Ryan and I lived about 20 minutes away from each other for a year or so, each farming for different operations in Boulder County, Colorado. My good friend Chloe told me one day that she thought I’d like this guy she met who is also a farmer and she sent me photos of him from Instagram since I didn’t have social media.
I thought he was very cute, but didn’t want a relationship at the time, so it slipped out of my mind and I went to Italy for a butchery apprenticeship. When I got there, a big group of other American and international apprentices were having lunch and a very cute guy sat next to me. He mentioned that his cousin, Michael might have gone to school with me at University of Arizona and I said that the name sounded familiar. Then, I looked at him and realized YOU’RE THE GUY FROM THE PHOTOS! I ran to the bathroom and texted Chloe frantically.
We hit it off and spent the first months of our relationship drinking wine on hillsides, having adventures in small Italian towns, and learning all about farming and butchery. I did tell him a few weeks in that I had photos of him on my phone and he had a good laugh.
We came home and after a year started our own farm called Long Table Farmstead in Lyons, Colorado where we raise sheep, chickens, pigs, and turkeys using regenerative principles on 30 acres of leased property. In February 2020, we went to visit Italy again and Ryan took me to a photo booth on the corner of a street in Florence, one we had taken photos in when we first met. Between the first and second camera click, he asked me to marry him and I said, Yes!
