He put a ring on it!!

Happy Friday, Everyone!

As many of you are aware,  last Saturday evening PJ and I got engaged! To say I was shocked and excited would be an understatement, which in my book means that he pulled off the perfect proposal. While I was fairly confident that we both wanted to get married and spend our lives together, I didn't know exactly when he would pop the big question. To be completely honest, after over 4 years together as an official couple (and 7 years prior as friends!), I was starting to get a bit antsy (to put it mildly!) about when he was going to lock it down!  I actually had a few "is he ever going to propose!?" mini meltdowns to family and friends in the past 2 months (cleverly hidden from PJ!). All the while, the ring had been safely tucked under my bed.

Bling, Bling!

   PJ thinks being engaged rocks, clearly.

Most of you who read this blog already know the deets of the engagement! For those of you who don't, I'll give a quick recap. Let me just say again that the boy did good!

At the beginning of last week, PJ had said that he wanted to go to one of our favorite restaurants, Maritime Parc, on Saturday evening. He didn't have to ask me twice as this restaurant is my FAVORITE local dinner spot (more on this later!). Before dinner, I decided I really wanted to see Zero Dark Thirty (so romantic!). The movie was AMAZING, but poor PJ must of  had a hard time sitting through a two-hour and forty minute movie when he knew he was going to propose a few hours later! Woops :)

Here I am at dinner, completely unaware of what the next hour held in store for me! We had a fabulous meal (as always), and then we headed home. As we entered our apartment, Toby greeted us at the door per usual, and we both bent down to give him lots of hugs and kisses. After we were done lovin' on the pup, I stood up- and PJ didn't :) He was down on one knee  presenting me with a gorgeous ring. I think I shreaked, cried, and hyperventilated all at once. I was so excited and shocked that I forgot to say yes! Once we established that I did in fact accepted his proposal, I think PJ was able to relax and enjoy the moment, too! We hung out our apartment for a bit, and then PJ said a couple of our friends were at the restaurant downstairs from out apartment and suggested we go share the good news. I have always said that when I got engaged, I wasn't going to call anyone until the following day. My reasoning for this was simply being able to enjoy the time with PJ- not spending hours on the phone! That's what the following day is for! :) As much as I hadn't wanted to go out, once PJ had popped the question I thought it might be fun to go share the news with a couple of friends. Also, we would have had no pics from the night we got engaged, so I thought that perhaps one of our friends would snap a photo for us. I changed my shirt from the one you see above (which is a "wear and repeat" might I add!), and we headed downstairs. Well, when we walked into the restaurant, PJ said "You know all those people you can't wait to call tomorrow? Well, they're all right there...". I looked up, and the loft above the restaurant was filled with family and friends. I.Lost.It. I almost couldn't make it up the stairs. Both of our families were there, my best friend flew in from Chicago, and so many of our closest friends were in attendance. It was one of the most touching moments of my life. PJ lured everyone to the restaurant by telling them it was my surprise 29th birthday party. He bought birthday decorations which were EVERYWHERE, so even if people thought it might have been a surprise engagement party, the decorations threw them off.

So, for those of you who know me well, you are aware of the fact that I am an ugly crier. It's bad, people- I know. Here is my entrance to the party captured by my good friend Sal. Thank you, Sal, for the candid!

I hope you all enjoyed the little tale of how PJ and I got engaged. It was the most amazing night of my life, and I can't wait for all the excitement that the next year and a half will hold for us, our friends, and our families!

I have a feeling that I will be doing a lot of this over the coming months!

I do want to share a couple of food related goodies from the past week! About a week ago, my friend Katie came over for dinner. I made a fabulous meal if I do say so myself! We had miso glazed salmon with a warm brussel sprout salad, and Katie whipped up a batch Quinoa for a side!

Miso Gorgeous Glazed Salmon (adapted from Pretty Delicious, a cookbook by Candice Kumai)

Serves 4

FWB (Food with Benefit!) Salmon- The omega-3s help balance inflammation; protein feeds the muscles. Pair with anything green and a complex carb, like this quinoa salad for the ultimate recovery meal.

2 tablespoons red miso paste

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon honey

1 1/2 teaspoons dark sesame oil

4 6-ounce and 1-inch thick salmon fillets

1 tablespoon black sesame seeds (optional)

2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced on a diagonal

Nonstick cooking spray

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Whisk the miso with the vinegar, soy sauce, honey, oil and 1 tablespoon of water to make a smooth paste.

2. Spray a 9- by 13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place the salmon fillets skin-side down in the pan and brush with about half of the marinade. Set aside for 10 minutes (or refrigerate for up to 1 hour) to marinate.

3. Brush the salmon with the rest of the marinade and bake until the salmon is opaque at the edges and the very center is still pink, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before sprinkling with sesame seeds and scallions and serving.

Warm Shredded Brussel Sprout Salad with Cranberries and Pecorino Romano

(adapted from Kathryn Budig for Mind Body Green)

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 10-15 brussels sprouts, ends chopped off and sliced into thing medallions which will shred


• 1/4 cup cranberries


• 2 t garlic powder (I sauteed garlic cloves in the oil before adding brussels! I like it garlicky, so I used 2)


• 2 T extra virgin olive oil


• sea salt to taste


• pecorino cheese to taste

Begin by finely slicing your sprouts into coin slices so that they easily shred into little pieces (the heart of the sprout will stay intact).

Heat a frying pan on medium-high heat and add your sprouts and oil. (Feel free to add more if needed.)

Season with garlic powder and salt and give a good stir. Let stand for several minutes because you want the sprouts to brown and get nice marks.

Cook for a total of about 5 to 8 minutes or until nicely browned. Toss in cranberries for the last minute to warm them then add to a bowl and top with finely shredded pecorino cheese.

Alright, my friends! Time to go eat dinner and get ready to watch Girls! I will see you all sooner rather than later! Enjoy the Dr. Seuss quote below; I thought it was particularly fitting given the content of this post. :)

Be well

xo

Sarah