I always thought true love only existed in fairy tales. Trust me, I know exactly how cliche that sounds, but it's true. I always knew I had an old soul, and found it extremely difficult to find others that thought the same way I did. I always thought this was going to be a significant part of myself that I would have to sacrifice when falling in love, and sadly, I was fully prepared for that. However, Nic changed all of that...

I knew Nic was the one since the first day I met him. Since our very fist conversation, I just knew he was the puzzle piece I had been missing my whole life. My mom always said "Taryn, one day someone will walk into your life, and you'll just know." I always thought her saying that was to just deliver me a source of comfort, little did I know, mom was so right! That's exactly what he did. Nic unexpectedly walked right into my life, and from the day our eyes met, I truly knew he was the one. In fact, I was so sure of this magnetic energy between us, that after our very first date, I called my mom to tell her, I had found the man I had been looking for my whole life, and I'm going to marry this man." Sounds crazy, but it's true! I just knew. Everything with Nic was so effortless, from our conversations, to the way he gave me butterflies (and still does) every time I see him, right down to feeling that I had known this soul my entire life, when in reality we had just me 

Three and a half years, numerous travels, hundreds of memories, and thousands of laughs later... and were officially ENGAGED!!!!! Someone pinch me! Truth is, I always knew we would one day get engaged and be married, but I never knew when or how Nic would chose to do it. It was perfect....

The Proposal

Nic booked and planned a month long vacation traveling through Europe, mainly through the France and Italy. We traveled much of the French and Italian Riviera stopping and staying in multiple cities along the way. In all my travels, I had honestly never seen more beautiful places than along the riviera. Views and memories I could possibly never forget. From Oslo we flew to Cannes, from there we traveled to Nice, Ville-France, Eze, Monoco, from Monoco to Italy. When We got to Italy, we traveled to San Remo, Cinque Terre, to Velona, Tuscany, to the cozy city of Capodimonte, to Sorrento, to the gorgeous paradise of Capri, from Capri to the Amalfi coast, from Almalfi coast to Polignano a Mare, to Rome, and finally ending our trip back in Oslo before heading home to Miami (I'll later blog about these travels in a seperate post). I knew this vacation was going to be beautiful, but I could have never prepared for how truly picturesque it all really was. In hindsight, now seeing how perfectly this paved the way for an unforgettable and romantic proposal. Getting to experience some of the best places I had ever been, spa days, and indulging in some of the most lavish dinners and lunches I could ever have imagined. Nic is great with planning, especially when traveling, but even for him, I was in complete amazement.

With our trip almost coming to an end, we had the most gorgeous three day stay booked at the famous Hotel Caesar Augustus. Everything about this place was an absolute dream! Nic had booked us the master suite along with a private candlelit terrace dinner for our first night stay over looking the Mediterranean. After seven courses and a great italian bottle of red wine, Nic suggested us taking a photo together while overlooking the stunning terrace views. I didn't think much of this since when traveling, we often carry around the camera just in case something catches our eye. Naturally, I smiled and said "definitely, it's too beautiful not to." As I'm waiting for Nic to set up the camera and position me just right as I stand waiting for him to join me from behind to capture this beautiful terrace view and moment, I feel a gentle tap from behind. That's when I turn around and see Nic on one knee. I couldn't believe my eyes. Truly, I was in shock and at first, couldn't even begin to processes this moment until I looked down and saw the ring and the excitement in Nic's eyes. I then realized how real this all really was, and that I actually wasn't in a dream. Tears of happiness immediately started to fall as we both stood there shaking trying to take it all in. It really was my biggest dream come true, and something I could have never prepared myself for. It was perfect, and I couldn't be more proud of the man I got to share this moment with. 

The engagement never really hit me until we started receiving so many 
loving messages from all of our friends and family. We were so grateful 
for everyone's well wishes and touching messages to help us embrace this
new and exciting chapter in our lives. We are truly touched!

I have to admit that being engaged does feel different. It brings a sense of a more concrete and solid foundation, something on which we look forward to building our future on, helped me to discover "Fiancé" is a word I never knew I could love so much, and lets not forget the feeling of being a giddy school girl again. Wow! Never did I think that being newly engaged would turn me back to into what feels like a little ggirl excited to share the news with the world! Yes, I've shamelessly become THAT GIRL! Haha..

The day after the proposal, Nic and I celebrated with a romantic boat day out on the Mediterranean and exploring the Blue grotto. This trip and Capri will forever hold a very big piece of my heart and forever signify the beginning of one of the most important chapters in my life. 

So here's to the engaged life and loving every second….