European Cruises and Surprise Proposals

Welcome to The In Between Podcast. I'm Astrid.

And I'm Alexis. And we're 2 best friends on a journey to living a fun, intentional life.

We know it's easier to share on a season of life once it's behind you, but what about when you're in the middle of the growth, confusion, and decision-making?

This lifestyle podcast is for the everyday gal who loves to travel, talk about business, relationships, fashion, and everything in between. Hello, hello friends, and welcome back to another episode of The In Between Podcast. It is one half of the pod, Alexis.

And the other half, Astrid. And we are so excited to be back with you all. So we have had episodes come out every single week, but we did have a very busy travel month. And so both Alexis and myself recorded quite a few of the episodes that came out this month, prerecorded earlier this month. And so it feels like we haven't chatted live on here in a hot minute. So we're gonna Catch up with you, catch you up on everything that we did this past month. It's been a busy one for both of us, and I'm excited to just have this little chit-chat with our audience.

Me too. This is going to be lighthearted. This is going to be like, you know, we're not walking you through any specific strategies on this episode. This is just like you're on your hot girl walk, you're at the gym, you're in the car, and you just want to have your girlfriends with you. That's what this episode is. We're just going to catch up. Share what we've been up to, what we're learning, what we've been experiencing. And I'm really excited because Astrid and I actually did not catch up before we recorded. So we really are, her and I are doing this in real time as well. So she's going to ask me things. I don't know. I'm going to ask her things. I don't know. So it's going to be great.

It's going to be amazing. So let's kick off first with your incredible trip that you just wrapped up. So you were in Europe in a cruise. Will you tell us more about that?

Yes. I just got back from truly like the trip of a lifetime. It just felt so iconic and I'm so grateful for every little moment of it. We kicked it off in Italy. We went to Milan for a couple of days, went to Lake Como, and then went to Venice. And we actually met Matthew's family in Venice, Italy, and then we Um, that's where we got on the cruise, and it was an 11-day cruise through Oceania. And Oceania is a luxury cruise line, and I don't have a lot of experience with cruises. I've only ever been on one other cruise. It was about 8 years ago with Matthew's family, actually, and it was a Carnival cruise. And like, that's, that's it. That's my only You know, um, context. That's my only experience with cruises. And so while I've like, you know, gone online and like watched some YouTube videos about Oceania and like checked out their Instagram, I honestly feel like it did not really do what I experienced justice because, oh my gosh, y'all, like insane. Like the amount of It just felt like the most luxurious thing that I've done for that amount of time. You know, like I've stayed at a fun hotel or I've eaten at a really nice restaurant at a like 5-star hotel or like I've done like little pockets, but not like that extension of like course dinners.

It was just nuts.

So we can get it. We can dig into all of that if you want to.

Yeah.

But we went to Croatia for a couple of days. And then 2 days in Croatia, 5 days in Greece, and then 2 days in Turkey. And then we flew back to Houston from Istanbul. And yeah, it was genuinely such a cool way to experience so many different countries, so many different places in a short period of time.

Yeah.

I think that if I were doing that trip on my own and I had that same 11-day itinerary, I would be absolutely exhausted. And I think that's one of the benefits of doing cruises, especially international cruises, because you really do get to experience so many different places. Um, then we were with Matthew's family and his brother and his partner, and it was a really great, like, low-stress trip for us to just spend time together because the travel part was taken care of by the cruise.

Yeah.

All we had to figure out was what time are we meeting for breakfast? And like, you know, there were certain days where we did excursions together and there were certain days where We did excursions like just Matthew and I and then Marcus and his boyfriend and then, um, Stan and Nancy would go out on their own and then we would come back and hang out all night. And so it was a really nice blend of doing a lot of things together, but then also Matthew and I got some really great one-on-one time as well. So yeah, it was just, it was so great. I had also like, I had so much fun sharing content. Like I had fun— We love that.

Outfits.

I had fun taking pictures. Like, I actually really enjoyed that. And it felt so nice to tap into the travel blogger version of me.

We all absolutely lived for it. I remember logging in a few days where I was like, I wonder what Alexis did today. We're following up on you. And I'm like, I want to see what she ate, what she wore, absolutely everything. But thank you for sharing. I feel like there's a misconception sometimes with cruises. that maybe they're not— they haven't been the best experience, or just feeling trapped and like you're just out in the middle of nowhere, just trapped in like a bad experience. So hearing that from you, especially someone that's very well traveled, like you've gone to a lot of places, a lot of great hotels, and done Europe and other continents by foot, hearing that you did really enjoy this experience. I, I take your word for it for sure. So how did you find— like, did your, uh, in-laws find this cruise or did you find it?

We— it was a blend. So every 2 years we go on a trip together. And, um, in 2020, like late 2021, we went on a trip. We did the African safari, South African safari, and that was so much fun. And so whenever last year we were like, what do we want to do? We had kind of landed on the idea of something low stress like a cruise, but we knew we didn't want to do anything in the Caribbean or in in the Gulf of Mexico. Like we really wanted to like kind of take it up a notch, if you will. And we were all willing to take off time. Like we were like, let's put two weeks in and let's like go on a bigger trip. And so we originally zeroed in on Viking and. Like Viking cruises. Viking has river cruises. And then you're like, Viking, what?

I was like, that's an interesting activity.

There's a cruise line called Viking. And they're also like a luxury cruise line. And they do Viking river cruises like through France. And you stop at all the wineries. Like, like there's so many different like intricacies to cruises depending on what country you want to go to. Like there's literally cruises where you can go down the Nile.

Yeah.

So it's, yeah, like it, there are so many options and we knew that we wanted to do something in the Mediterranean. And so then we like looked at Viking's itineraries. Where are they porting? Where are they like disembarking? And then from there we were kind of like, okay, what time of year? So really quick, we originally picked August of this year and I was in Europe last August in Florence, and it was 102, and I was miserable. I was so hot. I hated it. Also, here in Europe, nothing has AC. And not, not to be like a little like brat, but I don't love being like uncomfortable for that amount of time. And I was in Italy for 2 weeks, and it was just like, it was really hot to the point where we would just have to stay inside.

Mm-hmm.

And it's like, that kind of defeats the purpose of going and exploring. So with that said, I texted the group last August and I was like, hey, I'm in Venice right now and it's miserable. Like it's super crowded, it's super hot. Maybe we should reconsider going in the spring. And that's when we were like, okay, what if we do something in April or May? Viking didn't have any itineraries that we were interested in. And so then we found Oceania by accident and then we like zeroed in and now I'm like, I will never, I will never go back. I love her.

Loyal. Please sponsor her.

So I posted a photo, um, and I tagged them in it of me on the boat and they reached out to me and asked if they could reuse the photo. And you know how brands will do that? They're like, use hashtag Oceania partnerships. And then tag us in it and let us know it's okay that you— that we can use it. And I did. And then in the message back to them, I also said like, I'm also open to talking about a content partnership anytime.

Absolutely.

And I think that would be so fun. So if anyone from the team of Oceana happens to be listening to this podcast, hit me up because I would do pretty much anything to—

Honestly, you should do like a content breakdown, like part 1, part 2, part 3 of Uh, your trip with them. And then, because it's such a fun reference back point to your audience right now too that saw your trip and they're like, oh, that's amazing. I want to learn more. I never really thought about traveling in a cruise.

Right.

And then also if they see that, they're like, all right, let's, let's get you on another trip because we want more content like this.

Yes.

And then I'll be your exclusive photographer.

Um, yes, please. That would be so much fun. Millie and Justin, our friends here in Houston, they were like, so we're going to go on our next couple's trip is a cruise?

Yes.

Someone messaged me today actually and said, hold on, I want to pull this up because I think this is so freaking cool. She said, I had posted my last day of us in Istanbul and I posted how sad I was that the content was over. And someone said, no, literally this impacted me so much that I made my boyfriend follow you and we are planning to do an Oceania cruise for our honeymoon now. I know.

That's amazing. I'm like, screenshot, sent to Oceania partnership team.

Yes.

I'll send that too. I'll DM you my screenshot. Yeah.

And I had a couple other people say similar things. Um, and we're actually looking at, um, like Nancy, my mother-in-law, literally yesterday she sent me the itinerary from Rome to Barcelona. It's an 8-day cruise, like through that side of the Med. And then as a family, we were talking about doing Asia. So they have like, they have Australia, New Zealand, they have Asia cruises. So we were looking at Singapore to Hong Kong and they would be able to see so many different countries in Asia. And when you really do the cost breakdown, it's crazy. Like while the ticket prices range depending on your itinerary, they have like— 40 to 60-day cruises. Like, dang, there were people that were—

Retirement, Alexis, and naturally they are doing those.

Catch me on a boat, baby. Um, there were people that were from our cruise itinerary that were staying on after Istanbul and going to Rome. Like, that ship that we were on just stays in the Mediterranean. But all that to say, um, cruises range from like 4, 3 or 4 grand to like 16 grand. So it, it totally depends on what itinerary you pick as well as what stateroom you're in. Like the rooms, um, most of them are the same size, but there were rooms that are $25K.

I'm sure. I'm sure.

Crazy.

Well, and that's an amazing experience too, because there's been some really high-end all-inclusives that I've been to that I've loved the experience because of the dining, the multiple courses, the chefs that they have there. I will come back from that trip actually refreshed because I didn't have to think about anything. The food was fresh, like from breakfast to dinner to snacks to the beach to everything was like very high end.

Mm-hmm.

And it sounds like that's more the vibe of the cruise. You get that relaxation part while still getting to explore multiple places and not have to be stuck in one specific spot that then you're freaked out to step out and go anywhere. Plus eliminating all the travel, like, got to catch a train and then did my bag make it? Which I can share an update and then you can please share an update of your travel mishaps that happened during this trip.

Yes. Really quick on the food. Oceania is known for the best culinary Team, um, like cruise line. And so every night you have course dinners and they have 4 specialty restaurants on board that only seat about 80 people. And one of the things I liked about Oceania is our boat only, um, only could serve 1,100 people. And there are other cruise lines, like we actually at port in these different places, you're porting next to other cruise ships. Which is interesting. Like some of these towns in Greece will literally have an influx of 10,000 people on that. Like Santorini, while we were there, they had 10,000 people on the island just from cruises that day. And then they all go back on the boat, which is crazy. So all that to say, we saw ships that were like quadruple our size. And I'm like, I would not want to be like, there was a, um, a Royal Caribbean Odyssey of the Sea that could serve 5,500 people. It was huge. I personally, like, I don't want to be— I don't want to be on a ship like that. I don't want to be around that amount of people. So I like that it's super high touch. And for every— this is crazy— for every guest, there's like 6 crew taking care of— like 6 crew per 1 guest.

Oh, wow.

So it's incredibly high touch. Um, back to the restaurants, there were 4 specialty restaurants on board that could only seat 80 people at a time. It was Pan-Asian, Italian, um, a seafood restaurant and a steak restaurant. And you had to have all your reservations for those in advance. And then the other nights you could eat in the Grand Stateroom. And that's where every night there was a different course and like the menu changed every single day based on fresh ingredients they were getting from port.

Mm-hmm.

Which was really cool. And they even like changed some of the menu based on like, okay, we're in Croatia, we're gonna serve certain Croatian dishes. Oh, we're in Greece, we're gonna, we're gonna serve, um, certain Greek dishes. And same for Turkey. And so that was really cool to see. Like, you're not at a buffet getting the same food. Like, I came back feeling good, you know? Like, I'm like, okay, yeah, we're another person, especially for 11 days. Like, I—

Yeah.

The quality of food really does matter. And there was a gym on board and a great spa, steam room, Like it was, it was just, it was great and I loved it and I can't wait to do it again. And then one other thing I do want to mention is how long we were able to be on shore. So we would dock at like 7:00 AM and we wouldn't have to be back on the boat until like anywhere from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM.

Mm-hmm.

So you really had like, whenever we were in Santorini, we had, we docked at 7:00 and we didn't have to leave until 9:00. So you really do get to have so much time. And instead of like, okay, we're going to be on shore for 5 hours and then you got to, you got to like run back to the boat. So I liked that because we were in the Mediterranean, these places were actually quite close to each other. We were like island hopping, if you will. And so it just made the time that you could be on shore so much longer.

Mm-hmm. Yeah, I love that because you never want to just like, okay, yeah, I stepped into Santorini, saw it, rush back and then leave. Like you want to experience the culture and like do some excursions or maybe like history tours or things like that. So, yeah, well, it sounds like you had an absolute blast. I am 1000% sold on it. Going to be researching the cruises right after this from curiosity.

Oh my God, I love it so much. I had the best time. And if you have any questions or are on the fence, I'm happy to talk to you about it. We did have the only really travel mishap we had is there were 2 actually, one I shared and one I didn't share. The one I didn't share is we got to Houston to leave and we obviously got to our gate and we had a 1-hour layover in Chicago or like an hour and 45 minutes. 15-minute layover in Chicago. It was going to go Houston to Chicago, Chicago straight to Milan. And our flight in Houston was delayed because of mechanical errors. And we were going to miss our flight. Like we were like, it got to the point where they had pushed back the departure time so long that if we even tried to get on that flight and made it to Chicago, we were going to have to spend the night in Chicago. And then not get to Milan until the next day. So Matthew called United and I'm on Google Flights and I'm like, Matthew, there's another flight that leaves Houston in an hour and a half to Frankfurt and then goes on to Milan. So we would just change, we would change our itinerary a little bit. So all that to say, He's like on the phone with the woman. She gets us the last 2 seats on the flight to Frankfurt.

Dang.

Because I'm in the mindset of like, we're in the airport, just get me to Europe and then we can get, we can get to Milan from there. I don't want to go, I don't want to like change all this stuff. So we do, we're like running, we make it. It was a mess, but it was, it was fine. Then we're sitting on the airplane, we're both in middle seats, by the way. Love that.

You're like, whatever, I'm going to get there.

Or a 9-hour flight. So I was like, it's fine. It's fine. So then I'm sitting there and I'm like, Matthew, our bags. Our bags are on that flight to Chicago. We were just so focused on getting to Milan that we didn't even think about it, which is fine, whatever. So long story short, we went without our bags then for 48 hours. Um, in Milan, and that was fine, you know. Well, I will definitely pack my carry-on much better. Like, I had packed all my underwear and like some stuff in my carry-on, but certainly not enough for like, let's say like we really do lose our luggage. We need to have like at least 2 to 3 days of something in the carry-on. I packed like shoes and purses in there, which was so stupid. Okay, how many— this is like so funny to me. How many bags do you think I packed? Like accessories, like bags that I used for outfits. This is low-key embarrassing.

4.

No.

4. More?

9.

What?

9.

For an 11-day cruise?

One for every day, baby. Like the beach bags and then like the little accessory bags and It really added up. So anyway, I had my beach bag in Milan, but no, no pants, you know, I had to go to Zara and get some slacks and it was great. But no, it was truly like unforgettable. And I'm so excited for our trip to Nice. And I'm like, now I'm shifting gears. Like, okay, so the next thing, the next trip.

Next trip.

Um, so yeah, so catch me up with any, any questions before we move on.

Um, I think I asked them all as we went along, or you answered them as well. I think like in general, it's just having more info on your experience doing the cruise and like if you end up creating any content around that, I love it. Like I would love to see more of the dishes because sometimes I would see the dishes and I didn't realize they were at the cruise. So like, which one of those photos were actually from the cruise and which ones were like local, you know, or like you ate at some kind of local restaurant?

Yeah, right.

Um, I feel like that would be really fun to see. Um, but, and also like the room, like, was it comfortable enough? I always picture someone sleeping in a cruise, like, as a tall girl, just crammed in there, you know?

It was amazing. They had like Egyptian cotton sheets. And a duvet. And like 3 days into the, 3 days into the cruise, they actually put like a little pamphlet because you're, you've slept on the sheets a couple nights. They're like, you can buy this and you can actually have it waiting for you in your home. You can buy like Oceania, like their sheets and the bedding and everything. It was amazing. The room was perfect. Like the having a closet with 30 hangers to hang all your stuff. We were able to like move into the room, um, and then we were able to store our suitcases under the bed, so we were not crammed at all.

Good, awesome. Well, thank you for sharing. I'm so glad that you had that experience. Sounds like it was truly a trip of a lifetime.

We're aging, baby. We're into cruises now. We're in our 30s. One thing I will say just really quick is that the median age on the cruise was like 80— no, was like 68 to 72. Most of everybody was in their late 60s into their 70s and 80s. And Matthew and I were one of the youngest people there.

Girl, that's your pitch. You can bring the young crowd.

I know. And I'm like, I genuinely think that there's something here. They need a rebrand.

I know.

I think there are so many people in their, you know, 20s, 30s, 40s that have the discretionary income that want to have that experience but just don't know. Um, but yeah, it was so much fun and we, we like connected with a lot of different, um, people on the cruise and, but it was a different crowd. It was much like slower and, you know, was not a party cruise. It was not a booze cruise like Carnival.

Yeah.

Carnival could never. The whole time, the first like 48 hours there, I kept looking at Matthew and I was like, Carnival could never. Carnival could never.

Like truly, which is probably a good thing. A very good thing.

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So you catch me up on the last couple of weeks. Um, you shot your best friend's proposal that also has gone viral on TikTok. Oh my gosh. Yeah.

She has like 2 million views on it in the wild. It's crazy.

So yeah, catch me up on everything that happened. Tell us everything.

Oh my gosh. Okay, so I had mentioned in the last podcast that we had that I was gearing up to go shoot an elopement in 30A Rosemary Beach area. So all of that was a big fat lie. It was actually her proposal. And so basically how it all originated is her boyfriend reached out to me end of February when I came back from my travels. He's like, hey, I'm planning to propose. We brainstormed some ideas. I helped him out. And then he's like, yeah, I feel like if I were to dream up anything, it would be a beach proposal just because like, okay, well, let me back up. He was thinking of all these different things. And I asked him, I was like, okay, forget what you're supposed to do or like the big grand gesture. Just think about her and you and what would be your dream proposal? And he's like, well, there's this town in Florida that I went to for my cousin's wedding and it's just so beautiful. And she's mentioned that she would love to get married there, but I can't think of the name. And so I've been to Rosemary multiple times now and she always responds to my stories and she's like, oh my gosh, I want to get married here. So when he said that, I was like, I got you. I know exactly what place she's talking about. And so I was like, there's Rosemary Beach. Here's what you could do. You could do a beach proposal. And then I told him a few ideas and stuff. And so we landed on basically me coming up with a fake elopement that I had to shoot and asking her to come along for the trip, which I've done before. Like she's come with me to other weddings. So it was not suspicious. And then he was going to fly in from Dallas and then be there for the proposal. proposal. Because if it was in Dallas, she's always told him that she wanted me to shoot it. So I feel like it would have been kind of obvious. But if her and I are somewhere else and then he flies in, then that's a surprise. And that was his main goal is like, I want it to be a full surprise. Like, I don't want her to smell anything that's coming up. So yeah, so anyway, lots of planning. Like, the amount of backup plans that I made for all of this. Is insane. I changed his name on my phone because I was like, oh my gosh, if I'm next to her, she sees his name pop up.

Yeah.

So I was like, okay, I changed his name on my phone.

What'd you change his name to? Tell me.

I think it was, I had a client that had just emailed me and it was Jordan. And then I was like, what's the most T-Town last name from our area? So I put Jordan Haney.

Oh, just a local person.

Just a local guy from back home. And she did notice because we rented a car and like the messages kept popping in, but she was like, oh yeah, it's work. She thought it was just work, which it was. I was there to work.

It's so smart of you though, like knowing that CarPlay is plugged in and like the messages would pop up. Because she's like, why is, why is Taylor texting you? Like that would have definitely given it away.

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And so in the 2 months of planning, as I went on everyday life, I was thinking of all the little things. And so I was like, you need to share your location with me. What if I'm wrapped up in a conversation with her and I can't let you know that we're here and you need to know that we're there? You can at least look at my location and know, okay, she's here. So anyway, it was really fun. We had about 3 planning calls and each of them were like 2 hours planning out the whole thing, like picking locations, finding vendors, the whole thing. Oh my gosh. Then I last minute got a gig in Dallas. And so I ended up going to Dallas the week that she was going to get proposed to, but for a branding shoot. And then we ended up just leaving Dallas together to go to my shoot. And so I just let her know. I was like, if she suspects it, then by the time we get to Rosemary Beach, she'll be like, well, Taylor should have proposed at that point. And so anyway, the funny thing is we met up, we got our nails done together because I really needed to get my nails done. And it happened so organically that she got her nails done too. She's like, oh yeah, my feet look terrible too before the beach. Why don't we just make a girls' night of it? So we went and she was going to get blue nails. And then the girl that was doing her nails had this beautiful French tip and she's like, oh, I like that. I'm just going to do whatever you have. And so she got bridal nails without even knowing it. And then she was talking to me. And then throughout the whole trip, like, obviously we get to Rosemary Beach and we have dinner, we go to the beach and we have all this stuff. Throughout the whole trip, she was like, if Taylor doesn't propose by June, like, I don't know what's up with him. Like, she was like, as a friend venting and being like, I'm upset that he hasn't proposed. Like, what the heck is wrong with him? And I just had to keep my poker face on because I was like, as if you flinch wrong, she's gonna know because she's such an intuitive person too. And I feel like best friends too, they just know you.

Yeah.

And so I've got— I got— I had my story locked on, locked in. I was like, well, yeah, I mean, if you've— if he hasn't proposed by then, like, yeah, have a conversation with them and maybe see if like his timeline has changed in his mind. Or like, is he saving up for— maybe like he knows that weddings are expensive, like maybe he's waiting to propose because he's saving for that. And then anyway, long story short, we had lots of conversations on that and I just kept my poker face on. Then the day comes of her proposal. His flight gets delayed. There's like freaking tornadoes in Dallas. And I was like—

Weather in Texas. Continue.

It was horrible. I was having a panic attack because the flower lady could only do that day. Like when we reached out to her, She was fully booked. She only had that one specific date available for the whole month. And I was like, it is godsent. And also, if you don't make it here, it's just gonna be me and her and all these flowers.

Oh no.

Anyway, organically, we walked into this boutique and she was like, oh, why don't we buy dresses and dress up all cute tonight for dinner? And I was like, yeah, let's go take pictures. So the whole thing was that we were going to go dress up for dinner and then go take sunset pictures at the beach beforehand.

Yeah.

So we get all dressed up, we do the whole thing, we park. I am nervous as heck.

Wait, what happened to his flight? Did he end up— what happened to his flight?

Yeah, so it ended up getting delayed, but he made it still with enough time to change super fast. And there was barely any Ubers. in that area. So he was able to lock in an Uber from the airport, but I gave him a heads up like, hey, you may not be able to catch another one when you go to the Airbnb and change and go to the beach. So he paid the Uber to hang outside his Airbnb while he showered, changed real fast, and then to take him to the actual proposal. So it all worked out.

Wow.

And then we get there and I'm starting to get nervous. I had never shot a proposal. And I was like, well, it was— if it was anybody else, I would be shooting with both of my cameras. And like, obviously I would have shown up way earlier and gotten my settings straight. But I have to figure all this out within 2 minutes. Like, I don't—

I need to make sure my settings are straight before she sees him.

So anyway, I end up just saying, okay, I'm just gonna go down to one camera. I'm gonna simplify and just focus on doing one camera really well. And if I do one camera really well, I can always crop in and get what I need to get. And so we come in through the little bridge and then I'm like, oh, the lighting is so good here. Let me take some pictures of you. And so we start walking towards the left because I knew that that's where he was going to be at. And so I'm only just snapping away randomness. I don't even know what I got. She's modeling. I was like, The light looks so good on you. Look to the side. Just kind of play with your hair. Literally just autopilot photography Astrid. And then when I see him, I'm like, okay, he's actually there. So I'm like, yeah, just keep walking. I'm going to grab a few details of just your feet in the sand.

Wait, so did you not know that he was going to be there?

No, I knew he was going to be there, but I didn't know how far. He said, the flower lady said, walking through the middle will be towards the left. back in there. I didn't know if it was going to be like a 5-minute walk or like a right quick 1-minute walk.

Okay. I didn't know if he had communicated that like he was able to get changed and he made it there. I didn't know if you were like flying blind. So continue.

No. So yeah, he was texting me through the whole thing. And I spent a lot of time in the bathroom. I was like, I think Nicole thinks I have issues because it's the only way I could text him. But he let me know like, okay, I made it. I'm on my way. My phone's dying, but like, I'm here. I was like, okay, cool. So anyway, she is like modeling for me basically as we're walking and doing like quote unquote candids. I see the setup. I don't see him because he was squatted down. I see the setup and I'm like, okay, it's go time. There's a group of people in front that kind of COVID him. And so I keep taking pictures. I see him stand up and she's still modeling. So she thought these people that were staring at her. were staring at her because we were taking pictures, just like, oh, you know, another creator or whatever taking photos. And she was just being dumb and being like, whatever, I don't care, taking all the photos. And then I'm like taking the photos and I'm like, I give her a look where I'm like, you need to look that way. And then when she sees him standing there, she flips around and starts sobbing, like the full-on sob.

Oh my God.

And it was so precious. It was literally perfect. So much fun. She did not expect it at all, which was the whole goal. And yeah, he killed it. Like, he had this beautiful, like, blue butterfly on there, which was like a meaning in their relationship. A very, very meaningful thing. And yeah, he just said like some very sweet words and then we made it through. Oh my gosh.

That— I love hearing the story of how everything came together for Such a, like, obviously such an important moment, but all the backstory to like make it happen.

Yeah.

Yeah. Wait, who was filming? Because I, I feel like that— who was filming you?

Yeah. So the, the video that went viral was that group of people that were like in front of them that she thought were looking at her because she was taking photos. They secretly filmed the whole thing. So Her video went viral because their commentary is the cutest thing ever. They're like, oh my God, that's her. That's the bride. And then they're like, oh my God, should we cheer? It's like, no, no, no, cheer afterwards after she says yes. They're like, okay, perfect. So it's super, super sweet and wholesome.

Oh my God.

And then after the proposal, we walked over and they congratulated them and they're like, we took a video if you want us to AirDrop it to you. And she's like, yeah. And there were all these like younger couples with kiddos and they're like, we love marriage. It's truly the best. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Like when you choose the right person, like why could I— I've been with mine for 10 years and I could not be happier. It was just like the most wholesome, high energy thing. I love that.

I love humans. That's so special.

Yeah, it was so sweet. So special to capture. And so with that, I have officially shot my first proposal.

Crazy that, you know, you've been doing this for 6, 7 years and you haven't. And what a special first one, you know?

Yeah, yeah, it's definitely high pressure. Normally I've gotten a lot of requests for it, but it's just so last minute that normally I'm already booked for it. Um, which, that was an aspect of this. He's like, oh, great, like, I'm thinking of proposing in like May or June. And I was like, if you want me to shoot it, I was like, I only have This weekend in April, and that's it until September. And I was like, but you don't have to go with me. Like, you can hire somebody else. And he's like, no, she said it has to be you. Um, so yeah, that's why proposals are very tricky. So ladies or gents listening, if you want to get proposed to and you want a photographer there, tell your significant other that they have to book them ahead of time.

They do.

And if you want to book Astrid, they really got to plan, plan that out.

Oh my gosh, I'm so happy for Nicole. And I'm so glad that you got to have that experience together and that they're engaged and they're getting married.

I know, it's so sweet. It's like, I got to experience your side of proposal, obviously way different, like your engagement season, because I was more of a vendor friend.

A vendor friend.

A vendor friend. But overall, like all my closest girlfriends, I've been there in some way, shape, or form. And that's like super special to me, like yours and Jansen's and now Nicole's. It's like, I feel honored that I can— I feel like it's lifelong friendships and that I've been able to witness and be a part of those moments. So sweet. Oh, we love you. In other news, I fell on my butt this weekend, and so I'm recovering.

What happened?

So Nick and I went on a super fun day and we were just being so silly and we had dinner and then we went to go play mini golf and we were just in that silly goofy mood. And at the end he's like, oh, why don't you jump on my back and I'll give you a ride to the car? And I was like, okay. So he's like, get on the ledge. And the ledge had some rocks that were decor behind it.

Mm-hmm.

So I got on the ledge and so then I jump to get on his back, he loses his balance and we just fall back and the freaking rocks Like dug into my butt and it's so sore. Oh my gosh. That was like on top of you.

Like we—

it was both of us and he fell like, like backwards on top of me, but more like half my body.

Oh my gosh.

It was more the 6'7 fall for me. Like I jumped up to him and then fell back from there. So I was like, this is dating when you're 29 and 30 years old, which is Fall, and now we're hurting.

Oh my gosh, they have bruises. Oh well, that is— I'm so sorry to hear that, and I hope that your booty is okay soon.

Yeah, me too. It'll be okay. It got— it had a little cushion to help protect it. Thank God.

Thank God for the gym, you know, those strong gluteus maximus.

Yes.

Okay, I know we wanted to talk a little bit about What we were in between. I know we've like you're coming off a really busy season, and then you leave for you leave for your big Europe trip in a month, which is crazy. I'm so excited for you. I literally cannot wait. I can't wait to see all the things and like respond to every single story and then meet you over there.

Yes, and then meet you. And I'm gonna meet you.

Okay, so what are what do you feel like you're in between right now?

Hmm. I would say my biggest thing that I'm in between is this season hasn't been as slow prior to leaving to Europe as I thought that it would be, which I'm grateful for. I got a lot of work, I got a lot of travel opportunities. And so unfortunately though, because I front-loaded a lot of that work, because I know I'm going to be off, I wasn't didn't take time off from work for like 4 weeks. So this past weekend was my first full day off in 4 weeks. Like, my brain got to shut off and I started to hit a little bit or quite a bit of burnout again.

Mm-hmm.

And I don't like being in that survival mode and that mindset. And so a lot of my habits went out the door, a lot of like just My home just felt like a transitional place where I just unpacked and packed, unpacked and packed again, and not that cozy peacefulness feeling. And so now that I rested, I feel back to normal. I don't feel burnt out anymore. I feel in a really good place. And I've been doing a lot of deep cleaning and everything in my house. And so right now what I'm in between is healing from that. burnout and that craziness, which I feel like was necessary. It was just a season of going hard into work. And then now for this next month, there's still a lot of work, but I'm home. And so I just want to go really deep into my habits and enjoying my home and my space before I'm then traveling again for a month and a half. And so yeah, that's really where I'm at. I'm also wanting to Do some days where I delete social media altogether, just once, one day a week, just delete the app and then redownload it the next day. I just feel like it's been all-consuming lately. And some of those habits that whenever you're hitting burnout kind of start creeping up of coping with doom scrolling and just avoiding the world and avoiding my mail. So I am recatching up with myself.

Yeah.

And going back to the habits that I know can help support me during this time.

Yeah. Kind of a bit of a reset.

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I'm excited for it. It feels good already.

Good. I'm glad. Especially before gearing up for a trip, there's nothing like going into a trip when you're excited about it, but you're also really tired and you're like, ah, okay, this is going to be great. And then you kind of just like push through it a little bit and then you end up having a good time. Like your brain kind of starts to switch to the, to the new environment, but that anxiety that can lead up to that can be really, um, kind of overwhelming. So I'm glad that you're taking the next couple of weeks to reset, reconnect, and enjoy just being home nesting, if you will.

I am going to be nesting and enjoying my place. So very, very excited for that. But what have you been in between?

I've been in between a lot actually. And I know that next week Astrid and I are going to do a coaching session and we're going to be coaching each other on different things that we're growing in, in life. I'm really excited for that episode. So I kind of want to leave probably my biggest in between for that. So I will leave us with a light one. I'm just getting back from a trip and reconnecting with the gym, reconnecting with movement, my habits, like my journal, my little bubbles that I usually start with in the beginning of May. It's like May 13th, May 14th. And I'm like, what are my— what are my goals for the month?

Like, I haven't even done anything yet. Who am I?

So who am I? What am I doing? What am I— what am I like working towards? So just getting back into the swing of things there. Like working on the house, getting that to a good place. I also think that I'm starting to look at my summer and it's actually quite busy in certain pockets. And so I'm realizing that I need to be super intentional with my time, my weekends, and actually say, okay, this weekend we're going to do this fun house project. And this weekend we're going to— that couple that we've wanted to get dinner with, we're going to actually make plans for that. I know that probably sounds a little silly, but if you don't make plans, they just don't happen. And so I am not going to just wake up one day and be like, let's paint the office today. Like, I need to, need to plan for that. So I am currently in between like the ideas in my head and things I want to do this summer, and then actually making the plans to make them happen without it being too stressful too, because then you have so many plans.

Yeah, absolutely. I love that you brought that up because there's nothing worse than like going through the whole summer going through a season and then yeah oh sorry go ahead no you're good it cut out for a second so I might have there's like crazy storms in Houston today so I probably my internet just cut I'm sorry oh no you're good there's it's raining here too so I don't know what's going on um okay I should I should I back up there Keep going. Okay. Um, yeah, thank you for, for sharing that. I feel like there are so many things that if we don't put it on the calendar or if we don't say, hey, these are my bubbles for the month, it just doesn't happen. And that's kind of what happened to me this past month. Like the survival mode kicked in. I actually thought about your bubbles and I'm like, do I need to do the Alexis bubbles this month? Because I feel a little bit disoriented and like I am just trying to, to get through all the craziness.

Yeah.

But it truly is so helpful to create that direction and then look forward to the summer and be like, okay, that feels really good and I don't feel anxious about it. Or trying to do way too many things too, where you're like, okay, I've got enough house projects, let's kick some of those down to the fall and then let's do these other activities together. So, um, yeah, thank you for sharing that.

Yeah, it's, it's all like just a part of the fun aspects of being busy and, you know, having a busy schedule, but wanting to have that rest and intentionality in it as well. Well, I hope you enjoyed this like very lighthearted girly catch up. I loved hearing about Nicole's proposal and just all the details leading up to it. And I'm so happy for her. And I just like can't wait to watch the wedding planning and all of that unfold over the next couple of months. And I also really enjoyed sharing my cruise. So if you have any—

we loved hearing all about it. I think we are all leaving this episode wanting to subscribe to Oceania's new cruise line. I'm dead.

Um, well, I can't wait for next week's episode on coaching each other through some, you know, growth areas. I already know what I want your advice on, so I'm really looking forward to being in the hot seat with you.

I'm like, I could do this all day long, and I am So ready for it.

Me too, me too. Well, I, uh, we love you. And I was about to say I love you and I was about to hang up because this felt like— but this is a podcast. Um, we love you. Follow us on Instagram, inbetween.pod. And, um, I also— we'd love to hear any specific topics or suggestions of what you'd like us to cover on the podcast. Um, we love hearing your ideas. We take them and we literally like record episodes on them. So, um, we appreciate you and thank you for being here, and we will catch you next week.

Bye.