Isn't It Romantic?

Dan proposed on two adorned cupcakes...

He was so nervous. 

His parents were in town.  Dan asked me to dress up for a nice dinner with his family.  I slipped on a bright red dress that hugged my curves. I loved the little rhinestone straps - a touch of "bling." 

Dan drove his Mazda down the scenic Pacific Coast Highway, it is all a blur now.
California is hilly, with rough terrain. Dan found a parking spot at the top of a hill in the midst of Laguna Beach.  I was wearing the highest red heels I could possibly wear.
I teased, "Why didn't you tell me to bring my Uggs along?"

My glamorous red dress and cropped leopard print fur coat didn't blend in with the beachy crowd.
Not to mention the shoes that I had already removed.  I was walking barefoot, toward the beach in my tights.

Dan was carrying a cooler. His sly grin before he told me "There were cheese and crackers inside the cooler for a snack later on" made me wonder what he was up to. 

Dan was all dressed up too, and wearing a red shirt! He had no idea I was going to wear red~which made the day feel like destiny.

We entered Treasure Island Park-a beautiful Park with entry ways to some magazine worthy scenic beaches. Only the glamorous, rich, or even famous were lucky enough to stay..or even wed at The Montage which overlooks all of Treasure Island and the Pacific Ocean.

Dan & I strolled along, dreaming of a day that perhaps we might be lucky enough to have a beautiful "mansion" of our own. Maybe like the ones we saw in the hills overlooking us?

..But I sensed Dan's rigid nervousness.  He was cracking his knuckles and his eyes wouldn't meet my eyes.
There were a lot of pretty benches to sit down on and watch the beautiful landscape, but Dan wouldn't sit down on any of them for very long. I kept laughing, and in between my nervous giggles I would exclaim,

"Dan! Sit Down! You're making me nervous!"

After a lot of staring at the beautiful cactus plants Dan seemed to point out many times during his nervousness, we finally sat down on a charming wooden bench.  We were away from the crowds of people, and I had a feeling something was coming.  Dan's anxiety rubbed off on me.  All I heard was the ocean crashing on the shore beneath the cliff in front of us.

That's when he turned to me on the bench and it went a little something like this...

"Amanda, I don't know if you noticed but the name of this park is Treasure Island.  The reason I brought you here is because you are a treasure to me, such a special gem.  I love you so much. You are my best friend and you are so beautiful. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Somewhere in between the time that we sat down and he started telling me all these wonderful things a girl can only dream of, he had placed a white box in my hands.  This must have been what was in the cooler. 

He asked me to open the white box.

I am not the kind of girl who cries, screams or "freaks out" externally. 
But I hated to hope that this was a proposal and be wrong. I would be so disappointed if it wasn't. At the same time, I loved to think that this was a proposal and how it would be my dream come true!  So I sat there for awhile, frozen like a statue, unable to open the white box. I was completely silent, but every once in awhile the mystery and uneasiness of it all I blurted out to Dan,

"Should I really open the box now?"
"Are you sure I should open it right now?"

He laughed at me and insisted I open the box.
Open the box Amanda. Just do it. Open the box.

Hands shaking, a second later, the box was open.
Inside the box, one of my many loves!

Cupcakes!

I loved what they said more than anything else!
The frosting was white, and tiny little red roses framed the most important letters I've seen on a cupcake.

Dan got down on one knee, in front of one of the most dreamy backgrounds for a proposal!
Palm trees blew in the wind, The blue ocean waves crashed up onto the cliffs and the sand.
Deeply saturated exotic plants swayed like they were dancing to the music of this moment.

Dan and his beautiful blue eyes matched the exotic and special magnificence of this place.

I remembered a time when I used to cry from past heartbreaks.
I used to tell my mom that I deserved to find a man who loved me the same way I loved him.
I would actually would tell her that I was a "treasure" and I deserved a man who treated me this way. 

This is the moment when he opened up the ring box to ask me to marry him.

I smiled, and my eyes gleamed as bright as the 21 diamonds in the ring he was now sliding on my finger.
I had replied with a Yes and suddenly all of the beautiful houses in Laguna Beach seemed a possibility.
Our whole life together was a beautiful novel waiting to be written.  Starting here.

I even envisioned us as an old couple, coming back to Laguna Beach, our wrinkly hands clasped together. Still in mad love. Like the "cute" old couples that hold hands on the street and give us hope that love lasts forever and ever.