Our Engagement Story!
Hi Everyone!
It has been quite some time since I’ve posted anything on the blog. I am so sorry I have been out of pocket but it was for good reason.
WERE ENGAGED!!!
Rob and I have been together for 7 years. Yes 7 years! Both families basically said to us during Thanksgiving 2016, “what the hell are you waiting for?!?!?”
HOW WE MET!
Circa 2009, I had just gradated college from Penn State and started full time at Jean Madeline Cosmetology School in South Philadelphia, PA. It was my 23rd birthday and my besties decided we needed to celebrate. We got all dressed up ready to eat, drink and party.
We decided to be safe and take a cab down to the city since we live in the suburbs. This was before Uber was around. Sounds like such a long time ago but it really wasn’t. We crammed 5 girls into the back of a yellow taxi cab and headed down to the city. As we were on interstate 95 passing the stadiums a thought came into my mind for a quick second, “I am going to meet the man I will marry tonight.” (Side note: No one really knows but I sometimes, not all the time, get random bursts of thought. Meaning, a thought can pop into my head for a split second, I will either knowledge it or forget it but 90% of the time that thought becomes reality. ) I didn’t think about it and wasn’t even concerned with it.
We were supposed to go to El Ves, a really cool Mexican place in Center City, Philadelphia. Well of course on a Saturday night the wait was 2.5 hours! No thank you! So my friend Monica knew a place in Northern Liberties, Philadelphia called Cantina Dos Segundos. We arrive at Dos and the hostess says “It’s a 45 minute wait for a table or you can sit at the bar.” We all looked at the bar, saw a hot bartender and said we’ll sit at the bar!
As you can guess the bartender was Rob! He was dressed in a suit. I should have known something was up when the bartender of a mexican place was in suit. Dos is not a suit and tie kind of place. He had on light gray dress pants and a white button up dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. So hot!
Rob takes our order, the girls tell him it’s my birthday and he immediately poured him and I a shot of Azul Tequila. Boom party started for Kristin! There was one part of the dinner that Rob asked me if I liked peanut butter chocolate cake. My response was yes with big bright eyes and a smile from ear to ear. Peanut butter is my go to comfort food. I’ll eat it with a spoon right out of the jar. He then brings me a piece of cake and my response was “I love you.” At that moment I feel in love with the cake.
As we left the bar I got Robs phone number. Yes, I got the digits! As for us girls we went out and had a blast! I woke up the following morning to a few new numbers in my phone so I decided to text them all. Why not? I sent an individual message to each number saying “Are you the hot bartender from that Mexican place last night?” The only response I got was from Rob. We talked through texts all day and have been together ever since.
10/10/2009, Rob took this picture!
HOW HE POPPED THE QUESTION!
My favorite holiday is Christmas! I love everything about it, the lights, the smell of a Christmas Tree, the delicious food that comes out during the holidays and of course spending time with family. My 30th birthday was in October and when it didn’t happen then I had an idea that Christmas may be the time since this was our first Christmas living together.
Our normal Christmas routine is my aunt’s house Christmas Eve then I head over to Robs family’s home after. Christmas day begins at my parents’ house for presents and dinner then Rob’s uncle’s house to visit with his family. It’s a lot of running around! I was stressing because I didn’t want to run around like a crazy person on our first Christmas living together. I just wanted to relax!
Christmas morning comes and I am up bright and early, 630 am! Just like I was as a little girl, except this time I was prepping gifts for my lover and getting breakfast started for the two of us. It was definitely weird not waking up with my parents or at my parents’ house on Christmas morning. Rob like a normal person got up around 9ish. He prepped his famous oven roasted potatoes and I made cinnamon buns.
The way Christmas goes down in my family is we open our stockings first then our presents. Around this time we were just about to welcome Rob’s dog Lilly into our house, she was arriving the following day. I got her a stocking with her name on it.
Rob opened his stocking that was full of fun gifts. Santa brought him a garlic press, meat thermometer and other grown up stuff. My stocking was flat as a board, so YAY! Lilly’s stocking had dog treats and something very special inside. Rob said to me “I think Lilly got you something.” I walked over to the stairs where the stocking were hung and there was a little white ring box in the stocking. I opened it up and it was a ring pop! Yes a ring pop candy! I don’t know if any of you have ever seen the movie The Santa Clause with Tim Allen. At the end of the movie Santa brings each parent a gift that they never got as a child. The gift I never got was a puppy. I told rob this on Christmas Eve.
As soon as I opened the ring pop, I looked up very dramatically and said “this is so much worse then when my parents gave me the stuff animal for Christmas.” As I said that I turned to my right and Rob was on his knee with the ring. He pulled me close and said “will you marry me.” I was blown away! I said yes and proceeded to sit on the floor for 5 minutes staring at the ring.
This ring is very special to me because it came from our family jewelers The Gerlach’s in Upper Darby, PA. It’s a 1945 vintage estate collection. It was my “I hope I can have that one day but it will never happen ring.” So when he opened the ring box I was floored! I didn’t cry. I thought I would but I think I was more happy and shocked.
We spent the whole morning together in our jammies eating and me staring at my ring. My parents came over and had dinner. We went to his uncles later and surprised his family with the big news!
It was by far the best way we could have gotten engaged. He made it so incredibly special for me and Christmas will forever be my most favorite holiday. How will he out do himself this year?!?! Buy me a pony!!!!
I will love you forever and ever my fiancé!
Love,
Kristin
Thank you for taking the time to read all about how we became US! Stay tuned for wedding planning updates and how to get organized for the big day!
(Photography by Matt Gruber, Philadelphia)
