Arnie's Muffler and General Repair

We're engaged! I told you there was a good reason for my recent absence from the blog world! I've missed writing but couldn't bring myself to talk about everyday things like candles and vases without potentially spilling the beans. You want your family to hear it from you not via the internet, sorry to those who are finding out this way! I've been sitting on this wild news for too long!! But no more! The cork is out of the bottle! We're engaged!! We're going to marry each other! We can't wait to celebrate our wedding with our dearest friends and family next summer.
Tyler proposed last week while we were visiting his home town of Picton, Ontario. The whole family knew both mine and his. He had asked for the Coriander Dad's permission a week before(so lovely) and then went to my mom and stepfather for their blessing also. Cutest doodle.
The proposal was perfection, we went for a walk and he thought that the park, where he once played as a child, would be an ideal spot but it wasn't until he realized it was the site of a sewage treatment plant that he had to re-think his initial plan. We walked on, through a swamp area, mosquitos had a field day. I could sense something thrilling was about to happen, he looked like a little boy waiting to open his Christmas presents. We walked on, past a construction zone, slipping through some wetlands and emerged from the park onto a side street. "My mom used to work there at that license bureau." I loved seeing all of these places that he looked on with such fondness. We walked on, I later learned, in this moment he was thinking, "I'm not going to force this, if it isn't right, it can wait." I forgot to mention, his dear mama Penny had sent us that night to The Merrill Inn, a beautiful Bed and Breakfast where Tyler used to work. She said we needed to relax because we both work too hard, little did I know she was in on it the whole time. So, back to our walk. We forged ahead hand in hand looking for something, I wasn't sure what, but Tyler trusted the moment would come. And then it happened. We came upon a clearing and there gathered in the lot were six rabbits. Six rabbits!! We thought of our dear rabbit, Harry, back home in his cage, slowly but surely becoming a man, he'd sure love to meet other bunnies. Now, I'm pretty fairy tales and lolly pops but this was weird even for me. I have never seen six rabbits outside a petting zoo and this just seemed like a gift from the love gods. Tyler turned to me and the minute he said my name I began to cry. I can't tell you much after that because it's mostly a blur but he did get down on one knee and ask me to marry him and I did answer back an over the moon YES! We hugged and kissed and I cried and the bunnies clapped, okay that part I made up but it felt like the forest creatures were on our side. And if all that wasn't perfection enough we looked up to see we had been standing beneath a sign that read, 'Arnie's Muffler and General Repair.' My nickname for Tyler is Arnie, because of his incredible Shwartzennegar impression. I do believe the fates aligned for this perfectly magical moment, a mix of romance and hilarity.
And then to top it all off, the church bells rang as we descended over the hill and back to the Merrill Inn for some champagne compliments of our dear friend Edward Shubert, the Inns owner.
We called our families, a cell phone on either ear so I could share the news with them at the same time, only to learn they had known all along. Of course, I cried when I told Penny and Bill what an honor it will be to become part of the family and Bill said, "Honey, you're already part of the family." How lovely is that? More tears.
So that gets to be our engagement story for life. The bunnies, Arnie's Muffler, church bells and an evaded sewage plant. The more I tell it the more I love it!
I'm so looking forward to the year ahead, planning a wedding and I have more news... we bought a heritage townhouse... in Belleville!! I know, what?! Don't worry Coriander Girl isn't going anywhere. I'll be commuting half the week here and half there. We're down that way all the time to see our families and source antiques for the shop so it made sense for us to buy there. Who knows maybe I'll open a Coriander Girl there and Toronto can be the flagship store. Aim high!!
But this news is a whole other blog post!
Dear readers it feels so good to share my stories with you, thank you for being so incredibly supportive!
Alison xo