August had to have been one of the busier months I have ever been through– We traveled a lot (Portland, NYC, Connecticut, and Northern California), I twisted my ankle, friends visited, friends got married, other friends had babies, these babies turned one year old (!!!), we signed a lease to a bigger place and moved out of our little cabin we loved so dearly, and somewhere in the middle of all this, we got engaged.

And the way he proposed was so incredibly romantic and creative, I decided to share the proposal with you for this month’s 10 on 10.

One of our many adventures last month was a planned trip to Northern California to stay in the Redwoods. My boss had decided a few months prior to shut down the office the last week of August, so Anthony and I decided to take advantage and go on a road trip. We rented a cabin which was secluded on a mountaintop overlooking the rolling hills towards the ocean.

We climbed a long winding staircase up this hillside to this cabin, which for someone as out of shape as I am, is no easy feat. We got to the top, put our things down, and toyed with the idea of leaving. “You can drive all over Northern California looking for the most beautiful spot,” the owner of the property, told us, “but my father always said that the most beautiful spot in the world is right here.”

We decided to forgo sightseeing until tomorrow, so I drew a bath in the hot tub outside. I poured some wine, turned on music, and put out some cheese and crackers. The sun was setting, and I got in. It was time to vacation.

Anthony “had to go grab some clothes to change into” and went inside. He came out holding some clothes wrapped around what was obviously a box. He got in, and told me he loved me. Then he presented me with the box he so poorly hid. Inside was this stunning piece of jewelry, designed and hand-made by our incredibly talented friend Leah. It was a locket in the shape of a beetle, and when I lifted the wings, my dog was etched in bronze inside. I cried. Sobbed. Never in my life has anyone put so much time, thought, and effort into a gift. “Will you marry me?” he asked. “Duh, idiot. Yes.” I replied through my tears.

So that’s how he proposed: in a hot tub, as the sun was setting behind the hills, like a scene from a romance novel or an SNL skit. We weren’t able to have phone service to call anyone until the next day, when my mother screamed into my ear. We read, drove around, he proposed two more times in the trunk of a redwood (that can be the version I tell Grandma). We watched Hot Tub Time Machine 2 about six times because it was the only movie we downloaded on the iPad.

I’ll go into the entire process and story of The Beetle in a post very soon, but in the meantime, here are a few photos from our trip.

(And if you are wondering, I don’t have an engagement ring yet– he’s letting me design my own ring! I should have that in a couple months.)

Other photographers in the 10 on 10 project are: