2021
On a hot summer evening in June of 2021, Bailey wandered into Park Tavern to meet up with her friends. Unbeknownst to her, her friends were there with other friends, and she ended up driving a car full of random girls she did not know across the city until they ended up at the structurally suspect Tiki Tango. They danced. They laughed. They had many epiphany. Several girls went missing…including one very energetic and busy individual who Bailey did not have the pleasure of speaking to. That is, until Bailey drove the evening’s survivors home and received an invite to hang out inside for a bit.
Shortly after taking a seat, one of the lost girls suddenly reemerged. Her name was Beka. Apparently, she lived there and wanted to be apart of the living room commotion. She was chaotic, a bit goofy, but very interesting. Before Bailey knew it, it was nearly 5am, and she had spent the last few hours chatting with Beka. Deciding she had surely overstayed her welcome, Bailey bid the girls farewell. The next morning, or, like, 2 hours later, Beka woke up and joined her roommates in the living room. Remembering her evening, she asked, “Who was that random girl in our living room last night? She was cool.” To which they told her, “That was Camille’s friend.”
The next week, Camille invited Bailey to join her and a couple of friends for dinner to celebrate her 25th birthday. When Bailey got to the restaurant, she discovered one of those friends was Beka, and the seat across from her was empty. From the moment Bailey sat down, she and Beka were engaged in deep conversation and ignoring everyone around them. That continued on the rest of the evening. They went to a few bars. Bailey taught Beka how to play pool. More friends joined, but Bailey and Beka were attached at the hip.
The night progressed as all the greatest nights in Atlanta do, and the group ended up at Johnny’s Hideaway. More dancing. More laughing. More epiphanies. And somehow, they ended up in a stranger’s living room—just the two of them—showing each other some of their favorite songs and talking endlessly. They were only interrupted when they realized the sun was coming up. It was 7am.
They spent the rest of the summer finding every opportunity to see each other and forcing their friends to go out on weekends with them because they did not realize that they actually were allowed to just hang out together. Everyone was much more well-rested once they figured out they could just ask each other to hang out.
As the summer’s end neared, they both figured their fling’s end would follow suit. Bailey was heading back to Notre Dame for her last year of law school, and Beka was off to travel Europe with Madeleine for a couple of months. They said goodbye hours before Beka’s flight, not sure if they would ever really talk again.
Well, they most certainly did talk again. In fact, to Madeleine’s annoyance, they talked constantly. Several times a day. For hours. Bailey might as well have been on the trip with them. Two months of constant FaceTiming and texting later, Beka decided to leave her Italian au pair family and book a flight straight to Chicago, with a ride to South Bend secured. At this point, this was decidedly no longer a summer fling.
2022
They jumped into long-distance. Beka was travel nursing in Denver; Bailey was pretending to take notes in class. They visited each other every month. Music festivals in Atlanta. Thanksgiving. Christmas. Valentine’s Day. With Beka wanting to wrap up her travel nursing stint, she thought she could give the Midwest a try and put an end to the distance. They put their relationship to the test with a 20 hour road trip from Denver to South Bend. They were like Paris and Nicole making their way through America’s heartland. They saw Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, visited a bar in a town of 100 people, and tried to soak up all South Dakota had to offer.
Life only got more fun when they were together 24/7. Bailey graduated law school, and they packed their bags and moved to Chicago. They got a cute apartment in Logan Square, where Rory became affectionately known by the neighbors as the dog that sits in the window all day. Beka was still nursing, and Bailey was still pretending to study, this time, for the Bar exam. They experienced their first Chicago summer together, made new friends, reunited with old.
After the Bar exam, they decided to take their own Euro trip. They flew to Sweden and spent a few days with Beka’s college friend, Rita. Popped over for a day trip to Copenhagen. Journeyed over to Berlin to meet Beka’s other college friend Nina, Rita’s twin. Finally, they ended their travels in Amsterdam and returned to relieve their poor dog sitter of her duties.
Back in Chicago, it seemed like their home had a rotating door as they hosted many visitors- both friends and family—and loved showing people around their new home.
2023
After hosting a banger of a New Year’s party, which they didn’t know at the time would become a Chicago tradition, they marched in to a busy year. In March, they knocked out a few bucket list items and flew to Alaska to watch the Iditarod and see the Auroras! Sadly, the dog Rory (a.k.a Aurora), had to stay home, but they told her all about how fast those sled dogs were running. They capped off the trip with a flight around Denali.
In April, they welcomed a new addition to their family: Princess Francis “Kitty” Bean Jones. They were not sure how Rory would handle having a sister, but the two became quick friends, which here means they tolerated each other at best and ignored each other at worst.
Bailey and Beka kicked off Summer 2023 by quitting their jobs. Before moving on to bigger and better things at work, they enjoyed a month of funemployment. They packed their bags and flew to Mexico for a little R&R, which to them apparently means learning to surf, walking the city in 100 degree heat, horseback riding on the beach, and touring tortilla factories.
They returned to Mexico a month later for their first vacation with the Weiland family. This time, they managed to rest a little bit between crashing weddings and chasing Bailey’s nieces around.
They hosted more visitors, more parties, made a little Chicago family, and started feeling at home in the Midwest.
For Christmas, they packed Rory and Kitty up in the car and road tripped to Atlanta to celebrate the holidays. Kitty met her cousins, faced Penelope’s torture, and threw hands at Maggie and Riley. Rory mostly slept and howled.
2024
2024 may have started slow, but it certainly did not end that way.
Beka and Bailey took another trip across the pond…this time with some guest stars. They galavanted around Paris with Betsy and Gilly. Ate lots of food. Drank good wine. Shopped endlessly. When it was time to part ways with their friends, Beka and Bailey hopped on a train and trekked to Switzerland for a few days exploring Zurich with Bailey’s parents.
Little did Beka know, a surprise waited at home in Bailey’s bedside lockbox.
For months, Bailey convinced their friends to scheme behind Beka’s back. Roles were carefully assigned, and the plot was underway.
Bailey told Beka she found a “super cool” Airbnb in Wisconsin that she wanted to take Beka to—they could go after Bailey visited her client who lived nearby. Beka was a little suspicious, but Bailey threw her off by taking her to a nursing home in suburban Milwaukee to hang out for a bit while she did some work. After the nursing home, Bailey drove Beka to the quaint city of Racine, WI, on the coast of Lake Michigan. They popped into the marina for some food and walked off their meal by strolling through the docks.
Surprise! The Airbnb was actually a sailboat docked in the marina. Beka’s favorite. They brought their weekend bags aboard and enjoyed some sunshine on the Clemintine (our boat). Never one to sit still, Beka did research and found a local market in the downtown area. They explored the town, bought some wine, and made their way back to the boat to watch the sunset and listen to music. Slowly, Beka came to realize that the playlist was the same playlist that Bailey played for her that night in Atlanta when they stayed up talking until 7am.
Bailey excused herself to “get some Aquafor.” When she returned, it did not take long for her to reveal the ring in her pocket. Bailey asked Beka to marry her, Beka said yes, and in true Beka fashion, she had a handwritten letter prepared in her bag for this very moment. Once the excitement settled, Bailey got her first full night of sleep in a week. Finally!
The next morning, they woke up, and Bailey revealed they actually were only staying one night on the boat—another surprise awaited! They packed their bags, got breakfast in town, and found themselves on the beach enjoying time for just the two of them.
While they slowly returned to Chicago, stopping at the Botanical Gardens along the way, Betsy snuck into the hotel room that awaited them and put everything Beka could possibly need in the closet.
Bailey pulled the car into the hotel and surprised Beka with a balcony room overlooking Michigan Ave.
But wait, more surprises! They had a reservation to get to. Beka had everything she needed to get ready. They got dressed, popped champaign, and waited for their car to pick them up.
En route to dinner, Beka started to notice some familiar surroundings. She realized they were going toward their neighborhood. The car pulled up to one of their favorite restaurants, Longman & Eagle. When they entered, Beka was confused because Bailey walked right by the host stand. She led Beka to the back, where she opened the patio door to discover her friends and family from near and far gathered to celebrate! Once the shock wore off, hugs were exchanged, drinks were sipped on, and a delicious meal was eaten.
Later, they watched video messages from friends who could not attend before heading out to the local bars. They ended their night back at the hotel, falling asleep instantly. They spent the rest of the weekend enjoying the company of all the friends and family who flew in to celebrate. It was the best weekend ever…they say.
You should already know this, but Beka and Bailey do not like to slow down. Not long after getting engaged, they decided it was time to become homeowners. They teamed up with their close friends, Colton and Nicole, to buy a duplex in Logan Square. It was a fixer upper challenge they were (kind of) ready to take on. Many months of hard work later, and it looks like a new home…still a little crooked though.
All that housework had them itching to add more fun to their lives. What better way to do so than adopting another cat! They welcomed Sir Winston to their family in April. Winston, Kitty, and Rory now outnumber Bailey and Beka, and they wouldn't have it any other way.
If you've made it this far- I’m impressed! And to everyone reading, please know that your presence—even if not mentioned here—has been felt by us in the past 4 years. We are so grateful for all the love and support that you have given to us so far. We are so grateful for those making the trip and excited to celebrate with you in France!
So what has happened since then?
