Working in the food industry for the last few years, I haven’t been able to splurge much on anything, moreover buy gifts for Justin whenever special occasions came around. This year I wanted to do something special for all the times he gave me something and I couldn’t give him anything. I planned a small trip that revolved around good eats because food obviously has always been a significant part of our relationship. Our first unofficial dates were quiet early breakfasts to the dining hall, while everyone else would still be asleep. It was during those short walks there and back that he would first hold my hand.

For this birthday food tour, we began with an unbelievable dinner experience at the French Laundry in Yountville. Highlights were our first taste of turbot, an amazingly prepared duck breast, and a cloudlike buttermilk mousse cake with cara cara sorbet. The next day we dined at State Bird Provisions back at home. Another excellent meal, but complete different experience. Menu highlights were of course green garlic bread with burrata and their namesake fried quail, barbecued rabbit legs, peanut milk shots with ice cream sandwiches.

March 2013

The day after we ended up in Santa Cruz and indulged on memories: chicken pesto sandwiches from Zoccoli’s and açaí bowls from Café Brasil. Instead of driving around, we decided to take a Loop bus to Lower Lawn to play Agricola before the sunset. Justin will probably complain about the actual lawn being closed and not being able to sit on the grass, and in retrospect, I should have figured something else was going down. He stood there dumbfounded by the temporary fence surrounding Lower Lawn, definitely not counting on anything messing up his perfect proposal. However, nothing could disrupt my contentment from the past few days, and I simply walked over to the weedy part of the lawn and lay down a picnic blanket to play Agricola.

March 2013

It’s no surprise that photography has definitely become a passion for Justin and by this time, it had been his "thing" to wake before sunrise to get a picture of the dawn’s glow casted on different parts of the city or to post up for that perfect sunset shot at the end of golden hour. After almost two hours of Agricola, we looked down at our boards and I knew I had won. I beat him. I beat Justin! But before counting score and letting me know for sure, he rushed me to clean everything up! I was furious; this was my chance to prove that I beat him in something and he wouldn’t even let me celebrate! “The sun sets in 15 minutes! Hurry!” Livid, I slammed everything into the box, dumped all the pieces in without organizing them the way he likes into the separate baggies. I always called him a sore winner and this time he was just being downright rude. Worst of all, he made me pack everything up by myself as he walked away and set up his tripod.

I walked over to him carrying everything we brought and he made me stand 10 feet in front of the camera so he "could adjust the lighting and settings" on his camera. Definitely not in the mood and irritated, I just went on my phone to Instagram or Reddit while he snapped away on his camera. He walked towards me trying to configure his remote so he could be in the pictures. After a series of photos and finally getting me to smile, Justin turned towards me and went down on one knee. I honestly don’t remember everything he said because I immediately began sobbing the second I saw him kneel. I remember only the trembling of his fingers and hearing the words, “You are my best friend.” I guess we both won in the end.

March 2013