1.10.2013

A Year in Review: 2012 Special Events

We had some great times this year!!

In the spring, we celebrated our birthdays:

T's Birthday was Thai Food and a new bike!
I loved surprising T with his bike and we discovered a new favorite Thai place- Taste of Thai in the East Village. Best coconut curry I've ever had. Aghhhh! Just thinking about it makes me want to order take out.
 

My Birthday with sis and niece and Mexican with T!
 I had a perfect day off of work just bumming around downtown with my sister and niece Lucy and we tried out a local town favorite Mexican restaurant- El Patio.
 
Both days were just perfect.
 
I love celebrating our birthdays together. I know it's easy as you get older to say 'It's just another day' but I think it's important to tell the person you love that 'Hey! I'm so glad you were born!' :)
 
 

This summer we also attended the Des Moines Art Festival. It's a pretty big deal here- artists apply to be in it and are chosen by a board of locals. It's free to the public and also has music, beer tents, kid crafts, etc. We went on Friday night to hear the bands, then we volunteered on Saturday (a little girl gave T her necklace- it says 'I want to be a unicorn that never dies'- needless to say, we saved it) and Sunday we went to the afternoon matinee to see Seeking a Best Friend For the End of the World. It was just a great summer weekend.




There were also a couple of BIG things that happened in 2012 and they both just happened to occur in the same weekend. :)

We drove up to Minneapolis on Saturday morning

Ate some delicious lunch
 


Drove the beautiful race route



Checked out the expo



Ate a big old dinner of pre race eats: veggie burger, fries and veggie chili. I highly recommend The Local.



Then off to bed for RACE DAY!!


It was a COLD start, but I was feeling good. Even had time to stop for a little snack mid-way through.



I don't know what to say about the race itself, it went by so fast...HA! It was a gorgeous course and I felt so great. I ran sans music just so I could soak it all in. I loved every minute of it.
The last few miles I started to get a little tired and knew I needed a boost so I put on my headphones and my special 'Marathon Power Hour' play list:


When I crossed the finish line, I think I was somewhere in between Katy Perry and Britney Spears. :)



To say I was emotional was an understatement, I ran across the finish line, spotted T behind the fence on the side and half hobbled, half ran to him and cried over the fence while he snapped my picture. I had hoped to finish in 4:30. My official finish time was 4:15:04!! I was super happy about finishing upright AND getting a great time!

Once we were able to make it to the car (I had some issues walking...) and I got showered, we went to The Blue Door Pub and stuffed our faces with delicious Juicy Lucys.




Then I got a tattoo to celebrate my first marathon!! (That's a 26.2 in roman numerals)



THEN...(this was a pretty fun-filled day)...we went back to The Local to enjoy some afternoon cocktails and watch baseball.


We had planned on a fancy dinner since our 3 year anniversary was the next day, but we were so full from Juicy Lucys we decided to skip it. Instead, we headed back to the hotel room to get into our 'evening' attire anyway.




But right before I was able to get my clothes changed, my whole world changed.

THIS!



T asked me if I would be his wife.
To which I replied, 'Of course!!'


It was a PERFECT day.
I feel so incredibly blessed to have T in my life and I cannot wait to be his wife.

We spent the next morning enjoying a little anniversary/post marathon/engagement celebration brunch at The Birchwood Cafe. It might be one of my favorite places ever.



The food was great, but the company?


Even. better.

Did you get engaged this year? Run a marathon?
Not trying to brag, but just saying... best. weekend. ever. 

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