She Said ‘YES’

This was no ordinary Saturday, despite all the normal makings of it. Charlie and I were dog sitting at his parents’ home in Los Angeles, and since they have a beautiful backyard, we decided to host some friends for a casual BBQ.

Everything was rather typical that morning. I organized the kitchen while while Charlie prepped some of the food for our guests. I went ahead with my business, and took my time to prepare my delicious veggie dip, as I wanted to take it easy and relax. I asked Charlie if he could go to the market to get some last-minute items, and I specifically asked for flowers — something rather common, since I tend to buy bouquets on a weekly basis.

When Charlie got back, he brought FIVE different arrangements — and I was a little perplexed and even asked, ‘isn’t it a bit too much?’ And he said no, ‘I got you all of your favorite types.’ There were stargazers, orange roses, sunflowers — I mean an array of summer types, but still nothing seemed unusual since the now-fiancé tends to have some of the sweetest gestures around.

As the afternoon rolled around, my best friend Sarica and her husband came over early to ‘help’ out. Sarica even brought a couple of dresses and insisted that I wear something cute, since I was wearing shorts and looked incredibly frumpy. I didn’t put much of a fight, and said OK, but here is the best part — I didn’t shower that day (yes, I know, why am I sharing this), but this is proof of how LITTLE I expected this.

If the flowers, the change of clothes, and Sarica bringing a nice DSLR camera didn’t give it away, nothing would — as I still suspected absolutely NOTHING.

Shortly after Sarica, one of Charlie’s friends came with a beautiful cake box. As I tried to peek through it, she nervously gave the box to Charlie, as the cake said “Congratulations Charlie and Jesica.” In hindsight, I am so glad I didn’t see it, as that would have been a given of what was about to happen.

At around 3:45 p.m. the door started ringing, as friends were invited for 4 p.m. My friend Robin came in with a big bag of ice walking in and saying ‘I’ve got the ice,’ and Charlie interrupted her and said, ‘no, I got some ice,’ as he was holding a gray box with the ring inside.

Well, the rest is a bit of a blur, as he got on one knee and asked THE QUESTION. You can see from the photos below my face, as it needs no translation — I was shocked. As it was happening, I kept saying ‘are you serious?’ and was even speechless, to the point when Sarica said, ‘SAY YES!’

Of course, I said yes, and that Saturday afternoon turned into a beautiful celebration filled with good times, amazing food, and the company our favorite furry friends that we were taking care of that weekend.

Note to self, always shower when expecting company and make sure your hands are well-maintained, because of course I did not have a manicure!

Perhaps it’s Charlie’s Army background that permitted him to execute this operation perfectly, as he pulled it off like a pro. I like to refer to all of this as: Operation ‘Shock and AWWWWWWWW’

What’s next? I have no idea, as I am getting used to this whole wedding planning ordeal, setting dates, and doing tons of laborious research. But it suffices to say, that my Pinterest board is up and running.

So ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, let the planning commence!

Ryzenberg On, is Signing Off