on monday, B. and I had the chance to spend a wonderful afternoon withJesus and his friend Carlos. they are two amazing Spanish photographers and we had the best of times! we felt completely comfortable, we got to do all our crazy wish list pictures, they were super fun and the results are just amazing!
i’d like to share with you a sneak peak on our engagement shoot! in the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing more, including all the pictures we took in different locations throughout madrid! enjoy!
what i love most is that he really captured who we are, you can really see how much fun we have together, our dances, laughter, love, it’s just amazing! i’m in love with these images!!!
B. and I have been living together for a long time now. we met in early 2009, so the engagement was not a big surprise. we know we want to be together, we are building a life together, we have a company together and we have decided to stay together forever – big surprise!
I really avoid using in my daily life all the regular labels. “we are just dating” did not describe what we had together for a very long time. when you share a home, a life, a business with someone, you are not just dating.
“we got engaged” is also i struggle with. we belong to each other. the ring on my finger does not make that any more real than washing his dirty underwear in my hands {i like to wash delicates with my hands}. you know what I mean?
maybe it’s because i’m brazilian. but the entire hullabaloo around the engagement that happens in america i really don’t get. of course, there is a ring involved in the whole thing, and that’s fun and beautiful, and sparkly. but it’s just a ring. just a thing. and things are just things. nothing is better than falling asleep on B.’s chest every night or the sweet kisses he gives me before leaving for work. even when i’m sleeping and not aware he is leaving and he is kissing me, my heart feels them. i know in my heart i’m loved and i feel peace. no ring in the world is better or more beautiful than that.
i’m a woman who values the actions of everyday instead of placing an incredible value on one single magical night with a proposal. i know he wants to be with me, because he is investing in our future and in our family everyday, not because he said so in spain.
with that said, i’m celebrating this thing with everything i’m entitled to. not a lot of great things happened in my lifetime, so i’m really taking the time to think about this, experience it, take it in, celebrate it, share out love with our families and with the world.
the world needs more love.
and i wanted to share with you something silly we did back in march 2013 to celebrate our love and to remember who we are when we were “just dating”.
we wanted something to remember how silly we were, to look back and remind us of how much fun we have together. so we did a “SINGLE PHOTO SHOOT” – everyone takes a engagement photo shoot. we took a single photo shoot.
i plan on been engaged for a very long time. so i wanted something to remember us when we were single, “just dating”.
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WHEN WE WERE SINGLE / 1
i think i’ll not be using “my fiencé”, when referring to B. at least not much. 1. english is my second language and “fiancé” doesn’t mean much to me. 2. B. is too awesome to be my “fiancé”, so i’ve been calling him my BEYONCÉ. he is great, awesome, and increadible performer {ask him about the earthquake – quite the performance}, fierce, strong, the term “beyoncé” has a lot more to do with him.
The Hazards of Love by The Decemberists – the album we fell in love to.
these have been an exciting few weeks. besides living my dream of visiting europe for the first time, on our 4th anniversary B. proposed to me.
how was it?
i could barely wait to share the news, but i waited a few days to savor the moment on my own, share it with our family member’s and announce it to our loved ones and friends first.
we spent the day at the Retiro Park, a gorgeous park in Madrid, full of secret hidden gardens! when we reached this amazing garden B. somehow missed during his first trip to Madrid, he dropped to his knees! we were taking the silliest pictures in the garden and my sweet cousin was photographing us! I’m so lucky to have images from this moment I never want to forget!
I could not answer him, I was too busy crying, like the crying baby I am! I’d like to share these great images with you:
while we had the most romantic engagement dinner with my family in spain and celebrated this beautiful moment in our lives, we are planning a beautiful, happy, fun celebration here in the US, probably in NJ {where our families are} during the second semester of 2013. i’ll keep you posted.
B. will be returning back home today, with a quick stop in NJ before reaching denver this evening. i’m staying in madrid for a little while longer. my mother arrives today and we will be enjoying some family time together and taking a few quick trips around spain.
have a safe trip B. i’ll be missing you.
{ok, there is a chance i might never return home…}
B. is such a generous man! This 52 series has been so good to us! I took the time to stop, breath, take a look at him, the love of my life and reflect who his is!
This week, after I made many mistakes that led to us missing a flight to Barcelona, B. was able to forgive me! I need to desperately work on forgiveness! If we had missed a flight because of him, believe me, it would probable become a serious issue e a big fight!
I try to appreciate those with talents I don’t have! And his talent for forgiveness is remarkable! He showed me why what happened was great! Better than what we had planned! We took a bunch of day trips around Madrid! Spent time with my family, he got to see a Real Madrid game he was dying to see! In the end it was amazing! We had an incredible time!
I also realize I need to leg go! Learn to let go of plans! Unexpected things are the best!
I’m so thankful everyday to wake up besides him! B. is such an admirable man! It’s such a relief to me to have a relationship with someone I look up to everyday! Someone who has the biggest heart in the world!
while B. was in spain, during his first visit in 2002/2003, he took a day trip to toledo. he loved it. he used to tell me stories about how amazing the cathedral in toledo is, he was so impressed by it, and said not even notre dame is as beautiful. also, he mentioned about all the sword stores they have there. i can’t wait to see it!
i plan on spending some time in toledo, visiting the gorgeous cathedral.
have you seen the beautifully romantic films before sunrise and before sunset? director Richard Linklater has now made a third film in the series, Before Midnight and the trailer is already available here!
when i first read about before midnight here, i couldn’t contain my excitement. both before sunrise and sunset were such important movies for me. and i just love julie delpy. her two days in paris is one of my favorite movies of all time!
the movie will be release exactly one month from today. i can’t wait to see it. it will be so nice to return home, after seeing paris for the first time and go to the movies to see before midnight…
B. has been the most amazing travel buddy! We were in Madrid and he was returning to the city after 11 years! He took me to his favorite spots, including Parque del Retiro, where I took this picture! We rented bikes, rode around the entire park! It was an amazing time! This trip has been everything I ever dreamed and much more!
this will be our home in paris. when we were planning for the trip, we ditched the idea of staying in hotels. for paris, we wanted a premium location in Le Marais, without a premium hotel price tag. so we turned to Airbnb and ended up renting this charming apartment in our selected neighborhood.
it was a great idea, we wanted a home to come back to at the end of a long, touristy day. a place where we could have breakfast together, so we could be able to experience paris a tiny bit as a local, shop the local market and bakery for delicious pastries and come back home. wake up to fresh flowers from the local market. how beautiful is that?
as soon as I come back, i’ll post the link to our apartment and B. will write a review about our experience. isn’t this an adorable place?
^^ what about the view from our balcony? ^^
^^ one of the extra beneffits of renting an apartment is the ability to have access to a wash machine and get our laundry done while on vacation. it makes for smaller suitcases, easier to pack, since we can get clean clothes while we are here! ^^
4 years ago, B. and I went on our first date. it was so beautiful.
you know? one of those first dates that lasted 10 hours. we had drinks, dinner, visited a park and went for coffee. 4 different spots in north jersey that are very special and dear to me! i also have saved the shirt he used on our first date. these are all happy memories!
i can’t even begin to express how thankful i am for having him in my life. for four years he has supported me, changed me, made me better, loved me, made me laugh and become a more positive person, that focus on love daily.
on monday, B. and I had the chance to spend a wonderful afternoon with Jesus and his friend Carlos. they are two amazing Spanish photographers and we had the best of times! we felt completely comfortable, we got to do all our crazy wish list pictures, they were super fun and the results are just amazing!
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