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

My Ladyfingers

When our son turned six months old, after being exclusively breast-fed, I was ready to take him on a food discovery journey. So I started to prepare those delicious purées of fruits, vegetables and legumes. When he was a little older, I then added fish, meat, poultry and offal.
I was on a mission! I wanted to purée everything from the wide array of organic produce, at my local Whole Foods Market! I puréed anything from sweet potato, broccoli and salmon, to Belgian endive, turnip and chicken liver. I was determined and luckily, baby was a great eater! He still is, although since we transitioned to table food, it has been a little more challenging at times, which I know is normal. But he still has a great appetite.

So last Christmas, when we decided to go and spend five weeks at my mum and dad's home in Bordeaux, France. I was super excited! How fun was that going to be? Baby was going to try new foods... French foods!

Cheese of course! My favorite food! French supermarkets have a plethora of cheeses. Mozzarella (string cheese) is a bit bland and even though I also buy other cheeses here in America, what better place than France to introduce him to new and exciting ones!
Our son tried goat and sheep cheese for the first time and he loved it! He got to eat a lot of it during our stay.

There is also an abundance of delicious desserts and yogurts in the dairy aisle, there. Some of my favorites are:
les Oeufs au lait with or without caramel topping (a bit similar to the Spanish flan, that you may know).
La semoule au lait (semolina pudding). The semolina used for this pudding, is a very fine version of the one used over here to make couscous, not to be confused with semolina flour. Here is a photo of my own semolina pudding that I make regularly at home, which is delicious and nutritious for babies and adults alike!

Petits pots de crème (little pots of cream), which has a lot of cream, hence the name, therefore delicious! Here is an appetizing photo of this dessert, that I found on the web.

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Yummy!

And let's not forget the delicious mousses that you can find there, like mousse au chocolat (chocolate mousse), mousse au café (coffee mousse), mousse au caramel (caramel mousse) and many more.
Our son really enjoyed some of those desserts!

Right away, baby took a liking to French baguette. Who would not like this delicious bread with a crispy crust and a light, chewy interior? In France, babies are actually introduced to bread at a very early age. When they start teething, parents give them a trognon de pain (the heel of the bread loaf) which soothes their sore gums and provides them some relief.

I do not like to give our son snacks -- you may have heard it before, most French do not snack! -- but we like to give him a fourth "meal", between lunch and dinner. In France, it is called the goûter or the quatre heures (four o'clock), taken usually around four in the afternoon, hence the name. Children get a delicious sweet treat, just enough to satisfy hunger or a craving, but not enough to spoil the appetite for dinner. A popular goûter in France is a piece of bread spread with nutella, which is France's equivalent to peanut butter. A more traditional goûter is squares of chocolate on a buttered piece of baguette, a tartine (open sandwich) with butter and jam, croissant or pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant), often accompanied by a glass of milk. A goûter on the go can be a few biscuits like Choco BN or Lu.
The goûter is totally part of the French culture and it is natural for me to give one to our child.

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Oh my!

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During our stay, baby became fan of a couple of French pastries: The madeleines and the biscuits à la cuillère (ladyfingers), which are softer and a little wider than the harder-in-texture kind that we can find here. They should be light and airy. I found this interesting short paragraph for you.

"Initially, the shape of the biscuit was round. What gave the biscuit its name? La cuillère, the spoon, used to place amounts of dough on the baking sheet. Starting around the 19th century, the shape changed to become long rather than round. A spoon would no longer be used but a decorative bag instead, which explains the new shape of the biscuit. Who created them? Antonin Carême. What are they? What we can describe as small finger-shaped sponge cakes."

So I brought back two shoe boxes full of madeleines and biscuits à la cuillère for our son. The store-bought kind that has a few month shelf life. Well, they were all gone within about two months! What was I going to do?  I had to try to make them myself... the biscuits à la cuillère that is. I will let you know about madeleine baking some other time.
I found this wonderful recipe that I used and they turned out great!

And voilà!



Do try this recipe. It is simple, great for the calorie conscious and the biscuits are delicious. I like them with a nice cuppa tea! They are virtually fat free and since they are so light, you would have to eat a lot of them to damage your diet (for those of you who watch their weight). I know I do...

Have a great week!

Alexandra 

Everyone is Irish on March 17!

So last Monday, it was Saint Patrick's Day! 

Usually, my husband and I do not do much on this particular holiday, being that neither one of us is Irish... 

But since our beautiful son was born, most holidays are always an opportunity to have fun and celebrate! Our son is now 21 months old and old enough to partake; so I really wanted to celebrate St. Paddy's Day, this year. We sure had a very fun and very green holiday!

I was set on baking something green and I found a wonderful recipe for Green Velvet Cupcakes (HERE).
I made the frosting with Irish butter and cream cheese, using a Martha Stewart recipe (HERE).
They turned out great! at first, the green food coloring scared me a little bit because, even though we are familiar with red velvet, which has the same amount of coloring if not more, the green is quite intense and unusual. But once finished, the fear went away and we had no problem eating them, they were delicious!
I got almost two dozens out of this recipe, so I delivered a lot of them to my husband's office. His employees were delighted!

To make it really festive, I decorated our home with banners, shamrock cutouts, green lanterns, green fabric flowers and a shamrock front door wreath.

We used green paper napkins and plates and we did not forget to wear green! I think I actually got a little obsessed with the color, I even got my toes painted green!

I also downloaded a Saint Patrick's Day "Essentials" collection from iTunes. We sure listened to a lot of Irish music and we certainly danced and Irish jig!

For breakfast, I wanted to make something green, but healthy. I did not want to use any more food coloring! On the menu was, shamrock buttermilk pancakes with spinach scrambled eggs and sliced kiwi fruits. I used the Whole Foods Market 365 brand organic pancake and waffle mix and a shamrock cookie cutter, once cooked.
For the spinach scrambled eggs, I simply steamed and blended some spinach and added a little bit of the purée to the egg mixture, until it appeared green enough.
It was a real success! Hubby and baby loved it!

For lunch, we met daddy at the Cat & Fiddle, which is our favorite local English pub and restaurant, here in LA. It was lovely! I had corned beef & cabbage for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it. I found this interesting paragraph about this dish and thought I would share it with you. 

"In the United States and Canada, consumption of corned beef is often associated with Saint Patrick's Day. Corned beef is not considered an Irish national dish, and the connection with Saint Patrick's Day specifically originates as part of Irish-American culture, and is often part of their celebrations in North America.  

Corned beef was used as a substitute for bacon by Irish-American immigrants in the late 19th century. Corned beef and cabbage is the Irish-American variant of the genuinely Irish dish of bacon and cabbage. A similar dish is the New England boiled dinner, consisting of corned beef, cabbage, and root vegetables such as carrots, turnips, and potatoes, which is popular in New England and parts of Atlantic Canada."

The Bud Light also wore the Irish color!

After the afternoon nap, baby had his Saint Paddy's Day quarter of a green cupcake. I did not want to overdo it, because of the coloring.... He liked it and then we headed out to the park, as we do everyday.

I had also purchased a cute board book for our son, which we read multiple times throughout the three-day weekend. I found "Happy St. Patrick's Day, Curious George", which was great to introduce baby to the Irish holiday. Wearing green, leprechaun, pot of gold, fiddlers, four-leaf clover, dancing, irish food, parade, it is all part of the book.
Which makes me think that we did consider going and seeing a parade, but decided not to. We though our son was a tad too young to really appreciate it and it might have been a little bit too hectic. But it will definitely be in our next year calendar, for sure!

A couple of fun toddler activities that we did were, drawing shamrocks using stencils and discovering Play-Doh for the first time -- green, of course! --
I had forgotten how amazing that stuff smells! It was so cute watching our son sniffing at it!

We had a wonderful time this Saint Patrick's Day! Having a child makes the holidays so much more special and memorable.

Next holiday is Easter and we sure are looking forward to it!

It will take place, either at our family home in Santa Barbara or in our new house -- we just bought a house and will be getting the keys on April 1st! -- and this is no joke! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Alexandra

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