We’re Engaged!

The Man and I are so flippin’ excited to keep doing this incredible life together. But first, a little weekend recap, as it was a great one for so, so, so many reasons!

Nick’s North Fork 50k race started early Saturday morning, so we threw a pasta party for five of our friends, who were either running the 50k or other races the following day. (My excuse was that I needed extra energy to cheer them on.)

We made linguine with a tomato and basil sauce, penne with pesto, and sautéed spinach with garlic. Friends brought salad, bread, and brownies. I also made an herb butter for the bread which was a hit!

Despite their faces, they were happy to indulge… just maybe not to have their picture taken mid-feast. They said of this picture: “Looks like we’re at a lunch meeting for a tech startup.” Nail on the head, guys.

Here they are at the start! The race was in Pine, Colorado, so we got up at around 3:45 am to eat breakfast, get ready, pick up one of these guys, get to the runners’ parking lot, grab their race numbers, and head to the start. Nick’s got his handy dandy breathing strip on his nose—whatever it takes!

After I saw them off on their merry way, I drove to the 20-mile aid station (Shinglemill Trail) where I’d be able to see Nick pass through. I had a few hours to kill so I decided to test the route myself.

I did 4 miles of pretty tough terrain and felt like I gave my muscles a good hill workout. I also realized just how difficult running 32 miles of this landscape must be. My legs were shot after 4 miles. These guys are legit (or crazy)!

I also got to enjoy some gorgeous Colorado views. Look at that! So serene.

Nick PRed in 6:09! I am so proud of him. He absolutely crushed it! I am constantly in awe of how skilled and disciplined The Man is. On top of that, he is so supportive of and encouraging to his friends (and me!), who are at all different experience levels. Good egg. Needless to say, after an early morning and a huge endeavor, we both slept very well that night.

So… then this happened. Words can’t even express. Sunday morning, we woke up to the feeling of having slept in, but it was really 5:45 am. (We are old people.) We lazily made breakfast and joked around, and then had our usual delicious first-meal-of-the-day at the table, savoring the food, the delicious coffee, and each other. When I asked, “So what do you want to do today?” he responded with, “Would you like to marry me?” and pulled this gorgeous ring out of his pajama pants! I can’t think of a better way for it to have happened. Talk about making the ordinary extraordinary. That’s what real life is about.

We picked out the ring together, and before that, we’d discussed all of this with not only a sense of this just feels right but also deliberateness, logic, and detail. What makes all of this even more meaningful is that we’ve really put so much effort and forethought into our whole relationship and continue to do so. Trust the process applies here, too.

We are both beaming and so excited to enjoy our engagement! And I am in love with my ring, from Sarah O. Jewelry. It’s a moonstone with a diamond halo and rose gold.

After spending two hours calling our families, Nick told me that we had brunch reservations at 1pm to celebrate! We went for a run around Wash Park to shake out the legs and rev up our appetites once again. I couldn’t help but want to take pictures every 5 yards, ha! This park represents so much to me that can apply to our life together: consistency, hard work, fun, play, beauty, the outdoors… It was a perfect morning.

After 5 miles, we showered and got ready for brunch! Nick said that his mom had sent an engagement gift to his apartment, because he told her (and everyone!) ahead of time about his plans to propose. We stopped by his apartment and upon entering…

I was totally shocked to find a gorgeous tablescape and then realize that all of our favorite people were there waiting for us!

Nick ordered a bouquet of peonies from The Ruffly Rose. Peonies are my favorite flower, and The Ruffly Rose has been his go-to place for all big occasions: opening night of Grease, Valentine’s Day, etc. My good friend and work wife Michelle was in charge of picking up the flowers and getting them to the apartment.

Nick had everyone get Moe’s Bagels and salt and vinegar potato chips for our special brunch, our favorite post-run foods! There was also rosé Champagne and my favorite type of orange juice for mimosas. He literally thought of everything.

There was a delicious fruit salad, too, with mint (in the background). I want to try making that again soon!

Me with Blair and Michelle, my favorite work wives (and seriously good friends) of all time.

Us with Blair and her boyfriend Aaron. Blair takes full credit for introducing Nick and me at Don’s that fateful night in February 2016! 🙂

Happiness!

Us with Roland and Liz! They are Nick’s dearest friends and have become great friends to me, too. Liz did all of the party decor, which was so beautiful! She also made that fruit salad, yum. (I’m not sure what Roland and I are looking at… ha!)

After finishing brunch, we walked to The Spot Bar & Grill to continue the celebration! We had Moscow Mules, and the waitress, who sees us there often, bought us congratulatory shots, so we had to oblige! This sequence of photos is my favorite:

It was such a great day. The whole weekend felt so surreal, and yet, so right and so much like us. When we headed back home, we were on Cloud 9 (and still are). To add a little cherry on top of the day, these cute things were delivered from Amazon:

We will soon have a puppy to share this life with! All the excitement! We finished the day with one of Nick’s teacher gifts: a gift certificate to Taki Sushi! I don’t think I could’ve asked for a better day. I am so grateful for this man and for the road that led me to him. Here’s to many more breakfasts and runs together! ❤