How we met:
We met how all Canton-ites meet - none other than Claddagh Pub in Canton Square, hon! We exchanged numbers and casually talked, but the timing just wasn't perfect. Full disclosure here: being really bad at the dating world, I (Ashley here) almost missed out on one of the best men I have ever known. We ran into each other a few times. Smaltimore just being Smaltimore. But nothing ever came out of it.
After a few months, I finally reached back out to Tyler. I was with one of my best gal pals, Erinn, in the fine establishment we all know and love as Don Pablos (R.I.P to the Don Pablos in White Marsh). After some encouraging words from Erinn and a large margarita, we concocted the perfect text to Tyler. Obviously it was the classic "Hey. How are you? It's been awhile." text. Really nailed that one! I fully expected for him not to respond, but to my surprise, he did! And only later to find out that he was also in another fine establishment when he received my text. The one and only Outback Steakhouse.
What seemed like small, casual conversation (and what would later turn into Tyler sharing pictures of his new family dog, Hobbs, and me sending Tyler a video of me tackling a lawn Christmas reindeer) turned into the start of our adventure together. The start of our story may not be perfect or glamorous, but it worked, and I'm so glad we both stumbled into Claddagh Pub that night.
Our first date:
Our first date was in December of 2016 and started with Tyler meeting me at my house on S. Curley street. The date continued on with a brisk walk, which ended at Plug Ugly's Publick House (back to the Square, hon!). We chatted, got to know one another, had some drinks, some laughs, but mostly had fun! It wasn't one of those awkward first dates. It didn't take long before we were already making fun of each other, which was refreshing.
The only bad aspect I can pin-point about the date was that I ordered something healthy because, among lots of other first date advice, my girlfriends suggested that I order something that required a fork to avoid getting food all over my face. Definitely had some food envy over Tyler's food choice.
By the end of the date we already knew so much about each other - including the fact that Tyler is pigeon-toed and color-blind, which he was not ashamed of at all. On the way home I was sure to observe how he walked. Yup, pigeon-toed. And then, once it was safe, I did some googling on life as a color-blind person. Neither scared me away. Although this was our last first date ever (and we're sure glad), it was the start to many more dates together.
Everything in between:
We have come a long way since our first date in December of 2016 to now. We took our first plunge into "adulthood" when we moved in together in May of 2018 to a rowhome in Brewer's Hill, which was a whopping 5 minute drive from our first city residence's in Canton. This might not sound like much, but to most city slickers it feels like it's a whole other world. Our love for Baltimore grew even greater as we now fell in love with another part of town. And we still found ways to make visits to our local watering holes except by bikes or scooters instead of by foot.
We completed our year lease and then broke-off our love affair with city life and actually moved to a whole other world - Catonsville, MD - where life is great in 21228! #SuburbiaLife is definitely bittersweet, but we still have plans to get back to the city often and continue to discover all of the great things that it has to offer!
All of the other "in between" moments would be described as fun - weekend trips, hanging out with our families, nights out with friends, concerts (Foo Fighters, 311, Billy Joel, Elton John - just to name a few), and LOTS of sporting events. Of course we have the less glamorous "in between" moments too. Those usually consist of sushi on the couch while Tyler is starting a movie for me to only fall asleep about 11 minutes in.
Our engagement:
If you're still here reading these glimpses into our story together - here's where things got real! It was Saturday, February 2, 2019 (or Groundhog Day) and we had a date night planned to use up a gift card (I mean, that's one way to throw me off the scent - a gift card, people!) to Ciao Bella in Little Italy. During the day, Tyler was watching Groundhog Day...on repeat...and I was running some errands. Oh, by the way, one of my errands consisted of getting my nails done, but only a pedicure because well... that's how oblivious I was! :)
Tyler was completely cool all day long. We had an amazing dinner and the next planned stop was to meet my brother, Matt, and sister-in-law, Megan, at The Lord Baltimore Hotel because my brother had a gift card to use up (I mean, c'mon, another gift card!).
Still oblivious, we met them in the lobby bar. As we were about half way through our drinks, we were invited to check out the "renovations" on the rooftop deck. We stepped off of the elevators to one of the most beautiful views of Baltimore I have ever seen. As I looked around more, I saw a ton of candles lit up on the ground. This part is kind of embarrassing, but I turned to Tyler and said, "Did they do this just for us?!"
As I recall, Tyler led me to the center of the array of lit candles and, still pretty cool as a cucumber, started the most amazing proposal I could have ever imagined. Thrown in among some "What's happening?" and "Are you serious?" was an ecstatic "Yes!" I was then surprised with our families rushing out to hug and congratulate us. Unbeknownst to me, this had been an elaborate plan for several months. Everyone was in on it, but me and we can't thank our families enough for helping Tyler to pull all of this off! It was the most perfect night, surprise, and engagement I could have ever asked for. Groundhog Day couldn't have been more appropriate. I wouldn't mind reliving that moment and that night over and over again.