Our journey began in Chicago, in May of 2020, in the doldrums of the Covid pandemic, all thanks to the Hinge algorithm. Unsure of each other’s preference to social distance, we agreed on an outdoor picnic as our first date and Mia’s golden retriever, Yogi, was included. Upon first meeting, Yogi was either not a fan of Sam or was incredulous that a human would not share his food, as he spent the entire time barking to the point that Mia had to take him back to her apartment. Mia half expected Sam to be gone when she got back. Fortunately, Sam stayed and that was the beginning of our spark. As time passed, Yogi warmed to Sam (it turns out excessive amounts of treats were the way to his heart) and the three of us eventually moved in together in our first apartment in Old Town, Chicago in the summer of 2021. It was a time of transition for both Mia and Sam, as the late-20s/early-30s phase of life tends to be, Mia taking her boards and becoming a Nurse Practitioner, Sam scratching his entrepreneurial itch by leaving a stable finance job for a start-up – and we picked up and moved to Miami at the end of 2021. Through moving across the county and finding our footing in a new place together, our love grew. In early 2023, we settled in the Coconut Grove neighborhood, where we began to find our Miami roots. We even added a fourth member to our family, another Golden Retriever named Sal. Our home was filled with so much happiness and love. Sam proposed to Mia in the spring of 2024 in Valparaiso, Indiana, surrounded by family. And though our hearts will always be in the Midwest, we believe there is no better location to begin our next chapter in life than Coconut Grove. It is our home, and we could not be more excited to share it with everyone.