love stories: laura & radley

Are you ready? I don't think you are... because today is probably going to be everybody's favorite day on beauty and the feast because it's definitely mine! One of my favorite bloggers... ever... is here to share part of her love story which just happens to be my absolute favorite love story... ever... and part of the reason I started this little series to begin with.  I've been following her blog for years and never even kind of dreamed that I'd ever have the privilege of hosting her on my little blog. Meet Laura from Little Things and Curiosities and get ready for some beautiful words and heart melting story-telling about the guy who captured her heart (and let's be honest... all of ours' too) and how she just knew he was the one.

photo courtesy of cooper carras

You just know. That's what people always say about finding their other half — about knowing once and for all that they've met The One. You just know. And I understand what those people mean, because at some point in a relationship, you stop waiting for everything to become clear, to turn black and white. At some point, your questions are either answered or feel irrelevant or maybe you just stopped asking them because you decided that the gray area was sort of the point. The gray area, you realized, is everything.

I just know — and yet, there was also this one moment. This one sweet and simple, fleeting moment in which I realized Radley was It.

His face was scruffy and tanned that morning, slightly burnt, his days back then filled with bayside runs and sandy beach football and long, sunny motorcycle rides. He wore khaki cargo shorts and a green tee, the one I loved because it brought out the golden-green shade of his eyes.

It was early in the morning, a Sunday, and we were carrying hot coffees as we walked along the edge of Mission Bay. I wore cutoff denim shorts and a hooded sweatshirt and my hair was frizzy from the wind.

"The sky is cerulean," I said. "Cerulean. That's my favorite crayon."

And the way he looked at me — his head tilted sideways, eyebrows raised, a half-smirk — well, everything felt sure. He knew, and I knew, and the sky was the color of the brightest blue crayon.

{You can read about the beginning of their love story here.}

love stories: my beautiful parents

Today, I have a very special guest post for you all. In honor of my parents' 37th (holy crap!) wedding anniversary which they celebrated this past week, my dad (John) is here to tell you his love story with my mom (Deedie). 

I may have mentioned this before, but I really do have the greatest parents ever. When I was younger, however, I didn't know just how lucky I was. I smirked at the fact that my parents eloped instead of having a giant wedding (now, the thought of eloping is possibly one of the most romantic I can think of). I was always confused as to why my mom wore such a simple wedding band instead of one with diamonds (now I wouldn't want a diamond ring if my life depended on it).

Basically, I was a huge brat.

But I find it kind of ironic. Everything that they have: a simple, loving, lasting and adventurous relationship, is exactly what I'm hoping for. Their story inspires me and I hope it inspires you all too. 

In the words of my dad, John:

"I was living with two other guys, one of which, Brian, had been dating a woman named Dorothy since the 8th grade. Dorothy and her roommate, Deedie, had also known one another since their high school years. Brain would frequently ask me to come with him over to Dorothy’s and of course I’d say no. I felt like it was odd for me to just show up. Eventually, though, I gave in. One night we all ended up at Dorothy and Deedie’s apartment and there we were, the four of us. Then a few weeks later, a group of us were going to the zoo and Deedie and Dorothy stopped by my apartment to pick up Brian  and I decided to go also. So that’s how it all began and soon after, we went out on our first few dates! I'll never forget one of our first dates. I loved Greek food and grape leaves and Deedie had never tried them before, so we went to a restaurant called Zorba’s. On another date, I took her to a place called Downunder where I introduced her to frog legs and steak tartar. She was a good sport.

Then back in 1972, I gave Deedie my first gift to her: a book called Together We Walk by Peter S. Seymour. I think I was a bit of a romantic back then, maybe I've changed now! Anyhow, back to the book. In it I wrote,

“No matter what that promise of tomorrow may be, I want you to know that you brought more into my Christmas this year than anyone else has for a long, long, time. I’ll be thinking of you on the 25th. Merry Christmas Deedie. Love, John ‘72”

It's funny... we were 22 years old... yea, a long, long, time ago! Oh to be young! A few years later, I was offered a job in Puerto Rico and me being me, I jumped at the chance! I went to San Juan, to my tiny but beachfront pad and life went on. Deedie visited but was not thrilled with the arrangement. I was (and still am) the “gypsy” type: the one that would scrape up every dime I could, buy a plane ticket to anywhere it would get me to, then with little to no money, hitchhike to town and blend in with the locals and culture. But Deedie was conservative. She planned and saved and was never frivolous nor spontaneous.

Could such personality differences really work and could the relationship really last? Over the course of the time I was in San Juan, if Deedie wasn’t on the island visiting we were talking on the phone all the time. Eventually, I proposed.

Deedie flew down to San Juan and we eloped in St. Thomas! We arranged for a local photographer to follow us and take pictures at the courthouse and hotel. Our twosome wedding reception was dinner for two at the Mafolie Hotel overlooking the harbor as the sun set. Deedie was, at the time, a flight attendant with National Airlines and as luck would have it, National was about to go on strike, which could last for months. So Deedie and I bought plane tickets to Europe and off we went on a month honeymoon full of adventure. Deedie and I first went to Athens (and bought our wedding bands there), then to Mykonos, Greece for four days, then to Paris to meet up with my friend, Chris. As hard as we tried, it took an entire first evening to convince Chris we had actually eloped. No one believed us!

Then came 1988. Again, I was the forever gypsy and adventurer-type and Deedie was very grounded. But 1988 was the turning point that fully made the two of us one when our daughter was born and our life was forever changed. Having a child, and at a time in one’s life when they have seen everything and been everywhere... maybe two or three times, is the most remarkable event you can imagine and that segment of our “new” life began.



Over the years, things were great and things were not so great. Deedie eventually worked for three airlines, Pan Am being one of them, and I worked for about six different companies.We lived in Miami and San Francisco together, then I lived in Washington DC while Deedie lived again in Miami. Then we moved to Munich, I moved to Malaysia (for work) and we all lived in Dallas, then Anna Maria Island, then Lake Tahoe and now San Rafael, California.

At the onset, to me, love was fun. It was romance and togetherness and saying “I love you."

Love over the years, however, becomes trust, compassion, assisting when one or the other is down and when life’s difficulties seem to be taking a toll. It's not saying “I love you” but meaning and knowing that you love each other. Love is when differences no longer matter; they are there, they have been there and they will always be there. But they aren't on the forefront. They're managed and their importance becomes minimized and accepted.

Is any of it easy? No. Is it worth the work and effort? That question, I think, depends on only the two people involved. To many, no it’s not. But to others... absolutely.

I love Deedie Carmona Safran and always will."

My parents | Lake Tahoe | November 2010 

{Congratulations on 37 years, Mom and Dad. I love you so much!}

love stories: stacy & chris

As I mentioned before, I started this series to document some of the greatest love stories floating around the world; first and foremost because they make me oh so happy, but also to instill hope in those of us whose love stories don't exist just yet.

So for today, I'd like for you all to meet Stacy. We bonded over being from the same area in Texas (Texas Forever heehee) and though we've never met, it kind of feels like she's an old friend. Her story makes me especially happy because it is so serendipitous and proves that fate does exist. I'll stop now because I don't want to spoil the story, but read on! I promise you'll walk away feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

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Hello to Allie’s beautiful readers!  I’m Stacy from Just Breathe, Stacy, and I’m so happy to be a part of this great series. 

I grew up loving romantic comedies then around the age of 22 began hating them because I finally realized they weren’t realistic.  Jump to age 28 when I was single and living in Dallas, Texas where whether people like to admit it or not, it is often frowned upon if you’re not at least planning your wedding by the time you graduate college. It’s just kind of what people do.  However, I was the proud rebel until the age of 25 but then I became lonely and really wanted to find the one. I had finally given up.

On my 28^th birthday, a dear friend gave me a card that encouraged me to say “yes” more often and get out of my comfort zone. Sooner rather than later, I had my first opportunity to say “yes.”

Last August, a friend who worked for the New York Yankees offered me a free trip to Chicago. I remember my first night in Chicago because it was so liberating – I was all by myself. I walked around Michigan Avenue, shopped at H&M and ended up at Pizzaria Due where I waited 45 minutes to get a table and ordered a personal deep dish pizza with a fun drink to enjoy by myself.

But by the third night, it was the last night of the series between the New York Yankees and the White Sox. So if I wanted to go to a game, I HAD to go to this game [Wednesday, August 3, 2011].  I decided to show up fashionably late, mostly to miss the crowds on the train.  As I sat on the train, clutching my purse and watching all of the people, I noticed two very attractive guys get on at the Lake stop. They sat down opposite to me. As we were coming to a stop on 35^th Street, the three of us stood and started towards the exit and one of them [Chris] said, “you know your team is going to lose.” 

(Side note:  I was wearing a Yankee shirt even though I promise you I’m a Texas Ranger supporter.)

I then went into a much too long diatribe about how I was just there visiting someone from the Yankees, that’s why I was wearing the shirt… etc. etc. To my surprise, they were still interested in talking to me after my rambling debut.

the night we met

When we approached the entrance to the stadium, there were a few awkward pauses, and I was surprised to see that I wasn’t the only one not ready to enter and find our separate seats.  We talked outside for probably another hour – consisting mostly of Chris asking me questions.

[He later told me I was fascinating to him because I answered every question the opposite of what he assumed.] 

Chris still makes fun of me because as we were finding our way into the ballpark, I asked to be his Facebook friend while he asked for my phone number. I’m such a social media weirdo that I just assumed this would be the end of our interaction and that it might be cool to have a new Internet buddy in Chi Town. But he won and got my number and actually offered to meet back up with me when I was ready to leave so that I’d have people to walk back to the subway station with because well, if you’ve ever been to the south side of Chicago … you know. 

I was ready to leave within about 30 minutes of the game and it turned out Chris and Tom were ready to leave within about 15 minutes. My phone wasn’t getting any reception [I knew because Facebook wouldn’t upload my pic!] so I became a little nervous and walked outside to try and get some service. When I did, I had several missed calls and texts from Chris. The most recent seemed urgent; Chris and Tom were leaving but he had been waiting on me. Since he hadn’t heard back, he was just going to leave. But he said that it was nice to meet me and was about to give me subway directions when I finally got my text to go through.

Chris stayed at the subway station for probably 15 minutes after his friends had left him to wait for some girl he barely knew. I walked up and he said,

“You have two choices.  A.  You get on this train and I will tell you exactly how to get back to your hotel. I’ll wish you the best. Or B.  you can take a chance and come out with me and I’ll show you around a fun part of Chicago where you can experience it more than the touristy parts and we can hang out with my friends.”

Whew.  I remember staring over the rails of the subway looking back at the Chicago skyline thinking to myself, “am I in a movie right now?”  I also thought back to my promise to myself to say YES more often. After a warning to Chris that I had a mace pen in my purse, I agreed to go and said yes.

Chris took me back to his ‘hood, Lakeview, where we picked up his sweet dog and walked around the city.  We never did end up going to a bar or hanging out with his friends. We just walked and talked and took in the beautiful city. I decided to call it a night after a couple of hours.  The cab showed up a little too soon but when it did, we hugged and agreed it was a fun night. The taxi door shut and  I was shuttled back to Michigan Avenue with a BIG smile on my face.

I waited two minutes, once I realized the cab driver was indeed going in the right direction, and took out my phone to text Chris. All rules or whatever games people like to play were out the window.  I had a great night and I wanted him to know. I had nothing to lose at this point so I said,  “can we keep in touch?”

He responded quickly with a “no,” but then a follow up text after a few minutes of me sweating and saying, “yes, of course!”

Over the next month, a texting relationship quickly turned into a phone relationship then escalated to a Skype relationship. One day I get a call at 3:00 a.m. from Chris asking what I was doing for Labor Day and that he had just booked a plane ticket to Dallas. Wow. Before I knew it, he was here for four days.  The second night he was there, we both knew how serious this was and we were fully committed. 

If you know Chris, you know that he makes decisions and acts on them. So a month later, Chris had quit his job, sold his apartment and was moving to Dallas. For us and our relationship, to say that we “just knew,” is an understatement. I never once had a little somebody in my head telling me to slow down or that this was a bad idea. It just always felt right. Even my family, who has always known me as the girl to always finds something wrong with a guy, found this erratic behavior in me to be somewhat normal. They felt that if I was this serious about a guy then it must be the real deal! 

We met August 3, 2011 and on August 3, 2012, Chris proposed. We’ve had our ups and downs like any relationship, but we’re so strong right now and I think that the key is that we’ve never ever played games with each other.  We’ve been 100% real the entire time. It would be too easy to say this has been the best year of my life.  It has been an intense and passionate year. I’ve learned more about myself than I ever thought possible and likewise for Chris. We’ve both found the person that completes and compliments us best. 

I’m 29 years old; I’m not 18 anymore. I’ve had many relationships and none have ever come close to this.  It sounds cliché but really with Chris, I just knew.  

{Thank you for sharing with us, Stacy!}

love stories: lindsay & nick

Today, I have Lindsay, one of my most favorite bloggers, here to talk about her love story. One thing I noticed right off the bat from reading pages and pages deep through Lindsay's blog was her uncanny way of making the simple things in life seem magical and absolutely beautiful. Her love story is no exception and with a little one on the way, I'm looking forward to reading and seeing how Lindsay's relationship and life evolves with her new blessing. One of the many reasons I'm so drawn to Lindsay's love story is because it is simple. It began with a friendship and evolved into something truly special which is exactly how I foresee my future forever relationship (but these things can't really be planned, now can they?) So without further adieu...

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Hello all you beauty & the feast readers! Lindsay from Little One Love here. I am so honored that Allie asked me to write a little bit about my husband and I's love story. It's nothing out of a fairy tale book or super fancy, but it's ours and it's what has made us the couple we are today.

Nick and I met in high school, what seems like a lifetime ago. We became instant friends and realized soon after we had all those silly things in common- same hobbies, liked the same music yada yada yada, but way back then, the stars were not aligned for us and friends was all we ever were. Our friendship continued to grow through college and almost accidentally we began to lean on each other. He was the friend I called from Chicago when I thought I couldn't bear the homesickness any longer and though he knew it was extremely hard for me at first, he never once suggested I should come home.

Looking back now it's funny how his supportive and encouraging ways began with me even before our relationship turned into a "relationship." The summer after our sophomore year of college Nick went off to Europe for the summer and how much I missed him surprised me. I couldn't talk to him whenever I wanted. I couldn't listen to the latest whatever song with him, I couldn't drive around with him visiting old friends and getting ice cream whenever I wanted. In our time a part as friends, my heart started to grow in a new way for him. I realized I compared every other date to him and had unknowingly set him as the standard for how boyfriends should compare. The only problem was, no one compared.

That Christmas vacation, I came home and of course spent most of it with Nick but this time, the stars did seem to align and that spark that was never really there came at an alarming rate. That first kiss of ours seemed so magical and literally from that moment on we became inseparable. Every single thing about "us" made so much sense. We almost felt silly for not realizing it sooner but I suppose the relationships we were both in previously were part of the plan and what led us to one another.

That Christmas vacation was seven years ago. Since then we've lived in Chicago, Los Angeles and Brooklyn together, each city a new adventure and chance for us to grow both individually and together. One of our strongest assets to one another is the constant encouragement. No matter how unrealistic a dream may seem, we're each other's biggest fans. I love everything about Nick and can't believe how blessed I am to have this man by my side each and every day. He's the kind of man that makes you better. His heart, his talent, his ambition, his compassion for others- he defines what a good man is. Soon this man of mine and I will welcome our first baby and thinking of Nick as a father literally makes my heart want to explode. This child of ours is going to fall so head over heels in love with him just the way I have. We are lucky, this baby and I.

{Thank you Lindsay for sharing your story & to you all for your AMAZING Etsy recommendations yesterday!}

you know what i'm excited for?

photo via

...the day I have a love story of my own to share with you all.

love stories: amanda & cam

Hi beauty & the feast readers! I'm Amanda from Marshalls Abroad. Thanks to Allie's wonderful series, I get to be with you today. My husband and I love telling and retelling how the Lord brought us together. Looking back, we can see why He may have waited until He did and how His timing is literally perfect. And like every good love story, there's so much more to this {years!} then I can fit into a blog post, but here's my attempt at a short version...

I spent my junior year of college abroad in Italia {!} and when I got back and started the last year of school, I was continually asked what the plan was after graduation. I'd just say I thought I might know better after going to D.C.

I spent the winter quarter of my senior year in Washington on an internship program through the University of California, interning at Fox News, and working on our one big assignment - a 30 page research paper and presentation. I decided to write on something I knew nothing about - the Iraq War and Islamic jihad. Ha, no light subject matter, I know! I spent the whole quarter researching and enthralled by the religion, culture and region, all the while trying to find someone from the military to interview for it. One of my best friends, Suzy, remembered she went to high school with someone who was at the Naval Academy. He set up an interview for me with one of the midshipmen who had spent the four years prior deployed in Iraq and Africa.

A few Saturdays later, Suz and I were in Annapolis at the Naval Academy, sitting around one of the tables in Dry Dock, waiting for someone named "Marshall" to show up. Little did I know that he would be the most handsome thing I had ever seen in my life! I saw him through the glass before he came to our table - he was in his uniform and so tall. He took off his cover {hat} and was SOO strikingly handsome that I flew up from my chair and with a huge smile that I could not hide, made a beeline to him to introduce myself, immediately forgetting what he said his first name was because I was so overwhelmed by him and by how hard my heart was beating! Wow, HELLO! The interview lasted about an hour, and I can tell you that we almost didn't break eye contact at all - literally. I'm laughing remembering this, but I took notes staring straight into his eyes and miraculously could read the chicken scratch later that I'd blindly written.

I asked him all about his time in Iraq and was SO impressed by how intelligent, well-spoken and passionate he was. There were a few things I could tell immediately: he was someone that people literally stopped to listen to when he opened his mouth; he was very loved; and he was incredibly adventurous {HUGE to me}. I then asked him if he had ever been hurt during his tours, and he said with a knowing smile, "No, not a scratch." He said he was a strong believer and had a lot of people praying for him. I'll never forget this - "that kind of faith can move mountains." This already AMAZING man was now perfect to me.  I remember the thought that came to my mind while our eyes were locked - "Yeah..I could look at this face for the rest of my life." WOAH - where did that come from?! But honestly, deep down, I just knew it.  I was looking at my husband. We got up to say goodbye and I had to crane my neck to look up at him. There were about a million butterflies in my stomach from the way he was looking down at me. 

Every time I got an email from him, I would run through our house and find one or all of my five roommates {who are also five of my closest friends} and burst out in an excited craze that HE HAD WRITTEN ME! I remember Katelyn, Carie and Amber jumping on my bed with me, all surrounding the laptop, analyzing his email and swooning together. 

By May, he asked me what I was doing after graduation, and though I had been told I could come and work at Fox, I was applying for another job to work abroad. It took my Mom telling me to get my little behind back to D.C. if I ever wanted to date or find out who this guy was. So, a few days later, I talked to Fox and took the job that they graciously gave me. My friend Chuck {Katelyn's husband} convinced me after about an hour of explaining that I needed to call Cam - ME? Call HIM? I paced back and forth outside of our house for atleast ten minutes until I finally got the courage to call him. I was so elated after talking to him that I sprinted up all the stairs into our house, threw open the door, jumped up and down and screamed to Carie what had just happened {she obviously looked at me like I was nuts}. My friends knew the reason I had taken the job in D.C. so they naturally thought I was going insane for moving across the country because of some guy I spent ONE hour with MONTHS ago. But it was then, when I made that decision, that Cam knew for certain we were going to get married. 

He called me all summer and it was very much like dating over the phone. We talked every night up until my move and I knew for sure each time we hung up that he loved me.

The day I saw Cam again was one of the most wonderful of my life. I was talking to the security guard at the front of the Academy when I saw him through the glass doors. I couldn't exactly remember what he looked like during the six months that separated when we met to when we saw each other again, but I do know that night my heart felt like it literally jumped out of my chest when I saw his face. I dropped everything I was carrying and ran through the doors and was hugged so tightly. I can't really remember what we talked about; I just remember the way he looked at me and how I had a million things I wanted to say to him and couldn't remember a single one. His handsome face and sweet and loveable personality had me totally mesmerized.

I fell in love with Cam the very first moment I saw him in Dry Dock and especially after first talking to him, and that has grown TREMENDOUSLY since. God answered every one of my prayers for my "future husband" and what my Dad told me growing up proved to be absolutely true,"Don't think about what he's going to be like too much; you don't need to. The Lord has already taken care of it. He has someone far better than you can even imagine."

love stories: lena & david

Meet Lena. If you haven't visited her blog, you really really should. The first thing I read on Lena's blog was her love story and after reading that, I was sold. Since then, Lena and I have realized our mutual love for India, a country we both spent a lot of time in, as well as photography, food [pesto] and travel [in fact, she's moving to Switzerland next month! I smell a Euro Trip...]. Lena was actually the first blogger I reached out to about this little series... and you'll understand why once you read more [seriously, Nicholas Sparks could write a book on her love story]. 

Our love story begins quite a few years ago, when jump rope and multiplication tables were my reality. Yes, a beautiful school day back in the fourth grade. On this particular day, there was talk of a new boy, David, at school. I walked into geography class, and there he was in all of his nine year old glory. And man, he was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. As I walked to my desk, he looked up at me and that, my friends, is when I fell hopelessly in love. Through the years, I drew hearts around his name, daydreamed about our first date and imagined that (one day) he would love me back. And ten years later, he did.

This happened on their second date. Obviously, it was meant to be.

Just a few weeks before my sophomore year of college came to a close, David asked if I'd like to go on a date. Without hesitation, I agreed. On the first day of summer, he picked me up and we went rock climbing. We watched the sunset and he held my hand.. everything was just as I had always imagined. But a second date had to wait because I had committed my summer to sending high school students to summit mountains at a backcountry camp. This particular camp was nestled deep in British Columbia's wilderness, and what made it especially unique was that it excluded the comfort of modern technology (no phone, no internet, no flushing toilets.. crazy). So, he wrote me letters. Everyday. And I wrote him back. Everyday. And it was during that time that our love grew immensely.

lena and david // photo courtesy of ed hetherington

Upon my return, David took me on that second date which led to many more. After an afternoon filled with hiking and long conversation, when all was dark and quiet, he whispered I love you. I smiled and after a decade of waiting, turned to whisper the same thing back to him. In 2010, during a spring shower that brought about a breeze that smelled of honeysuckle and dreamy mist, we vowed for eternity in front of our family and closest friends.

photo courtesy of ed hetherington

Our marriage has seen an abundance of joyful times and trying times, all of which are deeply appreciated. You see, I've come to find that learning how to love someone well takes a lot of time and energy, but that is what makes this little thing called love so incredible. Knowing someone for exactly who they are, the good and the bad, and loving all of them is something that I can hardly begin to put into words. But one thing I know for sure.. it's more beautiful than I could have ever hoped for or imagined.

love stories: carey & taylor

The Motivation: As a hopeful romantic, I know my love story will unfold when the time is right and I'm excited for it and him to become a part of my life. But until then, I'll continue to live my life and spend a ridiculous amount of time "awww-ing" at other people's romances in order to instill hope in your hearts but also to keep the hope in mine. As part of my love stories series, you can look forward to some of my favorite bloggers' beautiful love stories, shared right here.

But today, I'm here to talk about Carey, one of my dearest college friends, who asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding just a few months ago. Besides being the rational mind for me when I can't seem to get it together, Carey's love story continues to inspire me and fill my heart with hope. As a fun twist, Carey's fiance, Taylor, is sharing his side of their love story today. His beautiful words are a testament to their pure and unfaltering love and it makes me so happy that I get to be a part of their special day in September. 

senior year of high school: taylor & carey [2006]

"I had been on a bus for over 24 hours when it pulled to a stop at Crooked Creek Camp. Everyone on board was rowdy with excitement because we finally reached the place we were told we would have the best week of our lives (money back guarantee). As I waited in line for 80 some odd campers to file off of the bus, I noticed a lot of the camp work crew waiting around the bus. When my turn finally came to step down, I look up to see a strawberry blonde with blue eyes smiling my... I mean... “our” way. I realized the work crew had gathered to help carry our bags to our rooms. So as not to lose my chance, I quickly grabbed my bag and headed back towards the blonde-haired and blue-eyed smiling face. I “strategically” dropped my bag in front of her and said hello.

My fascination with her Chicago accent had me sold! But guilt began to set in after I realized I shouldn’t have let her carry my huge bag, even though she refused any help and trooped on (as I thought to myself, my kind of girl). As she dropped my bag on the floor outside of my room and said goodbye and I made the decision this would not be the last time I would talk to “Chicago."  Low and behold, who was the waitress at the table next to ours at dinner? And of course I tried to get a glance her way anytime she passed by. Several guys at my table took notice and the comments started: “haha you don’t have a chance!” “yea, good luck buddy” and so on.

All the while, I thought, how am I going to talk to this girl? She’s out of my league. Well several dinners and “inconspicuous” glances later, I got my answer.

It was right after lunch, when we all had some free time. I figured we would head over to the main lodge and check out the pool room. On my way down the stairs, I saw her out of the corner of my eye talking to some co-workers. Here's my chance! Quickly, though, I realized, I’m going to make this pretty awkward if I don’t have something to talk about. Anxiety set in and I decided to continue heading downstairs. I made it halfway down when I did something abnormal: I decided I would make it up as I go.

I turned around, headed back up the stairs and in what seemed like a blink of an eye, I was standing in front of her with nothing to say, thinking, “way to go Taylor…” As the conversation with her friends/co-workers ended, she saw that I was standing there and I asked if she had a second to talk.

Carey (Blue Eyes): “Sure, What’s up?”

Taylor (Liar): “I’m interested in work crew next summer and wanted to get your opinion on it.”

Blue Eyes: “Yea! No problem!”

Liar: “Want to play a game of pool while we talk?” (I thought I was smooth with that one)

Forty-five minutes to an hour later I was sold. She’s amazing and I am the guy who came to a young life camp to lie so I could talk to her. Great. But that wasn’t going to stop me. As we said our good byes because her only break of the day was over, I asked, “Could I get your number? You know, in case I have any more questions about work crew.” (That’s twice I  lied at young life camp; I’m going to hell.) She smiled enthusiastically, as if to be excited for me to work there, and wrote down her number.

From that point on, I would get a smiling glance at dinner or a “how’s it going?!” as she rushed pass to serve her table. Needless to say, the guys at my table were shocked.

The last day was there before I knew it and she was standing in the circle drive, close to where I first saw her. We stood around for a few minutes making small talk until the buses showed up. I gave her a hug and said good bye to the girl I thought I would never see again.

1 week later...

I get a text message from Carey (Blue Eyes). We texted a couple of times but it was mostly about how excited she was for me to do work crew.  She obviously did not see through my lies.

About 6 months later...

I’m sitting in my freshman dorm room when I got a friend request on my new Facebook account (circa 2006). Carey Moeller from Hinsdale, Illinois. We started emailing a couple times a week. Then almost once a day.

After that, I was checking my email in between classes. I was set on dating a girl half a continent away. At about three in the morning on a Saturday night when I was texting her, I bought a plane ticket to go see her for the first time since camp.

People don’t have long distance relationships because they are easy. Carey’s time to go off to college came and we decided it wasn’t worth stressing each other out with the distance. Little did we realize neither one of us was really willing to let go that easily. We talked almost everyday. We talked because we missed hearing from each other if we didn’t. She was/is my best friend. We always told each other if it’s meant to be, it will be.

Well let me tell you, it feels like that phrase was meant for us." -Taylor Skains

my personal favorite

{Thank you Carey & Taylor for sharing your beautiful story; love you both!}