Note: I wrote this post almost to it's entirety last week, but because of the inconsistent wireless internet access at my school...it somehow got deleted. I was so frustrated about rewriting the whole thing again that I put it off until now. I apologize for those who were looking forward to reading it (although most of you had already called me to ask for details). As they say, the show must go on and the story must be written...

Rob took me on a little trip to Napa on the Saturday before the end of spring break to taste some wines and enjoy each other's company for the weekend. We tasted and bought some wine at V. Sattui. The place was extremely crowded given it being a Saturday and it being a popular place to have lunch. Their wines are only offered at the winery and aren't sold at restaurants or stores anywhere. The winery itself is beautiful and we took many a picture there as you can see below. We loved their Gamay Rouge. Rosé is not a type of wine we are normally drawn to but we're glad we got to try something new and have our minds blown away.





We checked into the The Napa Inn, a bed & breakfast. I've never stayed at a B&B before so I didn't know what to expect. According to the New York Times, it is "Napa Valley's Most Romantic Inn" and has a very charming Victorian theme to it. They even have a constant supply of fresh baked cookies, cheese, and drinks in the lounge area. Our room was the Tessa Room, which had it's own bathroom and was furnished with antiques. We felt instantly relaxed when we got there. Everything was warm and inviting, from the lady that welcomed us (Brooke, I think her name is) to all the natural sunlight that flooded through the large windows as we got ready for dinner.



Dinner was at Bouchon, a French bistro owned by one of the best chefs ever, Thomas Keller. He is also the owner of our all-time favorite restaurant, French Laundry.



The restaurant had a sort of early/mid-20th century vintage French vibe which I really dug. Rob ordered a long island iced tea for his cocktail and I had one of their peach signature cocktails. Rob and I shared a salmon tartare that was off the menu to start off with and also a lobster frisée salad. We then had a half-bottle of Billecart Salmon champagne (one of my favorites). His entree was the scallop dish and mine was the miscellaneous seafood one (their names are in French and I'm too lazy to look them up). Both were absolutely delicious and we didn't expect anything less of Keller's creations.





I remember during the course of the night, I said something along the lines of "...it's not like you're going to propose to me tonight or anything." I forget the context of that line of thought, but his reply was like "no, of course not". For dessert, I ordered the lemon tart which our server raved about (he seem oddly enthusiastic the whole evening) and Rob got a sorbet. As our server approached our table with a large plate, I remember thinking "Hmm, that's odd. Either both of our desserts are on that one big plate or they're not bringing them out together which are both signs of flawed service". Then Rob looked at me with twinkling eyes and whispered "I lied". I didn't get it. For about 1.8 seconds, I forgot our entire previous conversation and looked at him with utter bewilderment, "uh...you lied?". The thing is, Rob never lies and that's why I was so surprised that he even said that. He can withhold information or redirect focus, but he's almost incapable of outright lying to someone. Anyway, as our server set the large plate on our table I realized what he had lied about. On the edge of the plate written in chocolate were the words "Will You Marry Me". It tickles me that they had left the question mark out! Set in the middle of the plate was a napkin with my gorgeous engagement ring on top of it. My heart was pounding hard as Rob came around to my side of the table and got down on one knee. All I was thinking of at that moment was "Omgomgomg, it's happening!". I remembered the first and last part of his speech. First part: "Sophia, the past two years and three months of my life were the best years of my life and I want to share the rest of it with you." More stuff in between. Last part: "Will you marry me?" I didn't remember the middle part of his speech because I was so busy trying not to cry that I was distracted. Of course I said "yes" but I wish I had prepared a better response like "Yes, but our contract expires after the first google years". Haha, maybe not .





So afterwards, our server, the house manager, and our neighboring table congratulated us on the event. We were all flushed and excited and we received complimentary champagne even though we already bought some. Rob then told me the story of what happened the previous day when he sought permission from my dad for my hand in marriage. Early that evening, Rob had texted my brother and asked him to let him know when my dad gets home from work. Rob did not reveal the context of his request which led my brother to think that something bad at happened to me and Rob was trying to reach my dad to let him know. Scared, my brother called me to make sure I was alright but Rob intercepted the call and told my brother not to say anything. My brother insisted on speaking to me so Rob passed the phone to me and I started talking to him while I was cooking dinner. My brother got confused because I sounded just fine and he succeeded in not giving Rob away. When my dad got home, around 9 o'clock that night, my brother informed Rob of such and Rob quickly drove over to their house to fulfill his purpose. When he got there, more confusion ensued. Now, both my brother and my dad thought it was an emergency situation and something had happened to me. My family tends to be reactionary so that explains why they would jump to negative conclusions before any real information was given. Rob tried his best to explain why he was there and after some problems with language and cultural barriers (i.e. Rob: I've come to ask for your blessing. Dad: Yes...God bless you...?"), he finally got his message across. Both my brother and my dad were relieved but I got the feeling that their attitude was like "Why are we even a factor in your decision? Come back when Sophia's on a hospital gurney". Haha, I'm only half kidding. Even though it wasn't required and didn't go as smoothly as he had hoped, I really love that Rob did that. It's just one of those traditional things that I had assumed was the norm but I then I find out that very few guys actually do it nowadays. It was such a sweet gesture and I love the look of triumph he had when he finished telling me this story.



With our custom-made Tacori ring on my finger, I left the restaurant feeling like a woman about to set out on a new and exciting adventure.