Life Lately {vol. 25 - engagement edition}

After I got back from NELA, I had to wait an entire week to see J again... which meant that I hadn't seen him for almost a month before he drove up Thursday afternoon!

We did a few errands Thursday before our early morning flight Friday, and goofed around in a CVS because that's just who we are, haha!

Friday was the 4th of July, so it was a little harder to go to sleep Thursday night than I had planned on. It turns out, J is OBSESSED with fireworks. I've been with him for over 3 1/2 years and just found this out, haha.

We had a hell of a time trying to fly to Hilton Head to see my family. Our first flight got delayed again and again, and we were originally only supposed to have a 30-minute layover in Atlanta anyway... so we definitely missed our flights. We ended up getting a plane to Dallas and then to Savannah, so we made it. Eventually.

Laying out on my parents' deck, watching and hearing and feeling the rain fall is one of the most beautiful, relaxing experiences. I could sit out there for hours (and clearly so could J).

Part of visiting my family means seeing my puppy again! We got Kichon when I was 14 or 15, so she's almost 10 years old (yikes, where does the time go?). She's my mom's dog, through and through, but she's sweet to just about everyone.

On Saturday, we all went down to the beach to play in the water! J and Chase and I played catch for a while before Chase went to hang out with friends. J and I spent 4 more hours swimming (and getting terribly burnt). Whoops!

On Monday, we rented a boat and spent a few hours watching dolphin, drinking a little, and relaxing on the ocean!

My "little" brother is such a hunk! He's a pretty amazing kid. :)

J spent the entire day pretending he was a bro at the Hamptons or something, haha.

We stopped for lunch at the site of an old plantation. I'm always conflicted, because so many of these areas are gorgeous, but I think it's easy to forget the kinds of horrors that happened. Let's just say this: only white people have plantation weddings, because good things on plantations only happened to white people. Generally speaking, no person of color looks back on plantations fondly...

The original plantation was burnt to the ground. I didn't read the plaque that said how, but given the history of the region, I'd assume us Yankees had something to do with it...

We spent a day shopping at the outlet mall, and I found this INCREDIBLE dress. It was over $300 and I had nowhere to wear it, but boy did I feel beautiful - like Kate Winslet in Titanic!

I love this kid so much. He is THE cutest. :)

Aren't my parents the cutest?! The sun was in my dad's eyes a little bit, but I still love this picture of them. :)

Living in Hilton Head is basically living in paradise.

Afterwards, my parents and J and I headed to the Farmer's Market!

These tomatoes though. *heart eyes*

*more heart eyes because obviously*

We took a break from the market with some drinks on the patio of this wine bar! It was such a cool place and they had a really interesting drink selection.

I asked for a framboise, but they mistakenly gave me this other kind of raspberry beer. But I drank it all anyway. Because new experiences!

Something very, very special may have happened that night... :) We had one more day to relax, and then Saturday we drove to Savannah with my parents to go to the airport.

While on the plane, I realized that I've flown every weekend for 4 straight weeks. The good news is, it's a great time to read. I finally finished my book on Catherine the Great!

On Sunday, we finally announced that we were engaged!!! He asked me on Thursday night after talking about it for 3 years, haha. The answer was a no brainer, of course.

I call this one, "J somehow looks like an adorable porcupine."

This is a better shot of my engagement ring! It's definitely unique and interesting and so me! :)

J had to leave Sunday night, and Monday, it was back to work and the daily grind for me! Though to be honest, it's a lot easier to come to work every day when you love what you do.

My new favorite yogurt - SO good!

I made homemade tom yum soup Monday night, because it's me and it's delicious!

Tuesday evening, I went out with Ciera, Lauren, and Liz - three of my best friends from high school! I haven't seen Ciera or Lauren since Christmas, so the three of us had a great time catching each other up with our lives!

It's been a really, really crazy few weeks! I feel like June flew by, and July's not staying any longer... Where did this summer go?!

It's also been a little surreal to finally be engaged to J. Later that night, we sat down on the bed and there was a pause. "I don't feel any different," he laughed. And to be honest, I didn't either. And I don't. I've known I was going to marry this guy after 6 months of dating. We've discussed marriage plenty of times over the last 3 1/2 years. This certainly didn't come out of nowhere, haha.

What feels surreal about the whole thing is that I feel like I should be freaking out and pinning wedding stuff like a maniac and buying a bridal binder or whatever they have... and I just feel really calm and happy and content. I mean, I'm still pinning wedding stuff here and there (and now I can finally watch "Say Yes to the Dress" with a little less guilt in my heart), but I just want to enjoy this time with J and my family and friends. I don't want to plan anything right now.

Maybe it doesn't feel that different for me because we're not getting married for a few years still, and J and I were already pretty comfortable with the idea of engagement/marriage. And maybe because the important part for me is being in a committed, healthy relationship - not necessarily the bling or the title.

I guess there's still a few years for the bridezilla (and groomzilla) to come out in full force. ;)