The First Date, His Version

It all started with a swipe — aimless, casual, and completely unexpected. Pretty sure I wasn’t looking for love, but I couldn’t help but notice her photo with a cute dog, they both caught my eye. I quickly asked her out and planned the date well in advance — which knowing what she knows now, she claims is a surprise.

We met at Fly Bar later in the evening. I showed up on time — which, according to Em now, is a rare occurance. I immediately hit her with the mushroom joke to kick off the evening- if you know, you know.

I chose the Fly Bar because it was close to Em’s place, making it easy for her to join. She still almost bailed on me that night, but fate had other plans. Luckily, she didn’t, and now she’s stuck with me! We shared a few drinks — surprisingly, Emily downed twice as many as I did with four mojitos. We had the basic chit chat, and after a few drinks I got her to open up about her work. Man, I should have listened when she said she didn't want to talk about it. Boy, was that a barrel of monkeys that I quickly realized I didn't want to play with. Let's just say, she was passionate about being overworked in a clinic.

Oh, and also come to find out, she was hungry that evening and expecting snacks, but too afraid to place an order. Knowing what I know now, she's always hungry for SNACKSSS. Guess she made up for it with the multiple mojitos.

At that point, she was white girl buzzed. She was one mojito away from never hearing from me again. Time to wrap things up, we've been there for a while, and although I didn't know she was hungry, I knew she couldn't have another drink. So, being the gentleman that I am (blame my mother for that) I offered and suggested giving her a ride home, knowing thankfully it wasn't too far out of my way. It was clear that she was on the fence, get in this creep's car, a creepy Uber, or a long walk home. As I dropped her off at the front of the building, she knew she made the right choice. I didn't even try to invite myself in, she had one too many drinks and I had an early morning.

After I got home, I sent a curiosity text to ensure she was alive and well. Come to find out, she was eating black bean pasta at 2am. Who the heck eats black bean pasta any time, weirdo. It was undoubtedly plain with maybe some olive oil and Parmesan, given her cooking skills.

The following day, I had an early morning ride with some friends. We chatted about the date with homegirl I had the night before. Talking it over with the bros made me realize, I had a good time and she appeared to be legit, at least on the surface.

With that said, I figured what the heck, I’ll invite her to sushi to gauge her interest. Well, that was a given, she quickly confirmed knowing food was involved and the rest is history. Written like a true love story, or a Taylor Swift song…

The First Date, Her Version

It was January 2021, Russell and I had matched about two weeks prior on Hinge (only due to both of us having pictures of us holding dogs that weren't ours and me having Covid, I didn't use the app much but what else was there to do when you're quarantined?)

About a week in advance, Russell asked me if I wanted to meet up for a date on a Friday night. I thought that was strange to make a reservation and plan a date that far in advance with someone you've only matched online with but appreciated the effort and agreed.

That Friday came and the only thing I wanted to do was binge Netflix and eat my weight in Ben & Jerry's ice cream. With twenty minutes until we were supposed to meet, I decided if he can make the effort to make a reservation a week in advance and drive from St. Pete, then the least I could do is get off the couch and show up, a mojito sounded good anyway.

I get there and he's PROMPT (something I haven't seen since), waiting outside for me to pull up. We go inside, sit down, I order a mojito and he orders a Tito's soda. Three hours later and I've proceeded to vent about work (a lot), tell him his hand tattoo looks like it resembles Gary, Indiana rather than South Haven, Michigan and drink four mojitos. We also discovered that neither of us actually had a dog.

I was under the impression this date would be a one mojito scenario then I could go back home to my Ben & Jerry's, but Russell talks a lot and so do I after four drinks so the conversation flowed and time flew by. At some point, Russell mentioned that I couldn't drive home. He wasn't wrong, I definitely couldn't and it was too far to walk. My options were a smelly Uber, a sketchy scooter or this guy who had two drinks compared to my four so I reluctantly accepted his offer.

He gave me a kiss on the cheek and I essentially ran out of the car to make my black bean pasta fully aware of and accepting that there's a really good chance he won't want to see me again given the fact that I didn't hesitate to rack up his tab with cocktails and vent to him about my work issues but it made for an evening of good conversation.

To my surprise he texted me after he got home asking how my pasta was and if I was okay. I woke up the next morning with my face down in the pillow, a headache that hurt so bad I couldn't even open my eyes and another text asking if I wanted to get sushi that evening. I had absolutely no idea why he wanted to hangout with me again, but was glad he did and said yes to sushi.

It's Been an Adventure Since Day One

01.15.21 First date, Fly Bar, Tampa

01.16.21 Second date, sushi at The Lure in St. Pete

02.14.21 Russell pulled out all the stops for Valentine's Day; Chihuly museum, bike ride, a dozen roses, dinner for 2 & he asked to be official

03.17.21 Our first trip together- Tulum, Mexico to celebrate Emily's 28th birthday

04.11.21 Phoenix trip where Emily met John & Russell met Jim & Sherry for the first time. Russell got his first taste of hiking & quickly learned the importance of hiking in dry socks

04.23.21 Louisville Kentucky trip where Russell, Jim & Sherry spectated the Kentucky Derby 1/2 marathon followed up by a couple of days in Charleston where Russell met Katie & Jess for the first time

08.15.21 Conifer Colorado, a quick weekend trip for a family wedding with Jim, Sherry & Lois

09.24.21 Charleston & Ohio roadtrip where Russell met most of the extended family & friends

10.22.21 Asheville for Russell's 36th birthday (we crashed a lawyer conference with with "Mike" & "Linda's name tags)

11.21.21 St. Augustine, Florida weekend trip to see Christmas lights

12.24.21 Russell's first Christmas in Ohio, where the BB gun at the Christmas Story house gave him Covid

03.17.22 Miami trip for Emily's 29th birthday with Jon

04.24.22 Nashville with Jim & Sherry for the Nashville full marathon

06.01.22 Officially moved in together

06.12.22 Yosemite, Napa Valley, Tahoe and Kings Canyon two week trip with Jim & Sherry "Hey uhh Sher, did you uh put pepper on the eggs?" -Russell

10.03.22 Ohio for Friendsgiving & fall weather

10.31.22 Emily FINALLY convinces Russell that dressing up for Halloween as Russell & Kevin from UP is nonnegotiable

01.21.23 Breckenridge, Colorado ski trip to celebrate Jon's birthday

03.12.23 Rome, Amalfi Coast, Florence with Jim & Sherry to celebrate Emily's 30th birthday

04.06.23 Bimini Island, Bahamas yacht trip with Jon, Val, Kyle & Danny

08.14.23 Mackinaw Island, Marquette & Traverse City, Michigan to celebrate Erin & David's wedding

07.23.23 We hit the road for a 14 month nomad excursion that included Asheville NC, Salt Lake City UT, Phoenix AZ, Bentonville AR & San Antonio TX. We spent 6-8 weeks in each location but ultimately fell in love with Utah

10.23.23 Park City for Russell's 37th birthday

11.23.23 Zion Thanksgiving trip "This is my favorite hike ever because of the oh sh*t factor" -Russell

12.20.23 Ohio Christmas trip

02.07.24 Breckenridge, Colorado ski trip to celebrate Jon's birthday

03.17.24 Austin & Waco Texas trip for Emily's 31st birthday

07.15.24 Miami trip with Jon for lobster hunting

08.25.24 Hocking hills camping trip

09.08.24 Buffalo, New York visit with Erin & David

06.01.24-09.22.24 Spent the summer with family & friends in Ohio, Michigan & Florida

9.22.24 Moved to Bluffdale, Utah

10.18.24 Vancouver, Washington for Russell's 38th birthday

12.18.24 Ohio & Florida for Christmas as well as Michigan for Dom & Sarah's wedding

03.14.25 Big Sur, San Francisco, Carmel by the Sea, Santa Cruz for Emily's 32nd birthday

04.10.25 Cabo, Mexico for Hunter & Paulina's wedding

05.21.25 Seattle, Bellingham, Washington & Vancouver, British Columbia

07.20.25 ENGAGEMENT DAY at Rheinstein Castle, Germany

07.22.25 Amsterdam

07.25.25 Paris

07.27.25 London

07.29.25 Ohio for baby Cohen's baptism & Grandma's 92nd birthday

12.04.25 Riverside, California for a long weekend

12.19.25 Closed on our first house in Ohio

12.20.25 ENGAGEMENT PARTY DAY

Wedding Party