I'm in love, I'm in love and I don't care who knows it!! (Please see here if you need help getting that intonation right...).

Jimmy asked me to marry him on Sunday evening during the last night of our beautiful getaway to Joshua Tree. In true Allie/Jim fashion we were on an excursion down a long, beautiful dirt road, which ended in an amazing 360 degree view of Joshua Tree and the surrounding area. The sun was starting to set, we had the entire place to ourselves, and we were reminiscing on what a perfect vacation it had been. I always thought I'd be completely expecting it when the time came, but he really managed to surprise me (probably because he surprised himself)! Turns out the ring had been burning a hole in his pocket for days as he waited for the perfect moment, so I don't even think he knew it was the right time until about 2 minutes before :).

He even managed to get it on camera! Well actually, I did...I had set up our camera's self-timer for a long overdue vacation shot, and he embraced the moment, getting down on one knee just as the countdown approached zero.

Jimmy, I can't wait to continue this adventure with you.

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In case you care to peek, here are some photos from our magical Eureka Peak sunset.

Mer Sverige (More Sweden)

Can I share a few more photos from our trip to Sweden? I took about a million while we were there. I just can't get enough of the nautical blue, white and red that you see just about everywhere on the Swedish coast. 

Today I'm in New England, enjoying time with friends and family. I hope you have a lovely weekend!

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Hej Sweden!

As I mentioned in my last post, Jimmy and I recently took a vacation in Sweden. 

Now, a question for you - was your reaction just now "Sweden, why Sweden?!". If so then you're not alone. At least 75% of the folks we've mentioned our trip to have responded with some variation of that question, either assuming the trip must be to visit family or for work (nope), or saying "hmm, that's never been on my list" or simply, "...Sweden?" [in surprised voice]. I have to admit that the folks who simply said "wow that must have been gorgeous!" won a couple of extra points in my book ;).

Because yes - Sweden! Crisp, clean, stunning, friendly, delicious Sweden.

I'll save some of the details for my next post, but in general - we fell in love. With the Scandinavian design, the fresh air, the shockingly clean city streets, the kind and friendly strangers, the contrast of primary colors in the countryside, the 10:30pm sunsets, and the mix of incredibly-old with incredibly-modern. Plus, Sweden is a very easy country to travel in - things are very intuitive and organized, and the folks are very happy to speak English with you. We'll definitely be back.

Our favorite way to travel is to just get in a car and go, and so that's what we did. We rented a car and explored Stockholm, the island of Gotland, Gothenburg, and then returned to Stockholm again.

Here are some photos from our trip, in case you'd like to see...

I have another batch of Sweden pics coming up soon! In the meantime, some fun links about Sweden I've collected from around the web:

     The quirky way that some Swedes say "yes".

     One of my favorite stores in Sweden.

     A Swedish island home.

     and

     Visiting Stockholm on a budget.