You know when you've been invited to something and you really don't want to go for whatever reason but you feel obliged? That's the position in which we found ourselves nine years ago, heading to a house party in Echo Park. I had a headache (gasp) and Nick wasn't going to know anyone there. (It ended up being a lovely evening - no hate, no shade!) We need to thank our friend Shanna Ruggirello - if I hadn't been looking for her, and if she hadn't been talking to Nick at the time, we may never have met. Thanks, girl! But, destiny and fate and all that crap. And now, here we are!

I'm sure you all know this by now, but Nick and I were traveling to England to be with his parents for Christmas in December of 2019. We had scheduled a visit to Paris at the beginning of the trip, which almost didn't happen thanks to the public transport strikes! But we made it there and had such a wonderful time, especially when Nick knelt down in front of the Eiffel Tower! I may or may not have shouted a four-letter word... oops. Out came a box with my maternal grandmother's ring in it, which is just the most special thing. Nick's parents were there and they graciously took photos of us during and after, although Jim did miss the Tower in most of them... never fear! We did a cheeky reenactment and no one was any the wiser. Uh... until now.