We're Engaged!

Happy Friday, all! I saved the biggest news and favorite from our trip for today.

If you follow me on Instagram (or already guessed based on my Paris recaps), you already know...

WE'RE ENGAGED!

I can hardly believe it. It's been an overwhelmingly wonderful, weird, scary, and surreal week. I feel like I've experienced every emotion possible but have ultimately come out the other side feeling extraordinarily blessed and excited.

And now, allow me to indulge myself by posting 87 photos of my ring (which is quite literally the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life).

We had reservations at Cafe de l'Homme which is a restaurant off the plaza in front of the Eiffel Tower (I was sitting at our table when I took the above picture of my hand and ring which gives you an indication of how incredibly lovely our view was).

We had a lovely meal and were about to get the check when Sammy had to "go to the bathroom" for the 90th time (he had repeatedly gotten up throughout lunch to go talk to people inside who had been helping him with the proposal haha) but came back only 30 seconds later. 

He sat back down and went into his prepared speech which was incredibly sweet. He talked about how we're just two kids from Longfellow (the elementary school where we met) who fell in love and found themselves in Paris and went on to some other very lovely things and then he came around to my side of the table...

As a note: Sammy is endlessly pissed this chair was in the way hahaha.

I was so overwhelmed I feel like I didn't react the way I always imagined I would (emotions are weird, man), so I'm glad I'm smiling in at least one of these candid shots! Haha. But it was so sweet and obviously incredibly romantic, and it was fun being around strangers who were so happy and excited for us--look at that woman's face next to me!

The restaurant was incredibly accommodating and helpful, and various waiters kept coming up to me asking to see the ring and congratulate us.

It turns out, our plans to meet Sammy's cousin was planned because he was helping with the proposal. Since he speaks French, he called the restaurant and helped Sammy communicate the plan to them. He was also supposed to take pictures of the entire thing, but there was a communication error and Sammy thought he hadn't arrived even though he really had--classic--which is when a waiter volunteered to record the whole thing.

We got to hang out with Dario a bit afterward though when he took some pictures of us on the plaza. 

We spent the rest of the day getting lost and just wandering the city. We left the plaza and took our first selfie as an engaged couple ;)

We walked along the Seine and called our family. I loved this moment so much. I remember being downtown a few years ago on one of our Christmas trips and we saw three proposals happen at Millennium Park. We had walked around for an hour or so and circled back to where one of them happened, and we saw the couple had moved to a bench and were sitting together, so giddy and happy, holding a phone between them, talking to their loved ones. 

I remember thinking how sweet those moments must have been for them and how badly I wanted to have the same experience. And we did just that, sitting on the banks of the Seine. I was so glad we were able to experience our engagement as just the two of us, and then get to share our news as the two of us on our time.

We were on the phone with one of our parents when I took this hehe

We spent the rest of the day getting lost, walking throughout the city, and simply enjoying each other. We got so many calls and texts from loved ones who knew (although we hadn't shared on social media until we got home and I was able to tell my grandma in person #priorities haha) which were so fun to receive throughout the day. Meanwhile, I took pictures of my ring next to every building, landscape, and soda bottle. See?...

I like Coke, what can I say?

For dinner, we decided to try our luck at getting a table at the cafe that faces the Eiffel Tower, and even though it was packed, Sammy's laser eyes spotted an empty table on the side, so we snagged it.

Sammy had gone inside to go to the bathroom toward the end of our meal, and I sat outside by myself completely stunned at how life has changed in the three short years since I was last in Paris. I can't even imagine how different life will be the next time I'm there.

We walked back over to the Eiffel Tower, found a bench, and waited for my favorite lady to sparkle.

We are beyond thrilled (albeit still a little overwhelmed haha) and are excited to enjoy this time in our lives, especially as the holidays approach (!!). While we certainly haven't started any planning by any means, I think we're leaning toward a fall 2020 wedding which means we'll have a nice long two-year engagement.

Sammy told me that he conversed with several family members, my very best girlfriend, and two of his cousins who live in Paris to get their opinions on locations and on the ring (even though its basically a carbon copy of the picture I've showed him haha). He watched Paris proposals for over a month and read up on the Eiffel Tower (which explains the random facts he kept spurting out at every turn).

Right after he asked, I asked him who knew about this and, of course, he had told everyone haha. But he started out only mentioning his own family and our friends, so I asked about my family. He told me my parents have known since early this year because he took them out to brunch to get their blessing. I asked about my siblings and he said he asked both of them as well, which literally makes me tear up every time I think about it. The effort he made to make my dream come true is unbelievable and I'm so grateful to him for it.

It's not lost on me how romantic and special these moments were, and I will certainly remember them for the rest of my life.

Happy Friday, all! I can't wait to document this engagement/wedding process here. I hope you'll follow along :)

xo


*linking up with Andrea!

Paris Recap - Day Three + Four

On Saturday morning, we got up and met one of Sammy's cousin's at Laduree. He used to work there when he lived in Paris (he's actually moving back because he's been officially accepted to sing in the Parisian opera!), so said he'd be able to get us a great table.

And that he did. We were upstairs in one of the gorgeous salons. I thought we just got a big table because they knew him and we'd be able to spread out and all that. Right as we sat down, he said he would be right back and I figured he was going to say hi to people he used to work with or something. But after about thirty seconds, he comes back around the corner with his parents and Sammy's grandma! She has been traveling throughout Italy for the last few months and she surprised us and came to Paris. It was so special.

I almost felt guilty about being here without my mom because it is SUCH a her kind of place, so I took pictures of every single detail to show her later haha.

We all got tea, had their brunch selection, and split a few other plates.

Even the butter! I can't.

Just absolutely stunning. His cousin said that each room is inspired by one of King Louis's mistresses. 

 Again, it was SO special to spend the morning with Sammy's grandma. We went our separate ways after breakfast since we had somethings we had tickets for and it was our last full day there, but we snapped a picture before we headed off.

We made our way to the Rodin museum, which was a hit with Mr. I Pretend to Hate Museums.

As one does...

The museum is two parts: the outdoor sculpture/rose garden and "the hotel" which is where Rodin created his art and met with his models and other artists.

Everything was so impressive, especially The Gates of Hell, and we could have spent more time there if we had it.

I love, love, love this sculpture.

The back of the estate is so lovely and gorgeous. I wish we could have stayed longer to soak it all in.

We went to D'Orsay only to realize L'Orangerie (where I actually wanted to go) is down the street and not connected to D'Orsay. Don't ask me why I thought they were connected... 

 So we hightailed it out of there (I've been before and LOVED it, so highly recommend, we just didn't have the time) and walked across the Seine to L'Orangerie.

The Catacombs was at the top of Sammy's list, but seeing Monet's Waterlilies in 360 was mine.

I absolutely cried and can hardly describe what it was like to be in that room. It's unbelievable. Monet is my favorite artist, so to be totally surrounded by his genius was so amazing for me.

I took about 97 photos at various angles before we left to see the rest of the museum (which is really small actually, so I'd recommend it for people you may be traveling with that have short museum attention spans ;) ).

Must note: all weekend long we got pictures sent to us from people watching our boy. LOOK at that guy. I was so relieved he was so good for everyone.

From there we walked over the Luxembourg Gardens because we wanted to make it before sunset when they close. The walk there was so lovely.

On the way, we passed the main street where my mom and I stayed when we were in Paris together. That's one of the restaurants we went to. It was so fun to see some of our old spots.

 The gardens were packed, but I was anxious to get a seat somewhere and have Sammy experience all its beauty. I knew he would love it like I did the first time I came.

We got a little treat before dinner and found a spot on one of the lawns to rest our feet.

Afterward, we stopped for dinner. And like two Italian idiots, we got pasta in Paris.

We kept on walking after dinner, found a sweet little striped dress for our niece, and got ourselves on river cruise to end the evening.

My mom and I did one when we were in Paris and I enjoyed it a lot, so I suggested it to Sammy as a way to cap off our trip.

We got another treat after the cruise and walked down some happening streets late into the evening.

It was a little overwhelming how busy these streets were, but it was also kind of awesome to see.

Before heading back to the apartment to get ourselves packed and ready for a day of traveling the next day, we sat on a bench near the Eiffel Tower and waited to see it sparkle one last time.

Our flight the next day wasn't until the afternoon and we didn't need to check out until 10 a.m., so we slept in and then wandered over to a bakery before getting a cab to the airport.

Us two dorks were incredibly happy to get us some extra leg room in the exit row haha which was much needed since I got stuck in the middle seat on the next flight which was six hours long and could barely move haha.

I got a better picture of Iceland! Haha

We had to circle O'Hare for a while because they didn't have a gate available for us, so we ended up meeting my mom a little after 7 p.m. and then we waited for my brother who was also coming home from Europe that night. We visited with some family before heading back to CL to see our boy!

Even though our trip was amazing, it was so nice to come home, especially when your best friend and her husband leave your house spotless and wash your bedding for you. Like who. Oh and leave doughnuts. OKAY.

We got ourselves together a little bit, unpacked, and played with Henry before calling it a night.

It's been so nice to get back into our routine after our trip. It was only a few days, but it felt much longer. I've loved getting to relive these moments though in this recaps 'cause it feels like we were there so long ago even though we've only been home a few days haha. Time is so wonky! 

I hope to be back in my favorite city soon. There is truly no place like it. xo