1/11: Year One and Counting!

Since we were married 2x in 3 days last January (1/10 was in the ocean and 1/12 was on our couch) we averaged the two and landed on 1/11 as the day we celebrate our anniversary; the exact day I met the boys for the first time a year earlier. Before we were married in the ocean, David, the boys, and I went to the spot of our first date, the Moonraker in Pacifica, to set intentions by throwing rocks into the ocean. As part of our annual anniversary celebration, we headed back to Moonraker to reflect and to set intentions together for the year ahead.

This year the ocean had a little extra oomph, so we take it as a good sign that our wishes will be delivered!

2021 was a wonderFULL year! After 3 weddings and 11 wedding events across 3 countries, 3 states, and 11 cities + a much needed 2-week honeymoon where we ate our way across Mexico City and Oaxaca in December, we celebrated our anniversary by staying at home and enjoying a homemade curry (David's speciality, which was especially fragrant), followed by massages, and then, Netflix. I absolutely love how we were married over the course of a year. It took extra time and a lot of planning, but it was deeply intimate, thoughtful, and inclusive of the people and places we hold dear. I couldn't imagine a more whole way to merge our lives and families!

Be Bayou on Bayou Desiard in Ren's hometown of Monroe, Louisiana

Gifts that Keep on Givin'

My friend Rachael married us in our ocean ceremony last January. It was incredibly special to share such an intimate, rare ceremony with my dear friend of many years. Rachael is a designer and artist and gifted us a painting that she made for us for our ocean ceremony. To celebrate our one year anniversary, we had it framed and have displayed it prominently in our home. Painting is acrylic framed in a 16x20 polished brass frame.

My 1st year dating anniversary gift for Ren, in keeping with the traditional theme of paper, was the chatterbox I used to ask her to marry me. Coming up on the 1st year wedding anniversary, rather than go with the paper theme again, I moved ahead to the second year theme of cotton. Since this was now my second anniversary gift to her, I also wanted two of something to give her. Ren has been having some issues getting a good, full night’s sleep so I surprised her with new bedding, which ended up being as much of a gift for me as it was for her – double win!

Sleep success!

And! To celebrate all the lovely things our life together contains, I had our friend Rachael's sister Sarai, a talented potter in Oregon, hand make these stunning bowls for David. The perfect vehicle for our anniversary curry!

Our Inspiration

The Gege's (David's parents) 50th Wedding Anniversary was on December 17th! Family got together at David's parents' house and at Mezzaluna in Half Moon Bay to celebrate. We had a blast being together and enjoyed a slideshow of Elisabeth and Laslo's life together. David had Rachael evolve the logo that Laslo designed for Elisabeth's parents' 50th anniversary in the 80s and put it on a poster for us to all leave love notes for them. When we asked Elisabeth and Laslo what makes for a good marriage they said, "laughter and shared style." Laslo also said cryptically, "ride the tiger, don't let go." Hahaha, he explained it to us later, but we will leave y'all to imagine what he meant. Though I'm not sure that David and I will make it to our 50th, David will be oooollld--> 97!/ (David)--> I don’t necessarily share Ren’s pessimism about my hitting 97 years old, but we are most certainly striving for it. Regardless :), we have good examples to follow.

#anniversary #family #Vespremi