1 Year Anniversary: U.S. Edition

Hi there everyone!! Long time no see :) I won't apologize for my blogging negligence this time, because Mr. Smith and I have spent the last 8 days soaking up the sun in the beautiful country of Belize. I'm working on a post that summarizes our ah-ma-zing trip... so sit tight for that one. We took a whopping 400+ pictures which I'm screening through.

In the mean time, I never shared the deets of our celebration at home. We are still in awe that 12 months has flown by... and what a year it's been. We had a fun-filled evening planned: gift exchange, champagne toast, cutting the cake top, then a cooking class in Alexandria.

First thing's first: Presents!

For the Mrs: Ice cream maker attachment {I forsee a lot of sorbet in our future!}
For the Mr: Shiny new Burberry tie. {Major wifey points}

Next: Champagne toast, cake cutting, trip down memory lane.

Zeke teases me because I'm kind of a sap sometimes. Ok, ok... I'm a major sap. One of my favorite "games" to play is "What's your favorite memory of {fill in the blank}?", and we take turns naming things that pop in our head. I play this with him when we're being lazy on the couch or laying in bed sometimes. I'll say random things like: our dates, times with your friends, our wedding weekend, trips we've taken, our weekends in Houston, our weekends in DC, meals we've cooked, etc. I feel like things fly by so fast, and it's always fun to take pause and think back on the experience you've had. If you don't ever do this, I suggest you try :) You'll be surprised what your boyfriend/husband says!

This was my favorite round of the game so far. After we cut the cake and were enjoying our champagne, I asked him, "What's your favorite memory of our first year of marriage?" We sat and thought for a minute, and both agreed that April 9, 2011-April 9-2012 was one of the best years we've shared thus far. Some of our favorite memories and things we are thankful are: We had the wedding weekend of our dreams thanks to our wonderful and loving parents, spent a week being pampered in St. Lucia for a picturesque honeymoon, have enjoyed learning the nuances of changing from boyfriend/girlfriend to husband/wife, love exploring our new city, trying new restaurants and cooking new recipes {thank you Pinterest!}, have hosted several fantastic visitors, have traveled back to Texas quite frequently for family visits/friends' celebrations, are extremely happy in our careers, are making new friends here, became Aunt Kate & Uncle Zeke to a beautiful niece, my best friend had a beautiful healthy baby boy, we've attended all major sporting events in DC {baseball, hockey, football, basketball}, I crossed a half marathon off my bucket list... I could go on and on. We we were once again reminded of how truly blessed we have been- we couldn't thank the man upstairs enough.

After our toast, we headed to a Thai cooking class at AuDela in Alexandria. We've always had the itch to attend a class, and I know absolutely nothing about cooking Thai food, so it worked out perfectly! Even though it was a demo {not hands on}, we still learned great methods, got some recipes that we can't wait to try at home, and ate some delicious food. Chef Coulon might be from Louisiana, but he sure does know his Thai.

Cooking chicken for the soup. 

His suggested coconut milk- some brands are garbage.

Explaining the importance of soaking sticky rice before cooking it.

Marinating the beef. I like his stlye- he doesn't go by exact amounts.
He prefers "method cooking", aka go with your gut and add as much or as little as you like.

Add onions/peppers, and simmer. 

Chicken, Coconut, and Ginger Soup. Seriously- one of the best soups I've tasted.

Beef with Sweet Basil and Jasmine Rice. Surprisingly sweet with a spicy kick from thai peppers.

Mango Sticky Rice with Coconut Cream. No words needed except YUM.

My biggest take away from the class was confirming my renegade kitchen habits: cooking isn't about exact amounts and following rule books- you really can get creative and make something your own. That's what I love about it so much... once you know some basic techniques, you're able to apply them to different dishes/meats and play around with the outcome. I learned some cool basics for Thai that I'll definitely throw into my routines.

All in all, we had a great beginning to the anniversary celebrations. Up next: 1 Year Anniversary: Belize Edition!

Xoxo,

Kate