I think my girlfriend is subtly hinting that she wants to be proposed to.
How do you feel about all these subtle hints?
I thought she was hinting at it and I told her that she should have just said it.
It's understandable that you would want her to be more straightforward about it. I think you should try to realize that maybe she wanted to be surprised by you and that's why she was only dropping subtle hints.
She needs to learn her place.
I don't think you should think too much into this. Like I said, proposals are meant to be a surprise and maybe she just wanted it to happen a certain way. Maybe it's not too late, and you can make the proposal to her.