Is this for real?!!

So I have some very exciting news to share. This totally happened yesterday!

After almost 6 years of dating we are engaged! Ahh I'm so excited! If you want to know how he proposed, keep reading. :)
So it was freezing yesterday (by Florida standards), about 50 something degrees, and Dee had a brilliant idea to go sharks teeth hunting. Normally I would never  be up for that in this weather... but he had a friend that recently found a huge tooth on the beach, and we had some time to waste before meeting my Mom and Step-Dad for lunch. Who by the way was also in on it, my step dad told me their car wouldn't start and they were going to be late.

So we get down to the beach and I'm looking around and find a little one, continuing to look Dee was acting very suspicious. Not really looking very hard for sharks teeth. Then I turn around to him and he says something along the lines of look at this one, it's huge (with a sweet grin plastered across his face).

In his hand he had this massive sharks tooth with sand around it, and a little white ribbon peeking out. Attached to the ribbon was this beautiful rough diamond ring! He then dropped to his knee and asked me to marry him. "OF COURSE!!"

Instagram Pic

Next thing I see a photographer pop around a parked truck on the beach, it was his Dad who came down from Maryland to photograph everything for him. Then I look to the right at a random tent we passed walking down to the beach, and out popped Dana and Carlos (his brother) camera in hand!
I was so surprised, and can't believe I didn't see them or recognize the truck.

Carlos & Dana setting up their hiding place before we arrived.

Dee did an amazing job, it definitely took some planning and help from a handful of our family member's to pull this off. :)

Needless to say, I am a happy girl and CANNOT stop smiling!

I love you Didier and I can't wait to be your Mrs.!

surprise party

 How great is this? Days after posting all of the open beam architecture, with the help of his mother we threw a surprise birthday party for my boyfriend at an A-Frame, oceanfront cottage with load bearing beams!

View walking up, he was very surprised when his friends greeted him inside.

View from the upstairs loft. The eclectic collection of glass and other items in the house made it a nice locale for our little shindig.

Birthday boy blowing out the candles. :)

I made these awesome puff pastry, nutella, and berry cookies, what a hit! (If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram you already saw this picture.)  The boys of course all struck up a conversation about how thankful they are that Pinterest is now around.

There was a guest book there, with signatures as far back as 1951!

We got one shot together before heading to the beach to hunt for sharks teeth.

Everyone had a great time, about a dozen of his friends and their spouses were able to attend.  His actual Birthday is in early September so this was definitely a surprise.

Do you like surprise parties or would you rather throw them for someone else? I am personally a fan of throwing them for others.;)

Lovin' for Saint Augustine

Walk along the bay-front after breakfast downtown.

I am so happy that 9 years ago when I was hunting for a school I found Flagler College.  After coming here with my parents in 2003 and interviewing with Admissions I knew I wasn't even going to apply anywhere else.  And here I am after 8 years of being a Florida resident still happy with my decision.

This small, historic, waterfront town has captured me with its beauty and I have no desire to leave. My boyfriend of 5 and a half years may have something to do with that too, but this really is a great place. 
I highly recommend you visit here; it's a great spot for destination weddings too!

There's all kinds of historic places to stop at, lots of great food, the beach, the amphitheater and in reasonable distance to Jacksonville, Daytona and Orlando.

I sound like an infomercial! Hah, but I wouldn't have found this town if it wasn't for school hunting so I want to let some of my readers know about this gem of a town. Check out our town if you are looking for somewhere to go!

Insta-Me aghan : You can never have too much Happy!

  Lately on instagram...

 

 

This is a little bit of what makes me happy...trying new things(Stand Up Paddle-boarding), blooming hibiscus, smoky quartz & yoga sutras, puppy face Ziggy, beach time, and shooting my pink gun! ;)

Taurus by the beach

I Feel like I haven't been shopping in a while, however I'm sure this is really not the case...ugh saving is so not fun! So anyway, I jumped on Polyvore to "feel" like I was shopping and what do you know they're having a contest for Taurus's. Perfect reason to make up a set.

My birthday is this month and I'm really hoping for some Toms like these, but with the capped toes- so cute!

Happy Birthday to all the other Taurus out there!!

Crazy felines, dogs, nails & yummy eats

Spot by the pier where all the locals check the waves.

Crazy cat that belongs to my friend, I think it wanted to eat me, smack me at the least.

Simply put, a disaster! I think I had my bobbin threaded wrong and when I get home I plan to check it out and see if I can fix it now.  This is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. No wonder it sat in the closet for over a year.

mmmm just some of the best food in St Augustine at Romano's.  This is a mozzarella fritti, fresh mozz of course.

My first attempt at making california rolls, or any sushi for that matter.  They came out pretty good, less rice next time..

Ohhh a crazy dog! Whenever she does that one ear satellite thing, she's about to freak.  And she did all around the house.  Such a good Chloe dog. :)

My hot pink and gold nails, China Glaze for the pink, the gold came from PacSun (random).
I really need to work on the whole straight line thing..

What did you do over the weekend? New nails for you? I usually do mine on the weekend and then once in the middle of the week too.

Couples Shoot

Who says you have to be engaged to take professional pictures with your significant other?  I won a photo shoot in a photo contest with this picture a couple of weeks ago through Ocean Angels Photography.  Instead of doing a modeling shoot I've decided to do a couples shoot with my boyfriend Didier.  

http://gypsealove.blogspot.com/   Thanks again Lex for this great shot! Check out her blog, you won't be disappointed. :)

So in "researching" ideas for our couples shoot here are a few of the pictures that caught my eye.

We are definitely going for outdoors, and the beach will most likely be involved.  He surfs, and I am a weekend beach bum who likes to take out my longboard a couple times a year.  I need to get out there more. 

But back to the matter at hand, does anybody have any cool ideas for a couples shoot?  

Me & my man *kisses*