lovely whirlwind

oh goodness. i have nearly abandoned this blog with the madness of life lately.

let's rewind to three weeks ago---chicago.

i had an inkling that this was going to be the weekend i added a sparkly ring to my jewelry menagerie. perhaps it had something to do with me telling francis i always dreamed of a december proposal in a downtown city with all the sparkling lights in the sky, or the fact that a day in downtown chicago was how we spent our first day as an "official" couple. be what it may, i was hopeful.

after spending a lovely, lackadaisical day meandering around the streets of the city we love so much, we headed to dinner atop the John Hancock. with a 360 degree view of the sparkling skyline, we sipped wine, stared incredulously out the window, dined on deliciousness including but not limited to scallops, risotto, and kimchi slaw. we planned to split a cupcake for dessert (previously purchased from our absolute favorite cupcake shop, sprinkles).

at dinner, daringly confident that a proposal of any sort wasn't in the works, i admitted my inkling to francis. he looked me straight in the eye and said he was sorry for letting me down.

after dinner, we stepped out to this view... i absolutely love chicago.

francis suggested taking a walk through a park draped in Christmas lights and splitting our cupcakes. with a stomach full of risotto, i declined and suggested we head home instead. after a bit of persistence, i obliged and we walked through the park to a bench where we sat and talked a bit about our day. 

francis handed me the cupcake box and nonchalantly said, "which one should we split?" i opened the box, expecting to choose between vanilla peppermint or red velvet, but was caught off guard by a ribbon-wrapped box. 

i stared at the box, silent, in shock, soaking it in, feeling silly for having brought it up at dinner and handled the situation as any classy girl would.... i said, "what? what? what? what? what?" enough times to leave my voice hoarse. francis untied the box and dropped to one knee. i continued with the "what?" interrupted only by, "obviously yes!" and that was that, we were engaged. 

we called our parents and headed to a tea shop. i asked francis long ago to keep a very detailed journal (be it on paper or in his head) of all the details leading up to the engagement -- asking my parents, choosing the ring, telling his parents, how he decided when to do it, if he was nervous -- so he shared all the minute details over a latte (on the house, our first engagement present, thanks to the sweet boys at argo tea). 

we spent the evening reliving the details with my mom and aunt, sipping bubbly in celebration, and distractedly staring at my lovely forever ring.

i still can't quite believe it. i am absolutely smitten with the sparkle, romance, but more than anything else, having francis forever.

the celebrations continued into the weekend with more family, champagne, and retellings of the proposal story. before we headed home, my mom, aunt, francis, and i went to breakfast at m.henrietta---scrumptious!

a lovely, surprising weekend that was everything i ever hoped it would be, but also nothing i expected, in the best way possible.

and the whirlwind continues....

ps. as soon as i upload the photos from my camera, i'll upload one of francis on bended knee. stay tuned, lovelies. xo

{photos: hilaryclair}