14 DAY TRIAL // They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, and although some consider this an antiquated adage, a New York City woman proved that it actually has some truth in it.
Stephanie Smith, a New York Post reporter who vowed to make her boyfriend 300 sandwiches in order to get him to propose, received the long-craved for engagement ring after only 256 sandwiches.
It all started in June 2012, when her boyfriend Eric Schulte devoured a homemade turkey sandwich and was so impressed by it that he exclaimed, “Honey, you're three hundred sandwiches away from an engagement ring.” Although his comment was intended as a joke, Smith took on the challenge and embarked on a fairly long culinary quest to satisfy Eric's cravings.
In fact, she was so determined to prove her hubby that she was worthy of making his lunches for the rest of her life that she even set up a blog called 300 Sandwiches on which she detailed her efforts to woo her boyfriend with bread-and-meat creations and posted hundreds of photos of sandwiches she made for him.
“Sandwiches mean more to him than nice gifts, or any other incentive I could use to get him closer to putting a ring on it,” Smith said at one point.
However, it seems that Smith's recipes convinced Eric earlier than she had expected, as he finally proposed in Barbados last week, while she was getting ready to make sandwich number 257, called the Fishkiller Fish Cutter.
“Words cannot express how extraordinarily happy I am. Not because I have a engagement ring, but because I’m going to spend the rest of my life having ridiculously amazing adventures with my soul mate,” she wrote in a blogpost announcing the news. “My mouth hurts from smiling.”
Smith gained Internet fame – and a lot of criticism – due to her blog, as it sparked debates about gender relations and many accused her of anti-feminism. However, the couple have always said that they shared a healthy relationship. Others have seen the whole affair as an uninspired attempt to get a book or a movie deal.
In an article about the engagement for the New York Post, Stephanie confessed that she planned to continue making sandwiches for her fiancé.
“He deserves those 43 sandwiches. Not just because he proposed, but because while I'm making them, he shows me how to really enjoy life,” she said.