We met online. After some chatting, we decided to have a date at the downtown Great Dane. We didn't factor in the fact that the restaurant would be slammed on a Friday night, so we wandered down State Street and found ourselves at the Noodles and Co. From there, we talked the night away under the tree lights at Paul's Club. Matt later admitted to Erin that after that date, he ended things with other women he'd been talking to. Erin thinks her rants about how much she hates robots must have been what sealed the deal.

A few months before our fifth dating anniversary, Matt started floating the idea of taking a weekend trip somewhere. Eventually we settled on going to Chicago - Erin loves any chance to go to the museums, and Matt just loves any excuse to be there. We started with the Shedd, then got hot dogs from a stand nearby. We grabbed a bench. Matt wolfed down his lunch (in hindsight, getting kind of nervous), but Erin was mad that he put his trash in the chip bag because she was going to finish his. He distracted her by pointing out a cool building on the skyline while he pulled out the ring box. She of course said yes, then they explored the Field in a daze before calling their families and friends to share the news.