How to Go From Mustache Stirrers to Marriage

Yes, I’ve slacked a little on posting. But, as always, it’s for a really good reason. I have some really big news here. And if we’re pals on Facebook or you follow me on Twitter you probably already know what I’m about to say. I’m engaged!

Here’s how it all happened:

A couple of weeks ago Mr. T and I were hanging out. We were enjoying a tasty beverage with some Jack From Brooklyn (more on that later) and just having a quiet night at my place. For some reason, we randomly decided to class things up a bit and use my lip and mustache stirrers.

He decided they would also make an awesome idea for a friend’s bachelor party and turned to Google to find where he could get some (I bought mine at target and they don’t have them anymore and clearly I can’t let him have mine). He ended up finding a whole lot of other mustache things which led to a conversation about how various mustache things would be pretty hilarious at our wedding.

The whole marriage and wedding thing wasn’t really a foreign topic for us. We’ve talked about the hard questions already since we wanted to be sure we were both on the same page. And, we’ve occasionally talked about how the whole wedding thing could/would possibly happen.

Anyway, the talk of various mustache things led us to talk about more wedding things which somehow led to setting a date for fall 2014. The next morning, we continued the conversation and felt this was something we really wanted. It no longer seemed like a “what if” kind of thing – this was legit. We told our families and closest friends and started really planning and thinking about when and where. But we didn’t make it completely officially official because he really wanted to propose.

And on Tuesday night that’s exactly what he did.

We went to dinner with one of his best friends and then headed to his (our) local for a drink after.  One of the best parts about this place is the fact that the bartender also does magic. And, this place and all the magic stuff is kind of a thing for us. One of our early dates was there -- with magic and karaoke. We also spent many Saturday afternoons and nights there since we first started dating during football season. It’s also the first place I met his best friend and where we first said I love you. Yep, there’s some stuff there.

The place wasn’t that busy so they asked the bartender to do some magic. He started with a card trick and then followed with a trick with a cup and a little red ball. He made the ball disappear and reappear. Then, instead of the red ball, he made two limes appear under the cup. I still don’t know how all that happens and it still amazes me.

Then he made a plum appear under the cup. He turned the plum a little and there was the ring. Mr. T took the ring, got down on one knee, and asked me to marry him.

Of course I said yes and there were lots of claps and cheers. And later that night we toasted to marriage with PBRs. Seriously, I adore this man.

I’m still swooning a little and I’m ridiculously happy. And I am really excited to marry him.

Most amazing picture of the ring ever (it pays to know photographers). However, you can't tell the color of the stone. It's purple, but changes from blue, teal, purple, or kind of a combination of all depending on the light.

(And I know you’re all probably wondering what will happen to the blog now. Don’t worry, this isn’t the end. So stay tuned for a blog post in the coming weeks about all of that)

Just Catching Up

If you read this blog regularly, you know that I post pretty frequently.  You also know that if I don't it generally means I have a good reason. You know, like when I moved to New York City. And, the past couple of weeks definitely fall into that category. I know I've slacked a little (though I've given you some great guest posts) and I promise it's not

So where have I been?

Mr. T and I took our second trip to Atlantic City. This time we stayed a little longer and it was a ridiculous amount of fun. I almost wanted to move there based solely on the fact that I want to be a people of leisure who has no schedule at all -- that's why they call it vacation. And, well,  Atlantic City seems like the place you can live and always be on vacation. Sadly, I had to come back to reality but we have some more trips in the works that I am pretty excited about.

I made a little visit to Chicago. (Sorry I have no pictures to go with that). Partial business, partial pleasure. It was definitely great to see some of my pals and I was able to see some of my family.

I've involved myself in this whole March Madness thing. I know, I know. I once said I would never like basketball, but this stuff is kind of exciting. I even filled out a bracket though I clearly have no idea what I'm doing. Who knew Montana would lose by so much! I had way more faith in them. And, no I have no pictures of that unless you want to see my bracket with all the teams crossed out. My only hope is that I can beat Mr. T since we have a bet and I still have a small chance of that (fingers crossed).

Mr. T and I celebrated our sixmonthirversary. Time flies; I can’t believe it’s been six months. I promise not to gush too much about him, but seriously that fella makes me incredibly happy.  

And any guy who buys you this for your anniversary (especially when he’s an Ohio State fan) deserves some kind of award. Those are Michigan State Flowers in case you can't see.

I have to say though, I really dig that he gets into this whole anniversary thing. We’ve also noticed that we have a habit of celebrating everything for a week. It hasn’t been intentional, but so far it’s happened with my birthday, Valentine’s Day, and our anniversary. 

Needless to say it's been a couple of busy weeks, but I am back and I have lots of great new posts coming your way. What have you all been up to?

In Defense of the Rom Com

Romantic comedies aren’t really my favorite thing to watch. However, I can admit that I do like some of them and find myself easily entertained by them.

I have noticed, though, that sometimes these movies get bad reviews. And, I am not talking about actual critic reviews here, but more the public reviews. You know those from the people like you and me. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard someone talk about how totally unrealistic they are or heard someone complain about how the rom com has completely ruined the idea of romance.

Now, let me be clear here. I am not trying to make it seem like I am being harsh to the rest of the world here. I confess that I do the exact same thing. I’ve spent a couple hours of my day watching a lovely rom com only to become frustrated at how terribly cheesy and out of touch with reality it is.

In real life, the guy who tells you he doesn’t want a relationship doesn’t suddenly decide he’s mad for you in the end. Instead, he finds another gal and marries her (but then tries to cheat on her with you). Your friend with benefits doesn’t wake up and realize he’s in love with you so you both can run off into the sunset. Instead, he tells you he likes you so you both can spend years trying to make that relationship work. But in the end, he marries someone else and tells you to fuck off.

In short, life isn’t all shiny and pretty the way a rom com would like us to believe. It’s a far more messy, crazy, and unpredictable.

Here’s the thing I am curious about though -- why are we expecting it to be real? Why are we expecting something that’s built for our entertainment to be an accurate portrayal of real life? I mean, we live in a world where reality TV isn’t even real. They have to add stuff to it and set the stage to make it more interesting. So why are we all up in arms over the rom com?

Nothing about TV is real. I mean, have you ever seen child birth in real life? Actual real life here, not on Teen Mom. I have -- I was in the room while my niece was born. And, let me assure you, it’s not anything like what they picture on TV. In fact, some of those births on Teen Mom looked a little too glamorous. Just sayin’.

Do you actually know any person who can get shot 101 times, stabbed another 15, and maybe even have a limb or two cut off? I don’t. But I have seen it in plenty of slasher flicks. I don’t watch Harry Potter but I am willing to bet that’s not real either.

How about the good guys? How many of them actually win against the bad guys? I am sure there are plenty that do but not every time. And I am pretty sure they don’t always end up with some extremely hot gal at the end.

I could probably go on, but I think you see my point.

I am not saying everyone has to run out and be a fan of the rom com or anything. If it’s not your thing, it’s not your thing. All I am saying is if you do watch one, try to appreciate it for what it is -- a little fun, a little cheese, and a decent way to kill an hour and thirty minutes.

An update on my quest for a summer fling

A little over a week ago I wrote a post about how I was contemplating a summer fling. It was pretty much a unanimous vote amongst my readers and followers on Twitter so I decided that I should do it. Since everyone has been asking for updates I thought I would give everyone a few little details on what's been happening.

Honestly, I really didn't think that searching for a young stud to fling with would be this tedious or exhausting. I actually kind of think I had more fun searching for an apartment when I first moved to the city.

And, now that I think of it, that process was a whole lot faster. Before I decided to officially prowl for a fling the 20-year-olds were coming out of the woodwork but now there appears to be a shortage. Isn't it funny how that happens?

At any rate, I am still in search, but summer is just beginning (apparently a single woman's work is never done). Right now, it looks like I have three prospects. Actually I think it's more like two because one I am really not sure about.

The first guy is really cute and interesting. He's around my height and in his early 20-somethings (is it bad that I can't remember?). He's an Indie music lover, which is awesome, but his story kind of ends there. So I haven't decided where he ranks in here and I am really not sure about my level of interest.

The second guy is pretty awesome and so far he is definitely ranking number one in my book. He is tall which is something that I love since I am a tall girl and he is the ripe old age of 22. We have agreed to go on a date sometime next week. The only problem is that he seems to have a big crush on me (and I am kind of crushing on him) so I am not really sure how that ranks with the whole summer fling thing, but we will see.

The third guy is definitely something and I really don't think it's something good, which is why he's more or less been tossed out of the running. I have actually known him the longest but he annoys me the most. His texts usually roll in sometime after midnight but he is only 20 and he doesn't live in the city. Our conversations go a little something like this: 

Him: Hey you (This has always seemed like something you say to a person you actually know)

 Me: Hey

Him: What are you doing

Me: I am out with my friends (that's what we grown ups do on the weekends and can we get on with this?)

Him: I can drive there and meet you later and we can get wasted at your apartment (You, me and a case of Coors Light. Where do I sign up? Really, that sounds fantastic and all but by the time you get to my place and find parking I am sure I will be passed out. And who is buying? Obviously not you since it's illegal

Me: Define later...

He never responds but then around midnight the next day it starts all over again. The whole situation kind of bores me and he seems like a whole lot of talk (then again aren't all 20-year-olds?). I've also seen a picture of his penis (something I never asked for but was totally ambushed with) and he continually asks for super intimate details about my sex life, which I refuse to answer. Oh and he also told me I was boring and needed to show him it was worth it to drive to the city, which all stemmed from the fact that I wouldn't sext with him. We've established that I am not overly fond of sexting guys I am not positive I will be attracted to. His response? Something about how he is 20 so surely I will be attracted to him. Really? Because clearly just being 20 makes you attractive, thanks for letting me know that. All in all I'd say he's in a class all his own, so needless to say I have pretty much stopped answering his texts.

Isn't looking for a summer fling supposed to be a little more fun?

Are Chicagoans really anti-romance?

I recently read an article in Chicago Magazine that talked about how Chicagoans aren't really romantic. According to the article, Chicagoans do not think that poetry, flowers, restaurants, snowstorms or views to be particularly romantic. It seems that things like sunsets, ice skating, or candles don't woo us all that much either.

I kind of feel like I need to throw my two cents in here. Who says that Chicagoans aren't romantic in their own way? I mean the only types of romance listed in the article were the purely conventional kind. Don't you think it's a little unfair to say that we aren't romantic at all just because we aren't into the typical ideas of romance? That doesn't mean we don't have alternative ideas of our own.

Let's take a look.

Poetry
Ok this one isn't so bad. Though I have to say most of it is highly cheesy and borders on lame. Instead I would rather have a little post-it stuck to my mirror telling me to have a good day or a middle of the day text from a guy saying he's thinking about me.

Flowers
Definitely have to disagree here. Flowers are totally romantic. Sure, they don't last and maybe that makes them seem like a waste of money. Though I prefer daises and actually you can even pick them (read that as you can still be cheap and romantic).

Restaurants
I tend to agree here, but see that's the thing with letting other people create the mood for you. Personally, I say create the mood yourself. Get take out or cook dinner. Thrown in some candles and eat on the floor.

Snowstorms
Well, obviously. I mean really, who feels all that romantic like walking through the slush and hurdling over puddles (half of which you miss and then totally soak your boot) to get to the bus stop only to wait for 15 minutes for the CTA while the snowy wind blows in your face. Yeah, I don't care who is waiting for me with what at my destination. All that it took to get me there kind of makes me a little angry at the snow. And if I am angry at it, I have a hard time seeing the romance here. Though the idea of staying in drinking coffee and watching the snow fall (as long as I never have to leave) doesn't sound all bad to me.

Views
Honestly, I can't say that I have ever gone anywhere to see a view on a date. Doesn't that seem a little pointless if you live in Chicago? Let's face it, sure Chicago has some awesome architecture in it's skyline but when you have seen it countless times it tends to loose its luster.

As you can see, I don't really feel that many of these things are all that romantic either. However, I definitely wouldn't say that I am not a romantic person.

So it might not be that Chicagoans aren't romantic, it could be that we just have a different idea of what is involved with romance. Take one of the comments from the article for example. One person said, "What's romantic about a view? I didn't make the scene beautiful for her." Pretty well said, I think. It's not technically the view that isn't romantic to him but more so the fact that he didn't do anything to make it that way.

A little story for you. I went out on a date with a guy who ducked into a sports shop because I was running late. Later, he told me that he found a hat that he really loved and wanted to buy but he opted not to get it because he wanted to make sure he had enough money. Something I have to say is an extremely sweet gesture and definitely romantic to me. Of course, he was able to buy his hat and truth be told I would have bought it for him if he didn't. Kind of seems like a little exchange of some romance there.

Now I know to some people that might seem lame and not romantic at all (which is coincidentally my point). Romance, to me, is something that is out of the ordinary. It is something that takes a little effort and planning. And I am not talking about anything extravagant here (see the post-it example above).

All in all, I have to say that everyone has their own idea of romance and to some we might seem like we aren't a romantic type of city. Maybe we are just a little more realistic about things. For example, snowy nights aren't like what you see on TV and some people need the fire to actually keep warm - not to set the mood. So if that kills the romance, so what. There is no saying we can't find another way to bring it back. And I also have to say that I have a hard time getting all that excited about romance when it's negative whatever degrees outside. Perhaps you should ask us at a better time.