Engagement!

I'll post photos from the exhibit reception (which was a huge success!) soon, but first I have to update with my most important and exciting news:

I am engaged!

The plan was for all friends to to head out to a restaurant after the reception to celebrate, so after we got the food cleaned up people started drifting away with the intention to meet us there. I said good-byes to my immediate family, who weren't going out with us. My boyfriend of over 5.5 years, Nik, and I were the last to leave. Once I had retrieved my coat, he told me he had a surprise for me. My thoughts? He must have bought me a present for finishing my exhibit, how sweet! Instead, he blind-folded me and spun me around multiple times, then lead me down the hall. I was asked to plug my ears, which I did so suspiciously. Because I like the full effect of surprises, I plugged them tight so I couldn't see or hear anything. I could tell when we went outside, though, because it was significantly colder and I could suddenly feel snowflakes. I could also smell something warm and good, like woodsmoke. By this time I am extremely suspicious and think I may have an idea about what's going to happen.

Even my assumptions didn't prepare me. When I removed the blind-fold, I was greeted by a half-circle of my closest friends and family, all holding sparklers as these huge fluffy snowflakes of the first real snowfall drifted down. Nik got down on one knee, proposed, and put a gorgeous ring on my finger (I said yes, of course!). And then the bells started ringing from the campus clocktower. No kidding.

It was absolutely perfect! He planned it so well to have everyone there, even out-of-town friends, and I had absolutely no idea because they were already there for the art exhibit! I am still in awe and shock, and I am so utterly happy.