We're getting married!

Alex and I actually met on a dating app called "Bumble." This specific app requires the girl to message the guy first. Me, being the clever individual that I am, messaged Alex and said, "Hey, what's up?" We talked for a few days, then Alex asked me out on a date. He chose this quaint little bottle shop in the Short North (House Beer). I was excited, even though at this point I could count on one hand the number of beers that I have tried before and actually enjoyed. In true Lizzie fashion, I was running a tad bit late. It was January, I decided to paint my nails last minute BEFORE I got dressed (rookie mistake), and the Short North was undergoing construction (shocker). I parked 2/10 of a mile from the bottle shop, without realizing how far of a walk that was on an evening in the middle of January. I finally made it there (about 20 minutes late) to see this really attractive male in a Vineyard vines hoodie, jeans, and timberland boots at the bar. Our date ended up going well past midnight, and I said that I should get going because I had class at 8 am. He walked me back to my car, gave me a huge kiss (and his last name - I didn't know it at this point), and started walking back to his car. I found out a few weeks later that he took a shot of whiskey prior to leaving his apartment because he was so nervous, and he actually finished an entire beer before I got to the bar because I was running late! He had my heart from day one, even though he tried to smooth talk me and told me that he could get me into the Ohio Stadium after hours (never did). And yet, here we are!

At this point in time I was pretty over the normal college dating scene and decided to try out the app "Bumble" where the girl has to message the guy in order to start a conversation. After a very enticing pick up line, "Hey, what's up?", I decided to give this girl a shot. After a few days of conversation, I asked Lizzie to go on a date with me to a small, local bar called House Beer that I had honestly never been to before and really didn't know anything about. I decided to take a shot of whiskey before leaving my apartment because it was so cold out and I wanted to warm up my body a little bit, not because I was nervous about the date. I arrived promptly on time to an empty bar, minus the bartender. I decided to go ahead and order a beer and sit at the bar and watch the Blue Jackets game that was on TV. After 10-15 minutes I had finished my beer and Lizzie still wasn't there. I debated leaving but decided to get 1 more beer and see what happened. Luckily for me, the decision I made to give her another beers' worth of time ended up being one of the most important decisions of my life. That night ended up leading to years of happiness and love. I can only imagine what amazing things it will lead to over the coming years! House beer has become one of our favorite places to visit in Columbus not only because it's where everything started for us, but also because half the time we go there is a french bull dog sitting at the bar sipping some beer (not kidding)!

For the last few years, the "kids" have arranged a Secret Santa for Christmas in Pittsburgh, PA. Apparently, Elfster (the website used to draw names) messed up, and both Olivia and Alex drew my name. Olivia reached out to Alex and asked if he would prefer if we re-do the draw, and he told her that this was actually perfect because he could use this to propose! Olivia's reaction was very properly, "WHAAAAT?!?!?!" and so the planning began. Alex picked out the most beautiful ring in Columbus, and worked closely with his Mom to make sure the ring made it safely to Pittsburgh. Lynn created a little gift basket for my parents, and put the ring box INSIDE a box of cookies. I carried my own engagement ring into my parents house a few days later! For what would be the perfect cover story, the exchange date fell on my Dad's birthday. We decided to complete the gift exchange at Liv and Dom's apartment downtown before going out to dinner. Little did I know that when Olivia handed me her gift (I had very explicitly asked for a kitchen aid hand mixer), there was a stunning little blue box sitting on top of the mixer. Alex (somewhat swiftly) took the box, got down on one knee, and asked me to marry him! It was the easiest and quickest yes of my life! Everyone was apparently positioned very strategically throughout the apartment (thanks Liv) to make sure that we had the perfect photos from that moment. Alex even had Dom play a specific song (Home for Christmas by Hall & Oates) because this was the same song that was playing when Alex first told me that he loved me. It was, without a doubt, one of the most special moments of our lives!

We currently live in Cincinnati, OH in our first home together! We found a great neighborhood north of the city that has the perfect set up for us and Maple. Alex works just up the road as a Manufacturing Engineer for L3Harris, and I work as an Acute Care Clinical Dietitian downtown at The University of Cincinnati Medical Center.