The Engagement Story!

Originally I wasn’t going to make a fuss about this. I was just going to stick it on the end of my November Round Up post, a lovely little paragraph to close the month. But the fact is, it has been a pretty awesome month all round, and it became quite apparent as I started writing that I had an awful lot to talk about already! And let’s face it, this is pretty much the most exciting thing to ever happen to me, so why on earth wouldn’t I dedicate an entire post all about it, really? There are very few occasions in life these days where you get to gush and shout from the rooftops about how happy you are, so why not make the most of it, right? So, without further ado….

It all started with a very odd phone call from Dan around 2 weeks ago. I had been working from home and was eagerly awaiting his arrival, when he called to say he was running late. This narked me a teeny bit, because I had prepared a lovely dinner (which was actually in the slow cooker, so it really didn’t matter!) and had even built a fire to warm him up (that might not sound like much, but building the fire is really Dan’s domain – I am not good at it at all, so this was a bit of an achievement for me!) To be frank I just wanted to see him and have him home. Little did I know what he was up to….

He said the reason was because my Dad had text him to tell him their washing machine had broken, and would he mind doing some washing for them? This confused me for a moment, because at first I thought he meant his own Dad – who only lives about half an hour away so I couldn’t work out why that would mean he still wouldn’t be back for an hour. Then when I realised he meant mine I was even more confused, because I wasn’t even sure I knew my Dad had Dan’s number! But sure enough, I got a text a short while later from my Dad apologising for holding him up, and Dan soon arrived home with a basket full of washing, so I thought nothing more of it. Of course, I’m sure you can work out, he had actually gone round to inform my parents he was planning on proposing, and the fact that their washing machine really had just died on them provided the perfect cover story!

It all then happened the following Saturday. Months ago, Dan had booked us tickets for a 5 course meal on a vintage steam train fairly local to us as a treat, under the guise of us trying to ‘do more interesting stuff’. It didn’t take much to sell me on the idea – there would be food, alcohol, and I’d get to dress up nice, so it was a done deal! But I’d almost forgotten about it by the time it rolled around. The day itself had been a good one. We’d had a leisurely lie in, Dan had managed to get a fair few tasks done on the house and we’d had a really successful round of driving practice in Nellie, so I was in a very good mood as I started to beautify myself ready for the evening. As I sat curling my hair, Dan wandered in with a G&T which struck me as a very sweet thing to do as I hadn’t asked for one, and later he told me he’d picked my Larios gin specially as it reminded him of the lovely holiday we took to Tenerife last year. Before we left I posted this pic on Instagram:

…which I find absolutely hilarious now as he must have been sweating something chronic at the thought of us missing the train!

When we arrived at the station we found the most adorably decorated platform, complete with luggage trolleys laden with vintage cases, old 1950s tourism photos and a huge retro Christmas tree with rainbow coloured lights. The train had already arrived and was puffing huge clouds of steam into the night air which gave everything a magical feel. I told Dan I felt like I was in an old war movie as we strolled towards our boarding point – can you imagine a setting more perfect than that for me?? Not long after boarding and finding our sweet little table, decorated with Christmas crackers and set for dinner, we set off, and I’m not ashamed to say I couldn’t hide my joy every time the train whistle blew! After enjoying some delicious charcuterie and some carrot and cumin soup, along with a bottle of wine that was specially railway themed, the driver appeared with some bad news – the train had broken down, and we were going to have to head back to Loughborough so they could finish cooking out dinner! Again, I can only imagine the panic that must have been going through Dan’s mind at this point!

Luckily though, this little mishap set up the event just beautifully! Once we’d pulled into the station, Dan suggested we stretch our legs. I didn’t really want to as it was a pretty chilly night and I was lovely and cosy on the train – my God he must have been getting annoyed with me at this point – but he managed to convince me by pointing out that the toilets on the platform would probably be far nicer than on the train. I had to get some photos while in there because they were so cute, and now I am always going to remember that in the last few moments before getting engaged I was pratting about in a lavatory – my gosh I am cool!! As we headed back out onto the platform, it was deserted, and all rather romantic with the brightly coloured lights twinkling through the steam and the gentle buzz of people enjoying themselves in the distance. I assumed this romantic atmosphere was what made Dan pull me in for a kiss and a cuddle and to tell me he loved me, but then before I could work out what was happening he had dropped to one knee! At this point I honestly thought he might have been playing a mean trick on me – he has a bit of a sick sense of humour! But then I realised he was brandishing a ring box, and when he opened it to reveal the art deco diamond and sapphire ring I had always dreamed of, I lost the plot. Basically I just cried for the next 20 minutes until Dan finally decided to take that as a yes!

Once I’d eventually managed to recover my senses we got back on the train for a delicious turkey dinner, cheesecake and cheese, all washed down of course with a bottle of champagne to toast with, before heading home to tell the dog our exciting news! And pretty much since then I’ve been floating on cloud nine! I just can’t stop looking at my ring, which is just stunning, and we’ve had so many lovely cards and gifts and messages – I can’t really describe the love I feel right now, not just for Dan, but for all the wonderful people I am lucky enough to have in my life, and now I just can’t wait to celebrate what promises to be the most amazing Christmas yet. I just can’t stop smiling, and it’s the loveliest feeling. Those of you who have been reading with me for a while will probably understand why this all means so much to me. For those who don’t I’m sure I’ll be writing about that in more depth soon, but for now I just want to grab hold of time and pause it so I can live in this bubble forever!

Not really forever though, because there are plans to be made and celebrations to be had!

Also, Dan told me the next day that when I showed him what I was wearing for the evening he was really chuffed because he knew it would match the ring – IS HE A KEEPER OR WHAT???

Love,