The story of how we met is actually quite funny. The truth is, I was friends with Michael’s mom first! I had recently moved back in with my parents after college. I decided to go to the neighborhood book club with my mom. That night, as Jackie and Lisa sat beside each other on the couch, I could hear them talking about how Jackie’s son and I would be perfect together. Fast forward about a year and a half or so, and we still hadn’t met! I was at the pool with friends one day over in early September when another neighbor overheard us talking about possible dating prospects (😂). This neighbor happened to be going over to the Finegan house later on that day. Little did I know, this neighbor spoke to Michael about me and put us both into a group text together! I was going to dinner with these friends from the pool (shout out to Hailey & Brad!!!) that night, and the neighbor suggested Michael come along. Those plans didn’t work out, but Michael and I made plans to meet that Friday night at Norse Brewery. Friday night rolls around, I’m nervous as can be. I almost didn’t go, but Hailey and Brad made me get ready and get in the car. We got to Norse to find that Michael was enjoying a friend’s birthday party. Yes, he invited me to a birthday party! I immediately almost turned around, but Hailey and Sydney made me stay. We sat making awkward eye contact for quite a while, but I was too scared to go talk to him. I went to the restroom and come back to find Hailey gone from the table. She had gone to talk to Michael for me because I was too scared. We spent the rest of that night at a table talking and laughing. We stayed until Norse closed (at 2am) and then kept talking in the parking lot until at least 3am!

Most may not know this about Michael, but he is very thoughtful and intentional in everything he does. For our anniversary, he planned an entire trip to my favorite place in the world, Boone, NC! He picked a beautiful cabin nestled perfectly in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The first day we were up there, we got to Boone a little bit before we were able to check into the cabin. We did this on purpose so we would have time for one of my favorite hikes, Rough Ridge! This is a trail I’d hike with friends in college all the time because of the beautiful rock overlooks. The views are just incredible! However, it was homecoming weekend and the trail was packed! Each rock overlook we made it to was overloaded with people trying to get the perfect picture. We decided to head down the trail a little further. We made it to a break in the trees with the perfect view of Grandfather Mountain. As I finished gushing over how beautiful the view was, I began walking back towards the trail. I noticed Michael trailing behind a little, so I turned around to tell him something. What I was going to tell him- I cannot remember! I was shocked when I saw him opening up a ring box and getting down on one knee. (I was definitely hoping it would happen that weekend, but it still was such a surprise!) I was so shocked I couldn’t move, he actually had to tell me to come over to him so he could ask me to marry him! We laughed about that later on. To celebrate, we had dinner at our favorite restaurant in Boone, COBO! We finished the night with a very special Boone treat, App Cookie Co. The rest of the weekend was pure bliss as we got to go to an App State football game and come home to the best surprise engagement celebration with some of our favorite people.