THE PROPOSAL

Ok, ok, we know what you’re all thinking – F**KING FINALLY!!

It’s a funny thing, blogging, and as you may remember, we’ve never done something like this before. Neither one of us really use Facebook, we post with no regularly on Instagram, and even though we thoroughly enjoy an absentminded scroll through social media or a cheeky group chat, we suck at staying current or replying in a timely manner. The reason for that is twofold – first, the pace of work throughout our lives (and yours, most likely) has required a near-constant state of technological vigilance that we have been more than happy to abandon over the course of this trip. Secondly, we have had so many wonderful visitors over the last 6 weeks that the thought of writing has simply shuffled to the back of the queue and we have instead been swept up in the throes of fun and friendship. And for that we can never be sorry. 

But now we’ve started this ride, and we have an obligation to finish it. We want to be better.

And there is no better day than today to start again. 

So now, with a grand sense of renewed energy and vigor, we’ll turn our attention to our biggest news story of the moment. Yes, the rumors are true: we’re engaged!!

And we want to tell you the whole story…from our own perspectives:

DELLA: Prior to taking this trip, I already knew the proposal was imminent. After 7+ years of dating, and so much discussion about a future together, there was little doubt it would happen. And with a huge European adventure ahead of us, there could be no more appropriate time. 

ROSS: As I recall saying, “If I was Della, and we took this trip and I didn’t propose, I’d break up with me!” 

DELLA: BUT I specifically asked to be kept out of all the details – I didn’t want to know when, where, or how it would happen. I didn’t even want to assist in picking out the ring (though I did make a Google Doc of likes and dislikes to help steer the selection). I love a surprise, the thrill of the unknown, and the shock of an unexpected romantic moment.

ROSS: Funny note about the Google Doc–I’d actually already bought a ring before she sent me the doc, and after consulting with Allex, I went back and changed it. Luckily, the ring maker hadn’t started making the ring yet, so they were able to make the changes without issue. Shout-out to Nathan and his family at Capri Jewelers–they do excellent work! 

DELLA: Among the many visitors who came to visit us over the last 6 weeks (whom we will detail out in subsequent posts!), we had our old roommates – Allex, Patrick and Devin – coming to see us in Dubrovnik, Croatia. We rented AirBnBs in the hills overlooking the Old Town, with picturesque views of Fort Lovrijenac and the ocean to serve as a backdrop for our reunion.

DELLA: We made a detailed itinerary for the week and a half they were with us, picking out all the best that Dubrovnik had to offer – tours, restaurants, bars, beaches and beyond. Saturday May 6th, the day after Patrick and Devin arrived, was due to be a quiet morning – no plans, time to sleep off hangovers from the night before, with an early dinner booked at the Panoramic Restaurant later that day (to which we planned to arrive by cable car!). 

Around 11am, Ross suggested we go get coffee at a new spot he had found nearby. I invited Allex, but she said she was “feeling sick” from her hangover and was going to lay back down for a bit. “You didn’t really drink that much last night,” I said; “I guess I’m jet-lagged…maybe it’s the sun…” she mumbled, unable to make eye contact with me and shuffling back to her room.  Devin and Patrick said they also needed a bit more time to be ready to go out…fair enough, they’d just got in the day before. 

So, in pajamas and leggings, we set off to get coffee from this “new spot”.

One thing about Dubrovnik is that this city has STAIRS. Like, hundreds of stairs leading up and down the hills all over the place. To get from the Old Town up to our Airbnb, for example, was about a 100-stair climb, every time. And so we walk…we walk down those stairs, past the coffee shop we would normally go to, and start climbing up another incline. Then Ross, consulting his phone, veers off to the left and approaches the bottom of another set of about 100 stairs, leading up into the hill. He’s leading the way, me dragging behind him, sweaty and swearing and annoyed, wondering why we couldn’t just go to the normal coffee shop in the first place! 

“If you told me we were going on a hike, I would have worn different clothes”

ROSS: “It’s just a bit further, up here…”

DELLA: We reach the top of the stairs. It’s a gorgeous little wooded clearing overlooking the ocean.  I look around – no coffee shop in sight. For fuck’s sake, I think, now fully irritated at Ross for taking me on a wild goose chase. 

ROSS: At this point, I knew I had to act fast.

DELLA: Before I can start to berate Ross for not knowing how to read a map, I turn around and there he is on one knee, the ring box in hand. 

(This is where you go, “awwww!”)

The annoyance evaporated. The surprise was perfect. The location was magic.

ROSS: My heart, of course, was RACING, and not just from the stairs.

DELLA: Ross said some very sweet and romantic things, and opened the box to reveal the MOST PERFECT RING that I could have imagined. 

After slipping it (with some mild difficulty) over my bloated and dehydrated finger, we sat on a stone wall nearby for a romantic moment together. We talked and laughed and reflected on everything that had transpired to bring us here to this moment…just as a man approached us, who had been sitting nearby. Surely he was about to congratulate us – but NO! Instead, he told us he was STUDYING FOR AN EXAM and COULD WE PLEASE BE QUIET?!

In shock, we declined. “I just need 10 more minutes,” he said. 

“You take all the time you need, we’ll be right here”, we responded.

He walked away, and we burst into laughter. Did that really just happen???

We were nearly ready to head out anyway, so after a few more minutes we left and walked along through the wooded area. (Side note: the 12 o’clock church bells went off just moments later, followed by a test of the city’s emergency-response system, so best of luck to that guy.)

DELLA: We wound our way back down the stairs toward the coffee shop (there really was a new coffee shop!), got some drinks, and headed back to the Airbnb. 

ROSS: Number one rule when bamboozling someone under the false pretense of coffee: make sure you still actually get coffee post-bamboozle. 

DELLA: Upon arrival, Allex, Devin and Patrick were there waiting for us, cheering, cameras out, with a bottle of champagne to pop in our honor. 

DELLA: It dawned on me later that OF COURSE they knew the whole time – in fact, it seemed like everybody knew! Friends back home had been in on it, rumors were circulating in the Done+Dusted office, Ross had shown photos of the ring to just about everybody we’d seen since taking off in October!

ROSS: Thank you to everyone for keeping The Secret Of The Century. It still blows my mind that we pulled it off. 

DELLA: We sat out on the terrace and drank champagne, took photos and videos, Allex painted my nails (which were seriously unfit for a photo sesh), and we slowly got ready for a big night out.

We were being so loud and exuberant that we were even SHUSHED twice by the upstairs neighbor – at 2pm on a Saturday afternoon! So that’s a total of THREE TIMES being told to be quiet, on our engagement day! But even that old bitch couldn’t bring the mood down.

DELLA: Oh, and that dinner at the panoramic restaurant? Duh – it was a celebration dinner all along! 

ROSS: I was so sure that was going to be the thing that gave it all away!

DELLA: We rode the cable car up to the top of the mountain overlooking Dubrovnik, and were seated at a table right on the edge with an incredible view. The dinner was delicious, the drinks were flowing, the sunset was unbelievable and we even got a free little dessert with a message of congratulations. 

It was an absolutely perfect day to kick off what has now been a month of engagement celebrations. 

And we won’t stop there. 

The “recently-engaged” treatment is amazing and we are going to wring it for all its worth. Every fancy dinner, every hotel, every experience we do for the rest of the trip, guess who JUST got engaged – that’s right, we did. 

Upgraded room? Free bottle of champagne? Free desserts? We will take them ALL, thank you very much! 

We really appreciate all of the well-wishes and congratulations we have received over the past few weeks, and we are so excited for this next chapter of our lives! Now we find ourselves laying low in Istanbul, unwinding from the most recent whirlwind of visitors and celebrations, and gearing up for the next one. 

And if all goes to plan, you’ll be hearing from us again very soon…