The picture

It’s funny seeing people posting our link over and over again because one of two pictures always shows up: the beautiful ring, or the picture of Addison and me when I’m still blonde.

That picture was taken during one of our first legit dates. I say legit because, well let’s face it, when you’re poor college students, taco bell runs and ordering pizza are sometimes the best you can do (and yet, I love all of those dates just as much).

But I remember this one particularly. Addison was taking me out to eat at an actual restaurant that I’ve been wanting to go to forever. It’s an Italian place and as some of you know…I am very Italian (or at least I try to be). Wanting it to be extra special, I went out and bought a new dress that I found on sale. Looking at the dress now, it really wasn’t that cute. You can’t see it in the picture, but it was tan with brown lace and I bought a new headband and shoes to go with it.

I never do that. And it was nice to treat myself for once. A friend lent me jewelry to wear and everything. I was so excited for this date!

We had gone to the restaurant, and seeing as the floors were slick wood and I was wearing a new pair of heels (which now I never wear heels. I’ve grown wiser), I slipped in front of everyone in the crowded restaurant and Addison caught me.

A funny older man laughed as I fell into Addison’s arms right at this man’s feet, “At least you did it gracefully, sweetheart.”

I sometimes joke that Addison swept me off my feet. But really, I’m just clumsy and he’s the sweet knight in shining armor who catches me when I need him.

After dinner we went for a walk in this cute park in Blowing Rock. It was dark, so when we snapped this picture, the flash made us glow a bit. Yes, this picture is over 2 1/2 years old, but it is still one of my all time favorite pictures of us together. It was one of the firsts.

In fact, Addison sent me a picture frame when I was away in New York this summer with about 5 different prints I could choose from to put inside it. A lot of them were new pictures, but this one was in the pile. I didn’t hesitate with my choice on which one to feature. It still sits on my desk.

Addison also has a version of this in one that I made for him, except it’s a compilation of 3 different photos. I had realized early on that most of our pictures together, we weren’t standing side-by-side. Rather, we always stood with one person behind the other. I put them in a square like grid with the fourth square saying, “I’ve got your back.”

And that’s what I think about when I see this picture. I think about our first fancy date. I think about him catching me when I fall. And I think about how we always have each other’s back.

So please…vote for us! So we can each other’s backs forever!

But in the meantime, I thought I’d share some other pictures, to especially demonstrate our weird habit of always standing behind each other in photos (from newest to oldest):