Weekend in Beaufort

So, we're engaged!! Though I'm sure you've seen the video, I thought I'd share a few more details from our weekend in Beaufort, NC. John surprised me on Thursday after work with the news that we were going on a mini vacation that weekend by handing me a suggested packing list :) The next few days were one surprise after another, which I loved!

On Saturday morning John booked us on a ferry out to Shackleford Banks, a barrier island that's at the southern tip of the Outer Banks.



It's famous for wild horses and tons of seashells, and we loved it! We left with one perfect sand dollar after some intense beach-combing.









We got ice cream cones once we were back in town, and then John suggested we walk around and look at the pretty old houses, which is one of my FAVORITE pastimes but one that he usually only tolerates. If I didn't suspect something before, I definitely did at that point :)









The houses and streets were glorious, as you would expect.

We then cleaned up for dinner at an ocean-side restaurant. Once we arrived, I suggested we take a walk on the beach, since we were a little early for our reservation. We walked out to the pier and back, and then when we were almost back at the beach entrance, I suggested we take a self-timer photo, since we were all dressed up. In hindsight, I was playing right into John's plans!! He set up the camera, then walked back over to me, cool as a cucumber. We posed, and then broke away after I assumed the shutter had snapped. Turns out it hadn't, though, since he has set the camera to video, not photo, which meant the proposal that happened next was caught on film!

And that's pretty much that! We had an amazing dinner, more ice cream, an amazing brunch the next day at Beaufort Grocery (you MUST go there if you're in town!), and then headed home. We wanted to wait to spread the news until we could tell my parents in person, which we did over the Fourth weekend, so now I'm so happy to be able to share the news with y'all!

Check back on Monday -- I'll be sharing a little bit more about my engagement ring!