Mid 2020, Emma decided it was time she got her own studio apartment rather than live with roommates. Luckily she was extremely picky about where she lived and kept searching for the right place to pop up. In July of 2020 she moved to Leucadia, where she had fallen in love with a jungle surf shack that had a ton of natural light and shared a yard with a few other units. A few days before moving she mentioned to her roommate jokingly, "maybe there will be a cute guy living there." She definitely didn't see this one coming! While unpacking, one of the neighbors in the unit behind hers introduced himself on his way to work one morning. (It was Justin) A few weeks later, to get to know her new neighbors, Emma texted the property group chat to see if anyone wanted to have a beer on the community patio. Justin and Ian - the two brothers on the property - were the only two neighbors in town that weekend. Ian knew that Justin had a bit of a crush on Emma, so he opted out to give Justin and Emma the opportunity to hang out one-on-one. Long story short, the conversation went well and they ended up chatting for 3+ hours. Emma was heading to Pittsburgh the next day for her Grandpa's funeral, which just so happened to be where Justin had gone to college (H2P). Justin had a good feeling after that conversation and decided to keep one of the beer bottles (BarrelHouse Mango IPA) as memorabilia just in case their friendship turned into a romance one day. They still have it on display at their house! Over the next month or two, they would hang out here and there as friends - heading to surf together at their favorite local spot, walking to the beach for sunset. Justin was very patient as Emma took a little longer to realize what was going on. One day at the end of fall, he invited her to join him on a day trip to Julian, CA which is known for its fresh apple cider at that time of the year. Emma declined the offer. Justin, not wanting to give up hope because he could tell that Emma liked him, went with his brother Ian instead and brought back some cider to share at home (where she couldn't say no!) Emma went over and saw his house for the first time to try the cider. Their first official date was at CHIKO in Encinitas, which is now one of their favorite places to go out to eat (funny enough, their only other location is in their new home - Washington DC!) Emma offered to pay, but Justin insisted that he would be paying and joked with Emma; "Would you please let me take you on a date?!" (This was his chance to make it clear - This was a date!) The rest is history. Justin proposed in June 2024 at their favorite hiking spot (near Julian, CA - where the apple cider had come from.)