Two years ago today

I married the cutest, sweetest, hardest working guy in the whole world.


To celebrate, we drove up to Yountville and ate at Bottega--Michael Chiarello's incredible Italian restaurant. After lunching on marscapone/chive risotto with duck confit and braised short-ribs, Patrick surprised me by driving to a nearby park, pulling out a blanket and books and letting me lounge in the sun while he composed the following list: (too long and too cheesy for a blog, but I had to share/save)

What I've learned about my sweetie in two years:
-She is the most beautiful thing on the planet
-She has the cutest laugh
-She loves to smile
-She loves people--all types of people
-She is extremely personable and able to talk with anyone
-She's fearless
-She has great fashion sense
-It's impossible for her to not look SOOO cute
-She loves the Food Network
-She loves great food
-She's a hard worker
-She could do anything she sets her mind to
-She would do anything for me
-She is alwasy thinking about me
-She knows what I like
-She loves her head to be rubbed/scratched
-She loves trashy tv and magazines
-She can plow through a book in no time
-She hates football
-She hates politics
-She has gorgeous hair
-She has soft/wonderful skin
-She loves adventure
-She hates broken promises
-She has expensive taste
-She's a beach rat
-She hates strange showers
-She ahs the most beautiful, dainty hands in the world
-She has the cutest shoulders
-Her eyes are warm and loving
-I couldnt live withou her
-I wouldn't be happy without her
-She is quick to forgive
-She has a temper
-She's extremely intelligent
-She's willing to try new things
-She loves diamonds
-Almonds are her friend
-She loves hot fudge sundays and coconut cream pie
-She is thoughtful
-She is loving and willing to take care of me if I need it
-She's funny
-She has a mischevious side
-She's sneaky
-She's great about putting up with my gas
-She transforms after 10pm
-She's assertive
-She's confident
-She's nosy
-She is always in my bizness
-She wants to do what's right
-She is my best friend
-She is the best cuddler
-She loves naps
-She loves the white blob
-She loves for me to sing to her even though it sounds terrible
-She loves to dance
-She loves trashy food
-She doesn't know how to spit
-I'll never beat her at Buzz Quiz tv
-I would do anything for her
-I couldnt have been more lucky

OK, maybe he exaggerated a few of them, but i LOVED it. Talk about lucky!!
Here's to another year, even better than the last two!

Crete

Part two of our vacation was Crete. We took the ferry from Athens to Crete--which was more like a miniature cruise ship, btw, SO HUGE! We thought that we'd be able to see more islands that way, but in hindsight, I think I'd have rather taken a plane because it's a shorter trip and we didn't really see anything from the boat. We did get a small taste for what a cruise might be like, and I have to say, I liked it! Maybe someday I'll get to go on a cruise...sigh...

We arrived at the Port in Heraklion around 11pm and when we got off the boat we were a bit shocked by how crazy and unorganized everything was. There were people all over the place--we felt like we were in a zoo! We finally found a cab that would take us to the car rental place (btw, all Taxis in Greece are brand new mercedes. Must be a good gig!) but when we got there we discovered we had to have international driver's licenses to rent cars there. WHAT? Who ever heard of that?? Lucky for us, the guys at Budget didn't say anything about international DL's for THEIR rentals so we quickly signed a few papers and grabbed the keys before they could realize what had happened.

After spending tons of money on Europe maps for the Garmin, we couldn't get the thing to recognize our hotel on the nav. Crap. So we're driving through Crete with no idea what the signs say at 12 at night praying we're on the right path. Daddy was more nervous out than I've ever seen him

Thankfully we got there with no problems (minus when Robert almost drove us straight into the side of a mountain)

Pulling into our hotel, we got giddy. MAN this place was nice! (Shoulda taken more pics)Plus they upgraded all our rooms to private infinity pools. Yes please!
We had lots of optimistic plans for when we were in Crete--all sorts of sightseeing and day trips.

But when you wake up to this
All your sightseeing plans go out the window.

So basically, the whole time all we did was lie around drinking frozen pinapple daquiri'sWe did go scuba diving a few times though, which was awesome. Especially the night dive. Loved that!

With our Dive Masters Juan and Kostos

Getting to the beach from the hotel was a bit of an adventure. We had to take a glass elevator from the reception area down to the beach. I'm sure there's some deep metaphor in that somewhere...
And, thanks to the recession, we were able to get the lounge chairs right at the waterfront without waking up at 6am (anyone who's been to Hawaii knows that is a major success)
As you all know, vacation is about ULTIMATE relaxation, AKA reading about the glory days of wrestling while wearing a bath robe and laying in bed all afternoon.

My favorite pic of the trip. He is so dang cute!

In case you still don't get how great this place was, here's proof that EVERYONE loved it.

*The last post will be on our day trip to Santorini. Expect it in about 2 months

Not sure if you can tell...

but I dyed my hair last night.

And by "I", I mean my friend who is an apprentice at Renaissance Salon. Anyone looking for a cheap ($30) but professional color/cut in SF should let me know. Trish is great!

What do you think? I think...it's great! Not too dark, so just a little different than usual.



It's been so long since I last colored my hair (highlights before Mere's wedding to be exact). I hope I don't get too addicted because this could get expensive!!