothing in return. Okay, not nothing- he does get a fiancee who loves him very much- but you know what I mean! One friend got her husband an HDTV as a gift...talk about distracting! I don't want to get something just for the sake of getting something, so if inspiration hits me then I'll buy it. Any ideas?

I was thinking about these, but I might save them for a wedding gift:

Red Sox cufflinks! I think they're "wicked" cute but I might see them in person first before I make any decisions.

yes yes yes yes yes!

We're engaged!

My family lives in California but we have relatives in Arizona, so we all decided to go there for New Year's this year. W met us in Phoenix on the 29th (after going on a 10-day cruise to the Caribbean with his family) and would drive back to California with us afterwards, too.

On the 30th W went to a football game with some of the guys in my family while I babysat one of my cousins and then shopped with my mom and sister. That night we had dinner with our relatives and stayed for awhile afterwards to play. W went back to my uncle's house first (where we were staying) and I drove back later with my brothers and sister. We stopped for a Slurpee and then made it back to the house.

After we started settling down and getting ready for bed, W asked if I wanted to go have some alone time. It was past midnight and a little cold, so I asked if we could just have alone time when we ran errands in the morning. He kept looking at me intently, so I got the hint and put on my coat.

We walked down some random street and finally settled on a spot where it was quiet. He shared about some things he had been thinking about on the cruise and how he was looking forward to the ways he could serve me when we're married. I said "aw, thanks" and told him I was hoping I could do the same for him.

At this point I was thinking "Is he going to seal the deal or what?"

THEN he said, "I have another surprise for you" to which I replied, "Oh really?"
He nodded and said, "It's shiny."
And then I started crying.
W pulled out the ring, got down on one knee and asked if I would marry him. And I said yes.

I was crying and hugging him and interrogating him for 20 minutes afterwards. I called my parents (who were staying in a hotel nearby) and then got mauled by my sister and brothers as soon as we walked in the door.

It's been almost a week but I'm still in disbelief! I'm so happy though...I can't even explain. I'll try and explain better over the next few days. Until then, a picture of us that night:

honeymoon!

My first choice for a honeymoon has been Bali:

I mean, seriously, a private villa, your own cook (who cooks Asian food, no less), gorgeous beaches. How can we not go there?

That is...until I saw this random show on Animal Planet.

I'm not a big animal person. However, I think baby animals are cute (I pretty much love baby anythings) and when I was flipping channels I saw baby tigers!


THEY'RE SO CUTE. And there's a place in Coomera, Queensland, Australia called Tiger Island where they raise tigers to learn about them and help preserve the species. And you're not just looking at them from 1000 feet away- they walk the tigers through the park (on leashes) and have places where you can see them up close.

I'll have to see what the boyf thinks about that, but Australia is a pretty unique honeymoon spot, so it might not take too much convincing. Too bad all of the places I like are in the Pacific Ocean.

oh the planning

This week W and I are going on an East Coast road trip! We've been wanting to do a cross-country road trip together to see all the sites and eat and see friends (going to college in the Midwest left us with friends all over the U.S.!), so this is the next best thing since I can only take so much time off of work. We're definitely milking the fact that he's in school and has long breaks between semesters. I think breaking it into different sections of the U.S. makes it easier than driving for days and days.

We're hitting DC, Philly, and NYC and seeing friends and family at each stop. Since Christmas is approaching I thought it would be cool to exchange food experiences instead of exchanging gifts. His family is going to be out of town for Christmas, so we wouldn't be exchanging gifts on the actual day anyway...might as well be creative, right? I'm treating him to a fancy lunch in Philly and he's treating me to lunch in NYC. It also ensures that we have time to enjoy our surroundings by ourselves in the midst of all the traveling.

The funny thing about planning this trip is that I realized that planning something for the two of us isn't as fun when I'm the only one planning. W has been really busy with school these past two weeks so I've taken it upon myself to contact our friends for places to stay, finding times to meet up, etc. I don't mind planning things (okay, I LIVE for planning) but it's much more fun to have input from someone else and plan things together so you know you're on the same page. Plus, it gives us both ownership over the event, and hopefully that means we'll enjoy it more as a result. I hope I remember that when we start planning our wedding.

On a side note, two interesting things happened today:
1) My sister told me that she already bought our engagement present (does she know something I don't??)
and 2) W asked me a question our friends had to answer in pre-marital counseling: Why do you want to get married? I'll give our answers later...my computer is running too slow right now. I got a little nervous because I thought he was going to pop the question! Now that my sister's almost back from studying abroad I think I'm gonna be suspicious of everything. *sigh* I'm killing my own romantic notions, I know. =P

You stole my thunder!

This is gonna sound so dumb, but bear with me!

I feel like when we get engaged it's going to be perceived as less special because EVERYONE ELSE IS GETTING ENGAGED. I think there have been 4 engagements these past two months on top of the 15 other engagements from earlier in the year. I'm happy for everyone, of course, but my happiness is slowly turning into anxiety.

The anxiety isn't "when am I gonna get engaged?" because I know it's coming soon (we went to a wedding on Saturday and spent a good portion of the reception planning our own wedding) but more of "are we just gonna be ANOTHER engagement?" And also, "how are we gonna find a wedding date that doesn't interfere with everyone else's?"

I guess a lot of this turmoil comes from my own sense of self-importance...like, everyone should stop what they're doing and bask in the fact that we're engaged! But really? I know that people will be happy for us and do what they can to make it to the wedding, no matter when it is. I just really want to make sure that certain friends are able to make it and don't have to make a choice about whose wedding to go to. I'm hoping that it's an easy choice if it's a choice at all! It's sad how my selfishness is evident even BEFORE I start planning a wedding.

Speaking of thunder-stealing...W and I have talked at length about elements we would want in our wedding (thankfully we agree on a lot of things!), even to the point of setting a date...but I can't really talk about everything publicly because he doesn't want to steal thunder from the actual engagement. Good man! He knows that I could talk about the wedding hypothetically for hours, but this way it makes it our little secret. Plus he knows that I want it to be a big deal when we get engaged. Maybe he secretly wants it too. =D

On a separate note, I've had several dreams where W proposed to me. So far I haven't been happy with any of them...I specifically remember saying yes but feeling disappointed in the way he asked. I'm afraid that in my mind I've hyped it up so much that I won't enjoy the moment when it comes! Man...my control freak tendencies better not ruin this. I guess I should dispel my expectations (including the one where I cry buckets of joyful tears) so that when it comes I can just be happy. I'm pretty sure that won't be too hard though- W is pretty incredible. =)

pretty dresses!

I'll confess- I try my hardest to be unique. As much as I like going with the flow, I always want to be different. Not in an odd, off-kilter way, but in a way that makes me distinctive. This might be the result of being one of four children. I'm definitely not complaining though. =)

Anyway, one thing that I had qualms with in wedding planning is that it's hard to find unique bridesmaid dresses. I know that's not the focus of the wedding, but I care a lot about what my bridesmaids wear. I feel like it's one of the many ways that I can care for my girls as a way to thank them for caring for me through all these years. I've threatened them with bright orange taffeta dresses, but really? I want something they can breathe in- no girdles, please. I want something elegant but not prom-dress formal. I want something that highlights how beautiful all of my bridesmaids are AND shows my taste.

I went shopping last week for a dress for a wedding and found a dress by Maggy London. It was a surprising find because it was cute, age-appropriate, and very comfortable. After buying it I decided to look up the designer, and I found a bunch of dresses that I loved (and would totally wear!) Apparently on Nordstrom.com you can search under different occasions/events and see what they deem as "Bridesmaid" dresses. They have wedding dresses, too, but I wasn't super thrilled about them. Regardless, I was glad to have another option available other than David's Bridal. We'll see what I end up choosing, but I'm really relieved that I have choices!

Win the In-Laws Cake

My parents came to Boston for a short weekend trip and they stayed with my future in-laws. Whoops, *potential* future in-laws. :)

This wasn't their first time meeting (last time they spent time together our moms really hit it off) but I still wanted to make sure that everything went smoothly. I spent a whole week researching places to go to give them the quintessential New England experience and then realized that as long as the food was good we'd be set.

I couldn't control the weather but I COULD make a baked good. I figured that I could kill three birds with one stone (or cake, rather): have something for my parents to eat for breakfast, something for my boyfriend to enjoy, and something to impress my potential future in-laws. Luckily I had the perfect cake in mind.

The Apple Ring Coffee Cake.

This cake is special. A few years back my boyfriend went to a small group potluck while I was studying. Someone from his group made this coffee cake for dessert, and he liked it so much that he brought a piece back for me.

I'm a sucker for thoughtfulness. My boyfriend is one of the most thoughtful people I know and the cake totally epitomizes that. As an added bonus, my parents and my PFILs liked it. So much, in fact, that my PFMIL asked for the recipe. Never underestimate the power of baked goods.

The recipe is fairly easy, so I thought I'd share it with y'all. Thanks to JM for sharing the recipe.

Apple Ring Coffee Cake
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tsps vanilla
2 cups peeled, chopped tart apples
Powdered sugar, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 10 inch tube pan; set aside.
2. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon into large
bowl. Stir in walnuts. Combine granulated sugar, oil, eggs, and
vanilla in medium bowl. Stir in apples. Stir into flour mixture just
until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly.
3. Bake 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes
out clean. Cool cake in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from
pan; cool completely on wire rack. Sprinkle powdered sugar over cake.

Enjoy!