On October 6, 2007, an unusually hot day in South Bend, IN, I married the love of my life! It’s hard to believe that 5 years have passed. We enjoyed the weekend to celebrate and think back a bit for our special day. For a quick glance at our wedding day, check out the picture album from our amazing wedding.
To celebrate our five year anniversary, we wound up scheduling ourselves a packed weekend full of the little bits and pieces that are important to us – a brief cross section of our lives….
August – Chicago food scene and Italian memories
It started in August with, for us, an extravagant trip to Next for dinner. The theme that night was one of homemade Sicilian cuisine. It was an appropriate pick for our anniversary given that we went to Italy for our very memorable honeymoon. Fast forward to the present.
Thursday Night – date night, time in our neighborhood
Aimee and I had a nice date together at Hackney’s in Printer’s Row. This is our favorite go-to neighborhood restaurant. They send us free anniversary dessert coupons in the mail so we try to make a point to go on our anniversary. They also sent us notification that a German band, complete with lederhosen, accordion, and yodeling would be present on the night we went. Fun times!
Friday Night – theatre and friends
We went with our friends Michael and Joanna to a Timeline theatre production of 33 Variations. From their site: “One of classical music's enduring riddles is why Ludwig van Beethoven devoted four years of his diminishing life writing 33 variations of a mediocre waltz”. The play was set simultaneously in 19th century and present day Bonn and very poignantly delivered. As constant context to the talented acting, we were spoiled by a concert rendition of the variations throughout the show on the center-stage Steinway.
Saturday – Notre Dame in Chicago, tailgate, weddings, football game
Mark B held a terrific tailgate for about 50 people in the party room of his magnificent condo building (more on that topic in another post!). Below is a panoramic view as we readied ourselves for a busy day of eating, weddings, and Notre Dame football at Soldier Field.
Performing music together is something Aimee and I both love. We ended up both being scheduled for a wedding at OSP on Saturday, our actual anniversary. It was a fitting way to spend an hour, considering how important music is to us, and its importance at our wedding. In fact, one of the selections was Covenant Hymn (which we used at our own); and there was even a group picture in the church after the wedding. Sure made me think of this:
After the weddings, we went back to the South Loop and walked over to Soldier Field for the very first time. It was truly a home game for the Irish and a blast to see them march to 5-0 over Miami. This was a very busy day and we were thankful to have Crowley in the good company of Michael, Joanna, and Miles for the night!
Sunday – marathon, walking through our beautiful city, mass, friends, remembrance
We slept in and then walked over to the west loop on a chilly-for-us, great-for-the-runners Marathon Sunday morning. It was fun to support the Old St. Pat’s Crossroads runners, including our friend Jonathan. A job well run!
After mass, we hosted a group of 10 or so at our house for Pat’s Pizza. We love having our friends into our home, especially for a fun impromptu gathering! Sunday was also a day of fond remembrance. It would have been Aimee’s brother’s 30th birthday. Rick has been very much missed by us all and, while these sorts of “milestone” birthdays are in many ways human manifestations, we know that Rick was a guy who really just liked his birthday. So we took the opportunity of being surrounded by friends to offer some memories of our brother and to finally uncork the bottle of wine he gave us just before leaving for Jamaica.
From theatre to friends, our connection in faith, music, and Notre Dame, respect for family, and love of our city – Aimee and I are very blessed in our lives and are thankful to each of you and God for the ability to celebrate this past weekend.
Monday – I got sick but am nearly better!
