apples and a ring

In other super exciting news, my little sister is engaged!   

For most of you, this is old, old news.  (I really have dropped the blogging ball these past few months...)  But regardless, I thought it worthwhile to share their adorable engagement story, told from the source herself: Miss. Soon-to-be-Bride!

Starting about a year ago, Al and I instituted date nights where we would plan surprise dates for each other just for fun. It was, and has been, a super fun tradition, but I did need to institute some rules after it became apparent that Al thought all dates should be BBQ-themed.  While this girl loves BBQ, she also loves wearing white (not ideal attire for this BBQ eater) and varied cuisine once in a while. 

Anyway, a few weeks before THE day, Al mentioned that he was going to plan a day date on 9/21. I thought it was a great idea and didn't think much more of it. After some seemingly false alarms where I thought there may be proposals in sight (i.e., a surprise vacation to St. Lucia), I have opted not to read into his sneaky/crafty date ideas.

So I woke up on Saturday and got ready as I would for any other date. Once I was ready, instead of being told what we were doing, I was handed an envelope with directions for pit stop 1: Starbucks. Smart, Al - don't take this girl anywhere without her AM coffee!

Post-Starbucks, I received envelope #2 that mentioned driving North for some fun fall festivities. I figured maybe a beer garden or hike? But instead we drove and arrived at a gorgeous apple orchard in upstate New York. Now that I am a teacher, apples were only fitting. ;)

We spent some time meandering the farm, trying different types of apples before Al asked if I wanted to walk over to a secluded bunch of Macintosh. Still, I was thinking Al just wanted to take a walk - not totally out of the ordinary for this athletic, energy-crazed man. 

As we walked over, however, he handed me my next envelope. I opened it and was immediately in a wonderful state of awe: it said how he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. He got down on one knee, popped the question, I said yes, and he put the ring on my finger. It was super surreal in the most exciting way.

Though alcohol was not allowed on the orchard, Al snuck in some celebratory spirits and we toasted our engagement. I then received another envelope which lead us to an adorable brunch spot in Pawling, New York where the excitement really began to settle in. Over Champagne and frittata, we celebrated the special day.

Then, once in the car, I received yet another envelope - what a planner! It informed me we were headed to a beautiful colonial house that overlooked a secluded lake in New Milford. We walked the hills of the cute neighborhood, called family, cooked dinner, and had a low-key, romantic evening.

To continue the celebration the next day, Al had made reservations at a gorgeous golf club and we played a round of golf in the beautiful fall weather before heading to a sports bar to eat lunch and watch the Pats - who won in our honor of course! 
(Or so I tell myself.)

And that is the story. It was perfect for me and for us. So excited to share it with you!

Congrats Gretters!  We're so excited to celebrate with you on gorgeous Gasparilla Island!!

xoxo

KK