A Little Anniversary Celebration

Steve and I recently celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, he was still at Ft. Lewis on the actual day of our anniversary, so we waited for a few days until he was settled at home. We like to cook together, so we decided to get the boys a pizza and a movie and send them to the family room, while we cooked up a storm. It was fun thumbing through some of our favorite cookbooks last week, trying to decide what we wanted to make. We settled on Julia Child's Coq au Vin for our main course, and it didn't disappoint. We'd planned to make a lovely appetizer from Bob and Melinda Blanchard's "Cook What You Love", but alas, those plans were spoiled by our local supermarket, who seems to have a problem stocking fresh ingredients at times. Boo!

Above is my corny little table display ~ the chapel we were married in, the inn where we spent our wedding night, and the picture of the boys that I gave Steve as an anniversary gift. Tin/aluminum for the tenth anniversary proved to be a bit tricky, so I went with a tin-ish looking picture frame and an impromptu photo shoot with Steve's best boys. I'm afraid Steve really out-did me when he gave me a beautiful strand of pearls ~ something I have always wanted.


When Cam and Griff's movie ended, Camden offered to be our butler.


Things got really crazy when we decided to dig out and try on our wedding attire. I would like to point out that Steve is wearing Camden's bow tie. I'm also pretty sure facial hair is against regulation with that uniform. I would also like to point out that my wedding gown is now too big for me. Not quite sure how that happened, but I'm not complaining. Ha!

We had a great evening that I will never forget. So glad to be blessed with such a great husband!

Nine

I set out on a narrow way, many years ago,

hoping I would find true love along the broken road

But I got lost a time or two,

wiped my brow and kept pushing through

I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you.

Every long lost dream led me to where you are

Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars

Pointing me on my way into your loving arms

This much I know is true

That God blessed the broken road

That led me straight to you

I Love Double-Sided Tape

Steve and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary earlier this week, and although we decided to save the actual celebrating for the weekend (when Steve doesn't have to be up at 4:00 the next morning, and we don't have a little one going to school), I decided to whip up a little romantic dinner for two. I didn't have a lot of time to accomplish the task, and, as usual I was busy entertaining children/breaking up bickering matches, so I had to take some shortcuts here and there.

Of course I wanted to have a yummy dessert, but I definitely didn't have time to make anything, so a quick visit to the local grocery store and I was the happy owner of a tiny chocolate cake. Next, I needed to have something to serve it on, but my cake platter was way too big. Here's where the double-sided tape comes in:

One cute little salad plate affixed to an overturned margarita glass, and, voila!

...an anniversary-worthy dessert.

We had a very nice dinner, even if the Blue Power Ranger (otherwise known as Griffin) decided he missed his Mummy, and showed up on our doorstep while we were eating.

Looking forward to the weekend and going out on the town with my honey.

A Little Romance

Steve was out of town on Valentine's Day (more on that, later) so I decided to banish the children to the family room this evening, and fix my sweetheart a fancy dinner. Needless to say, the boys were super excited to have their dinner on t.v. trays, while watching "Go Diego, Go!". I cannot begin to tell you how fabulous it was to sit and enjoy a nice meal, without having to stop once to say, "Mind your manners!" or "Eat your dinner!" After a few minutes of this pure bliss, Steve and I wondered aloud, why we haven't been doing this more often. I do believe we have had dinner like this once before, and enjoyed it just as much. So, our goal now is to have an "adults only" dinner once per week. Gives us some quality time together since we rarely (if ever) get out, we're not spending money going out to eat, and it gives me an excuse to try new recipes.

Tonight, I made a simple salad of organic greens, dried cranberries, toasted pecans, and crispy-warm goat cheese rounds...delish.

For the main course, I made a Caprese Flat Pie, compliments of Katie Lee Joel. The recipe can be found here, as well as a great little video of how it is made. Katie is the wife of Billy Joel, and you may have heard of her cookbook, called The Comfort Table. I can't wait to add her book to my collection - - I think she is just wonderful. The Caprese Flat Pie looks pretty fancy, but it couldn't be any more simple. The ingredients: puff pastry, pesto, fresh mozzarella, Roma tomatoes, and some egg wash. I'm embarrassed to admit that I had never cooked with puff pastry before, but now that I have, I can't wait to use it again. Here's the finished product:

It was really tasty, and I'm already imagining a bunch of other combinations. For dessert - - some pink champagne, and a couple of squares of Lindt (hi Kirsten!) chocolate. Perfect.

After we put the boys to bed, we were discussing dinner and how much we enjoyed it, at which point Steve remarked, "It was kind of surreal!" That tells you a little bit about how often we get out (ahem...never), which is kind of sad, really. We don't have many child care options, and I don't know about you, but we aren't too crazy about spending money frivolously these days. The truth is, this is just another one of those choices we can make for ourselves...we don't need to hire a babysitter and blow a bunch of money out on the town...we can easily have a lovely evening together in the comfort of our own home and not spend a dime. I already can't wait to do this again next week!

How Do I LoveThee? Let Me Count The Ways...

Steve and I had a very, very long overdue date night tonight...as a matter of fact, we had a hard time remembering the last time we'd been out together...alone.

Anyway, it was fabulous, and so very nice to have the luxury of totally enjoying each other's company. We had dinner at a lovely little restaurant in Eagle that we love. We ate summer rolls, roasted edamame, and then some wonderful sushi, and finished with some green tea ice cream. From there, we headed over to Starbucks for a warm drink (and a couple of cell phone pictures). Tomorrow, Steve heads out of town on business, so I'm extra glad we had a chance to spend some time together tonight.

Seven

How joyful to be together, alone

as when we first were joined

in our little house by the river

long ago, except that now we know

each other, as we did not then;

and now instead of two stories fumbling

to meet, we belong to one story

that the two, joining, made. And now

we touch each other with the tenderness

of mortals, who know themselves...

- Wendell Berry