Where are you originally from?
Adam is from San Francisco and Jen is from Sacramento.
Where did you meet?
We met online, but our first in-person meeting was in the coffee shop at Powell’s City of Books on Burnside.
How long have you been together?
Four years.
What role does Powell’s play in your love story?
Powell’s was the site of our first date and of our engagement. Our first date was in the coffee shop. We talked for over four hours, until the employees were cleaning up to shut down for the night. On the second anniversary of our first date — a Wednesday — Adam asked me to meet him at Powell’s after work. He had designed a book and hidden it in the Balkan History section of the Red room, my favorite. We wandered around the store for a bit before I went to my favorite section… and immediately noticed a book I had never seen before. Reading the back, it had my name on it and the story of how we met. I turned around to find Adam holding his great-grandmother’s ring. I nodded yes and then he hid me from Powell’s staff so that I could “steal” the proposal book that he designed.
What was the first thing you noticed about one another?
Adam: Her sense of humor.
Jen: His sense of humor.
Birds of a feather, or opposites attract?
Birds of a feather.
What’s the most romantic place in Portland?
Lan Su Chinese Garden.
What’s the secret to a healthy relationship?
It isn’t really a secret, but respect and laughter. We both want the other person to feel valued and fulfilled as an individual, and we try not to take the little things too seriously.
What do you most admire about each other?
Adam: Jen’s selflessness. It seems like second nature to go out of her way to help others, as though “of course” that’s what one does.
Jen: Adam is truly kind; he never talks behind anyone’s back. He is genuine with everyone in his life.
If you wrote a book about your lives together, what would be its title?
Words With Pictures.