Spreading the Love

Post-proposal, we headed back home to start our normal Friday - except now we were ENGAGED! Yay!

Remember my man-gagement present? Well, so much time had elapsed since we bought it and in the flurry of excitement in proposing, Mr. HotTea forgot that he could now wear his watch. Double yay!

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Notifying the parental units was the very next order of business. I'm originally from Ohio, and my parents still live there. Because of the distance, Mr. HT placed a call earlier in the week to ask them for their blessing. Such a gentleman! As Mr. HT tells the story, Papa Teacup questioned "are you sure?" and then said "good luck with that." What a joker.

As I mentioned before, I've had a prior engagement (or two). My parents knew of Mr. HT's upcoming proposal and instead of the expected phone call, I decided to send flowers to announce our engagement in the hopes of pseudo-surprise.

Mama Teacup received the flowers and did what any proud mom would - she posted a photo on my Facebook wall for all the world to see.

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Oh crap! I saw it during a business lunch and could not call her fast enough. Delete! Delete! Delete! Mr. HT had not yet told his family, and we planned to host a dinner with them at our favorite local restaurant the next evening. That picture had to go, and STAT. I'm friends with Mr. HT's siblings and we didn't want to ruin the surprise. After a quick scramble, she figured out how to erase the evidence. Could Mama Teacup keep it a secret for another 24 hours?

Um, in a word - no. To her credit, she lasted almost 20 before she posted it on her own wall. Sneaky, sneaky mom. My extended family started peppering my FB with congratulations. Sadly, I deleted each one as it came in and sent the well-wisher an apology. The HT family dinner could not come soon enough.

Somehow Mr. HT and I managed to keep our engagement under wraps until that night. Mr. HT's brother came down from the Bay area and his sister and family traveled 3 hours to be there. His other BIL speculated that someone was either preggers or engaged. We maintained poker faces.

I don't know, doc!

Image via johnkstuff.blogspot.com / Credit Warner Bros. Cartoons

Finally after we had all eaten, Mr. HT made the announcement and my ring found it's rightful place back on my finger. Whew! I'm a terrible liar and felt relieved to reveal our little secret to the world.

Mama HT inspecting the goods

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Engagement watch and Mama HT tearing up - happy tears!

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It's officially official!

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We gave our families a little engagement drama and those stories bring back a flood of excited anticipation as we spread the love...

Image via www.instructables.com

How did you decide to share the news of your engagement with your families? Share your experience here, did you receive any unique or unexpected responses? Who was the most surprised?

A Very Merry Unbirthday to Me!

Hello, Hive! I'm Miss Teacup, extending you a warm welcome to my cozy little corner of WB. I must admit feeling like I've just been spun sick with giddiness on the Mad Hatter's ride at Disneyland. Nevertheless, we have some celebrating to do!

Image via deviantart.com / Illustration by Inflatable Banana

If you know the song, sing along:

I'm a little teacup, short and stout.

Here is my handle, here is my --- ? ---

Whoops. That's teaPOT, you say? Okay, let's try another tune.

Video via youtube.com / Music by Black Eyed Peas

Livin life, feelin free

That's how it's supposed to be

Come join my festivites

Celebrate like Imma be

Lyrics via www.sing365.com

Had I done a happy dance, the Black Eyed Peas couldn't have written a better song for the occasion. But my reaction was unlike many of the Bees before me who danced and giggled after reading those magic words – “you'd be a great addition to the Weddingbee team.”

Instead, I felt an overwhelming wave of shock and disbelief and instantly burst into tears. Happy tears for sure, and the smile came later. It's for the best that you know some fun facts about me upfront, dear friends. 

Fun fact #1: I’m a crier.

"Happy Tears" via www.slate.com / Artist Roy Lichtenstein

In the days after submitting my application, I checked my email constantly. It felt like at least once a minute. I read and re-read all the board threads about blog application response times here with no clarity about when Pengy's email would arrive. Honestly, I wanted to get my rejection as soon as possible so I could move on to obsessing about some other thing. 

Waiting to see a doctor, I clicked through my inbox for the billionth time. Wedding spam, news updates, Weddingbee application. It said something about "the fun details!" And that's when the tears spilled. I regained composure and made a BEEline for my car. 

Image via 411newyork.org

I was in identity crisis, who to BEE? A call to Mr. Fiance went straight to voicemail, so I dialed up the 2nd hotline, my mom.  She chose Teacup or Petit Four. 30 minutes later, Mr. Fiance liked Dalmation, Unicycle or Honey, and you've already met Miss Honey here so that wouldn't do. Another friend in the know liked Ticket based on our reception venue...

Fun fact #2: When it comes to anything related to weddings, I am completely indecisive.

Although I'm embarrassed to share this, my swooning over Teacup started early in the application waiting process. I begin and end every day with a cuppa tea since weaning myself off coffee and diet coke last year. This is my daily habit helper:

Keurig drink machine

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Fun Fact #3: I love tea. Hot or cold, I prefer it green and unsweetened. With soy milk if it happens to be matcha.

And maybe, just maybe, there already exists a recently bookmarked folder of "TEACUPS" for potential reference to quotes, DIY projects and photoshoots. I knew I could either be inviting jinxes or good juju, but I couldn't help myself.

Fun Fact #4: Google search is this girl's internet BFF.

Look at all this teacup inspiration just waiting to be revealed!

Image via kitschyliving.tumblr.com

Image via blog.craftzine.com / Craft by Jenny's Projects

Image and photography via simplybloomphotography.com

Now you know the story of how this Teacup came into BEE-ing. I'll look forward to introducing the Teacup family soon. 

And thanks for coming along for the ride, there's a roller coaster involved! 

Until next time, tell me - coffee or tea? I'd also love to hear suggestions about your favorite tea beverages. Hot, cold, black, green, bottled, loose leaf - I'm always up for sipping something new!