The Engagement Story: Friday

I'm a Cancer, and to be quite honest, my July birthday has always been a bit of an inconvenience to me.

As a kid, my friends were always gone on family vacations or busy with summer camps, leaving birthday parties difficult to organize. As an adult, who wants to do anything in July in Texas? Too hot to eat, too humid to dress up (or wear much of anything for that matter, let alone look cute).

But after so many years of lackluster celebrations, I finally had a breakthrough last summer: why not postpone the festivities?

For my actual birthday, Clay got me some old music records and a two-night stay at an adorable little bed & breakfast in Fredericksburg. Um, he must know me really well (understatement), because I was ecstatic at the thought of a cozy little weekend trip! Plus, my family's got some serious German roots, the appreciation of which was passed down to me, and so a birthday weekend of sausage and beer? Check! Double check!

[Kusenberger Cabin, Fredericksburg, TX, December 2009]
My birthday present from Clay

But because July 2009 turned out to be one of the hottest months on record for Austin, we decided to postpone my birthday getaway by 5 months, setting the stage for what turned out to be much more than a "birthday" weekend.

Friday the 18th of December in the year 2009, I took a vacation day from work. After all, it was my birthday! Clay and I slept in (past 9am - go nuts!), got an oil change, went for a 5-mile jog, got a quick pedicure (just me, not Clay), and had brunch at Austin Java, all before heading out on a peaceful hour and a half drive through the beautiful Texas Hill Country. All day we were giddy with excitement. Hello, vacation!

On the way to Fredericksburg, we stopped at Becker and then Torre di Pietra vineyards for some wine tastings, catching a beautiful sunset on the outside private patio of that last one. Romantic, right? We were only getting started.

15 minutes later we arrived at our B&B, which turned out to be an old German cabin halfway between Fredericksburg and Luckenbach. The front porch looked out onto a beautiful pasture with grazing animals, perfectly secluded and tucked away, miles away from city lights and sounds.

[Front porch view, December 2009]
Early morning frost

We got settled, and around 8pm Friday night drove into town and dined at the Navajo Grill, a quaint little restaurant off the main street. There we ordered a bottle of Becker wine that we'd tasted earlier (Cab Sauv-Cab Franc mix) and feasted on cheese and fruit, fresh green salads, green chile corn grits, and cedar plank salmon, topping it all off with homemade creme brulee and raspberries, my favorite. Normally we'd both have been happy at the local brew pub (sausage and beer, remember?), but this was a special occasion. It was my birthday!

After dinner was a 30-minute drive out to Johnson City to see the breathtaking Christmas lights while sipping on hot cocoa. Christmas was only a week away, and since we're both kind of big Christmas people (Clay especially), we were totally stoked to get into the Christmas spirit. It was freezing that night (all the better - that rarely happens in Texas!), and so we didn't stay long, but just long enough to snap cheesy photos of ourselves in front of the "Hill Country Style" courthouse.

[Johnson City Courthouse, December 18, 2009]
Clay posing with some hot cocoa

[Johnson City Electric Company, December 18, 2009]

Ok, I know I'm long winded and all, and you're probably wondering, what does all this have to do with the engagement? Get to the good part already! But hopefully you'll soon be empathetic to my complete surprise at what was to happen next. I mean, come on: Hill Country sunset, cozy German cabin, romantic dinner, snuggling against each other on a crisp December night with the beautiful backdrop of sparkling Christmas lights? How could you possibly get any more romantic?

Answer: With a marriage proposal, on one knee, in front a roaring fire back at our cabin, sometime around the stroke of midnight. All that after spending the absolute perfect day together. I was floored. In fact, it's been over 5 weeks since that night and I still can't get over it.

[The scene of the proposal. Clay sat on the left, Meredith sat on the right. Photo taken December 19,2009]

And so there you have it. A recap of my best (birth)day ever. Postponement went pretty well for me, don't you think? Maybe now I'm eligible to become an honorary Sagittarius.