Some things are too good to be true and Brittani is one of them. We met on a Wednesday evening–February something-or-other–atop the San Diego skyline.
You don’t remember Valentine’s Day? The 14th?!
We hit it off immediately. She wore thigh-high boots and a short skirt, with golden ringlets resting confidently on her shoulders. I wore clothes.
It was a sweater dress and knee-high boots, but we can let your rose-colored glasses memory live on. You were very cute in your button-down and fishhook belt.
She had such diction, such punctuality, and such poise.
This is very kind since I was running fifteen minutes late, shocked it took more than five minutes to cover the twelve blocks from my apartment.
She told me about her passion, which drives her career, and her love for her family as we plucked buildings together from the skyline. We talked for ever, but as the sun set and we huddled under the heat lamps, I sensed my moment was fleeting.
“How about a night cap?”
“How do you get better than a rooftop?”
“We could go underground?”
“Underground?!?” (Please don’t say Trailer Park)
“Yeah, there’s a wine bar just up the street!”
“Alright, sure, why not.” (Thank goodness)
In heels, and with legs not quite as long as mine, she kept stride with me, block after block to a cozy wine bar underground.
We sat in oversized chairs–on the edge of our seats just to stay near each other–and we talked. We couldn’t stop talking, and I was never good at conversation, but she was so engaging. She’s quick on her feet but eager to listen too, we talked and talked, and talked until the juice was squeezed. At this point only the stragglers and the Grenache were left.
I offered to walk her home, or to call her a car, as we climbed back to the street, but she declined. All she needed were her boots and her herculean calves.
“Oh stop it!”
…
Our second date was mini-golf. Being the naturally gifted putter I am, I won decisively and no one has ever questioned the record.
Brian took 7 putts to make it through the windmill.
I let you win.
What mattered much more to me that evening was Brian’s chivalry in carrying my purse and jacket throughout the course, which I thought was very sweet.
One of Brian’s best qualities is his level of dedication to his endeavors. When he decides to commit to something, he is all in. This quality shows up in a variety of ways – showing up to the docks before they open to find prime fish for sushi night, staying up until 2 AM to put extra care into his work, or finding the brightest pink velvet shoes for his favorite form of commitment – to the bit, with his siblings.
Yes…. the pink shoes were definitely a bit…. does that mean I can’t wear them to the wedding?
This quality was prominently on display when I moved out of my San Diego apartment. I was a bit teary-eyed when we met for lunch before I drove out of town, but he was confident in the long-distance, reassuring me we’d figure it out.
I wasn’t about to let you get away that easy!I drove the first few hundred miles reflecting on my time in San Diego, with Daisy snuggled in my passenger seat as my little shotgun rider. When I made it to Taco Bell, I gave Brian a call to keep me company. We talked the whole way home, and spent an hour or two on the phone together every day for the foreseeable future.
Over the next year, we booked more flights than we ever had before between navigating our long-distance relationship and my work travel well exceeding the advertised “up to” 40%. We celebrated weddings, enjoyed weekends with friends, and embarked on many new experiences. I consider us very fortunate to have seen each other around once a month during our year apart, as well as getting to enjoy the holidays together with our families. While it was not the same as living in the same city, living apart gave us a great opportunity to learn how to communicate early on in our relationship.
I knew Brian was really smitten when he agreed to travel to Indianapolis with me to see The Eras Tour.
You knew I couldn’t resist an opportunity to wear my champagne pants! Besides, who could turn down floor seats to the most coveted concert of the year?
It was a whirlwind weekend exploring a new city, which had been transformed by thousands of Swifties ready to sing their heart out. I came prepared with friendship bracelets and earplugs, and Brian brought with him a positive attitude and a fun new shirt to match the champagne pants. We showed up to the concert, and much to our surprise and delight our seats were much closer to the stage than we had anticipated! Brian was a great sport, recording the entire acoustic set so that I could enjoy the moment. He even offered to carry me home when the sparkle of my rhinestoned boots wore off and I remembered I was wearing heels about two hours into the three-hour event.
I couldn’t let anything dull your sparkle that night, sweetie.
After traveling to six states together, meeting each other’s family, and about five hundred hours of phone calls and FaceTimes, we started talking about moving in together. While I had grown to love Seattle in all of her glory, I couldn’t convince Brian to leave sunny San Diego.
San Diego is the greatest city in the world.
Really, who can argue with that? I packed my bags and prepared to move for the third time in three years. But – it was all worth it. Every move was a new chapter, a new story to tell. And, this time, I got to be the shotgun rider as Brian and I made our way down the West Coast from tip to tail. As with most mundane tasks, we turned the drive into an adventure. We took many opportunities to make a stop along the way – Eugene to visit old friends, Napa for a day of music, Piedmont to see Brian’s childhood home. Brian enjoyed working in Apple Park for the week, and we spent an evening in Fresno having dinner with my family and celebrating Brian’s successful thesis defense (congratulations, Dr. Hosler!). The following evening, we made it to our new home together.
Finally, I got her back!
We enjoyed a summer full of wedding celebrations, work travel, and date nights! We made it a point to work our way up and down our new street, ranking our favorite neighborhood restaurants. As summer faded to fall, we welcomed many guests to our little apartment, showing friends and family our favorite spots. For Brian’s 30th birthday we were lucky to have several friends fly in from across the country to celebrate (shout out to Will & Michelle and Max & Katie!). I even managed to surprise the birthday boy with a magician.
The first two surprises I saw coming, but those were only distractions! She’s good.
Little did I know, Brian had his own surprise planned for me. Since July, he had been scheming with one of my best friends, Jordan (shoutout J <3), to have me unknowingly orchestrate my own proposal. The plan started with the suggestion to invite all of my college friends to a Friendsgiving in the San Luis Obispo area, the weekend before Thanksgiving. I found a rental home, called the girls, planned the menu. The day of the grand occasion, I had no desire to get dressed or do my makeup, since I had been at work conference all week.
Brittani loves a reason to get ready, so I did not see this coming.
One of our friends, Claire, had no idea Brian was planning to propose, so she joined me in dressing casually for our wine tasting, and asked if I wanted to get my nails done the following day before we headed out. Surely, that meant Brian was planning to propose during our extended stay in the San Luis Obispo area, and I could relax and enjoy a casual Friendsgiving. I figured it out! Or, so I thought.
What was I supposed to do now?!
Somehow, during wine tasting, Jordan convinced me to do my nails and put on makeup before the evening’s festivities.
Thank you, MVP Jordan!
Before we started making dinner, Brian and I had planned to take our Christmas card photo.
Thank goodness she’s adamant about sending them out by Thanksgiving.
I got ready, and watched out the window as Jordan and Wyatt scouted out locations for the perfect photo – which, I thought was very sweet for a Christmas card. I lost track of Brian a while ago, so I took my time getting ready, hoping he would appear and we would head out together.
I was outside, unable to form sentences at this point.
When I couldn’t find him, I headed outside to Jordan and Wyatt, and found Brian there too.
It felt like HOURS!
We started taking pictures, but Brian was holding his jacket? Weird.
Why do they make these ring boxes so big?!
He tossed the jacket, kissed me on the cheek, and I felt him disappear. I turned to see where he went, and there he was – on one knee, huge smile on his face, with the most beautiful ring I could imagine! Although I should have seen it coming, I was completely surprised.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
The next several hours were a blur of clinking glasses, FaceTiming our family, and friends arriving to celebrate (shoutout to Rachel for flying all the way down from Seattle!). It was such a lovely evening, with so many happy memories to reflect on, and so much to look forward to. I guess this is where people say, and the rest is history? We are so excited to have you celebrate with us as we write our next chapter!
