we're engaged!

Remember when I said Eloy was taking me to Palm Springs for my birthday cause he's cute and cool?

Well, he also proposed to me in Palm Springs.

We had a room for Saturday 8/8 at the Stardust Hotel, a cute intimate little place near the ACE. Eloy and I packed a cooler and left LA around noon. He told me to bring my selfie stick in case we stopped at the Cabazon Dinosaurs. I had lost the charger cable for it, so we stopped at Target to get a new one. I had the misfortune of having to tell the man who worked in the electronics department what I needed the charger cable for, because I couldn't remember the term "micro USB", and he was visibly disappointed when I told him I needed it for a selfie stick.

Anyway, onward to Palm Springs. We got to the room around 3pm and had a dinner reservation for 7 o'clock at Gyoro Gyoro, so we had a lot of time to kill. We were lying on the bed looking on our phones for something to do in Palm Springs that didn't involve being in 100+ degree heat and direct sunlight. We weren't coming up with much. I suggested a drive to Joshua Tree or Salvation Mountain, but they both would take too long. I got frustrated and said something like, "Ugh, I don't know what to do. What can we do?" That's when Eloy pulled out a ring and got down on one knee and said, "I know something we can do. We can get married...if you want to." I did something cliche like gasp and cry and hug him and put on the ring and stare at it and cry more and hug him more.

It was a crazy feeling. This month is our 7 year anniversary. We started dating in August 2008, right around the time I joined Vivian Girls. I can barely remember a time before Eloy was in my life. He's been there for every major milestone and heartbreak of my adult life. We've been through so many things together, wonderful and tragic, that I won't go into here (because I've got to draw the line somewhere, ya know?) The other day I started writing down a little synopsis of our relationship, which I guess will sort of become my vows, and it made me so happy I started crying. Being engaged has made me a lovesick mush all over again. 

We dated long distance for two years between New Jersey and Puerto Rico, then moved to LA together five years ago and we settled into a comfortable little life. We'd always say things like "we're basically married already," but it actually does feel different for it to be official. I feel like some walls came down in me, walls I had put up to protect myself just in case something were to happen to our relationship. With this ring I feel like a lot of those walls came down (cue Beyonce - Halo) and I'm just this open, vulnerable, fully in love soul, just like I was with Eloy when we first started talking seven years ago. I want to tell him all the time how much I love him just because it's too much to keep inside.

It doesn't feel like we're starting a new chapter, so much as a new volume or book in a series. The past 7 years had a lot of chapters, and it's time for us to start fresh.
Ok, well now I'm crying again (god, who am I?!) so let's get back to the rest of our day...

 One thing I didn't anticipate was the amount of time it took to call people, text people, post on social media, and reply when necessary. Our phones were buzzing steadily throughout the night. These are some of the highlights from the barrage of well wishes...

We went out for sushi dinner and got some Ben and Jerry's across the street for dessert.

I even got to snap a picture with my dear friend, Lucille.

me flipping off my new fiance outside Ben and Jerry's

The schedule for the rest of the night went something like this...

• Drive to La Quinta for Rock 'n' Roll mini golf
• Play arcade games
• Go to Ace Hotel for photo booth pictures and drinks
• Go for a night swim at our hotel
• Try to sleep, but be unable to do so out of excitement 

 This looked way cooler than playing it actually was.

We drove home the next day after breakfast. It was nice to have a day to ourselves before going back into the world. It gave us time to remember why we're best friends in the first place. There's no one's company I'd prefer to Eloy's. He makes every little thing more fun and hilarious and special, and I get to hang out with him for the rest of my life. I know how lucky I am to say that, and I'm going to try not to live this next volume in fear of losing the best thing that's ever happened to me. 

He's mine. I'm his. Forever and ever.