It’s Sunday morning and I have the sun shining on my face while I enjoy a cup of matcha green tea and write. The peacefulness of the morning and warmth of the sun inspire me the most. And with this inspiration, I’m here to tell you how 2017 has started off so incredibly amazing so far.
Most people were feeling pretty grumpy about 2016 and ready for 2017 to end. While it was a challenging year for most, I did reflect on all the amazing memories made and lessons learned. Also, if you believe in numerology and things like that, it makes sense that 2016 wasn’t great. The numerology number for 2016 was “9”, which basically means it was the year of letting go. The number for 2017 is “1”, which is new beginnings. And a new beginning I have been given…
I’M ENGAGED!
Brian proposed on New Year’s Eve at an overlook on Mt. Washington. We overlooked the city while he told me how much he loves me and then asked if I would be his forever. My goodness, of course I said yes.
I would be lying if I said I was surprised (and everyone keeps asking me that). He knew that I was expecting it also. Earlier in 2016, we had looked at rings just to get an idea what I would like (after much nagging of course and drunkenly asking him to just marry me already). Finally on Thanksgiving, he asked if my uncle’s jewelry store was open on Black Friday and if I would like to go look (after getting upset that he wasted money on a “boy toy” that night of course, haha). Black Friday morning, we headed to the jewelry store and in a matter of 15 minutes, I picked out my ring. It was slightly different than what I had originally chosen, but I knew it was the one. Cue me spending hours on Pinterest for the next month pinning all things wedding related…
I had been worried that he would propose on Christmas. It’s not what I wanted. Thankfully, he did not do that. The week leading up to New Year’s Eve, a friend of mine said “I bet he’s going to propose on New Year’s Eve since that was the day you two first started talking four years ago”. I hadn’t thought of that and I began reflecting on his behavior the couple weeks prior. He had been SUPER nice to me and very helpful at home.
On New Year’s Eve, I was quietly anticipating but unsure if it was going to happen. That late morning, he was kinda rushing me out of the apartment, so I got ready for the day. We were going to see the Lotus concert that night, which was my Christmas gift from him. First, we headed to local park for him to teach me how to drive a stick shift. I nearly killed his car and decided that I could do it only in a dire situation. I actually cried about it haha. We decided to head to dinner after that. He took me to Jabo’s for BBQ. It was soo good (tip: get the brisket). After dinner, I anticipated that we were going back home before going to the concert, but he was taking a weird way home…
He started driving through the city…he hates driving through the city. He had mentioned at dinner getting a pretzel from Hofbrauhaus since it’s apparently a NYE tradition. I thought he was headed towards South Side once we crossed the bridge to get there. At this point, he could have made a left and been in South Side, or made a right and head towards Station Square and Mt. Washington. He made a right. My heart started pounding. I didn’t ask once where we were going. This is when I started to figure it out.
We parked at the parking lot for the Duquesne Incline (tip: this incline is WAY too far from any overlook, go to the Station Square incline). We took the incline up to Mt. Washington and quickly realized it was too far from the nearest overlook, but that was okay. I was patient and told him it was okay. It was slightly raining and definitely chilly.
It was a long walk there, but we finally made it to the Grandview Overlook. We looked at the city lights and the Christmas tree at The Point. We took a couple pictures of the city and of course we took a selfie. He turned to me and kissed me, telling me that he loves me and asked “Will you be mine?”. I asked him to elaborate. He got down on one knee and asked, “Will you be mine forever?”. My reply was, “Yes! Of Course!”. He slipped on the ring and then we hugged.
Since it was raining, we didn’t stick around too long and started to walk back to the incline. When we got back home, I texted my best friend a picture and she called me SCREAMING, haha.
That night, we went to the Lotus concert and it was amazingggg. That New Year’s Eve was the absolute best and nothing will ever top it (as I have told Brian a bazillion times).
I started 2017 as a fiancèe, with pure joy in my heart, and memories that I will forever cherish.
(just fyi…the proposal was way more special than I probably make it sound in this post, but I’m holding on to the little details for myself 🙂 )
I hope you started the New Year amazingly, or at least with hope and inspiration for an amazing year ahead.
What did you do for New Year’s Eve?