The Journey Continues… {Spoiler: We are engaged!}

In case you don’t follow me on Instagram or Facebook, I wanted to share some good news with you:

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That’s right! On Saturday, RM made me the happiest girl alive when he asked me to marry him!

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What started off as a normal Saturday consisting of teaching and getting my hair done, ended as one of the best days of my entire life! Let’s start from the beginning, though. All week we had made plans to go to KO Pies to celebrate our 2 year first date anniversary. The anniversary is actually this weekend, but RM will be away at a golf tournament so we decided to push it up to this past weekend. RM was actually the one to suggest the lunch time outing, which should’ve been the first hint that he had something other planned than just lunch 😉 Nonetheless, even with him continuously bringing up going to KO Pies on the weekend (which, he normally would have forgotten about after the first time it was mentioned since he doesn’t have a strong memory for plans like that 😉 ), I really never thought anything more than just an afternoon hanging out together. I actually joked as we were leaving the house that I couldn’t believe we were actually “on time” and that I got him away from renovations and other work around the house!

We laughed as we thought about how funny/awesome it is to have gone from a landlord/tenant relationship to a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship… little did I know we’d be changing our title soon enough 😉

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After a beer, we decided to order some food: Arugula salad & the Braised Lamb Shank Australian Meat Pie- as a floater (with mashed potatoes, mushy peas and gravy). Everything tasted so good and it was an all around great afternoon.

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We continued to hang out and have drinks- it was too beautiful not to, but after a while I started to get antsy and suggested we start making our next move. I really wanted 2 things: a cookie and to go to Assembly so we could do some shopping for the apartment. He had his typical “but Monique we are having such a good time here- good weather, conversations and drinks!”, but I had my head set and was ready to go so he helped me finish my drink and offered to get settle the tab. As he walked away, I reminded him about the cookie I wanted…

As he came back to the table, he had a funny smile on his face and was holding the cookie in one hand at his chest, almost like you’d hold open a book you were reading. I thought he was just making a joke and “presenting” the cookie to me… that is, until I looked down and saw the most beautiful, shiny ring on top of it. I think the first thing out of my mouth was “omg is this a joke?!”, because it was just so big and beautiful and I really thought he found a fake ring and wanted to play a joke on me. He continued smiling and laughed a little as he told me it was not a joke. I wish I could explain the type of smile and look on his face because as I think back to that moment, it just seemed like the happiest smile ever.

He then continued to say that he has absolutely loved the transitions we’ve made from landlord/tenant to boyfriend/girlfriend and that he wanted to make that next transition and asked what I thought about that and if I would like to marry him (and some other mushy stuff I’ll spare you with!). I didn’t respond for a little bit- not out of hesitation but because I was in such shock that I couldn’t speak! He asked again and I stupidly said “I do!” and realized that wasn’t the right thing to say and corrected myself by saying “yes, I will!”. And then we hugged and kissed and hugged some more until I finally put the ring ON. Oh, my, goodness. It is seriously the most beautiful ring and the exact one I’ve always dreamed of.

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Even though KO Pies was extremely busy, the way the whole thing was executed was very private which I appreciated. I may love being in front of classes and teaching, but when it comes to engagements I like privacy. RM said he was getting nervous about how he was going to do the proposal since it was so busy and I kept letting people share our table, haha. Luckily, my need for a cookie worked in his favor 🙂

From there, we went into the city to get some bubbly for more celebrations! We went to the rooftop bar at the Envoy hotel. On the way, we made all of the obligatory “we are engaged” phone calls- to my parents and my sister first and then his family. My sister won for the most amazing reaction. We facetimed and she was crying and just SO excited. Omg I loved it!

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I literally couldn’t stop smiling!

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After a drink, we decided to go back to our place and pop a bottle of Veuve that we had had in the fridge for a longgg time.

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We grabbed a late dinner at Stellina which is right in Watertown Square. Everything was amazing!

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I literally couldn’t sleep that night because I was so excited and couldn’t stop replaying the whole previous day in my head. I loved when RM finally woke up because he rolled over and asked how his fiancé was doing, which solidified the whole thing! We spent the morning having pancakes and hanging out before I went to get my nails done- totally necessary!

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The weather was gorgeous so we went for a nice long walk along the water. We talked a little about the wedding and both decided we don’t want a long engagement or anything crazy fancy. We just want a simple wedding with our friends and family because that’s what matters the most (oh, and the bubbly and dancing!).

IMG_2613My sister and her boyfriend stopped by later that afternoon before we went to RM’s mom’s house and they brought us champagne and a balloon and a super nice card. They were the first ones we saw and talked about the engagement in person and it was so fun to reminisce and go through the details with them!

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All in all, it was the most perfect day and proposal and I’m going to marry the perfect guy for me. I really feel so lucky and it has been such a fun couple of days. It’s so cute because RM is just as excited about it as I am- he is always asking to show me the ring and calling me his fiancé. Totally adorable. Thank you to everyone for all of your calls, texts and comments over the past couple of days. We feel so blessed to have the love and support of so many wonderful people in our lives.

 

Weekending in Boothbay Harbor

Hi! Last weekend was one for the books, so I just HAD to share 😉 My friend Meredith was getting married in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, so we figured we might as well make a little weekend out of it. I hadn’t taken time off of work since Italy, so it felt nice to have a 4 day weekend planned. After a long walk and breakfast, RM and I hit the road.

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Since it was such a gorgeous day, we planned to leave early enough to accommodate a stop at Wells Beach for a few hours. The sand was soft, the sun  was shining and the wine was flowing… not a bad start to the weekend!

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(side note- have you seen these CANS of wine? they are the perfect thing to take on the road with you and I have to say, the rose was delicious!)

We packed up and hit the road to make the remainder of the trip around 4pm and unfortunately hit lots of traffic. We finally made it to the Inn around 6 and were ready for a shower and dinner. The Inn we stayed at was Topside Inn and we cannot say enough good things about our stay there. The owners, Mark and “Buzz”, were awesome and have done a really great job with the business that they bought just a year ago. The rooms were gorgeous and very “beach-y” feeling, everything was immaculately clean and detail was paid to just about everything you could think of- including leaving a wine opener with the wine glasses in each room 😉

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(snacks and vino- a man after my own heart!)
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Guest Post: A Healthy Twist On Entertaining

Hi guys! I have a great guest post for you today which combines two things I absolutely love: eating healthy and living a healthy lifestyle AND entertaining. Sherri, over at Fun Fit Flavor seems to have the art of healthy entertaining, so I think you’re in for a real treat. I’m so happy she agreed to help keep B2B active while I’m in Italy because I just love her blog! It’s down to earth and she always shares the most delicious looking recipes… and, I can always relate so much to the things she posts about (going out with friends, entertaining, creating delicious foods, working out and drinking lots of bubbly 😉 )! Enjoy!

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Hi everyone! My name is Sherri and I write the blog, fun fit flavor. When Monique asked me to guest post while she basks in all of the gloriousness of Italy I, of course, said yes! Monique and I met through our friendship with New Balance and quickly realized that we have a lot in common; we both enjoy Prosecco, fitness, healthy food, and going out to eat. We both promote balance which, to me, is the core of wellness. Coinciding with that theme, today I’d like to share with you some tips for healthy entertaining. Entertaining is kind of my jam… I’m a Marketing Director by day and I’m part Italian so I love to feed people. For mother’s day, I set up shop at my mom’s house to create a relaxing, tasty/healthy, fun-filled day for my mom and sister. Here’s how it all went down!

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First and foremost, appetizers! Instead of the typical veggie sticks and dip – I like to make deviled eggs, guacamole, and charcuterie. Now, I know meats & cheeses might not sound like the healthiest option, but, adding in options like olives, cornichons, prosciutto, and nuts really makes a nice assortment full of healthy fats and protein.

Here is my best Deviled Egg Recipe (they are a huuuuge hit with family & friends).

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San Francisco Recap: Part 2 {Wine Country!}

In case you missed my part 1 recap of my recent girls trip to San Francisco, you can read it here.

I went to bed on Friday night dreaming of our Saturday in wine country. The last time (and only time) I went to wine country I was all hopped up on Vicodin due to a broken elbow just a day before my trip. Let me just put this on record: wine and Vicodin together are not a good idea… just trust me on that!

We woke up early on Saturday since our driver was due to pick us up at 9am. Since the girls had blow out appointments, I headed out on a short 2.5 mile run. The humidity seemed terrible (probably because I’m so used to the super dry weather here in Boston) and the hills were not my friend. But, I did feel so much better after I did it!

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Shortly after 9, we were all settled in with bagels and bubbly and en route to Sonoma. How cute/amazing are these little mini cans of bubbly?! I’m obsessed- thank you for introducing me to them, Kel!!

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The car ride there was so fun- we played trivia with the driver, sang to T.Swift and got to know each other better. Three of Kelly’s friends joined us (Heather, Kim and another Amanda) and they were a super fun addition to the group! Our first stop was Scribe Winery since Kelly is a member and could get free tastings for everyone. Although the morning fog was still present, by the time we left, it was beautiful, warm and sunny. And, let’s face it- the wine still would’ve tasted just as good had the fog not worn off 😉

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I don’t know about you, but starting my day with a wine tasting at 10:30am was pretty fun. The wines here were my favorite and I ended up buying the Rose. I also loved that they put out snacks for us 🙂

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Solid first stop!

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Once we finished, we went to the Sonoma Cheese Factory to pick up sandwich lunches for our next stop at Nicholson Ranch. They let us set up shop at an awesome table in the sun with some pretty gorgeous views.

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We did a 6 flight wine tasting and the wines were really good! Nothing that I wanted to buy and send back, but still very tasty.

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I mean, do you think we could’ve asked for nicer weather? I don’t. Nope, it was pretty perfect.

Kelly’s friend, Kim, is a member at Rutherford Hill Winery, so we headed to Napa for our final tasting (she gets 4 free tastings as part of her membership!). I didn’t take any pictures while we were there, but it was so fun! We ended up getting a couple of bottles of the Pinot Grigio and hanging out at the picnic tables with some mutual friends who live in San Francisco, too (they ended up being in Napa for golf, so we texted the crap out of them to come meet up with us!).

On the way back to San Francisco, we made an obligatory stop at The Fremont Diner to share some of their famous Salted Caramel Milkshakes.

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And yes, they tasted just as good as they sound… if not better!

The rest of the ride can be summed up by this picture… the end of wine country day… enough said:

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Once we got back to the city, we changed quickly and headed back to Fillmore Street to have some much needed dinner (we drank A LOT of wine throughout the day!) at Palmers. Apparently they are known for their burgers, but I opted for meatballs (surprise, surprise) and Brussels Sprouts.

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Our last stop for the night was at Mauna Loa, but none of us lasted long at this point.

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To be honest, I’m not sure how we lasted until 11pm after the day we had!

What an amazingly fun day- thank you so much for organizing, Kelly! And, for sharing your friends, who are now our friends (because they’re super awesome!) 🙂

Questions for you: Have you ever been to wine country? What’s your favorite type of wine? Do you like milkshakes?

Nerd Alert: I love book club! <3

My girlfriends and I have always talked about starting a book club, but for one reason or another, nothing ever manifested from those discussions. That is…. until about 6 months ago.  After too many glasses of wine, we picked our first book and decided to officially start our book club. To be honest, I wasn’t sure how it was going to go; I imagined us reading one book then switching to just a wine club- sounds about right for most book clubs, right? However, I’m pleased to say that we have actually made it quite a serious little book club:  we all bring book suggestions with descriptions for the next book, we vote on the next book, pick the next time/date/location for the book club meeting and then we discuss the book we’ve read with actual discussion questions. Granted we always do have a lot of wine and food, but still… Total nerd status, right?!

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