adventures of an american housewife in the south of france

One of My Favorite Days to Celebrate…

....is today!  Three years ago today The Hub got down on one knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him.  It was the easiest question I ever had to answer!  Since some of you may not know how The Hub proposed, I thought it would be fun to share the story today instead of writing a Hump Day post, so I hope you don't mind. The story starts in Chicago where I was hosting my BFF's Bachelorette Party Weekend.  During the day on Saturday, we all went to Mojo Spa to get some really fun and fabulous pampering treatments.  The spa is an amazing place where all of the mani/pedi treatments have adorable monikers such as "Chocolate Love", "Dr. Feelgood", and "Sugar Daddy."  The owner, George, and his staff were incredibly attentive, gracious and charming.  We had an amazing time filled with polish, food, and champagne.  A few hours into our adventure, I was enjoying my Chocolate Love Pedicure when the Bride-to-Be (BTB) told me she thought I should also get a manicure.  At the time I was not really big on manicures because somehow, I always managed to mess them up the second the brush left my finger.  But the BTB insisted that she treat me to a manicure for organizing such a fun weekend.  I protested for a bit, but she was so convincing that I caved and settled for a buff.  It's best not to argue with the BTB during her Bachelorette party.

the girls at Mojo Spa

When we were ready to leave Mojo, George asked what our plans were for the evening.  We didn't have anything completely set in stone, so George said he would get us on the list at Le Passage and make sure we had the VIP treatment.  VIP treatment?  Yes please!  Fueled by champagne, we went to Le Passage that night.  They treated us like royalty, letting us walk down their red carpet and giving us a table right in the front of the dance floor.  Then they sent over 3 complimentary bottles of champagne, at least one presumably sent by George.  Did I mention I love him? Everyone, especially the BTB, was having a fabulous time.  Unfortunately for me, this was the point where I started to hit my champagne limit.  I started asking the BTB the typical drunk questions like, "When do you think Michael and I will get engaged?  Do you really think it's ever going to happen?"  She assured me that it was indeed going to happen and she predicted it would be sometime in the fall.  When I don't have information on key events in my life, I get incredibly impatient, so hearing some sort of a timeline was really all that I wanted.  I thought fall 2008 sounded like a great time to get engaged and it would still allow enough time for me to plan the summer 2009 wedding that Michael and I had been discussing.  That was good enough for me!  Little did I know there was a larger reason for her insisting that I get a manicure that day.  I continued with the celebrations and after a rather embarrassing trip to the bathroom, I realized that if I didn't send myself home to the hotel right that minute, the girls were going to have to carry me home at the end of the night.  I hopped into a cab, fell into bed and immediately passed out fell asleep. Needless to say, I was feeling less than stellar on Sunday morning when I woke up at the butt-crack of dawn to fly back to San Francisco. I was queasy, tired, and very grungy from having slept in my dress and make up.  I got into a cab headed to Midway and called my mom to let her know that the Bachelorette Party Weekend had been a huge success!  My mom answered the phone, "Oh!  Hi, Natalie....why are you calling so early?"  It was a very strange way for my mom to answer the phone and the whole conversation was stilted and awkward and she quickly made up an excuse to hang up with me.  I thought it was very odd, but I was so hungover I didn't really have the energy to think about it too much.  I got a sandwich and TWO bottles of water in the airport and slept the whole way home. When I landed in San Francisco, I was feeling much better, although not yet at the top of my game.  Michael had insisted several times that I call him when I was on the way home from the airport, so I gave him a ring to let him know I was almost home.  When I reached the front steps of our house, I noticed that there were rose petals on the front porch.  "Strange," I thought in my still-a-bit-hungover-stupor, "the wind must have blown these petals onto our steps."  As I was unlocking the door, I peeked into the our front window.  I could see a whole carpet of rose petals and votive candles lining our long, front hallway.  Suddenly the rose petals on the steps made a lot more sense.  "Oh my god," I said to myself, "this is it!!"  I felt a rush of adrenaline and my heart started pounding.  A huge smile crept onto my face and my lingering hangover instantly disappeared.  I took a deep breath.  I wanted to do everything I could to hold this moment in my heart and remember it forever.

don't worry, I took this picture later.

I opened the front door and saw a beautiful little note on the ground written in gold that said, "Welcome home!"  Every few steps there was another note written by Michael telling me how much he loved me and wanted to spend his life with me.  I collected the notes until I reached the back door of our house which led to the deck.  I opened the door and stepped outside to see Michael all dressed up and waiting for me.  "Hi,"  I whispered, rather shyly.  The next few seconds were a blur as Michael repeated his heartfelt intentions and got down on his knee.  "Will you marry me?"  he asked as I stood there saying, "Oh my god, oh my god!" over and over.  Of course I said yes and as he slipped the ring onto my finger, I finally got a look at it.  "Oh my GOD!" I screamed.  It was the first piece of jewelry that Michael had ever bought for me and it was well worth the wait.  He had done an amazing job of picking out an absolutely perfect ring.  In that moment I thought, thank god I got that manicure! I should have known...my BFF (and George!) had been in on the surprise the whole time. Once I recovered from the initial shock, we went back into our kitchen where Michael had prepared a fantastic spread of chocolates, flowers, cheese and crackers, and what else...champagne.

he knows just what I like!

The Fiance

We had a few toasts and started making the calls, first to my parents.  When my mom answered the phone she started cracking up about our phone call a few hours earlier.  I guess she had been advised "not to answer my calls" until later in the day after the proposal had taken place so that she wouldn't give anything away, and she had totally forgotten until after she answered the phone.  No wonder she had been so quick to hang up with me!  My parents, who had known the proposal would be happening that day, were completely overjoyed and so excited for me and Michael.  After a few more phone calls to Michael's parents and our siblings, I realized we were missing something in our house...Figaro!  Michael explained that he was with our friends at a bar down the street and that we were going to have a celebratory BBQ with everyone later in the day.

making phone calls

It was one of the happiest days of my life and a truly special night celebrating with friends.  I love thinking back to that day and how it was only the beginning of so many more precious memories together.

engaged!

Michael and Fig cleaning up after a long night of celebrating with friends

Fig was so excited that Mom and Dad were getting married, that he partied a little bit too hard

Happy Engagiversary Hub!

3 Responses to “One of My Favorite Days to Celebrate…”

  1. Dawn says:

    I love your engagement story. It is absolutely perfect in every way. Thanks for sharing it once again.

  2. Vivian says:

    AWWW, I love hearing you tell this story :) What a memorable start to a beautiful wedding and marriage. We love you two!! And Figaro ! xoxo

  3. Taylor S says:

    Aww, I love it too!

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