This is the story of how Shelley & Priyal met...

Let's set the scene. It's January 2016 and it's winter. Not a California winter. A northeast, NYC winter. Even better, we were expecting a massive snowstorm (or as Priyal called it, a snowpocalypse). So what did we do? Priyal's next steps: Raid the local bodega (corner store) to stock up on goods aka oreos, chips & salsa, and ice cream. Mildly freakout not knowing what to expect since this was his first snowstorm, ever. Oh and find a snuggle buddy. Shelley's next steps: Live life normally and be excited about all the snow! Find a blanket to cozy up in and lock down a list of Netflix movies.

A couple days prior to the storm, Priyal was following his normal routine of going on the many dating sites he signed up for. Now, Priyal just moved to New York from California and these dating sites were a great way (he thought to himself) to make new friends, find a nice lady tour guide, maybe a great girl? On this day, he went on OKCupid (one of the original dating sites, no swiping involved but rather actual profiles that take time to create... so legit!). He came across a girl who was indian, tall, and pretty good looking. No harm in messaging her right? A couple days prior to the storm, Shelley was catching up with friends who asked her about her dating life. She was on OKcupid and keeping an open mind but had nothing serious going on at the moment. As she heads home, she gets a notification of a message sent by someone named "priyalofasho". He was pretty cute. His profile pic was him clearly taking a selfie in a mirror. Meaning you could see his hand holding the phone and all. Hmm. And not sure what was up with his hair. Anyway, still cute. Both Priyal and Shelley started exchanging messages back and forth before and during the storm. As the messaging progressed, Shelley (being her normal detailed, curious, and talkative self) sent what might have been a one page essay. Now Priyal (being his lazy, I don't want to read all that self) deleted the message and responded to her saying "I am sorry. I don't think I got your last message. Would you like to meet for coffee sometime?". At that point they decided to take this off the OKcupid platform and start texting via their cell phones. They continued to text, a lot, for the duration of the snowstorm weekend. Priyal then decided that Shelley was not coffee date status anymore, she was dinner date status.

It's their first date. And where does Priyal take her? To a Mexican restaurant (a given for Priyal). It was a small place, one where you go through the kitchen just to get to the bathroom, but perfect for a first date (oh and it had that nice romantic dim lightening). Now, we knew we clicked over text and messaging. Best part, we also got along so well in person! Phew. Am I right? Highlights for her: I asked if he wanted to share dishes and he was down! He was so well dressed, he was confirmed cute. Highlights for him: She asked if I wanted to share dishes and I was so down! She was beautiful. Priyal was a perfect gentleman the entire night that ended with Shelley walking him to the subway (she was walking home, of course). They hugged and said goodnight. She wasn't sure if he really liked her (I mean he hugged her??) but no matter, she had a great time! He really really liked her and couldn't wait to ask her out again. But he wanted to play it cool. Priyal waited a day tor two until texting Shelley to see if she was free Friday. He wanted to cook her dinner. She agreed and dreamed about what he was making her. It had to be good no? Only a good cook would actually cook on the second date. Right? Priyal made Shelley exquisite spaghetti with tomato sauce, served with salad and bread complimented by 2 bottles of wine. He fell for her that night. Shelley loved Priyal's effort of making box pasta with bottle tomato sauce plus salad (with tons of onions). She was surprised that he drank all the wine basically by himself, but loved the goofy spirit that came out. She fell for him that night.