pretty pretty princess.

have you ever heard of the game pretty pretty princess? it was my favorite game as a little girl.  there's a spinner and a game board with a jewelry box in the middle. you spin the spinner and move your piece around the game board, each spot on the board displaying a piece of jewelry that is in the jewelry box. there's a crown, a necklace, two earrings, a bracelet, and a ring. the piece you land on is the piece you put on. whoever gets all the jewelry on first wins. this is humorous because my big, intimidating father played this with me when i was little. he'd put on the jewelry and everything, but in the end i was always the princess. on one of brian and i's first dates, we were talking about our childhoods and i told him this. 

several months later, january 30, 2010, exactly one year ago today, brian proposed to me with the game of pretty pretty princess. he has always called me his princess and i have this little girl thing about me that loves all things princess. he later told me that as soon as i told him about pretty pretty princess being my favorite childhood game, he immediately knew that this was how he would ask me to marry him. 

so i thought i would share the story...but ill give the short version:

brian visiting me at UK for his and his mom's birthdays. this is just a few hours before he proposed and i have no idea. p.s. wasn't my kitchen totally adorable?

i received pretty pretty princess as an early birthday present from his mom, since my birthday is just a week later. brian and i go back to my apartment and play, "just for fun," or so i think. we play and brian ends up winning, which completely was not supposed to happen. he takes the crown off of his head and puts it on mine, telling me i've always been his princess and how much he loves me. he talks to me for awhile about this. then he starts rummaging through the jewelry box and says, "but wait...you're missing the most important piece!" i immediately know just what is going on and my heart stops. he pulls out the ring and asks me to marry him :)

then he says he has another surprise for me and drives me to my favorite cafe, where some of my closest friends and family were waiting to celebrate with coffee and desert. 

and so i tell them all the story, which they already knew, and show off my blang. 

and then i have to explain to my roommate that i will have to move out of our apartment in a few months and move in with a boy. she doesn't take this so well.

 we pose for some pictures.

and he loves on me a little.

my mom had gotten my girlfriends some dress-up rings :)

and so us girls all admire our rings...but one of these rings is not like the others! 

and i hug my friends because i love them and they love me and we are happy. i am hugging my friend anna here...visit her blog and see how she helps women who have been victims of sexual exploitation in central america. 

and so four months later we became man and wife...and oh how i love being his wife :)