The Proposal

For me, one of life's little pleasures is getting away from the sleep-work-play-repeat routine, and that is exactly what I did last week.  My other half Scott aka Mr H surprised me with a trip to the city of love and one of my favourite places in the world, Paris.

We spent a long lazy weekend pre-baby there 4 years ago and we always said we would return, enticed by steaming hot chocolate and incredible architecture.

We hopped off the Eurostar in Gard du Nord and head straight for our favourite little boutique hotel Hotel Elysees Union, where we dumped our bags and trotted off arm in arm to visit the Louvre.  I must admit I am not usually the museum type, but there is something about the Louvre and its majestic contents that I adore.  We spent a good few hours exploring before sprinting through the rain to queue up for the ever popular Angelina.  If you haven't been to Angelina for their famous indulgent hot chocolate then you really haven't lived, it is truly dreamy. 

Day one in Paris was over quicker than my mug of hot choc and we finished it off with a takeaway pizza in bed (rock n roll) with our heads in our books.

Day two however was completely not at all what I was expecting and turned out to be the most amazing day I've ever had!

We woke up bright and early to croissants, cheeses, and sweet tea then jumped on the metro to explore the Tuileries Gardens.  Somehow, the last time we visited Paris we completely missed our the beautiful gardens that spread out in front of the Louvre so we knew we had to wander around them on this trip.  It was super quiet, with only a few early morning runners galloping past us and the air was thick with fog, but it was SO pretty!  It was quite possibly the most autumnal scene I've ever been in with rows of copper coloured trees and the ground covered with crunchy leaves.  

After collecting some huge shiny conkers and admiring the sculptures scattered amongst the gardens, we found a bench in a secluded spot to rest our feet.
Mr H then reached into the pocket of his humongous puffy coat and produced the most beautiful ring I have ever seen and asked me to marry him!!  I was so shocked and burst into tears... and of course said yes!  (I also asked why on earth he wasn't down on one knee, to which he responded that the ground was too dirty..!)

I was absolutely buzzing and spent the next half an hour gasping and squealing with delight and excitement!  I tried to call my mum and my best friends who annoyingly weren't answering their phones as Scott led me to a nearby coffee shop to calm down!
Then, just as our lattes arrived, a few familiar faces appeared at the coffee shop window.. Scott had arranged for our closest friends and family to join us in Paris and celebrate our engagement!  I know.  I am going to marry the best guy in the world right?!
My little boy Harry had been exploring Pairs for a whole 24 hours, with me none the wiser!
As you can imagine this was all followed by tears of joy, cuddles and quite a lot of bubbles as we sat and enjoyed such a special day altogether.  I really couldn't believe everyone had made such an effort to be in Paris with us and that they had all managed to keep it a secret for the last year of planning!!  

My gorgeous ring is every bit as perfect as I imagined it to be.  It is simple, classic and just so me.  It is also made from Scott's mums wedding band which is probably one of the nicest and most touching parts of the whole engagement.  She passed away when we first got together and I never had a chance to meet her.  I hope she is looking down and feeling very proud of her wonderful Son and the great surprise he arranged for me.

If you have read my blog for a long time you will know that my little family has been dealt its fair share of bad events, not that I am one to dwell, but I really feel like this is our happy ending now and I can't wait to marry my soul mate!