Jake and Ashley met during the Summer of 2017 at Sycamore Brewery's Food Truck Friday. Ashley with her dog Merlot met up with her girlfriend from college, Bailey, and her (then recent, now husband) boyfriend Matt and his friends.
With Merlot in one hand and a crab cake sandwich in the other, Ashley sat across from Jake at the group's table and attempted to dig in. Jake, seeing Ashley struggling to eat her sandwich, offered to hold Merlot, and the rest is history...
Jake and Merlot fell in love instantly.
The weekend after her 25th birthday, Jake took Ashley on a special birthday trip to Asheville, NC. Little did she know how special it would actually be.
On Saturday morning Jake and Ashley--with Ries and Merlot in the lead--began an 11-mile hike on the Appalachian Trail from Lemon Gap to Max Patch. Nothing says "Happy Birthday" like a forced march. After a picnic and siesta with a scenic view of the Blue Ridge mountains, they began the return journey. In front of a natural tunnel of rhododendron trees, Jake got down on one knee and asked Ashley to marry him. Through a curtain of happy tears, she responded "Yes!"
It all started with a crazy idea.
What if Jake gave up his job to go back to school, and Ashley joined him on this spectacular adventure? An idea so crazy it just might work, we agreed to pursue the venture with Austin as the ideal landing spot.
This Texas town of tacos, tech, taco trucks, and Texas Longhorns immediately felt like a place we could call home. As a city that values an outdoorsy lifestyle, Austin has as many yoga studios as gun ranges which made it an easy sell for both of us.