Hello Friends, Family, Followers, and Strangers!
As you can guess from the title (if you didn't know BEFORE this post) Austin proposed to me! (Insert cheers and the laughter of babies here). And for all of you "What'd you say?" smart alecks out there, I said yes.
I'm here now to give you the (somewhat delayed) story of how it all went down. Or at least my side of it. Maybe Austin will give his side of the story someday... or possibly just interject into this story. Who knows!
So without further ado, initiate flashback mode! (Imagine some awesome sound effects or something here to make this more interesting)
It all started on our anniversary when Austin told me he got us tickets to go see Zac Brown Band in the iWireless center in Moline, IL. We were super stoked (possibly for different reasons) to have a date all to ourselves. It had been a while with school, rabbits, aquaponics, and archery club since we had a day just for us.
Fast forward to the day of the concert (December 15th).
Austin drove (because I much prefer riding) us two to three hours down to Moline, IL where we found a place to park (no thanks to Lee, my Australian Navi) and we walked to Barley & Rye Bistro. I'm going to rant about this place (in a good way) a little and even if you don't read the rant, you should go there one day. To avoid the rant, scroll past the next paragraph. You have been warned!
So, the restaurant, we learned from the chef, had only been open about 5 weeks when we showed up and it isn't normally open on Sundays (it was open exclusively for the concert, they had a special menu and everything!). The menu, while not extensive, was well thought out and presented simply. This was good for me because I'm terrible at making decisions. There were buffalo sliders offered so, of course, that is what Austin and I got. We also both got a side of salad; Mine with a zesty shallot vinaigrette and Austin's with a peppercorn dressing (I think, it was a while ago). Our drinks were brought out, Austin had an apple cider bourbon (thinking back on it, he may have been calming his nerves), and a started of home-made crackerjack popcorn! It was tasty (and free) with hints of chili and sweetness and popcorny goodness. The sliders with salads were brought out and we got to talk to the chef a little (he was a super nice guy who talked to all of the patrons there). It turns out that the restaurant was a "Farm to Table" restaurant with all local ingredients. The popcorn, buffalo, onions, salad, everything was local (yaaay sustanibility!) and he even brought us out some free bourbon battered cheese curds after we talked! So, I'll move on after one last little comment, Austin and I both agreed that the chef would have been super excited to help him with the whole 'proposal' thing, but Austin decided against it for fear of me discovering his plot or the fear of it being too cliche. I was still completely clueless at this point.
Rant over! I warned you!
Next we moved the car to a free parking deck and parked on the top level (because I was driving and all of the other spots looked scarily small). I should mention that it had started snowing not too long before that, big, white, fluffy flakes. The kind I like. We made it about a block away before we realized we had forgotten the tickets and had to go back to the car to retrieve them. FINALLY we were at the iWireless center (I bet you guys are all like "WHEN IS HE GOING TO PROPOSE?! TOMORROW?!?!?" But it's coming up soon. I promise).
So, we began to wander in front of the iWireless Center for a little bit, not wanting to get into the crowds yet and wanting to look at all of the trees that were all lit up for the holidays. A field covered in fresh snow and sparkly trees were the backdrop to the best memory I have in my little head.
Thinking on his feet, Austin asked me to hold the tickets while he checked to make sure we had everything we needed. I was thinking "Ah, yes. Good idea. We already left something in the car once, we should probably make sure we have everything before going inside". As he dug through his pockets, he pulled out the ring box and (in all honesty I can't really remember what he said. My brain was kind of mush from this moment until about halfway through the concert I was so excited) I think I tackled him before he even got his knee to the ground [Austin's Note: I said, "may I have the honor?" and I am quite certain that my knee did not make it to the ground]. I excitedly nodded and managed to utter a "yes" despite the fact I was pretty much unable to speak. I didn't let him go for (what seemed like) 15 minutes. At least.
He wasn't going to put the ring on me (because it was, and still is, too big for my little fingers) but I wasn't going to let that happen. What is he, crazy?! Yes. He is (obviously, why else would he want to marry me) but that is besides the point!
From that point on, I was a happy-crying, incoherent, giddy mess as I tried to tell everyone the news. Mom and dad got a call, everyone else was stuck with a text because it was far too loud and I was going to be listening to a concert. I won't bore you with the rest of the detail of how I repeated the phrase "I can't even..." about 50 million times and randomly bust into tears and hugged Austin. So I will leave you with the picture that will immortalize our engagement:
Stay wonderful, everyone!
Sincerely,
Lauren
As you can guess from the title (if you didn't know BEFORE this post) Austin proposed to me! (Insert cheers and the laughter of babies here). And for all of you "What'd you say?" smart alecks out there, I said yes.
I'm here now to give you the (somewhat delayed) story of how it all went down. Or at least my side of it. Maybe Austin will give his side of the story someday... or possibly just interject into this story. Who knows!
So without further ado, initiate flashback mode! (Imagine some awesome sound effects or something here to make this more interesting)
It all started on our anniversary when Austin told me he got us tickets to go see Zac Brown Band in the iWireless center in Moline, IL. We were super stoked (possibly for different reasons) to have a date all to ourselves. It had been a while with school, rabbits, aquaponics, and archery club since we had a day just for us.
Fast forward to the day of the concert (December 15th).
Austin drove (because I much prefer riding) us two to three hours down to Moline, IL where we found a place to park (no thanks to Lee, my Australian Navi) and we walked to Barley & Rye Bistro. I'm going to rant about this place (in a good way) a little and even if you don't read the rant, you should go there one day. To avoid the rant, scroll past the next paragraph. You have been warned!
So, the restaurant, we learned from the chef, had only been open about 5 weeks when we showed up and it isn't normally open on Sundays (it was open exclusively for the concert, they had a special menu and everything!). The menu, while not extensive, was well thought out and presented simply. This was good for me because I'm terrible at making decisions. There were buffalo sliders offered so, of course, that is what Austin and I got. We also both got a side of salad; Mine with a zesty shallot vinaigrette and Austin's with a peppercorn dressing (I think, it was a while ago). Our drinks were brought out, Austin had an apple cider bourbon (thinking back on it, he may have been calming his nerves), and a started of home-made crackerjack popcorn! It was tasty (and free) with hints of chili and sweetness and popcorny goodness. The sliders with salads were brought out and we got to talk to the chef a little (he was a super nice guy who talked to all of the patrons there). It turns out that the restaurant was a "Farm to Table" restaurant with all local ingredients. The popcorn, buffalo, onions, salad, everything was local (yaaay sustanibility!) and he even brought us out some free bourbon battered cheese curds after we talked! So, I'll move on after one last little comment, Austin and I both agreed that the chef would have been super excited to help him with the whole 'proposal' thing, but Austin decided against it for fear of me discovering his plot or the fear of it being too cliche. I was still completely clueless at this point.
Rant over! I warned you!
Next we moved the car to a free parking deck and parked on the top level (because I was driving and all of the other spots looked scarily small). I should mention that it had started snowing not too long before that, big, white, fluffy flakes. The kind I like. We made it about a block away before we realized we had forgotten the tickets and had to go back to the car to retrieve them. FINALLY we were at the iWireless center (I bet you guys are all like "WHEN IS HE GOING TO PROPOSE?! TOMORROW?!?!?" But it's coming up soon. I promise).
So, we began to wander in front of the iWireless Center for a little bit, not wanting to get into the crowds yet and wanting to look at all of the trees that were all lit up for the holidays. A field covered in fresh snow and sparkly trees were the backdrop to the best memory I have in my little head.
Thinking on his feet, Austin asked me to hold the tickets while he checked to make sure we had everything we needed. I was thinking "Ah, yes. Good idea. We already left something in the car once, we should probably make sure we have everything before going inside". As he dug through his pockets, he pulled out the ring box and (in all honesty I can't really remember what he said. My brain was kind of mush from this moment until about halfway through the concert I was so excited) I think I tackled him before he even got his knee to the ground [Austin's Note: I said, "may I have the honor?" and I am quite certain that my knee did not make it to the ground]. I excitedly nodded and managed to utter a "yes" despite the fact I was pretty much unable to speak. I didn't let him go for (what seemed like) 15 minutes. At least.
He wasn't going to put the ring on me (because it was, and still is, too big for my little fingers) but I wasn't going to let that happen. What is he, crazy?! Yes. He is (obviously, why else would he want to marry me) but that is besides the point!
From that point on, I was a happy-crying, incoherent, giddy mess as I tried to tell everyone the news. Mom and dad got a call, everyone else was stuck with a text because it was far too loud and I was going to be listening to a concert. I won't bore you with the rest of the detail of how I repeated the phrase "I can't even..." about 50 million times and randomly bust into tears and hugged Austin. So I will leave you with the picture that will immortalize our engagement:
Stay wonderful, everyone!
Sincerely,
Lauren
I absolutely LOVE this! Congratulations & best wishes to you both!
ReplyDelete