Has it really been 4 years?

May is a big month! On May 23rd Derek and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. I cant believe we have been married for 4 years already... the time has flown by! It was great to sit at dinner and talk about all the things we have accomplished since we got married and our plans for the future. I couldn't be happier with the choice I made to marry Derek! I cant wait for many, many more years of happiness.

To celebrate we went to Ola, a boutique restaurant in South Beach. The food was TO DIE FOR.

We started with a lobster empanada and fish tacos

I got the snapper and Derek of course got the filet

We finished with a deconstructed key lime pie and a chocolate cigar and coffee ice cream

We had a perfect night together! 

For our gifts to each other, I got Derek a "Date Ideas" jar. I made a list of 50 dates we could do together, ranging from free to expensive and hopefully over the next year we can do them all. I think this satisfied the indecisiveness Derek sometimes feels when we plan dates.

Derek sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers to my work. They are gorgeous! The receptionist called me to the front of the office and made me walk them back myself. She said it's the best walk of shame I could do :) Derek also got me a massage that I promptly used and was completely relaxed.

All in all I think this was a perfect anniversary. I am excited to see what this next year has in store for us!

It's My Birthday

If you have read my blog then you know I have had very mixed feelings about my birthday this year. I feel like I am still a kid in so many ways and part of me has felt very nostalgic for my childhood in the last few months. The best way to describe it is this: I want the knowledge and skills of my 20's combined with the care-free lifestyle of my teens. I think we all feel that way at times (or at least that is what I tell myself). I saw a quote recently and it really resonated with me.

In lieu of Dr. Seuss's amazing advice, I truly enjoyed my birthday. Derek and I were talking about how, when you are a kid, your birthday means an excessive amount of sweets, gifts and attention. As you get older it becomes more about doing things with people you love.That was exactly how I celebrated my birthday. The night before my birthday I went and got pedicures with Alana, Olivia and Jacki. I love these girls and spending some girl time at the salon was the perfect way to kick off my birthday celebration. They also brought me some amazing cupcakes that Derek and I ate much too quickly. 

Such a fun night :)

These didn't last long! 

The night of my birthday Derek took me to a Thai cooking class. It was so much fun! We made spring rolls, soup, custard and an Indian dish as well. I love Thai food and it was a very enlightening process to learn how to make all of these dishes. We were in charge of the spring rolls and it turns out I make a pretty mean spring roll (evidence below). Since this was my first cooking class I had no idea what to expect, but I am happy to say that I loved it and now feel very motivated to take additional classes. It was the perfect way to spend my birthday night! The next step is taking Derek up on my birthday gift of starting my urban garden. Once he is done with finals it is on.

Derek was suited up and ready to cook. 

I was really into rolling my Spring Roll

The finished product... I am pretty proud! 

Shrimp and Mushroom soup... sooo good! 

 Our custard was caramelized and I was pretty bummed we didn't get to use the fire. But it turned out awesome so I cant complain!