Adventures in KandiLand: First day of the rest of my life...

Well I never imagined my second blog post on my Adventures of KandiLand would be the best adventure of my life thus far- I got engaged!

First, let me give you a little background to how I met him. His name is Matthew Alton Foley and he grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Attending college in Santa Cruz is what brought him to California and then years after he moved to San Diego with his friends.

About 2 years ago I was just living my life writing a blog about bad dates and was really kind of feeling hopeless about love. I felt like I was always looking and dating and it was just so exhausting. I decided in October of 2011 to give it a break and I was going to stop dating. In November of 2011 (a month later) I went to a pizza joint in Little Italy with my co-workers. My co-worker at the time, Dannie was talking about a few friends she had on a dating site that seemed to be a good one. I of course said, “I refuse to go on another site and pay for love”. She said, “Well, it’s free”. Long story short her and the other girls said if I didn’t at least try it out then they would set up an account for me and I wouldn’t have a say. SO….with a little arm twisting I decided to scope it out. The website is called OKcupid and it is actually free and legit... I have actually been meaning to email them and tell them about our story. I made some rules for myself when signing up that I would not message any guys and if any guys messaged me their profiles had to be perfect or I wouldn’t reply. I had been on it for about 2 days and was just browsing through all the guys and I saw his picture. Right away my heart was racing because I had never seen such an attractive man. I went and looked at his page and was just smitten with what he had to say and he also is a huge fan of Seinfeld. Knowing my rules I clicked off the page and went about my day and trying everything in my power to not sign back on and message him. The next day I checked my email and saw that someone had messaged me…it was him. He wrote a short email making a joke about the breed of my dog and then saying he was probably more obsessed with Seinfeld than I was. I was ecstatic! I remember just being so giddy and feeling such excitement. We exchanged a few emails for the next 2 days then decided to meet. I still remember it like it was yesterday- getting ready in the bathroom at work because we were meeting for happy hour in little Italy. I was wearing a red, short, cotton dress and black boots. I remember my heart racing when I walked into the restaurant and saw him in his work slacks and button up sitting at the bar with a beer. I walked in and he turned around and smiled. We started with drinks, great conversation, and a ton of laughter. I added more money to my meter and we went and got dessert and dinner…it was the perfect date. He put his arm around me when it was cold and then we ended the night. For the next 2 weeks we texted and talked about our next date…and from there it really was history. I knew he was the one about 2 months after dating. I have never felt a love like this. My heart still skips a beat when I see him. He is the most beautiful person I have ever met. I feel so safe with him and trust him with every ounce of my being. He ‘gets’ me and accepts me for exactly who I am. He is funny and logical and weird and perfect. I truly from the bottom of my heart believe we are soul mates and that we were meant to find one another. So…that’s the background J

Matt and I have wanted to go back to New Mexico since our last trip we took in February 2012. We went when it was snowing which I loved but he has wanted to take me back during the warmer months as well. We decided in June to book a trip to New Mexico for Labor Day weekend. When Matt was growing up his grandfather owned some cabins on a nice piece of land in Northern New Mexico. Matt has told me so many stories about all of the great times he has had at his grandpa’s and how beautiful the property is. When his grandfather passed away the land was sold to family friends who Matt’s family knew would take very good care it. One of the things Matt arranged for our trip was to go and visit the property so I could finally experience it. Matt’s mom had emailed weeks before our trip letting the owners’ know Matt wanted to propose to me on the land and they happily offered it up. It was planned for Saturday that we would drive 2 ½ hours to get to the property and take one way in and one way out so that I could get a nice feel for Northern New Mexico. Our road trip started at about 9 am. Northern New Mexico is gorgeous and I was so impressed with the different terrains. I always pictured New Mexico to be a dry dessert and man was I wrong. We ended up getting to the cabin around 10ish and it was absolutely stunning. There were pine trees and ponds and a few log cabins with meadows all around; it was just beautiful. Matt had mentioned a trail he wanted to take me to where there were some really pretty meadows. When we got there we decided to do that first and then he was going to teach me how to fly fish. We hopped on a four wheeler and headed up the mountain. I was on the back holding on and we kept going up and up and up; it was really beautiful. There were meadows everywhere with wild flowers. We came to one meadow that took my breathe away. It opened up to a view of the whole valley and there was a little pond with trees all around. Matt slowed down and asked if I wanted to stop for awhile. I told him yes and that I had to take pictures of this beautiful sight. I hopped off the back of the 4 wheeler and started taking pictures of the view. I turned around to talk to Matt and saw that he was down on one knee holding the ring in his hand. He asked, “Kandi, will you marry me?” I was so shocked I said, “What are you doing…yes!” I dropped to my knees to meet him at the ground and cried on his shoulder for five minutes. We talked about how much we loved each other while we were hugging and then I finally pulled my face away to look at the ring. It was absolutely beautiful. I still don’t understand how he could have picked such a perfect ring for me. I never once mentioned what my dream ring would look like or what my style was and yet there he was holding it. We sat up there for a while and talked and then went down the mountain to the bigger pond. Matt had packed a picnic with a table cloth and everything. We had white wine, cheese, hummus, crackers, salami, grapes, and jam. There was also a property dog roaming around which made me happy because I love animals. We toasted to our future and I called Amira, my brother, and my mom and dad to tell them the news! Turns out Matt had asked my dad for my hand in marriage on father’s day and had called Amira a few weeks before to let her in on the secret. My mom and brother were both in the dark and you can only imagine their excitement. After that Matt taught me how to fly fish and I actually caught something!! Except I couldn't reel it in and it got off the hook. We drove back to Matt’s parent’s house, stopping off a few places to take in the scenery and enjoy the trip. When we got to Matt’s parents house his mom and dad were waiting at the door with huge smiles. His mom made fresh guacamole (she knows the way to my heart is food) and they had a bottle of champagne, balloons, and flowers. I felt like a true princess. I walked in and said, “Well I guess I’m going to be a Foley now”. Kandi Loren Foley, Kandi Loren Foley…I can’t stop saying it (sorry Brown family J). Matt had also made a reservation to have dinner at a nice place in Santa Fe but we were kind of exhausted and sun burnt. I said you know what…let’s just get in pajamas and relax. I didn’t really care about a dinner or dressing up, I just wanted to hang out with him and call my friends and family. The rest of the weekend was filled with celebratory dinners, talks about wedding plans, and relaxing with family and friends. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. I can’t stop looking at the ring on my finger and I can’t stop calling him my fiancé (although I sound booshie saying it). I feel like I am living in a dream and I just couldn't be happier. What a way to end my 29^th year of being alive!!! Here are some pictures of the wonderful weekend.

The house Matt grew up in