About Me

Welcome, I'm Aly Nickerson!
Owner of For Such A Time Designs.  

I love iced coffee, a good run in the rain and walking through antique stores. Currently I live in Texas City, TX with my husband and our dog, Baya. I hope you will enjoy your time reading here and I look forward to sharing my heart and connecting with you!

Andrew and I : The Start

Andrew and Aly both attended a small private school together when Aly was a Freshman and Andrew was a Junior in High School. They never really talked to each other, but knew of each other. Andrew(supposedly) thought Aly was a cute girl, and Aly had a crush on Andrew for a few weeks, until she realized that Andrew was WAY too focused on school and sports to be interested in a girl. There the crush ended as well as any hopes and dreams of a relationship... UNTIL... about 6 years later, Aly went over to Andrews house to pick up her brother AJ. Andrews' younger brother Nate and A.J. are best friends. When Aly got there, Andrew had been chatting with people in the kitchen and did not seem to care too much that a girl was entering the area. He said a quick hello and then went on to his other conversations. It wasn't until his mother asked him a question about when his Spring Break was that he came over to give some more details and that's when Aly started asking a few more questions. They chatted for an hour and by the end of the conversation Aly had managed to somehow get Andrew to consider asking her to go with him to a Folk Festival in Newport, RI. with him on August 1, 2009. All his other friends had either canceled or were busy that day. A few days later, Aly got a formal invitation and she accepted. 

On Saturday, August 1, 2009, sparks flew!! They laughed, talked, shared dreams, and he paid for dinner at Panera Bread. At the end of the night Aly handed Andrew a handmade card thanking him for sharing the day with her. The next day, Sunday, Andrew went out for ice cream with her family. Monday, he came over at night to play games and then talked with Aly in her kitchen until 4am! Tuesday, Andrew left to go do a Clinical Study for a week and they wrote each other several emails every day. By the time Andrew returned...they knew that something special was happening. Andrew and Aly spent the next 3 days after Andrew returned together, until they both went their separate ways. Aly to Colorado and Andrew to Virginia to continue college. 

August 24, 2009 - The day Andrew asked Aly to be his girlfriend. He sent a post office box filled with Aly's favorite movie snacks - junior mints, sour patch watermelons, gushers, popcorn, and the movie Life is Beautiful. Also in the box, was a beautiful letter, folded and wax sealed shut. The letter explained why he wanted her as his girlfriend and said to call him back with the answer. The answer was Yes!! They spent that school year apart and spent much time corresponding by phone, email, and Skype. The distance was hard, but so worth it... 

Andrew and I : The Proposal

 

October 20, 2010. The day was filled with much to do as I had to bring my car in to get the breaks fixed, get a haircut, and then go to work from 4pm to 8pm. A few hours before work, Andrew had told me that he would be bringing me dinner at 6:30pm. I was reluctant at first, due to the fact that we were both trying to save money and not spend it. But, after he was VERY persuasive, I said okay and that I was looking forward to whatever he decided to bring!

6:30 rolled around, Andrew walked through the doors of my work carrying a plastic bag filled with Chinese food from my family's favorite restaurant. My favorite dishes there are sesame chicken and a sauteed green bean dish. He sure did good...and brought BOTH of them.

We stayed near the front of the store so I could attend to customers if need be( I worked at a small Christian bookstore) and we started to eat. A few moments in, I told Andrew that it was so sweet of him to bring Chinese food like this so unexpectedly! He then proceeded to give me the most awkward, boyish looking smile I had EVER seen him make. So strange...that I lost my appetite! After only about 5 minutes, he told me that he was going to have to leave to let out his dog at home, since the family was not home due to his sister Shauna having a baby. I was confused that he had to leave me after driving all the way(45 minutes) to bring me food, but said okay as I knew it was his responsibility.

Some customers came up to the registers and I started to help them, when all of the sudden another MorningStar employee, Christine, walked in. I was helping customers, so I did not say hello to her, and then Andrew quickly interrupted me saying, "I gotta go Aly!! I'll meet you at your house after work!"  I gave him a quick glance and an awkward "okay!" as I looked back at the customers with an apologetic smile.

I helped the customers and said hello to Christine, as I was surprised to see her on her night off. Then, I got a text from Andrew saying, "Don't forget the fortune cookie...". I walked over and opened up the packaged fortune cookie and to my surprise, it read, "There is a box in the back room with your name on it. Love, Andrew". My heart started beating faster.. What is going on!!? I grabbed Christine to show her and ran to the back. NO BOX TO BE FOUND!! I looked everywhere! Several frantic texts later, he responded saying, "Big, left side, look under stuff." I started throwing boxes everywhere as I tried to find this surprise box that was awaiting me! Christine told me I looked psycho, but I did not care!

Finally, I found the box. It was filled with packaging material...but at the bottom was a white box containing a velvet ring box with a yellow ribbon. I opened up the ring box to find an origami ring placed in the ring slot and a small skeleton key. Underneath the white box cover read "ITS TIME. This key unlocks a box in your car." I apologized to Christine and asked if she could cover the front while I went to my car! In my passenger seat was an antique wooden jewelery box. I ran inside and unlocked the box. Inside was a familiar looking heart rock (which I love hunting for and collecting) and a sticky note. The sticky note read: "Meet me where you found this." and on the back it said, "hint: this is the first heart rock you ever found with me."

I knew exactly where to meet him... The Old Stone Church in West Boylston by my house. THE OLD STONE CHURCH (Click Here)

At this time, it was 7:10pm and the store did not close until 8pm. I asked Christine what I was going to do and that is when she told me her secret....! She was there on purpose...TO COVER FOR ME!! She helped me gather my things and pushed me out the door. I drove the 20 minutes to the Old Stone Church. I parked along the side of the road and walked down the dirt pathway in the dark. As I started walking down...I saw candlelight from the steps of the church. As I got closer, I saw dozens of tea lights and some bigger candles scattered on the steps with a box and bouquet of Gerber daisies. I knelt down and took off the bouquet...opened the box to find inside the post office box(if you read THE BEGINNING of us above you'll see the connection here) junior mints, sour patch watermelons, gushers, popcorn and the movie Life Is Beautiful with a wax sealed letter. I opened up the letter and it read 10/20/10 in big writing. I gasped...and my favorite song, Saro by Sam Amidon (the song we danced to at our wedding) started echoing throughout the church inside. Andrew came out from around the corner and walked down the steps as he then proceeded to get down on one knee and ask my hand in marriage! And I willingly said YES!!! Everything was perfect and I could not have asked for a better story! 

Andrew and I : The Now and Future

    Things certainly did a complete 180 a few years ago and we were thinking we would be in Boston for Andrew to attend Boston University. In the summer of 2012, doors were not opening and we could not find a proper place to live. To our suprise, God totally turned things around and sent us to Texas. Andrew was enrolled in UT Austin School of Public Health to pursue his Masters when he realized being a Physician Assistant was what he REALLY wanted! We currently call Texas City, TX. home while Andrew pursues Physician Assistant School At UTMB Galveston. We are excited to see what the future holds.