I had an engagement party and no one died!

Adorably(?) bad kerning

I was very nervous about our engagement party. It helped to set a goal - when asked about my expectations, I just said "As long as no one dies, I'm happy." So when things when inevitably wrong (the CD that was playing party music skipped, high winds tore down handmade bunting, I forgot one of Dan's relative's names) I just told myself "no one is going to die" and was able to float through the party with something that was close to zen.

Of course, that probably didn't seem zen to some people. I was really hoping everyone had a good time, and so I tried to get the two families to mingle. Eventually I realized that I should have at least taken some photos, so the only photos I have are kind of grainy 8PM post party stuff.

Yes, these are the LEFTOVERS.

We had a great dessert table, with all sorts of sweets! Sadly only one cake was gluten free, and that ran out fast. At least I got some before it was gone, but at 9PM when the last few stragglers were eating cookies and milk I felt a little awkward munching on veggie tray leftovers.

I test drove my homemade bunting that I put together, and I learned two things. First, I need at least 10 times more bunting for the wedding. Second, wind and bunting don't mix. Wind and decorations don't really mix in general. Most stuff had to be brought inside, where my hard work went pretty much unnoticed - oh well. No one died.

My favorite detail of the party? This thing.

Yeah, the gift table is not really pinterest worthy, sue me.

It's a cloud peeing rainbows. We saw it at the party store and I bought it on a whim. I love it. We brought it home with us, and I spend the entire drive like this:

Overall, I had an awesome time and would do it again. Oh wait... I am, and it's going to be even bigger and I'm going to get married at it. 

Yikes.

Better just knit some more and not think about that.

I'm Engaged!

Ok, I've been engaged for about two weeks now, but I've been so overwhelmed talking with family and friends offline, that making the post here slipped my mind.

So, obviously, my 16 in 2016 goals might be... not met? I'm not sure what I'm going to craft for this. Dan and I got the book A Practical Wedding and the workbook as an engagement gift from Alysia, so we've been using that to plan things. It's really been great!

Our date is set - June 3rd, 2016 - and we have our photographer/videographer already booked! We're also planning an engagement party, engagement photos, and all the trappings. I'm really excited!

Oh - of course, I should tell you how he proposed! It wasn't a surprise. (Can it really be, when you've been living together for almost four years?) I knew that he had the ring, but I didn't know what it looked like. I knew he was going to propose to me on a weekend. He really wanted to go to Maine, so I kind of figured he was going to do it there. We had a great day at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, then pizza for lunch before going out to the island.

Before dinner, he suggested we take a walk along the beach and watch the sunset. We did, looking for sea glass and just having a good time. Once, he bent down on one knee to pick up a piece and there was an incredibly awkward moment where I thought he was going to propose and I felt myself crying with happiness. He just looked up at me confused and we had a good laugh. I said "You know when we reached the point in our relationship when you couldn't get me any jewelry in ring-sized boxes? Well, now I guess we're at the point where you can't bend down on one knee for things." So he pointed out the seaglass and I picked it all up.

When we had walked up and down the beach, we sat down on a big fallen tree that was turning into driftwood and went to compare treasures. When they were all on my lap and we had come to the traditional decision that it was "a pretty good haul," he stopped and gave a cheesy gasp.

"Oh, wait, I have something here in my pocket."

It was a suede jewelry box, that was slightly sandy. I opened it and the ring was inside.

I said yes, of course :)

Oh, and here's a closeup of the ring. It's a little big, so I have to get it resized this weekend.