The day started like any other. It was December 31st, 2014 and I had work. When I arrived home, I found the closet torn apart and Dave chilling in the bedroom watching TV. I started to straighten up and this upset him (I not knowing his stomach was in knots), mistook it for attitude and left him alone. He came up stairs to find me on my phone and wanted to know why I wasn't spending time with him downstairs. Fast forward, shortly before we left for dinner (Hibachi, our favorite!) I was having a pep talk with myself in the bathroom mirror. I had been disappointed on Christmas, thinking he was going to propose then and I wasn't up for another disappointment so I told myself not to expect anything: to just go, enjoy dinner and have fun at the party we were to attend after. On the drive there, we started talking about the future, it was going to be 2015! We talked about our past, about the year we had (I had graduated college, gotten my first big girl job, moved out on my own... it was a big year for me). Then I mentioned that I wondered what it would be like, doing the same thing in 2025. 

Upon arrival at the restaurant (we were very early for our reservation, something Dave insisted on) we walked around to the entrance when Dave stopped and said he wanted to see the gardens they have in the back. At this point I was slightly confused, I knew he hadn't seen them before, but it was December 31st! Everything was dead. He started walking around the building and gestured for me to follow. Mind you, I was freezing. He convinced me to dress up, so I was wearing a dress in December, and despite my coat, I was cold. He started walking up the path like he was on a mission and I just stopped walking. I figured, hey, he wants to explore, he can, I just will wait there. He noticed that I wasn't following and back tracked and stood in front of me. I was cold, and wanted to go inside and I didn't realize how nervous he was. I asked if we could go in and he stopped me and started talking about our conversation in the car. 

He said, you know how we talked about 2015 and 2025? Well...I want to be there for every year in between and every year after. I'm sure he said more things, but I was frozen to the spot, not from the cold anymore. Then he got down on one knee, and pulled a little black velvet box out of his pocket and opened it up. Once he popped the question, I immediately said yes. My second question? "Did you ask my dad?" He knew how important that was to me, but earlier on his mom told him he didn't have to if he was too worried about it, which made me wonder if he took her advice. He let me wonder while we walked back into the restaurant for a drink where he finally cracked and admitted he asked my dad earlier that week while I was at work. It was a magical night; one I will hold in my heart forever =)

During dinner, we sat with two couples. One who had been married a year and one who had been married for 10+. We talked about life, marriage, commitment and weddings. It was truly a wonderful time. The party that followed was great too, after all, we got to show off and tell everyone our big news! I will never forget these precious moments.