I've always heard/read/been told that the first year of marriage is the most difficult, and I want to say I agree, but because I'm writing this on the eve of my first wedding anniversary -- not my fifth or tenth or twentieth -- I think what I mean to say is that the first year of my marriage has been challenging simply because so much has happened. But it's been amazing.
A year ago I put on a dress I would wear every day if I could, and exchanged some simple yet powerful words with my now husband who is, quite simply, my rock. And on a beautiful summer night we gathered our friends and family around us and ate and drank and laughed and hugged and kissed.
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| Love |
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| It's okay to wear my wedding dress every day, right? |
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| My husband gave the most amazing toast, and I swooned. |
The next day The Headless Hound and I moved in with my husband. The Hound was a big help and immediately claimed her spot in our new home.
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| The Headless Hound's Head, Boxed Separately |
In what sort of turned out to be a wedding gift due to the timing, shortly after we were married we were able to spend more time with my mother, thanks to my amazing brother who orchestrated her transfer to a skilled nursing facility in our area.
In the fall my husband's sister came from South Africa to stay with us for 10 glorious days of cooking, baking, horseback riding, Disneyland-ing, and getting dolled-up and dining at The Bazaar at SLS, The Penthouse at The Huntley, and Bar Marmont.
And while we're talking about getting dolled-up and eating, in winter we embarked on a culinary tour of Manhattan and Long Island with my beloved mother-in-law and her delightful husband. Among the many highlights of that trip were sighting Sting in Central Park, cheering the New York Marathon runners at the finish line, and brunching at Cafe Boulud, where the food was good but the people watching and eavesdropping were better.
In the spring we flew to South Africa for a wonderful family visit. We ate our way through Cape Town, Franschhoek, Stellenbosch, and the Klein Karoo. I need to do separate posts about that trip, especially our stay at Sanbona, where we got up close and personal with lions, elephants, and rhinoceros, oh my!
Back at home, we found ourselves orchestrating an elaborate running joke involving the crumpled-up paper towels my husband leaves around the house, the empty water glasses I forget to pick up, and the Geico "Somebody's Watching Me" eyes.
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| I always feel like...they're watching each other? |
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| ...and the dog. |
Meanwhile, The Headless Hound was accepting UPS deliveries on our behalf and fetching take-away from the Chipotle up the road, much to the delight of our neighborhood and Facebook friends.
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| Gimme Gimme Gimme |
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| Chip-poodle Delivery, Step 1 |
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| Chip-a-totally Delivery, Step 2 |
It's Summer again, and we're off to celebrate our first anniversary weekend lounging by a pool in the blistering desert heat. Bring on another year, baby. And a lifetime, too.
