Julia and Marc met in April 2017 and, as one does in 2017, they found each other on a dating app! After years of Tinder and Bumble, both Julia and Marc downloaded a new app called "Coffee Meets Bagel." The app was so bad, investors on Shark Tank didn't even want to invest. But, Julia and Marc gave it a try! After a week of texting about wine, the Bruins, and more wine, they met at Barcelona Wine Bar for their first date. That first date lasted for five hours and the conversations ranged from Mario Kart, MD/PhD life, and Disney to childhood memories and what the future held for each of them.

July 10, 2021 started out just like any other Saturday for Julia and Marc. Coffee, breakfast, cleaning up the apartment. However, on this particular Saturday, Marc made a surprise dinner reservation for later that evening. Julia was left guessing where they were going and if something special were going to happen that night. Marc stood his ground making the whole evening a surprise until a little slip-up indicated to Julia that they were going to Barcelona Wine Bar - the same spot they had their first date in 2017. Julia remained suspicious about the evening's activities and her suspicion only grew when she (regretfully) checked locations of her good friends to find they were all oddly in the area! Quickly shutting down "Find My Friends", the two headed to dinner. After a wonderful meal filled with steak tartare, patatas bravas, and manchego croquetas, Marc invited Julia on a walk around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir. The day had been cloudy and gloomy but just as the two embarked on their after-dinner walk, the clouds opened up, revealing a beautiful sunset. It didn't take long for Marc to whip out the ring, drop to one knee, and pop the question. After Julia's resounding "YES!", Marc pointed out Andrea and Will who had dutifully hidden in bushes to capture to moment on camera (and by drone!). The couple returned to Barcelona where friends had gathered to surprise Julia. The evening was filled with laughter, merriment, and lots of free drinks from other patrons in the restaurant.

The year was 2020. Surely no one needs a reminder of what we were all doing in 2020 except a whole lot of NOTHING. Shortly after the official shutdown, Marc returned to lab and Julia continued working from their kitchen table in their small Southie apartment. After months of solidarity during the work day, Julia started dropping hints about possibly adopting a kitten - noting how easy they are to care for, how much joy it would bring to her days, etc. Then, as if by fate, their two friends, Dean and Mikaela, adopted a kitten. This was the final step: get Marc to visit this kitten to see how adorable he is and really pull on the heartstrings. Marc immediately loved Moose - the plan was complete! Julia began perusing the internet in search of a kitten to adopt. Shelters in the area didn't have many animals at the time (great for the animals, bad for people looking to adopt during a pandemic) so they resorted to adopting a kitten who would travel up from Tennessee to Boston. Taylor Swift (her birth name) was just the cutest Calico kitten, and after a brief FaceTime encounter with her, Julia and Marc were smitten. On June 19, 2020, Basil (what would become her adopted name) made the trek to New England in a caravan filled with other animals being adopted. Although Julia and Marc refer to her as "the demon cat", she is simply the light of their lives, and they couldn't imagine life without this little fur ball scratching their couch, dumping her water bowl on the ground, or meowing at 3am.