A logbook of love

Yesterday, The Husband was notified that he'd run out of space on Google Drive as he had upwards of 12 gigs of photos stored in there. So while he was clearing things out, he noticed that he'd been backing up the files for "the secret project" in there and had he been his usual absent-minded self, we'd have lost all that work in one go and I'd be spotted limping across the streets of Edinburgh harbouring a family of seagulls on my head. Thankfully, none of that happened and we managed to save our important files. But the good thing that came out of all this was that a lot of forgotten memories popped up as a result of going through all the photos stored in there. This morning, the two of us stood in the bathroom brushing our teeth and gushing over all the things we'd completely forgotten about from the time when we started dating.

Which basically means that I got reminded of the fact that I used to wear braces while he was effortlessly handsome when we started dating AND the phone camera quality a few years ago was SHIIIITTTTTTT. So without further ado, presenting a walk down memory lane.

This is possibly one of our first pics together, taken on 14-08-2011.

It was taken on our friend's birthday when a bunch of them came over to my place, which is why I remember the date. I was a drug dealer back then and Shane Girish was blind. Seriously, I can't believe no one took me to one side and explained to me that DARLING YOU NEED TO GET A FUCKING HAIRCUT AND FIX YOUR FACE.

This might be our second pic together. September 2011.

It was after I got my braces tightened and couldn't bite into the sandwich I bought for lunch. Seriously, what did he even see in me?

Long-distancing in 2011. Ugly as can be.

I'm guessing this is our third pic together, taken in 2012 when he came down for the summer.

Finally, the teeth and hair are fixed.

This is the first picture he sent me from a family holiday in Sri Lanka:

He always possessed "voluble" knowledge on how to cheer me up.

How to charm your long distance boyfriend 101:

How to charm your long distance girlfriend 101:

By the way, that's the flat that he and The Bromance used to share.

Shane's birthday February 2013:

I surprised him by arranging for this miniature cake that was made by combining three pastries together. He was visiting me in the city I was studying in and had to leave in a few hours so this cake was perfect. We could finish it in one sitting.

More from the birthday, just to demonstrate shitty camera quality:

Clean shaven in 2013:

It never happened again.

Okay, now for some major gag reflex controlling. We used to have a diary called the MnM Diary. The thing is, his entire family calls him 'Munnu' and my closest friends and family call me 'Monki' (thanks Dad for starting the trend). So understandably, I call him Munnu too and while he doesn't actively call me Monki, he always refers to me as Monki especially when he's talking to my close friends and family. So MnM is...God, don't make me say it. You get the point. In this diary we kinda sorta recorded cringe worthy mushy crap which is both cute and embarrassing at the same time. Please don't zoom in to read everything.

The first page:

Imbeciles clearly cannot spell:

He called it "A logbook of love" (gags):

Alpino was this weird chocolate that came with hidden messages by the way:

Shane being not-so-modest about his romantic triumphs:

Moving on, soon we were not students anymore and we each landed some pretty amazing jobs.

This is me on my first day of work:

Him on his first day of work:

His first winter in Edinburgh when it properly snowed:

This is a bill from one time Shane and his friends ate out at a restaurant here called Mamma's. If you install snapfax, they let you roll a die when the bill arrives. And if your roll is between 1 and 5, you get 20% off but if it's a 6, you get your food for free (drinks not included). So this one time, they paid 13 pounds for just the drinks after rolling a 6. The bill was worth a 100 pounds. Rape.

Also, this is the kind of stuff that he sent me regularly to convince me to move to Edinburgh. He knows what works with me.

By now, things were getting pretty serious and we were discussing the prospect of us living together.

This is how I convinced him that he should spend the rest of his life with me:

And this is how he convinced me to marry him:

Till date, the name of the character he plays in most of his games is 'Monki'. That's very cute in the nerd world, guys.

The ring measurer thing he bought because nobody could believe that my ring size was in fact...2:

His parents actually kidnapped me from my office one day and took me to the jewellers to measure my ring size. Twice.

Countdown to the big day:

Unofficial Mehendi two days before the wedding:

This was so that I could be "mobile" on the day of the Mehendi.

Wedding night:

Even looking at this picture makes me feel exhausted. It was a loooooooong day.

The Narayans:

I love when this happens. I was the one who arranged for the room and everything so they assumed that we were Mr and Mrs Narayan. It happens a lot when people know me as Ms Narayan and get introduced to my husband.

Dinner on our wedding night:

Because you should know that the bride and the groom usually starve at their own weddings, what with all the smiling that they're required to do.

Highlight of the day after the wedding. We found a peacock (you're allowed to zoom in here):

Day after the day after the wedding:

I finally chopped off my hair after more than a year of growing it long for the wedding.

12 May, 2015. When we left Trivandrum to start a life together:

13 May, 2015. When we arrived "home".

First date in Edinburgh on 14 May 2015:

It was at an Italian place called Martone close to his office. We still go there from time to time and even drag all our friends who visit the city. This place is very special to us.

First "home-cooked" breakfast:

The first time I actually "cooked" with a pan and everything. Let's all just pretend that I intended for that to be crispy bacon:

First time meeting The Bromance:

He's not in the picture because ex-wives are not that important anyway.

When Stevey came home:

I'd almost forgotten that we lived in this house for about two weeks without a TV.

And finally, first weekend out:

Writing this post has put me in a very good mood :)