jeg elsker dig

last night was pretty wonderful. it was one month since j and i tied the knot, and jenn called to cancel going to yoga, so i decided to do something special... i headed to central market and picked up some goodies, then tidied up the house (and myself!) and put on a pretty dress to wait for j to come home.

i fixed up the balcony with a little table and chairs and some of the signs from our wedding. i put out a bunch of candles in mason jars and the champagne glasses we received when we were first engaged. when he got home, he was so surprised at how beautiful our little place was. it's beginning to feel more and more like a sweet little home. i'm even thinking about inviting some people over for a real meal! (sheesh! exciting! carissa, perhaps?)

i sat him down and popped one of the bottles of champagne from our wedding, and then served a four course meal. yep. i consider myself a relatively fancy lady, but never in my life have i made a four course meal for one other person. it was incredible.

course one: shrimp cocktails. in vintage pink martini glasses. the perfect combination of spicy and sweet. and i'm a sucker for depression glass.

course two: romaine salad with bleu cheese dressing, st. agur bleu crumbles, and hand salted macadamia nuts.

course three: wild rice, white truffled green beans, and lobster tail. i cooked lobster tail! and i served it with the most delicious butter - j asked me, what did you do to this butter? and i said, nothing, it's pasture butter. do you know what that means to me? it means it comes wrapped in foil and tastes good. anyway, the lobster was really perfect and special and even though i was so anxious about over-cooking it, it turned out just right and made him so happy. (and it's on sale right now at central market, if you're now having a hankering. a really, really good sale).

course four (and i'll admit i didn't make this one, but i replated it real pretty): pink champagne cake that said "Happy Anniversary" in pretty letters, with a side of cherry garcia.

i have to say, ninety-nine percent of the time, i don't feel like i deserve j. on a daily basis, he does so much for me. he wakes up early every morning and cooks me breakfast. he makes me coffee. and then he drives me to work. he comes down and meets me for lunch a couple times a week. he makes me things for my classroom. he does laundry. he cooks delicious meals. so most of the time, i wonder, why'd he marry a schlub like me?

but then there are these glorious moments, like last night, wearing a beautiful sparkly dress, where i feel like the best wife in the world, and where i think maybe i've finally been able to capture and express how much i really love him. nope. it's too much. but where i've come pretty close to expressing it -

and getting to eat lobster and cake never hurts either.

happy anniversary, j! i love you a whole shitload.

love,
j