...and I said YES!

The last week of April, Matt told me I was not to make any plans for Friday night...I asked him what we were doing, and his response: "O, nothin' much. But, maybe wear something formal." Oooookkkkaay? ;)  I was excited, because, although he is very sweet and takes me on fancy dates on occasion, it's rare we dress up for something, unless we go to a show downtown...but I love them!!


So, although I have a couple formal dresses, I quickly talked myself into shopping for a new one...typical girl, right? I found one at Bridal Expressions, a store down at South Towne.  Soooooo pretty!  Thursday night, I headed over to the parents' house because my mom and I are part of the ridiculous group of Americans that stayed up to watch the royal wedding.  We woke up at two, and ate scones and tea!  Such a fun mom-daughter date!  


Now, a little sidebar/back story. Waaaaayyyy back in the day (about eight months after we started dating), Matt and I were talking hypothetically about rings, weddings, the whole shebang. He couldn't understand why EVERYONE needs to have a diamond ring (he likes to be different) :). I told him the only reason I really like diamonds over the other stones (sapphire, ruby, etc) is that it would match anything I wore. Anyway, he teased me for YEARS that if he were to give me a ring, it would have to be something he could make...the only thing he could come up with was wood! :O Sooooo, it's been a long standing joke between the two of us.


Anyway, Friday was spent altering the dress (I just had to adjust the straps) and Matt was prompt at five thirty, looking very VERY nice in a suit...and yes, I made us a little late.  We walked outside to head to, somewhere (I had no idea)...and in the driveway sat a 2011 SS Camaro!!!  Needless to say, I was a little speechless!  He had rented it for the night! And when I got in the car, on the seat was a single rose and a little box of caramel chocolates!  WOoHOo! 


We got in the car and ended up at Tuscany (it's kind of "our" place we go on special occasions).  At this point, I kind of new what this was all leading up to, so I was quite on edge through dinner! :)  After dinner, he drove me downtown and we started walking, no clue where.  We ended up at Abravanel Hall where we saw the Utah Symphony perform with "ABBA"! It was soooooo much fun! At the beginning of the performance, one of the singers said they had an announcement to make...."we have someone special with us tonight, and we need to bring her center stage for an announcement".....um, I thought I might die. I was soooooo nervous, not ready for a public proposal!  And then, it turns out, it was guitar player's bday and they sang to her.  PHEW!!!  And the funniest thing about this, I told Matt later, and he laughed and laughed!  He had NO idea I took the "announcement" that way!  He hadn't noticed how nervous I suddenly became....ah, boys!


After the performance (I was sooo nervous all night, I had no clue when or how he was going to do this), we got back in the car, and Matt told me to close my eyes. :) He drove me around awhile (obviously trying to get me lost...it worked) until he stopped somewhere and told me to wait.  He came over to my side of the car and told me we were going to have to walk a ways, to just hold onto his hands...in heels?!? Yeah, that was interesting ;). We walked and then he sat me down on a bench and (still with eyes closed) proposed...he had a whole speech prepared, it was absolutely, one-hundred percent perfect!  I was crying by the end when he asked me, "will you marry me?"  I opened my eyes and in his hand, he was holding....a wooden ring. "?!?!?" I started laughing, remembering our joke (also thinking, what did he do with the one we picked out?!...) and took it from him. As I held it, it fell open, and inside was MY ring, my beautiful ring we had picked out months before! I started crying harder and laughing, and finally, he said, "sooo?" To which, I replied, "YES! Of course, YES!"


As it turns out, he had worked for weeks with my dad trying to carve this wooden ring that was a perfect fit for mine, creating a "case" for it. The one that finally worked was, I think, the eighth or ninth attempt. As my mom put it, it was truly a labor of love.  And I love that my dad could be a part of it! It was perfect, I couldn't ask for a more wonderful and special night!  We are getting married on April 28, 2012, and I'm so excited to begin the rest of our lives together!! :)

I shall, I shall, I shall!

Okay, I believe I've fallen into the blogging trap of "I'll post often" and then the days go to weeks, months, and I haven't posted.  So, I think I shall try to start posting about the wedding (which is coming along nicely :) Love my guy soooo much!), starting with the proposal story.  Also, I think I need to start cooking more (going out to eat is expensive, and fattening.....eek!!), so I shall be posting some more recipes as they come to me. :)

Bridal Shower

I've been meaning to put up pics of a bridal shower I hosted about a month ago.  It was for my friend, Brittany, who recently tied the knot with her guy, Robbie. :)  We had lots of fun, talking, eating, and playing a couple games.  


As a side note, it was really fun for me, because Britt and I have a unique story.  We met in kindergarten and were in the same circle of friends until fourth grade.  I moved at the beginning of fourth, and that was that. I wasn't really able to keep in contact with my friends.  Well, eight years goes by, and I applied for a job at Lonnie's Dry Cleaners (just for the after school job).  I was hired and began working....and after about two weeks,  I finally asked about something that had been bothering me.  There was a girl there that seemed familiar...sort of, but we hadn't really talked.  I asked her her last name, and when she said it and asked what mine was, we both kind of started giggling as we realized who the other was.  We immediately started talking about old times in elementary and she asked me who I remembered.  That was seven years ago, and her and I have stayed good friends ever since. :)  She has always kept me up to date on the friends I remember, and at this bridal shower, little did I know that she had invited many of them.  I didn't recognize them when I sent out the invites, because many have different last names now.  But it was fun to see how everyone has grown up. :) 


Sorry for the long story....back to the pictures.  Here they be: