Engaged!!!!!

It's been a while since my last update - things have been quite hectic lately!

The most important update is - I'm engaged!!

J proposed last weekend at the Cliffs of Moher in county Clare.

Cliffs of Moher

He told me we were driving from Dublin to visit his family for the night, only for us to end up at the cliffs!

J had packed a picnic of strawberries, raspberries and cream:

After we had finished eating, I suggested we head off but J wanted to wait 'a few more minutes to enjoy the view' - what he was actually waiting for was for the crowds to go away! When there was a break in the tourists walking past us, J handed me a scroll to read while he got on one knee and proposed with my dream ring! I said 'yes' (of course) and there were a few tears - all happy ones!

The Ring

J and I had been looking at rings for a while, and earlier this year we found the most beautiful ring at Delphi Antiques in Dublin. Delphi also had the ring up on their website, so every few days I would jump on the website to see if it was still there. J was very busy with exams and work around this time, so I thought he would wait till things calmed down a little before buying the ring. 

As soon as I noticed the ring disappear off the jewellers website I called J over in a panic - he swore he didn't buy the ring, and that he would call the jewellers to see if it was really gone. The next day J said that he had spoken to the jewellers, and that someone had definitely put a deposit down on the ring and it was off the market.

That was three months ago, and during that time J had been suggesting we go ring shopping again and making other comments to put me off the trail. I honestly thought that the dream ring was gone and that when we had time again we would find something else. 

Because I knew J wanted to propose with a ring we had chosen together, I didn't suspect that he was going to propose that day at the cliffs - in fact, while we were sitting on the cliffs I was thinking "This would be the perfect time and place for a proposal - too bad he doesn't have a ring yet!"

It turned out J had bought the ring the week after we had viewed it. He had kept it at the jewellers for 3 months, and hid it around the house for the last week before the proposal. Very sneaky! I didn't have a clue!

Engagement Weekend

To top off the weekend, J booked a room at the Raddison in Galway. Because Galway was packed that weekend due to the Arts Festival, when we checked into the hotel, they put us in the penthouse suite!! (this was without knowing we had just gotten engaged!)

That afternoon we called J's family and told them the news, and waited for everyone to wake up in Sydney before calling to tell my family. My parents weren't surprised at all as J had called the day before to ask for my dad's blessing. 

And, the weather for the weekend was gorgeous - sunny and warm. All in all, the perfect weekend!