This is tough... to try to tell the story of the moment Brett asked me to spend the rest of our lives together... well, it's a big story and I want to make sure i give it justice, you know?

After almost 2 and a half years of dating, Brett decided that he wanted to be with me forever. Well, he tells me he knew after 3 months of dating, but it wasn't for 2 more years that he decided to make it official. He wanted to be sure i wasn't a nutter... and can you blame him? I am a bit of a kook from time to time.

So, when Brett found out he had to take a last-minute trip to Australia to get a visa for his new job, he figured that would be the perfect time to pop the question!

He was planning on doing it on the beach, but it rained almost every day we were there! So finally, our last day in Sydney (before heading back to Wollongong), he decided to carry the ring with him -- ALL DAY LONG -- until the perfect moment presented itself. We went to the Contemporary Art Museum, took a ferry ride through Circular Quay to Darling Harbour, visited the Aquarium, walked the streets of Sydney, grabbed some food, and did some shopping... None of this was good enough, so he waited.

When we got back to our hotel, he made reservations at a restaurant that was listed as Sydney's 2nd most romantic restaurant (the most romantic restaurant was booked up until 9pm, and Brett had already announced on Facebook that he was going to propose, so he had to go with #2 for an earlier reservation in case i wanted to check Facebook at some point in the next three hours), The 25th Floor.

We got all fancied up, and headed out to King's Cross.

The first sign that this restaurant was a bit cheesy was that it was a hotel restaurant... and both Brett and I agree that hotel restaurants are usually pretty dicey. But on the 25th floor in the heart of the city, the views would be priceless. And they were!

We got there a bit early, 6.30 or so, so we went to the bar for some beers.

Brett immediately apologized for the cheesiness of the place... stark white walls, gaudy nasty carpet, scattered Christmas Decorations (think a string of blue Christmas lights that stops half way across the wall, cause they ran out...) but I just laughed!

I told him that we could have fun in a cardboard box, and how it was kind of ironic ... we visit some of the most classy, trendy, hip and awesome restaurants in Seattle on a weekly basis, but when we go to Sydney, he takes me here... priceless!

We finally get to our seats and the view is great.


We order some wine and gnocchi as an appetizer, and the seafood platter for two as our main... we sat back and sipped our wine, laughing and people watching at some fun characters sitting next to us (one guy was actually wearing full leiderhosen garb!).

The food was amazing, the wine was amazing. We're finishing up and talked about heading down to The Rocks for a mini pub crawl. Brett's thinking this would be the perfect time, walking along Sydney's oldest neighborhood, bustling with pub-goers and lit up with Christmas decorations and lights.

We're finishing our wine, and feeling the affects of it, i become cheesy lovey Mandy and say to Brett, "I've never loved anyone more than I love you right now..."

I know, i TOTALLY set him up for it. He sees his opportunity and jumps at it. He starts to scoot his chair towards mine and asks, "Really? Do you want to be with me forever?"

"Of course i do, you nutter," i reply... We often ask each other this so it's nothing out of the ordinary. What IS out of the ordinary is Brett digging around in his jeans pocket while asking me that...

And then, he pulled out the most beautiful ring I've ever seen in my entire life. Holding it up in front of me, with the lights of Sydney twinkling in the background, and leiderhosen guy looking on with a huge toothless smile, Brett says, "Will you wear this and be with me forever?"

Speechless, literally speechless, my head spins and my heart swells.

There's really no way to describe that feeling, when the person you love that much asks you to spend the rest of your life with him.

It was priceless.

I give Brett the biggest hug as I'm laughing at the situation -- sitting at the cheesiest of hotel restaurants, full of wine, leiderhosen guy smiling and holding his glass up to us (probably... at that point i was so blind to anyone in the restaurant) the situation was just SO us...

I was so blown away that he has just asked me to marry him. I don't even think i said, "yes", i think i just assumed he knew that of COURSE I'd want to be with him forever. He put the ring on my finger and it fit perfectly. Like it was meant to live on my ring finger.


We celebrated with champagne, and eventually did head down to The Rocks for a commemorative schooner.

Not before letting everyone know via Facebook, of course.




And the rest, as they say, is history!