eggggsdfjsldkj: December 2010

So it went like this. Felix came over and we went shopping for gifts in Chinatown.

He wanted the engagement to go like this: Connie wanted picture frames for Xmas, so Felix wanted to give her three framed photos.

Photo 1 was a joke gift and was this really cute and dorky framed "Certificate of Excellence". (Chinatown - $.99)

Photo 2 was this adorable photo I took of Felly with an "I Love You Balloon" (Chinatown - $1.50)

And finally, Photo 3 was a picture of him holding the ring.

So he planned to be down on his knee "tying his shoe" as she began opening Gift #3. And by the time she realized what the heck was going on he had the actual ring out and was saying sweet beautiful things and ending with "Connie G, marry me." (not sure if those were his exact words, but they should have been.)

About the ring: Connie had seen her dream ring several years ago on a shopping trip with her mom and sister at Bergdorf-Goodman. So Felix had to work with Kristen to go to Bergdorf's, have her explain what the ring looked like and approximately when they saw it so they could look at ring after ring and figure out what ring it was, track down the jeweler, and then have him custom make the ring again.

Somehow the ring was so unique that some jeweler at Bergdorf's actually remembered the exact ring they were talking about.

But either way, this ring. Is special.

Yada yada yada, she said yes. They called friends and family, and then they rushed off to Daniel (supposedly the best restyraunt in NYC) for their engagement dinner.

At this point Kristen and I rushed over to Conlix's to prepare for everyone to come over for a surprise engagement party!

I tried to inflate balloons I had bought, but Party City wanted to charge me a stupid 99 cents a balloon and I KNEW I could get a better deal back in Chinatown. So I booked it back to Chinatown where the nice lady let me fill up 40 balloons for $12.

I am slightly terrified of popping balloons, so I definitely did not want to try jamming them in my backseat. So I stuck in them in my sunroof and drove across town with them.

It was super cute, not a single one popped, and we put a smile on the face of almost every person we drove by that had a soul.

I love balloons. As long as they don't pop.

When they pop I hate balloons.

We got there. Decorated. Laid out cake and bubbly and snackies.

And then guests showed up. Vitri drove down from Boston. Kurt and Tracey from CT. Even those who very rarely ever make appearances, like MAO, came by. THAT is how special Connie and Felix are.

When Connie and Felix entered the room we had turned off all the lights and squatted real low (I originally wanted everyone to just stand there in silence, wide-eyed, and waving frantically like a weirdo but without making a peep, but my awesome idea was veto-ed by sister Kristen) and then jumped up and yelled "CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!"

It would have been magical either way.

I knew I was going to love the cute little crying faces Connie would make.

Very very special.

We had champagne toasts...

Chatted and mingled...

Oh, and can I just say that Connie's hair looked AWESOME.

And then Laura read a beautiful poem she had written.

And Con showed off her bling.

Everyone left around midnight, it was a Monday night after all. But the five of us stuck around and watched a big slideshow of our life together.

I've spent so many special occasions with all these guys that they really do feel like adopted family.

And if you've followed this blog long enough, you probably know I have way too many good friends, and way too many people I consider my best friends...but Felix is like one of the best of the best. One of the smartest, kindest, all-around-awesomest, most-successful people I know - he whose couch (and Steph's, of course) allowed me to fulfill my bicoastal dream.

Felix. I love you. With all my heart!

We've all just been filled with pure happiness this entire weekend. Because, well, a lot of other wonderful stuff also happened that I'll go into at a later date... but it made this Conlix event all the more joyous. And it means so much that we were able to share this love and joy together.