December 2017

What people don't realize is that our first "date" was actually a whirlwind series of 4 dates while we were both home on break during December 2017/January 2018.

From the moment I met Alex, I shocked him... by arriving to our date at Bertucci's earlier than he did. I later found out that it was the first time a date had ever gotten to a restaurant before him. I fear I set the wrong precedent because I've been late to everything else since and this bugs Alex to this day. In all seriousness, the conversation was really great and we learned early on about key things like how my middle child status is a core part of my personality and how Alex and I had the same primary care physician as babies (s/o Dr. Fox!). The endless soup and salad went so well that we actually went next door to Friendly's for some ice cream and an awkward hug.

On our second date, we saw Pitch Perfect 3 and I knew there was something special about him when I could hear him harmonize throughout the entire movie.

I suggested we do something wintry for our third date. We threw around a couple of ideas until we landed on ice skating at Patriot's Place. I would come to find out that Alex can't (like actually can't) ice skate, but he agreed to it because I really wanted to. So, we spent 2 hours going around the edge of the rink with Alex clutching onto my arm and I have to say it was very endearing that he would put himself in such a vulnerable position because he wanted to indulge me.

After ice skating, we weren't supposed to see each other again but he had to change his flight at the last minute and we got one last coffee date in to cap off winter break.

I went back to school with a flutter in my step, but I had been very clear that I didn't want to do a long distance relationship; however, it was around day 60 of our Snapchat streak in March 2018 that I realized that I had feelings for him.

Surprising to no one (I hope), Dylan and I had talked about the conditions around getting engaged. Dylan had the stipulation of wanting to wait until he was 27 and to make sure we had lived together first. Leading up to our engagement in October 2023, we had not only lived together in an apartment in Mansfield, we had also bought a house and added our cat, Shonee, to the family!

I am of the mindset that the act of proposing should not be a surprise; just the circumstances around it. We wanted to go on a trip to celebrate and ultimately settled on Toronto to add a new city to both of our lists!

I had done some research on local photographers and had coordinated with a local photographer to capture the moment on a Sunday afternoon in a local park. I warned Dylan that is was happening on Sunday and to make sure he was dressed properly (no one wants a bad engagement photo). We headed out that morning for a scheduled Food Tour around Kensington Market (which we both highly suggest) and then made our way down to the waterfront. The photographer and I were able to find each other quickly and I subtly directed us to the spot of our eventual engagement!

I was nervous about actually doing it and has been anxious all day but couldn't have been happier when he said yes! We spent the rest of the day and our trip to Toronto happy as can be, with a little extra weight on our hands. And at 27, Dylan was finally off the market!