Her Story

As a proud Army brat, I spent the first 5 years of my life becoming an expert traveler! I was born at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and from there we moved to Aniston, Alabama; Monterey, California; and finally Stafford, Virginia. Since I lived in Stafford from age 5 to age 18, that is the place I call home. Along the way I gained a few younger siblings...Heather, age 21, Nicholas, age 13, and Andrew, age 9. Being the oldest of 4 children is interesting at times, but makes for a lot of fun adventures!

The best adventures were always our family vacations. My parents made family vacation a must at least once a year and that is something that Gabe and I hope to pass on to our children. Some of my fondest memories include all you can eat buffets at Virginia Beach, wearing character hats through Disney World, and standing outside at the crack of dawn in the freezing cold just to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in NYC.

After a fond 13 years in Stafford, I knew I wanted a change and decided to attend college at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. People are often surprised at my leap to unknown territory, but my dad grew up in Newark, Ohio and he and most of his siblings attended OSU as well. So I've been a Buckeye since birth and still have some family in the Columbus area.

While at Ohio State I met some of the best friends anyone could ask for and truly gained a love for college football (Go Bucks!). And I was so excited when my younger sister made the decision to be a Buckeye as well; she is starting her senior year this fall. I graduated in March of 2007 with a degree in journalism.

In October of 07 I was offered a job at a public relations firm in Washington, D.C. and knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity. I moved back home to Stafford and while it was great to be home and surrounded by family again, it made me realize that I am now an Ohio girl at heart. I made the tough decision to leave my job and move back to Columbus in May of this year. I am now working in downtown Columbus at a large real estate firm and could not be happier.

And to top it all off, I'm engaged to the love of my life! I am so excited to get into all the details of planning a wedding and starting our life together.