One Year

In some respects, this year has flown by.

In others, I feel like I've lived a whole lifetime in this year!

Either way, it's been great - even with all its up and downs - and I feel lucky to be here now, with a husband I love, pets, friends, family and a life I love.

One year ago today, I married my best friend. The best decision I've ever made! He is truly my partner, even when we struggle, and I look forward to the future :)

Our celebration weekend was GREAT! We went to the Finger Lakes region of New York, famous for being New York's wine country, and really enjoyed ourselves.

We went up Friday night, and I had two margaritas and got pretty drunk (I am a lightweight since I stopped drinking much at all) and got us kind of lost because I was supposed to navigate us to the hotel while Chris drove. It was funny, though, and we arrived safely.

The hotel was really nice, we had a free room because Chris stays in hotels a lot for work and accumulates hotel points. They upgraded us to a suite with a king sized bed for free, too!

Now, I will warn you - I did NOT live a grain free lifestyle this weekend. As evidence by my drunk eating of the complimentary cheezits and powerade in the hotel:

But, no fear! My anniversary weekend wasn't an excuse to laze around and eat junk! We got out there and were really active (so active we ended up needing a nap because we were exhausted).

We kayaked and hiked during the day around Cayuga Lake (the hike was at Buttermilk Falls). Some pics:

 We also made sure to stop at some of the local wineries this weekend:

And the highlight of the weekend was eating at Hazelnut Kitchen in Trumansburg, NY (near Ithaca). Chris' old college buddy owns, and is the chef, of the restaurant. It was AWESOME - it is a farm to table restaurant with amazing, fresh, healthy ingredients. They specialize in gluten free foods, vegetarian foods, and can make any dish to your specific needs. His friend, Justin, is a spectacular chef, too! And he treated us really well (even had a personalized menu):

We started with a grilled watermelon salad and a corn chowder with crab cakes. Both perfects, fresh, and tasty!

I got a fish entree - Faroe Island salmon with a cauliflower tabbouleh and beet puree (grain free!) and Chris got a beautiful pork belly dish.

We shared dessert, a basil panna cotta:

It is a really nice, more upscale restaurant and the focus is on the tastes and the ingredients, NOT the quantity. So, even though we each had an app and an entree and shared a dessert, the portion sizes were all incredibly reasonable and such high quality that we did NOT feel stuffed at the end of dinner! It was great - we felt nourished, not gross. So often, after a big restaurant meal, we end up regretting our choices and aching bellies. Not this time!! Taught me a good lesson about how it is possible to go out to eat and still treat your body like a temple :)

We went back to the hotel and just hung out and enjoyed each other's company. It was a really great weekend and I felt really, really happy and sated and smiley at the end of it. It is nice to have someone you can spend days on end with and never get tired of them! 

We also like the same type of lifestyle, so it was great to be able to hike and kayak AND indulge in wine and some delicious food. A nice balance! We are not the type of couple who could just lay around all weekend, indulging in food and drink, we NEED to be active and explore the world :) 

So I am content. Going to sign off now and watch some TV in bed with Chris :) :) :)