The following podcast is a Dear Media production.
Hello. I don't know how to open today's episode because I feel like there's a huge elephant in the room and rock.
And you're probably looking at the title being like, Ashley, what happened to like, hello?
What happened to how are you?
Just a huge jump scare.
Didn't see that coming.
it is not clickbait it is real your girl's engaged we're just gonna skip the introduction and the fluff and jump right into today's episode because the title alone is a jump scare so yes I am engaged which is so insane to me because this entire year I've been like making jokes about it to him and to
all of you being like there's no ring on my finger like I can't wait till I'm engaged.
Like, when is he going to put a rock on my finger?
And just I've just been talking about it so nonchalantly and like in a joking way, because, you know, I knew it was going to happen sooner or later.
But obviously, I was hopeful that it was going to happen this year because I wanted it to happen sooner than later.
But I had no idea it was going to happen when it did like this entire time I was thinking and I was like telling my friends that I'm going to know when it's going to happen like I'm not going to be surprised because Josh is not secretive at all he's the worst at keeping secrets he does not keep secrets
he is an open book like he is just a very honest person but he's not slick even when it came to buying the ring I knew exactly when he bought it because he couldn't lie about where he was going like I think he texted me one day while he was at work being like hey like I'm not gonna be home until this time
but like I can't tell you where I'm going and like also don't look at my location and when you tell me not to do something I'm gonna do it so obviously I'm gonna look at his location and what do you know he's a jeweler like what are you doing there do you have another girlfriend I hope not so I hope
you're buying me a big fat rock even with knowing he was buying the ring I didn't know exactly when he was going to do it but I knew that I wasn't going to be surprised I was like oh like I'll have an idea of when he's gonna do it like maybe he'll do it when we go on vacation or when we're doing this or like I
just I thought I would know when he was going to do it but when it did happen I was so surprised I did not see it coming whatsoever I literally blacked out because I was so surprised so obviously today's episode is going to be dedicated to that.
I know it's a little different than my typical episodes.
I know that most of my episodes are centered around self -improvement and giving you advice but I just want to be more open about my life and what's going on and sharing more intimate details of my life and this is such an important time in my life and a huge milestone and I just want to share that with you.
I want you to be part of it.
So I want to talk about how he proposed the story of how we started dating because I've never shared it before and just like what's next what's going on in my life right now and yeah I'm really excited so let's let's get into it I thought keeping this a secret for a week would be like this fun little
thing where it was just like the secret thing between me and him and our close friends and family but hiding it has been so hard because one I want to wear my ring and I'm doing blog mist so I can't wear it without people knowing what's going on and then two just like I want to tell you guys but now
that I can tell you he proposed to me on November 30th and like I said I genuinely thought I was going to be able to sniff him out and know when it was going to happen but literally until the moment I turned around and saw him on his knee I had no idea it was happening I didn't really have a preference
when it came to how I wanted to be proposed to I had just told him that I wanted it to be just me and him because personally I don't love the idea of being proposed to at like a restaurant or in a big crowd with people that I don't know like I don't want strangers watching our very intimate moment clapping
and staring and taking videos like I just don't like that like I love to be the center of attention but like not in that moment and I was speaking to some of his family on Thanksgiving and we were just talking about like proposals and stuff and they were like when do you think he's going to propose
and i was like i don't know like we're going to florida at the end of december like it might happen then but i swear to god i just he better not propose to me at disney world because i don't want to be categorized as a disney adult i just don't want to have mickey mouse ears on my head when he's proposing
to me Like no offense to the Disney adult community like I just don't don't want that but thankfully he did not do that so we're good nothing to worry about there so basically the day that he proposed we had gone to get a Christmas tree this was my first year getting a real tree and we dead ass went
to a Christmas tree farm we went through the woods we cut down a tree and by we I mean he cut down a tree and now I get it because before this day I never understood why people go through the labor of cutting down a tree and being in the cold and having to take care of the tree when you could get a fake
tree and have it for multiple years and it's just so easy I get it now it's an experience I was feeling holly and jolly and I loved it and you know what when we were on our way to the Christmas tree farm there was a split second where I was like what if he proposed here but it was just such a quick
thought that it went in and out of my mind so fast that I didn't even think twice about it but he was also kind of weird that day not in a bad way but now that I'm thinking back about it I remember one of his family members had texted me because on Thanksgiving we had planned to like get lunch before
she went back to New York and she had texted me just to tell me like hey I can't grab lunch today but when I i told him like oh she texted me he was like what does she want like like he just did not want to go even though we weren't going to go anyways and then his sister -in -law had texted me about going
to get their christmas tree and originally i wanted to go with them to get trees together because i had never gotten a real tree before so i was like let's just go with them like it might be easier and he didn't want to go with them and that's one of the reasons that i was like you know maybe he is proposing
but I also thought like if he were to propose to me I'm sure he would have me dress a little bit nicer like maybe in white or like maybe he'd have me get my nails done or I don't know so I didn't really think he was proposing it was just like a really split second thought being like that'd be cool but he
didn't propose there so we go home to set up the tree and we're wrapping the lights on the tree and as we're doing it we're realizing some of the lights don't work so we had to go back out to get more lights and Josh loves Christmas he loves doing Christmas activities with me he hates running errands
like he hates a Target run he hates going to the grocery store like he'll do it but he's not having as much fun as I am like I love going to target where he's like oh we have to go to target i'm like yeah so when he was so down to go back out and get lights even though we had just gone home it was a pleasant
surprise but in my mind i'm like wow like i feel like normally he would be like oh like let's just do this tomorrow like we'll go out in the morning like he was down like he was like okay let's go like he was ready to go he was ready to set up this tree this episode is sponsored by ZocDoc being an adult
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This episode is sponsored by Equip.
December is finally here and with the holidays and the new year right around the corner, it is such a crucial time to remind yourself to take care of you and be good to your body.
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Now let's get back to today's episode.
So we go back out, we get the lights, we're decorating the tree, and I'm also vlogging for Vlogmas.
So as we're decorating, he's like, did you get the footage that you needed?
And I'm like, yeah.
And we're basically done.
We just have to put the star on top.
And he's like, why don't you record putting the star on top like I feel like that'd be good for your vlog and I'm like you know what like I see the vision like you're right we should I should record that and I was just gonna have him do it because he's taller than me and he was like no why don't you
do it like I feel like it would look better for your vlog and I'm like okay I see the vision I will so he grabs me a chair and I put the star on top and mind you I have no idea like like I said I had no idea I blacked out I had no idea it was going to happen.
So after I put the star on top, I immediately go to shut my camera off because I'm like, OK, got this, got the footage.
Don't need to keep recording.
I don't want to run out of storage.
So I literally put the star on, jump off the chair and immediately stop recording.
And as I do that, he's like, oh, I got another ornament.
Like I have one more ornament to put on the tree.
And I have no idea what's about to happen because in my mind, I'm like, oh maybe he got an ornament from his sister or when he was on a work trip because we do have a lot of unique ornaments he had just got one at the Christmas tree farm not thinking anything of it so I'm not recording and it feels
so dumb that I stopped recording because that's this is why he wanted me to record the star so like the thought was there I just ruined it so I go to look at the ornament and it says Josh and Ashley engaged 2024 and even when I look at this ornament it still does not register in my mind that he's proposing
because I'm like oh like he got us an ornament for when he does it at the end of the year like that that was my first thought it wasn't oh he's proposing it's oh it's that's cute he got it for when he does like bitch what the fuck I just had this feeling it was gonna happen this year I was really confident
in it so it wasn't a surprise to me that like he would get me an ornament saying that we had talked about wanting to get engaged so I just didn't think anything of it and then I'm like you know wait a minute why would he put the ornament on the tree before proposing and I was like oh turn around turn
around bitch turn around there he is on his knee and I again I blacked out I have not a clue what he said besides like I love you I want to spend the rest of my life with you I have no idea what he said what I said I just was shocked and I always thought that I was going to cry when I got proposed to
because I cry at everything like when I see other people getting proposed to I cried that but I was so surprised and thrown back by it because I really did not see it coming that I not a tear was shed but it was genuinely so perfect I'm so happy it was just me and him and our dogs and it was so thoughtful
of him to try and incorporate the vlog like obviously I didn't get the footage of him proposing because I ended it but it's the thought that counts he knew that I would have loved to have it on video so we tried it didn't happen but I do have the video of like right before like of me putting the star
in the tree and when I look at the video I get like smiley and giddy because he proposes right after but it was just really sweet I feel like a lot of people especially women have an idea of what they want to wear and what they want to look like when they get proposed to you know they want to wear a white
dress or a white outfit and have their hair and makeup done and just like look put together do you want to know what I was wearing when he proposed to me I was wearing a fur coat and a cowboy santa hat did I envision to be wearing this when I got proposed to no but I'm not mad about it I feel like it's
very on brand of me I think it's hilarious he was wearing a santa hat when he did it too I just feel like it's very on brand it's very areas of me to be proposed to in a big thick ass fur coat after he proposed we went out to dinner with my brother and I got a big fat meat and cheese board and a glass
of pinot and a chocolate lava cake and an espresso martini and I was supposed to work that night I had so much to edit but I was like you know what I'm only gonna get engaged once so I'm gonna have one and I'm gonna to have an espresso martini and I'm going to have a good time I'm going to enjoy myself
and that I did and I had so much work to catch up on the next day but it was very worth it I was very happy about it it's just so insane to me that I'm engaged like obviously we had talked about wanting to be engaged and wanting to take the next step in our relationship but I didn't think when it happened
that it would feel as different as it does you know we've been together for seven years so I just thought it would feel the same as dating him but it really does feel like a second honeymoon phase you get so used to dating someone you're with them for seven years and not to say that it's boring or anything
but you're just comfortable with them and you're used to the label that you have with them so to not be able to call him my boyfriend anymore and like I'm not a girlfriend anymore I'm a fiance or he calls keeps calling me fianchi it's insane like it really does feel so different and he feels the same
way like it just feels it almost feels like a new relationship with the same person I just really didn't think him putting a ring on my finger would change anything but it really has spiced things up we're having so much fun I'm having so much fun and I'm so excited to be able to share the fact that we're
engaged and wear my ring out and not have to hide it.
I'm just over the moon but let's talk about this freaking rock on my finger.
He did such a good job with picking out the ring.
I am a control freak and I did have some say in the ring obviously.
I was pretty particular about the kind of ring that I wanted but I also didn't want to straight up tell him the ring that I wanted and I also didn't want to go with him to pick out the ring.
I know that a lot of people do that and I think that if that's something that you want to do you should absolutely go for it if someone's going to spend the money on a very important piece of jewelry for you to wear and you're going to wear every single day it should reflect your style and you should be
excited to wear it so you should be particular about what you want like if you're a gold girl don't settle for a silver ring if you're not going to want to wear that and no offense to the men out there but you can't really trust them all that much when it comes to jewelry like a lot of men and josh
i'm talking to you too a lot of men buy that silver heart necklace and you know what i'm talking about and it's gorgeous and there's nothing wrong with it but that's like the go -to piece of jewelry that men get women because they don't know what their girl likes i just wanted to make sure that the ring
that i was going to wear every single day was going to reflect who i am and what i like so at the beginning of this year I made a vision board and a mood board on pinterest of everything that I was manifesting for 2024 and naturally I put an engagement ring on the board because I was like you know what I
want it I got it I want it I got it like I just I'm not going to dance around it I'm not going to pretend I don't want something when I do so I put it on the board and then Josh was looking over my vision board and he saw that he was like what is that what is what is that and I said oh that that is the engagement
ring that I want from you sir this year on my finger me and you that's what really got the ball rolling that me being like I want to be engaged I want to be engaged soon like obviously I wanted it to happen in 2024 but if it didn't happen it wasn't the end of the world I just was vocalizing to him like
hey I'm ready for this once he saw that and we just started having much more open conversations about being engaged I decided to make a mood board called if I ever get engaged lol and I pinned so many different rings on there all kind of like the same style but just rings that I liked all of them basically
had like a gold band and an oval shape which is what I got thank you but I know there's gonna be people who are like everyone has that oval ring everyone has that oh my god it's over it's overdone who cares there's a reason why things are trendy and why things are timeless like people love it it's a classic
and it's on my finger it's not on your finger so what's the problem this episode is sponsored by neutrophil I love the holiday season I love watching Christmas movies and baking cookies and looking at Christmas lights it genuinely makes me so happy but the holiday season can also be really stressful with Christmas
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This episode is sponsored by Masterclass.
I've gotten a few requests to do gift guides for the holidays and I've had people ask for last minute gift ideas and I have the perfect gift for you.
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make beats on his computer and he could take Timberland's class which is 15 lessons where he teaches you how to produce and make beats there are so many different classes to choose from they have arts and entertainment business design and style food home and lifestyle music and so much more the classes
that I'm taking right now are for self -expression and authenticity creativity and leadership and then I'm also doing acting I'm really excited to take what I've learned from masterclass and really apply it to my life for the new year masterclass always has great offers during the holidays sometimes
up to as much as 50 % off head over to masterclass .com slash ttc for the current offer that's up to 50 % off at masterclass .com slash ttc masterclass .com slash ttc now let's get back to today's episode I knew I wanted an oval ring with a gold band so I sent him that board and I was like here you go like
do with that what you will have fun go crazy but don't go too crazy stick to the plan and then with the board he brought it to his co -workers which are women and I'm like thank you like thank you talk to the women get their advice see what they think and one of his co -workers is actually my old dance
coach and she had a lot to do with the ring and with the proposal like she helped him customize the ornament that he proposed me with they actually customized like five of them and then they chose one to propose to me with but I have like five different ornaments that they did they're so cute but I'm
just so happy that he had women helping him because like I said men sometimes are just like a lost cost but he did a good job obviously I gave him direction of what I wanted but I'm glad that I wasn't super specific of like this is the ring that I want or like picking it out myself I'm glad that I gave
him inspiration and then allowed him to go off and do the ring himself because although I had an idea of what I was getting I was still surprised by the ring because obviously I didn't see it up until that moment and it's just so stunning and I'm so proud of him.
Now I want to briefly talk about mine and Josh's relationship and how we met or like how we started dating because I never shared that with you.
I always knew that I wanted to but I wanted to wait until after we got engaged to talk more about our relationship.
So Josh and I grew up in the same hometown.
We actually grew up one straight over from each other before he moved to a different neighborhood and we like ran in the same circles but we were never close i would say that we were like acquaintances but it's funny because even though we weren't close throughout elementary school to high school i
would occasionally think of him and think about how when he was younger i thought he looked like a raccoon because he has really big dark eyes and they were even bigger when he was younger so i just thought this boy looks like a raccoon and even in high school i would i would randomly like this thought
would randomly pop into my head of like raccoon boy like joshua looks like a raccoon which is so random but i think so random and so funny but i feel like it was a a push from the universe being like that's your future husband that's yeah that's your fiance so yeah we weren't close but then in college
my sophomore year I transferred from Keene State to UConn and when I transferred I got closer to the guys that like I grew up with my guy friends that went to UConn and they got an apartment with Josh.
Josh was living with them so one night my junior year I went over to like drink and smoke and hang out with them and we were sitting on the couch and I just like look over at Josh and he has his backwards hat on and he's smoking and I'm like that's a sexy man like wait a minute wait a minute raccoon boy
is actually hot like raccoon boy could get it like raccoon boy is gonna get it so we're hanging out and we're drinking and at this point I'm like okay I can't drive home and I'm not gonna uber home alone because my friend was staying over for a guy that she was talking to so I was like okay I'm just
gonna stay here and I get this bright idea because I'm probably like a few white claws deep I'm like I'm gonna I'm gonna stay here and I'm going to sleep in his bed so I sneak into Josh's bed with the intention of hopefully hooking up with him but this man comes into his bedroom and literally just goes
to bed does not touch me nothing does not look at me does not talk to me not interested at all I am a very direct person I've always made the first move in every relationship I've been in every guy that I've spoken to and I'm like you know what I want what I want and I get what I want so I decide that I'm
gonna go and do the same thing again I don't know if it was the next day or a couple days later but again we're hanging out we're drinking and I'm like you know whose bed sounds so cozy Josh's so I go into his room and I lay down in his bed at this point this happening a second time I think it finally
clicked in Josh's head of like oh this girl didn't just pass out my bed she she's seeking out my bed so obviously we get a little down and dirty and it's funny because after the fact we spoke about it I'm like why didn't you you know like want to hook up with me the first night and he was like I thought
you were just like a drunk girl passed out my bed I'm not gonna touch you which is like the bearman mump but like thank god good boy after that second night where one might say we did the no pants dance I never left his bed again like from that moment signed sealed delivered we were a package deal like
never left his side after that that happened I think in September and then we spoke from like September until November and then he asked me to be his girlfriend November 11th and I'm so pissed that I wasn't a Swifty at this point in my life because like I grew up listening to Taylor but then I went
through that phase where I'm like Taylor Swift is bad she's a bad singer she's she sucks I don't listen to Taylor Swift and I just thought I was too good for her but november 10th 2017 is when she released reputation he asked me out november 11th 2017 do you know how bad i would have gotten down like
our favorite song josh and mine together is call it what you want like are you joking are you i missed out on the opportunity and i will never forgive myself but i can't wait until she releases taylor's version of it but like how could the hell I have the same basically the same anniversary as reputation right
cool obviously like any other couple we've had ups and downs and we've had arguments and we've butted heads but I can confidently say that this is the only relationship I've been in that's been so healthy and I feel so safe and heard and he's genuinely my best friend and I'm so grateful that I climbed
into his bed and I was set on him because I have spoke about this on the podcast before but I had told myself when my ex and I had broken up that the next guy that I date I'm going to date him because he's a good person and he's kind and he's respectful and he's trustworthy and he's good to me and he's
obsessed with me and it's not gonna have anything to do with how attractive he is or his social status or anything like that because at that point I was so over being with guys who I was only with because I found them attractive at one point and then I got attached and then I was stuck in this really
terrible relationship when I knew I deserved better and with Josh I genuinely think that I just chose the right person because now I get to spend the rest of my life with someone who actually loves me and cares about me in the way that I've always wanted like the best advice I could give to you if you're
seeking out a serious relationship or a lifelong partner is don't focus so much on how attractive they are like I understand that being attracted to your partner is important but it's not the most important if you're trying to get past the dating toxic people phase of your life focus more on who they
are as people if you weren't looking to date this person and this person was just a friend of yours or a co -worker of yours would you want to spend your time around them like are they kind are they funny are they respectful would you be offended if someone had said to you wow you're really like that person like
you remind me a lot of them you're just like them would that be a compliment it or would that be an insult do you want to be with someone who you feel offended by when someone's like oh you two are like the same person the same mind the same attitude the same personality if the answer is no and you're
not proud to be like them and the only reason that you're with this person is because they're hot and you have good chemistry and you have good sex that's not your person that's not your lifelong partner that is the same toxic cycle that you've been in and that you're trying to get out of don't get
sucked back into it just because of a pretty face like you could find a pretty face and a pretty heart like a and just a good person i think a lot of people judge other people for not being engaged sooner like i definitely had people ask me like what's he waiting for like why aren't you engaged yet
like seven years is a long time but personally i would rather take my time with someone and really get to know them and be sure that this is my person than just rush into a commitment just to satisfy other people and have people like know that we're serious about one another because yeah seven years
is a long time but throughout the seven years we've really gotten to know each other as people and just like relearn things about one another and grow together like who I was when we first started dating is so different than who I am now and he might have liked me when we first started dating but a couple
years down the road decide like you know what I actually don't like you like you've changed a lot and I'm not down for that and it's a lot harder for people to break off an engagement or a marriage than just like break up in a relationship so I wouldn't want someone to feel stuck with me if they don't
actually want to be with me and that's not the case for everyone but it does happen I just want to know that my person loves me for who I am and loves me through all my phases and all my eras and I think we've definitely proven that to each other like I see you for who you are and I love you for who you
are and we're just in it for life and if you're in it for life with someone it shouldn't really matter that long like there's no rush if we're gonna be together till death do us part then like seven years is nothing we've never rushed anything I think that our relationship has always gone at a really
good pace for both of us and that's the thing like people have asked me like why hasn't it happened yet like why didn't you guys get engaged after like two years or three years or four years because you see people like utah influencers getting engaged super quickly which is totally fine like you go
at your pace but when you don't go at that pace people are like why why not like why what's going on but it's like when we started dating we were juniors in college I had maybe 20 in my bank account and I was occasionally working at subway and he was working at the dining hall and then after college
COVID hit and it took like two years off of my life and then we moved into an apartment but like there was just so much going on and we had so much growing up to do and there was just never any reason to rush anything we've never been on a strict timeline like obviously I've told him that in my head
I have like an order of operations where it's like I would like to be engaged and buy a house and get married and then have kids because like honestly I just want to fit into my wedding dress and get drunk at my wedding but like there's no timeline we don't have to do anything by like 35 it doesn't
matter there's never been any rush or pressure to do any of that like I've never felt the need to follow in the footsteps of my parents because my parents got engaged I think less than a year of knowing each other I remember going through my mom's like journal calendar thing and she marked when she
met my dad like when they had their first date and then when he proposed and it was I think less than a year of knowing him and yeah I guess it was normal at the time to do that but like I can't imagine that now I don't want to do that I want to know the person that I'm with and maybe it was different
back then because there's like no phones and stuff but I don't know I just never felt the need to be like that.
I've never felt bad that we've taken our time because it's like your time is so different than everyone else's.
Everyone is on their own path.
So if you're feeling pressure to have a timeline or you're getting in your feels a bit and like upset that you're not engaged, don't get so in your head.
Don't worry about anyone else's timeline but your own.
Everyone else is on their own time and doing their own thing and at their own pace and you just have to do what's right for you and when you focus on you rather than everyone else around you you and your relationship is going to blossom and work so much more in your favor than it would if you were focused
on other people I never really had an itch to get engaged or get married and maybe it's because I grew up in kind of a dysfunctional family and I just didn't prioritize marriage but I just didn't grow up fantasizing about getting married or like my wedding dress or any of that I feel like a lot of other
people do and like even throughout my relationship with Josh it wasn't something that I felt like I had to do or it was like counting down the days until he proposed we had talked about wanting to one day we were both on the same page of like oh yeah like we're going to get married one day but it wasn't
a priority of mine until like halfway through last year that I really started thinking about it like okay this is something that I want like I actually do want to get married to him I want it to happen soon and that's why by the end of last year I was like no like I actually want this to happen and that's
why I put it on my vision board it's not that I don't think Josh would have proposed if I didn't put it on my mood board and verbalize it to him I just don't know if he would have done it this year without me verbalizing it to him and like letting him know that I wanted it to happen this year only because up
until last year it wasn't a priority of mine and it wasn't something we were talking about a whole lot so it's like if I'm not verbalizing what I want or how I feel I can't expect someone to just know and that's why I think it's so important to be open with your partner like if you're sitting there
thinking like why hasn't this happened for me yet why hasn't my partner proposed to me when is it gonna happen I don't know if they want to marry me I don't know if I'm wasting my time be open and express how you feel to them if you want to take the next step in your relationship and you want to be
engaged tell them like you're not asking for too much by telling them that you want more security and that you want to take the next step the way that I see it is like your future husband or your future wife is not going to make you feel bad for wanting to commit to them for the rest of your life like
Like they're going to be excited by you being like, hey, I want to be engaged.
I want to further this relationship.
It's also important to remind yourself that like you matter too.
Like you have just as much say as they do.
I know traditionally men propose to women, but like you don't have to wait around for this person to decide if they want to be with you for the rest of their life.
Like you get to decide that too.
So if this is something that you want, verbalize that to them.
And if they cannot give you the same thing back and be like, yeah, I want that too.
Like, let's talk more about it or like, yes, like that's the plan.
That's a red flag in my opinion.
Don't hold back and don't settle because like I said, the love of your life is not going to make you feel bad for wanting to be with them.
Like they're not going to make you feel bad for wanting more out of the relationship.
They're going to be excited and take that next step with you.
but now that we're officially engaged what's next do we have a timeline what's happening when are we getting married the answer to that is I don't know not a clue have no idea what's going on we're just having so much fun right now enjoying this like honeymoon phase of being engaged and that's that's
all I know like I've been loving looking at bridal shops online and thinking of like all the cute outfits I can wear and I've been making mood boards for like engagement photos and an engagement party and wedding dresses that I like but that's the furthest that I've gotten we're also in the process
of looking at houses to buy so that could definitely impact when we have our wedding because the closing costs on house is not it's not fun that's pretty expensive it's expensive to get a house and then you know once you get the house you have to renovate the house and do all the things to the house
so that's definitely something that I have to figure out but right now I'm just like la la la la la I'm engaged I'm in love and I'm just having fun I don't want to rush that at all because I know once we're married I'm gonna have post -wedding depression and I just want to like savor every moment of this journey
with him and I'm also just like super excited to share everything with you so if you want to come along on this journey of us being engaged and getting married I'll be sharing more on here I'll be posting on my social media so if you want to keep up with that the links are in the show notes my instagram
my tiktok my youtube all of that's in the show notes not saying that I'm going to like become a wedding content creator but like if there is any content that you love watching or you'd love to see throughout this journey like maybe you want to know more about like wedding planning I don't know let me
know i'm just excited and we're gonna have so much fun with this i love this era of my life already like i don't know i feel different different in a good way i i don't know i'm like smiling so big because this is crazy like i'm engaged that's insane but that is today's episode as always thank you for listening
and just being here for me during this time it's gonna be so fun I love you so much besties and I will talk to you next Monday goodbye besties