2011

It's been quite a year for us.  But it didn't start off very well.  Early in January, we lost my uncle unexpectedly to a heart attack.  It was a shock and a reminder that life is so very precious.  My heart goes out to my aunt, cousins, and the rest of our family who will forever miss him.

In February, my then boyfriend proposed!  We celebrated with dinner at one of our favorite sushi spots, Oysy, followed by dessert at Pops for Champagne.  And of course, lots of phone calls and texts to spread the news.  When we called my parents to tell them, they confessed they had had a pool going with my brother and no one had picked that date.  They had all put their money on my fiance's birthday at the end of January, or our anniversary of dating in early February, or Valentine's Day.  Sorry, guys!  We had started wedding planning before becoming engaged, but we ramped it up after it became official.

(Husar Photography)

March took us to Louisville for my brother's birthday.  It was my fiance's first trip to Kentucky, and he especially enjoyed brunch at Lynn's Paradise Cafe.  It was on this trip that I asked my brother to be my man of honor in our wedding.  I made him a t-shirt with his new title, and put it in a gift bag underneath an old bridesmaid dress I wore in my friend's wedding.  When he pulled out the dress, he asked, "Am I going to be a bridesmaid?!"  Classic. 

My parents came to visit us for Easter in April.  My fiance's mom made an Italian feast and my aunt, uncle, and cousins came over for dinner.  My parents' trip also included lots of wedding-related activities like a dress fitting and visiting our reception venue.

I was really busy in the spring with searching for a new job and then going on lots of interviews in May.  It was a really stressful time between working full-time, job searching, and wedding planning.  My search was successful and in the early summer, I signed a contract to teach at a new school starting in August.

June brought a break but wedding planning continued.  I started reading more cooking and baking blogs, developed more of an interest in veganism, and devoted more time to testing out recipes and developing some of my own.

My dad celebrated a big birthday in July, so we headed to Cleveland for a visit.  We saw Jersey Boys and had dinner at Stino da Napoli.  While we were in town, our dear family friends threw us a wedding shower.  It was really exciting to see so many friends who would also travel to Chicago a few months later for our big day!

At the end of July, we lost my grandfather, Poppy.  He was 91 (and a half).  I consider myself lucky to have known him for so long.  I have plans for a longer post about his stories and what I've learned from him.

My grandparents on their wedding day, March 20, 1942, in Columbus, Ohio.

In August, I accompanied my fiance on a trip abroad for work.  It had been a long time (8 years) since I'd set foot in a country where I didn't understand a single word.  The Germans were really friendly and didn't seem to mind that all I could remember from that entire semester of German 101 in college was "Guten Tag," "bitte," and "danke."  Yeesh.   

Heidelberg, Germany

After our return, we had more pre-wedding festivities -- two showers thrown by my future mother-in-law and my aunt and uncle!  We took engagement photos and finalized as much wedding prep as we could before I started my new job.

September took us back to Cleveland for one of my high school friend's wedding showers.  A week before our wedding, my Chicago friends took me out for a very classy bachelorette dinner at Paris Club.  It was tons of fun and just my style.  The big day arrived and we had an amazing wedding and reception with our families and closest friends!

Our wedding at Saint Clement Church.  (Pawinski Photography)

In October, we finally started to relax.  With my school schedule, I couldn't take time off for a honeymoon.  So we spent a weekend up in Wisconsin at the Kohler Waters Spa.  It was relaxing and luxurious, with their pools, saunas, and steam rooms, not to mention their continental breakfasts, tea-times, and cocktail hours.  We were well-fed, well-rested, and just a little water-logged by the end.

My brother refers to this as "The Faucet Resort."

Like last year, we traveled back to Cleveland for Thanksgiving in November.  And again a couple weeks later in December for a high school friend's incredible wedding.  And once again for Christmas.  Yep, three trips to Cleveland in a matter of four weeks.  That brings our total number of trips to Cleveland in 2011 to ... six.  No wonder my car is always needing another oil change.

And here we are, on the last day of the year.  We received sad news this morning from my parents that my fifteenth birthday present, a lively dog I lovingly named Adele, passed away today.  She was a fierce guard dog, an ever companion, and a member of our family.

Adele, the cottage dog.

Tomorrow we'll start a new year and we'll be open to what it brings.  Happy New Year!