Our 10th Wedding Anniversary

Last week, my sweet husband and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary.

The past days had us reminiscing about those wonderful years and indulging in memories... I thought I would share with you our love story.

How we met...
It was in the month of May 2002, in a village called Blotzheim,  located in the southeastern part of the region of Alsace, France. That is where I lived at the time. That region is bounded by three borders, close to Switzerland and Germany. I was a Basel based flight attendant, for a Swiss airline.

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The village of Blotzheim

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The beautiful and romantic region of Alsace. Maisons à colombages (half-timbered houses)

 We were introduced by my best friend. She got to know my husband in his home town of Santa Barbara, California when she was an exchange student. They have been good friends ever since.

My husband had been attending the Cannes Film Festival for business and had extended his trip to visit our mutual friend. (I am so glad he did!)

I was on my way out that day and was running late. As I was leaving, my friend, who lived next door, called me over to her driveway. She was getting ready to go. She introduced me to "her friend from California".  I looked inside the car and I saw that handsome American boy with a baseball cap.
Our eyes met and he started talking to me in English with a, what I thought, very cool accent. He right away suggested that our friend should invite me for dinner over the weekend, which she did. (how thoughtful of him!)
I was struck by his good looks and gorgeous smile, seduced by his charisma and friendliness. He made me feel instantly warm and fuzzy inside. It was definitely love at first sight!

I believe that if I had left on time that day, we might have never been introduced. Also, it was over the weekend and with the airline, I never used to get my weekends off. That time, I did. (Can you say, meant to be?)

At the dinner, we only had eyes for each other and later on that evening, I invited him over to my apartment for a drink. We felt very comfortable with each other's company. I even took a photo of him!
I thought to myself that I could spend my life with someone like him.
From that point on, we were inseparable. Well, until it was time for him to return to America, a couple of days later. I remember that morning, it was like an old movie scene. I took him to the train station, where he had to catch a ride to Paris. We sat on a bench on the railway platform and waited for him to board his train. That is when we told one another that we liked each other...

Then the conductor blew his whistle and it was time for us to say our final goodbye...

Just before he left, he gave me his studded leather belt. A belt that he wore all the time, including during his shows (my husband was the lead singer of a punk rock band). I was so touched and I wore that belt so much, for many years. I still have it, of course.

Then the train started to depart and we waved goodbye. I felt terribly sad. Was I going to see him again? When?

To my relief, we kept in touch. We called each other a lot over the phone. We did not have Skype nor FaceTime back then, which made things more romantic, really. We went out of our way to see each other and we wrote each other letters.

Two weeks later, my husband sent me a care package from Los Angeles. It was full of American candies and chocolate, patriotic souvenirs and an audio cassette with a special mix of songs he had recorded, just for me. It made me feel very special.
(I know, a cassette... are those still around? That kind of makes me feel old...)

He also asked me to meet him in New York, in the Summer. He was going to spend a week vacation at a friend's family home in The Hamptons. That would be our second time together...
At JFK airport, we both got picked up from our respective terminals, that Summer evening. I was picked up first, then my husband.
When he entered the back of the car to join me, I must say, it felt a little strange -- we had not seen each other since that weekend in Blotzheim, two months before -- but it was also extremely exciting and we were so happy to see each other!

We drove a while and then boarded a ferry to reach a beautiful place called Shelter Island. Often called the "un-Hamptons", this subdued island offers the same pristine beaches and great seafood without any of the congestion and pretension. We also stayed in Manhattan a couple of nights at that friend's apartment.

We certainly had a magical time. We went on walks, fished, dined, had fun in the swimming pool, played tennis, danced, shopped, went to shows and loved each other (even though neither one of us had said the "three words", yet). But I did find out later, that he had told his friend "I could marry this girl!"

After spending that week together, we knew...

We then visited each other every couple of months. He came back in October and that is when we both said "I love you", in the beautiful German Black Forest. I will never forget that moment.

That coming Christmas, it was my turn to visit him and I met his family in Santa Barbara, for the first time.
Everyone was so nice!
The week before Christmas, he took me on a road trip to The Grand Canyon... I was blown away.

Then, the day I was flying back to France, my husband proposed to me. I was over the moon! (to say the least.)

All of those first moments spent together are firmly anchored in my mind and thanks to our traveling jobs, seeing each other "often" -- considering the long distance between us -- was made possible.

In January 2004, I finally quit my airline job, packed my belongings and moved to LA. (I resumed my flying career in 2006, when hired by an American airline.)

We got married on April 3, 2004. It was a beautiful wedding in Santa Barbara, California at the Montecito Country Club.

We bought our first home in 2008. A lovely condo in West Hollywood.

Almost two years ago, our beautiful son James was born.

Last week we bought our first house, in the hills of Silver Lake, California.

We have come a long way and I would not change one bit of it. God has blessed me so much with this man and our amazing baby boy. I look forward to many more decades!

Our tradition...
For our 10 year anniversary, we first thought that we should go on a cruise, on a tropical vacation or perhaps go back to Kauai where we spent our honeymoon. It is a milestone, therefore something bigger than usual needed to happen, to celebrate...

In Kauai, dolphin watching.

For our first seven anniversaries (until I got pregnant), our tradition was, to each year spend a three-day weekend wine tasting in Paso Robles, California. We always stayed at our most-liked Bed & Breakfast.
When I was pregnant (no wine tasting for me!), we chose to have our anniversary dinner at our favorite restaurant, The Stonehouse at San Ysidro Ranch. Nestled in the Montecito foothills of Southern California's wine country, it has been a very special place, since we got married. Indeed, we spent our wedding night in one of their cottages and it has been to us, a uniquely romantic hideaway, ever since. (This is also where JFK and Jackie honeymooned.)

As I mentioned it before, we just bought a house and so for this year, we thought to ourselves: "Well, THIS is our big celebration!" So last Friday, we drove up to Santa Barbara to our family's home and headed back to San Ysidro Ranch, for a romantic anniversary dinner. We were once again able to feast on the location's beauty and succulent food. We had a fantastic time, as always.

For the past ten years, we have always exchanged cards and traditional wedding gifts. Some anniversaries we simply get a common gift. For example last year, the traditional gift was "pottery" and on our Summer vacation in New Mexico, we fell in love with a beautiful Mata Ortiz pottery. Sometimes it takes a while to find the right gift.
This year, it is "tin and aluminum"and we are sill looking for the perfect present.

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Our 9 year wedding anniversary gift to each other.

 On a completely different subject, I would like to share with you this terrific recipe.
I made those orange muffins last week and they were so delicious! Super easy to make, it could not get any easier! They freeze very well and thaw in no time. Do try it!

ORANGE MUFFINS

Ingredients:

1 orange, quartered (with peel, seeds removed)
1/2 cup orange juice
1 large egg
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400F.
• Sift flour and combine dry ingredients, together in a bowl.
• Put orange quarters in food processor (or blender) along with orange juice and process or blend, until puréed.
• Add egg and butter to blender and combine. Pour into a large bowl.
• Add dry ingredients at once to orange mixture.
• Stir to combine.
• Bake in paper lined muffin cups (fill about 3/4 full), for 20 minutes.

Enjoy and have a great week!

Alexandra