Why are you so dressed up?

So a little background on Danny and I...Danny is a chef. I met him while taking on a waitressing job right out of college and ended up asking HIM out. We lived about 20 minutes apart in two different suburbs so I planned our first date in my neighborhood and chose a gelato place that had a private upstairs which I thought was really cool. We hit it off right away and have been together ever since, 7 years later!

Yeah 7 years later. I was getting kind of anxious (and so were our families) whether we would get married or not so I was not completely suprised by the events are are to follow.

Mondays are Danny's only day off in the week so we try to do something fun like go out to a restaurant (our fave) or movie or whatever. Danny does not dress up on his day off and definitely doesn't shave so when I saw him doing both I got a little suspicious. He suggested that we go back to the gelato place for our day off activity. Mind you, we haven't been there since our first date. We arrive at La Gelateria, get our gelato, and go upstairs to the seating area. We were the only ones there. I scarf down my gelato as I always do with frozen treats, and Danny started fumbling around in his pockets. He asked me if I had his keys and I said no. Then he pulls the ring out and says something like, "I had to bring it back to where we started" and asked to marry me. All I could say was "I knew it!, I knew it!". Very romantic, haha. But it was perfect for us because luckily no one was there so it was a completely private moment.

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I wasn't completely shocked by the proposal, but the after party is where Danny got me. He suggested we go to one of my favorite restaurants, Melt Bar and Grilled. I was so out of it, I said I just wanted to go home. We went anyway and I walk in and the whole restaurant starts clapping! Then I see a table of our closest friends....then my aunt, mom, sister, etc. etc. He invited 30 of our family and friends! That's when the tears started falling for me. People were giving me cards, gifts, flowers. It was a night I'll truly remember. Melt was especially great at dealing with such a large party since they are known for having long wait times and being crowded due to it's popularity.

personal photo....I think I broke every Anne Ruthmann rule with this shot!

Did you have an after party after your proposal?

Triumphant Return!

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I'm making my triumphant return to blogging because of this post by Mrs. Penguin on Weddingbee. After a horrible and depressing 2009, Danny proposed to me in August 2010 and we are getting married in September 2011! And we plan on incorporating carnival food and elements in our wedding! It was meant to be!

I've been reading weddingbee since 2006. I stumbled upon it in the craziest way. I was searching for ideas for a wedding shower for my (now) FSIL. I found this thing called a blog that described a bridal shower they threw and was fascinated by it. Back in the day almost all blogs used to link to their other favorite blogs on the sidebar. I clicked on a blog and this person kept referring to herself as Mrs. Lime and wouldn't show her face. I then discovered these were monikers for brides-to-be on weddingbee. I added it to my google reader and have been reading non-stop for the past 4 years.

I will have to say, reading about other people's weddings and actually planning your own wedding is totally different! Nobody talks about how frustrating it is when your date is booked everywhere! There have been some angry tears shed on my part already regarding difficult wedding decisions. But at the same time I am incredibly happy to have all this support from friends and family!

Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen

I have to admit, I borrowed this book from the library for it's title and cover.  It was a little slow moving at first, but towards the end I was reading until 2 am to finish it!  Sometimes I like stories about small town folk and this book about a girl yearning to move to Atlanta from Ringgold, GA fit the bill.  For example, Catherine Grace saves money to move to Atlanta by starting a homemade jam business!  The book is set in the 70's and I guess it was a simpler time back then, especially in the south.  The fact that the Greyhound bus stop is at the Dairy Queen that she goes to everyday is really symbolic and the story does get better after she finally steps on that bus. 

I finally found my pin-up sweater!

This past Halloween, I was searching for a pin-up sweater to wear for my pin-up girl costume. I settled on a bright blue leopard print wrap around sweater that I wasn't really comfortable in. This morning, I bought the most darling grey with white polka-dot cardigan at Target!  It was fresh on the rack that they use to bring the clothes out that are new shipments.  I don't usually buy clothes at full price but I just couldn't pass it up!  Isn't it cute just to wear out?  I am so excited! :)

Cards!!!

I've been stalking a few crafty blogs and decided I wanted to try to make homemade cards. Kelly from The Sunset House was so helpful when I emailed her and turned me on to the world of Stampin' Up. Weddingbee is hosting their second annual Valentine's Day swap so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity. P.S. Making cards is harder than I thought! There were multiple trips to Pat Catans in the making of these cards!

I also got a new rug at Target for 50% off!  It was originally 30 and I got it for 15.  I saw it sitting there in the global home section and just couldn't pass it up.  

Doesn't it look like it came from Urban Outfitters? Awesome.

Sabotage

When I was pulling out of my driveway this morning, the opening chords of Sabotage by the Beastie Boys was playing on the radio.  I felt so cool!  Like my life had a soundtrack for a minute.

Hardcore Arts and Media recap

I knew RENT couldn't hide from me for long.  The show came back to Cleveland Jan 6-11.  Guess who got to go opening night?  MEEEEE!!! (Danny surprised me with tickets)  Guess why I was so excited to go?  Cause original cast members Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal and Gwen Stewart were in it!  The first half of the show I was in awe that I was actually watching these actors live and grateful that they agreed to reprise their roles 10+ years later.  Then the second half I was able to enjoy it.  Gwen Stewart plays many roles including the homeless lady, but her amazing gospel solo in Seasons of Love is what I was looking forward to most.  She didn't disappoint me by sounding exactly like my RENT CD.   I walked out of the theatre on a goose pimpled RENT high and promptly bought at $20 poster that had Anthony and Adam on it.  The next day I looked at the poster and kind of second guessed that purchase, ha ha.  It will look good framed though.  

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Because of all the annoying snow and single digit temperatures, I had no desire to go out so I was able to read Anthony Rapp's biography, Without You.  It satisfied my urge to learn about how Anthony got involved in RENT and the early productions, but a huge chunk of the book was dedicated to Anthony's struggle with his mom dying of cancer.  Which was sad!  I almost cried.  I also commend Anthony for being so honest about his early sexual experiences which are really interesting.  

In my self-imposed seclusion from the outdoors, I also watched the first season of Big Love.  I have never done that before, watched a whole season of a show all at once on DVD.  It was intense, but good.  Danny's parents have HBO so I told him to tape the first show of Season 3 for me which aired this past Sunday.  I really like Chloe Sevigny after watching her in the movie Gummo in my Motion Picture class in college.  She plays the part of pioneer hardcore Fundamentalist Mormon perfectly.

Danny and I ALSO saw Revolutionary Road in the theaters last Monday.  We have never seen an Oscar worthy movie together (hey, our first movie was Boat Trip!) so that was different for us. The story line was "heavy" as I like to say but the acting was really great.  And I secretly loved the fact that Leo and Kate Winslet were together again after all these years since Titanic.  Now only if Britney and Justin would get back together, ha ha.