February 2020 – LongLegsBigCity

This may be the most exciting blog I’ve written. I know you guys loved to read about my student loans and fitness classes, but what you were REALLY waiting for was a proposal from the mystery-man-behind-the-emoji. And it happened! I was completely surprised and I had no idea I would be publishing this blog this week. I thought I was going to write about HelloFresh. No offense to HelloFresh but this far exceeds anything that post would have been.

Of course the first question everyone asks about the proposal is, “How did he ask??” Actually, the FIRST question everyone asks is, “When are you getting married??” But when I tell them I have no idea, the next question is “how did he do it?” Since the proposal was a surprise, I decided to write this blog in first person, mostly in the order in which I found out the details, not in chronological order. There was a lot of pre-work and scheming that went into the proposal, ring choosing, etc, but I didn’t know about any of it until after. Let me start on Friday night, Valentine’s Day.

As is the case with pretty much every night we try and go out, I was running late. I had taken a comp day from work because I had been working long hours all week. Even though I woke up at 6 am to go to the gym, I was relaxing and running errands all day. Gym, laundry, grocery store, etc. My emoji-boyfriend (… um… emoji-FIANCE… um… should I call him Chris now?) was also working from home Friday, so as I was folding the laundry as he was in the shower getting ready for our date, which was a surprise.

I had showered earlier and asked him for a brief outline of the date, so I knew what to wear. He said, “dinner and a show, but not crazy fancy dinner, I know you hate that” (true), so I pulled out a semi-casual dress. When he got out of the shower the apartment was completely steamy, and if you’re a girl with any sort of wavy hair, you know that means – absolutely no style will hold in your hair. Of course this caused me to be even later. I quickly straightened my hair and put a 1-minute French half braid in my hair. This may seem like an inconsequential detail. But it just proves how much of a surprise this proposal was. I would NEVER have had my hair straight and/or with a haphazard braid if I had known. HELLOOO I have 4 different curling wands/irons AND A BRAIDING BUSINESS. I would have PREPARED. Alas.

We left the house 15 minutes later than intended and headed to one of our favorite wine bars in our neighborhood called Vanguard. Luck was with us, because there were actually two seats left at the bar next to each other, which I was surprised about on Valentine’s Day. We each had a glass of wine and paid as soon as the bartender poured because we were in a hurry for our dinner reservations. I couldn’t tell you a single thing we talked about, probably a show we are watching on Netflix. After our wine, we put our coats back on and the only clue I had was that we were taking the 2-3 train southbound.

Around 14^th street, Chris asked if I knew where we were going. I said, “no clue, somewhere downtown?” When we got off the train at Chambers Street, I still had no idea, but I remember making a comment about being jealous of girls going out in groups for Galentine’s Day. LOL I mean, don’t get me wrong, obviously I LOVE my FIANCE but also I love my girls. If i had known there was a diamond on the horizon I probably would not have made that comment.

We were walking for what seemed like an hour in 18-degree weather (it was about 5 minutes), when Chris asked again if I knew where we were going. Again, I said no, but then I realized that we were in front of Bubby’s in Tribeca, the restaurant where we had our first date. For a SHORT second, I thought maybe he would propose, but then I realized it’s just a restaurant we both like, and that he could probably get a reservation there on Valentine’s Day. Also, the Tribeca location where we met was closed for renovations for a few months, so I figured he just thought I’d be happy it was open again.

Before the date even began he brought me home flowers while I folded laundry!

The hostess seated us, and the server announced a prix fixe option including unlimited champagne for 90 minutes. Since we both don’t love champagne and we also wanted to order off the menu, we said no to prix fixe, and ordered our own drinks. I had a Bourbon Sweet Tea. Yes, this is an important detail too, so you understand how much we are about to drink. It was mango infused bourbon, sweet tea, & lemon. Of course we ordered biscuits to start. If you ever go to Bubby’s, GET THE BISCUITS. In hindsight, I was certainly glad I had some carbs in my stomach because by the time the meal came, I was too excited to eat.

Some of our conversation at dinner was about our first date, what we talked about then, etc. Chris later told me he was trying to set up the proposal, but as usual, I was completely oblivious. He also later told me that he took the day off of work because he knew he was going to propose, and I ruined his alone time by taking a comp day – also completely oblivious to that. ANYWAY.

When our main courses arrived, I started cutting up the avocado in my cobb salad when Chris said, “before we have our food, I have a question to ask you.” FULL STOP. That was when I knew. If you know me, you don’t come between me and my food unless it’s for something amazing.

Then Chris started in on his semi-planned proposal (maybe he planned to practice in the mirror all day, but I ruined those plans by hanging out on the couch).

He said that since this was the place where we got our start, he wanted it to be the place where we had our next start. Then he said a lot of amazing things about me and how much I mean to him. I pretty much blacked out when I realized he was going to propose. But I later asked him what he had said, and my memory was almost spot on. Then he asked me to marry him and took a FABULOUS ring out of his coat pocket. AND I SAID YES!! I was so excited I couldn’t even cry. I did say, “Should I be crying? I feel like I should be crying.”

Now before I go on with the story of the night, I want to take a quick break to address this ring. Y’all… this thing is GORGEOUS. I mean. Showstopper. He did SO WELL. This is not the first time my adorable fiance has bought me jewelry, and let’s just say, it’s been hit or miss. We have made exchanges on more than one occasion. But this?? 100% perfect. How did he do it??? Well duh, he had some help from my friends. I couldn’t leave something this important up to chance. I mean, ladies and gents, we had been dating for 4.5 years. Yes, I was COMPLETELY surprised that he proposed on that night, but did I think it was coming?? I sure hoped so! I had sent a photo of the type of ring I wanted to anyone I thought he might ask. My mom had it. My best friend had it. My sister had it. His sister had it. Sure enough, I found out later that he asked my BFF and she did me proud and showed him the photo. And he got it exactly right, if not better because it is SO SPARKLY. I didn’t post a photo on Facebook because that’s tacky but if you want to see it, I’ll gladly show you. Either in person or photographic evidence. Ok, now back to the story.

So remember we already had a glass of wine at the wine bar and a whiskey drink at dinner because we hadn’t picked the prix fixe option? My now-fiance had called the restaurant ahead of time to tip them off, so the server was waiting for the right moment to bring over a bottle of champagne, on the house. I don’t love champagne but I do love free stuff! Needless to say, I could barely eat because I was so excited. So instead I just guzzled champagne while staring at my ring every time I brought the glass to my face. The next day’s hangover was worth it.

We finished the entire bottle of champagne and got ready for the next stop of the night. But first, I went to the bathroom and texted a photo of the ring to my best friend. The text read something like, “This is completely unexpected so my nails look like sh*t and don’t show this photo to anyone but OMFG!!!” Of course she started texting me back with a million questions but we were already en route to our next destination, West Side Comedy Club.

We love going to comedy shows together, and especially when they are right in our neighborhood! This show was a special 9 pm Valentine’s Day show about relationships. There were single comics, queer comics, comedians who were enagaged, comedians who were married and performing together, comedians who were married and performed separately… it was a lot and it was hysterical. I love shows with multiple acts because if one person is terrible or not your style, you only have to put up with them for 10 minutes. But overall, they were hilarious. The tables had chocolate Hershey kisses and hearts on them, and best of all, despite the club having a 2-drink minimum, our server forgot to come back to us so we only had to have one drink each, which was ideal after the chugging of the bottle of champagne at dinner.

Insta-story continues (no one knew I had a ring on my rfinger!)

When the show was over, we hustled home in the cold and passed out. Too much to drink. I woke up early the next morning because I had to teach a spin class. One of the girls I see often at the gym saw me helping someone adjust their bike and said, “Did you get engaged or have I never noticed that ring?” and I said, “I got engaged,” and she said, “Congratulations! When?” and the whole room went silent just as I said , “Last night.” I went from telling two people, to telling 25. Woops.

After spin class, I took a quick shower and rushed off to get my nails done so I could take a proper photo of my new pet rock, as I have taken to calling it. I used the ring light (no pun intended) that I have to take hair photos to show off the SHINE properly. Once my nails were 100, we went out to brunch and then Chris told me he booked a hotel room for us! We packed overnight bags and headed to the Conrad Downtown.

We had a water view room where we could watch the ferries go to and from New Jersey. I was in the room for approximately 60 seconds before I put on the softest most luxurious robe ever and sat down in bed. Chris promptly took a nap and I read my book. Being engaged is EXHAUSTING! After a little energy boost, we finally started the mandatory phone calls and texts to tell people before the news broke the internet. It’s not like I’m Kim Kardashian, but y’all know people have been waiting for this for literally years. Legit, every time I go on a trip with Chris, my DM’s are filled with messages that just say “💍?”

The second we got there I put on the robe

We called his siblings, and I texted my friends, I called my siblings, and after a few hours of that, we went to dinner at El Vez. I usually don’t drink at dinner, but it was a celebration! I had two margaritas. Ok, I had three.

I told Chris how much anxiety I was having about posting on social media. The pressure is intense! I have been seeing engagements on my feed for at least a decade. I have seen everything from cliche to disgusting. I didn’t want to be either of those things. I definitely was not going to post “I said yes!” I thought about just posting a photo of us from the restaurant. But people have been seeing photos of us at restaurants for YEARS. I didn’t think people would believe me without seeing the ring! But I don’t believe in just posting a photo of the ring. So garish. So materialistic. Also, it’s not about the ring (but goddamn that thing is so pretty). I said to Chris, “Quick, get me with this taco so I can show people the ring.” Chris is great at taking photos of my hair. But of me eating? Not so much. There were ten outtakes. We finally got a good, “Does this taco make me look engaged” photo, which is very on-brand, and cliche but not too cliche, and I decided to post the taco and the happy couple pic. But I still wasn’t ready.

When I was asking him who else I needed to tell, it came out that he went all the way to Philadelphia to ask my parents for their blessing! I had no idea. He had told me he was out to dinner with a friend in New York, which I blindly trusted. I guess that’s a good thing? Anyway, my parents already knew when he was set to propose. My mom took a photo when they were together in Phily and wanted to post it on Facebook, which my dad and Chris promptly told her would ruin the entire purpose of the surprise. And since my mom can’t keep a secret and knew she couldn’t post about it, she told my sister. Then she felt bad so she told my brother, as well. And my sister didn’t want to hold it in, so she told my best friend. BASICALLY, everyone knew except me. This made breaking the news much easier.

We went back to the hotel Saturday night, slept a longggg time, and when Sunday rolled around, I was finally ready. Around 3 pm, I said to Chris, “Are you ready to break the internet??? Let it rip!” And I posted on two Instagram accounts and on Facebook. As of this writing, we are at 392 likes on Facebook. I still need a good photo for my Braidstagram with ring on display, I’m waiting for the perfect moment.

It’s been a little longer than a week since he proposed, and I’ve slowly been asking him details about how he planned it. Turns out, it’s been a long time coming. He bought ring-sizing instruments from online and sized one of my rings when I was at work. I fully sabotaged this plan by telling my best friend the wrong size, which he trusted. The ring is currently back at Blue Nile, being resized… I miss it so much.

I promised you guys a grand reveal of his face once we were engaged, so here it is: the very happy couple a few minutes after his proposal. Was his cute face worth the wait? I SAY YES!

Last week I went to a spa for the first time and it was magical. Really, like stepping into a dream. Specifically, I went to SoJo Spa, and I am definitely going to be making a trip (or 10) back. Here are a few reasons why:

First of all, it was almost free. Ok, it wasn’t free, but I had paid for it last year as a Christmas present for my bf and we never used it. So pretty much I had forgotten how much I had paid for it and it was free. In reality, it’s $75 on the weekend on $55 during the week, which is actually a bargain since you can stay there for like 14 hours.

Second of all, the transportation was free. This is actually true. They have a free shuttle that picks you up from midtown Manhattan! This is a huge perk because the spa itself is in New Jersey (I know, ew), and it’s not easy to get to NJ without a car. Plus, tolls! I was happy to book us seats in the shuttle 2 weeks in advance online, and not have to worry about getting there and back. The only drawback was picking the time in advance. I didn’t know if I’d want to spend the whole day there. In hindsight, duh, I should have taken the last shuttle back, but at the time I wasn’t sure. We picked the 11 am shuttle there, and the 6 pm back; it left exactly on time and the ride only took 20 minutes.

Third of all, they have Asian-inspired food in their dining hall, which is some of my fav cuisine. It’s Asian-fusion, with sushi, bulgogi, salmon rice bowls, udon, etc. When we had lunch, it came with a surprise bowl of miso soup. Yum.

I realize I haven’t actually talked about the spa yet. Let’s get to the good stuff.

When we were dropped off at the spa from the shuttle, there was a huge line to get in. This was a little annoying because it was cold. But the line actually had HUGE heaters, so eventually the top of my head was burning hot. Not ideal. But it moved pretty quickly, and we were inside within 15 minutes. Then we paid/scanned our gift certificate, had our bags checked (I had to chug the remnants of my iced coffee), and proceeded to the “shoe lockers.” The whole facility is a shoe-less facility, so you put your shoes there for the day, and the “key” to the locker is a wristband you wear all day. You can pay for food with it, massages, and also open your main locker with it upstairs.

We went up to the 4^th floor where the locker rooms are and got changed. They give you a towel and a robe to wear all day over your swimsuit. A majority of the facility is coed, so swimwear it required. I am pretty used to stripping in front of other women in gym locker rooms, so this was normal for me to change into a swimsuit. For the shy people, there were changing rooms but there was a line for them.

I locked up all of my valuables, took my book, and explored the locker room a bit. There were about 100 showers with nice toiletries (which I never used), and also women-only hot tubs and saunas. There was an interior exit and an external exit to many many hot tubs, each with different purposes. I had told Chris I would meet him at the foot massage path, a shallow pool with flat and rounded stones on the bottom. This is meant to “provide walkers a natural foot reflexology massage while improving balance and heightening body awareness.” What it really did was KILL my feet. There was a sign that said, “advanced to the left, beginners to the right.” Unfortunately, I started on the wrong end, so left was right and right was left, and I had no idea what I was doing besides that fact that I was crying in pain and holding on to the railing for dear life. Oh, also, I couldn’t find my bf and my phone was in my locker. I slowllllyyy got to the other end of the foot path, went back to my locker, and told him to meet me at a more central location.

Once I was with my emoji-bf who is much smarter than me, he helped me realize that we were walking on the wrong side of the foot path, and things got much easier from there. We took off our robes in one of the many heated tents, and quickly shuffled into the first hot tub, or “silk bath,” which “utilizes state-of-the-art Japanese white ionization technology that infuses hot spring micro-bubbles directly to the water to nourish body tissue and improve skin elasticity.” Do I believe any of that? Maybe. But it was a nice hot tub either way. We then made our way to the hydrotherapy pool, which was one of my favorite spots of the day. It’s a pool with various little cubbies you can stand and sit in, which have jets aimed at different parts of your body. Shoulders, calves, hamstrings, lower back. It was glorious. After trying out a few different cubbies, we headed to the Dining hall for some Asian fusion.

After lunch, feeling refreshed but a little tired, we decided to do some exploring, then check out some of the saunas. We stopped by the gym ($5 extra fee, but like, who wants to work out??), we saw the infinity pool which was packed with people taking selfies, we saw the yoga studio, and checked out their “coworking space,” which was really just a corner with a long desk and 6 office chairs. After walking a few hundred steps, it was time to relax again and find the saunas. It was packed! Granted, it was a three-day weekend, but it was a little annoying to go into the first sauna and find it packed like sardines. Luckily, there were many options. We eventually found room to lay out on the ground in the charcoal sauna, and spent about 15-20 minutes baking in there.

After that, we headed to the relaxation lounge, and I finally got a chance to dive into my book. I even took a little nap. After my nap, I was reinvigorated and ready to sweat some more, so I did some sauna hopping. I went to the red clay sauna, the Himalayan Salt sauna, and the white clay sauna, I mixed in some times in the ice room to cool down, and even spent 15 minutes reading on the hot stone beds.

I met up with my bf, who was still relaxing back in the relaxation lounge, and we watched the sun go down over Manhattan and realized we only had an hour left before changing to go back to NYC. We made a plan to hit up some of the things we hadn’t seen yet, and started with the Ganbanyoku Room. This is “bedrock bathing,” which is basically Japanese hot stone therapy. According to SoJo’s website, you lay down on a “heated black mineral slab which emits far-infrared rays and negative ions to speed up the release of toxins from the body through perspiration. Pressure points around the body that are in contact with the stones are stimulated to alleviate joint, muscular and nerve pain. Other benefits include healthier skin tone, blood circulation and improved immune system.” Again, not sure I believe any of that. But what I can say for sure is it was HOT. I mean like 110 degrees. You must put towels down under every part of your skin that is showing including your toes. I lasted approximately 8 minutes in that room. We then headed back to the pools for a final dip. First to the carbon-rich bath, and then to the Hinoki, or white cedar bath.

Unfortunately, our time was up (if we didn’t want to miss our free shuttle back to NYC), so we went back to the locker room, changed, checked out by scanning our wristbands and paying for any extras, and headed back downstairs to our shoe lockers.

Overall, it was a fantastic experience. It was crowded, but on the Sunday of a 3-day weekend, it was no more crowded than I expected. I still was able to experience everything I wanted – 4 saunas, 5 hot tubs, I finished half of a book, spent time with my bf, AND I got to take a nap in the middle of the day. I can’t imagine going in the summer, because my favorite part of the hot tubs and saunas was the cold outside air in between. However, there are cold pools and waterfalls, and chaise lounges for tanning in the summer. Those were all closed in January. I may need to check it out in June and write a compare/contrast blog by season. Anyone want to go with me?

The Proposal (And Emoji-FIANCÉ’S Grand Reveal)

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SoJo Spa

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