So unashamedly I am a little behind on my blogging, but this week has been jam packed because a certain mister decided to grace Springfield with his presence…
I was SO happy to have Ryan in town for a quick bit (5 whole days!!!) to celebrate a few special moments for us, our 14 month anniversary & the loverly Valentines day.
We did a lot of kicking back, which included finding a new show we both LOVE called An Idiot Abroad.
Also if you know Ryan and I at all, you know we live & breathe for good food.
We had a day date where we visited all of our favorites in Springfield which included only the best chocolate on the continent: Askinosie!
We also stopped at Grad School, local eatery where I had the 2 star spicy best burger of my life and Rye had the 3 star spicy fish tacos. Let’s just say our mouths were burning with spicy goodness when we left!
after lunch we headed down the block to the scrumptious french creperie where we got this special treat:
It was too delicous for words!
On our valentines date night, Ryan surprised me with these beauties when he showed up on my doorstep
(A cute mug with the breakfast blend girl, which I flipped over!)
We then headed to the Palace Theatre to see the Muppets. I laughed my guts out at the celebrity appearances while Ryan shed a few tears when the main character puppet discovered his self worth ;)
Good Morning Blog World:)
I am super excited to post the first half of our engagement session! We had a blast taking the photographs (even though we had to put up with the freezing cold, the wind chill factor was 16 degrees!)
Check em out!
I was so pleased with how they turned out. I love Ryan Matthew more everyday…
All Photo Credit goes to Josh Boston. (He even featured us on his blog!)
Check back next week for sesh numero dos….
Enjoy your weekend Peeps!
Loves,
E
One of the biggest benefits of having our own blog will be its ability to keep in touch with both of our families and friends in both Missouri and North Carolina who will be a million miles away it feels like when we finally get hitched.
So.
A lot of people have been asking me the enchanting story of how I said “YES” to Ryan Matthew Smith for the rest of my life….so tonight I will share.
The day was Saturday, December 10, 2011, and it appeared to be a typical saturday for me: sleeping in, catching up on Mad Men, and doing routine catch-up laundry. What I was unaware of at the time was at that same moment, Ryan was in route via airplane to Missouri from Atlanta, Ga (where he currently lives).
As the day went by, I got text messages with details of Ryan’s “morning at home” and his night hanging with friends eating lasagna (all lies!). He even had the guts to lie and say his cell phone had crashed for 2 hours and that’s why I wasn’t able to get ahold of him (when really he was flying into Springfield).
The afternoon dragged on and I had a best friend come over and “randomly” paint my nails ;) and another help me pick out the cutest outfit I had worn in awhile (all the while, I didn’t even have a clue!). The plan for the evening was to have a night out with my best girlfriends to celebrate Christmas and functional farewell as we each went our separate ways for Christmas break. As we were headed out to dinner, (2 hours behind schedule, oddly enough) the girls decided they wanted to look through Christmas lights in a certain neighborhood that happens to be the neighborhood where Ryan’s family lives. As we were driving through the neighborhood (seriously going 2 MPH!), we came up to a bridge that is very special to both Ryan and I. This is the place where Ryan first asked me to be his girlfriend over a year ago and gave me a promise ring in that same exact spot 4 months earlier.
as we are rounding the corner, the car pulls into the cul-de-sac right beside the bridge and I see our friend, Josh Boston, snapping pictures like crazy.
AT THAT MOMENT I KNEW!
I WAS ABOUT TO GET ENGAGED!!!!
As I get out of the car, knees shaking and heart racing, I see the most beautiful path of mason jar candles leading to a beautiful bridge completely decorated in Christmas lights!
And there is the most handsome guy waiting for me down at the bridge.
The pathway to the bridge seemed like miles, I ran down to him, immediately giving him the biggest hug and kiss! (and a slap or two on the arm for lying to me all day).
As we stood there, shivering with a healthy mix of nervousness, frostbite, and excitement, Ryan began to tell me that after dating for one year exactly, (it was our one year anniversary the next day!), he knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life loving and serving me, planting a church with me, dancing with me at 3AM in the kitchen, crying with me through the sorrowful times, laughing until our sides hurt, and raising a family together.
Then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I started jumping up and down and yelled,
“YES, OF COURSE!”
As he got back up to hug and kiss me, FIREWORKS BEGAN GOING OFF! They were so beautiful and really big and very colorful (the kind I love!)
As the fireworks went off Ryan pulled me close and whispered, “I have one more surprise for you…”
And down walks my family from North Carolina, who drove all that way (15 hours!) to see me get engaged! Immediately I started crying, shocked, as it hit me that Ryan had made all my dreams come true. I had been so worried that because of the distance I would not be able to celebrate this once in a lifetime event with my family.
Looking around I noticed that not only was my family had joined us, so had Ryan’s family, and our closest friends. All their to share in the excitement…
After a few minutes of hugging and crying, we all headed back to Ryan’s house for a true Italian feast and the party began!
Make sure you check back in a few days as we will be posting some funny moments along that come with the engagement process as well as our engagement pictures!
Huge props to our photographer Josh Boston
Over and Out,
E
Greetings everyone!
Starting this blog has been a long time coming for the last several years, and I am so ecstatic that I finally get to begin my very first one with my best friend and soon-to-be husband.
Allow me to introduce ourselves….
I’m Erin.
A small town southern girl from the mountains of North Carolina with a slight obsession for great sushi, wedding blogs, the color mustard yellow, and all things Cinderella. Presently, I am finishing up my degree in Church Leadership from Evangel University and work part-time as a waitress at a sushi bar.
I will be the primary scribe on here and will be telling you guys all about our daily adventures and my inspirations & motivations in the mundane.
This is Ryan.
He is my out-of-the-box Midwest born and bred fiancé. He is a mastermind at all things Theology, Star Wars, and Chinese cuisine. Currently he is on staff at Four Corners Church in Newnan, GA as the Student Ministry Director and pursuing his B.A. in Bible & Theology. He will occasionally be making his presence known on the blog, posting randomly as his heart desires.
Stay tuned as we post our journey throughout our courtship and our upcoming journey into marriage on June 25, 2012 (155 days!!!).
We’re so excited to travel through life together with one another and with each of you as we share our journey.
loves,
E
