This is a long awaited post.  Tomorrow is our one month wedding anniversary.  Where does the time go when you are having fun?  While sipping on Margarita's in honor of National Margarita Day, we reminisced February.      

A CELEBRATION FOR A KING

I guess Sade—one of our favorite artists—said it best, "Your love is king".  So, a feast was prepared appropriately for one with 2 lbs of Alaskan king crab legs.  The Bloody Caesar that I sipped on reminded me of home—when you ask for a Caesar at the bar here, you're sure to be given a fork with it.  And the organic Bonterra chardonnay went very well with the pre-birthday fête. 

Winding down quite quickly at the table, we meandered to the living room for cards and presents.  As you get older this portion of the birthday takes on a diminishing role, but it is nice to see who remembered the day you were born.  Thanks to Facebook, you're sure to get a whole slew of "Happy Birthday's" making anyone feel like a rockstar.  Looking at Josh, a rosy hue crept up his face.  Now, it may have been the fire, it may have been the wine, but knowing Josh the way I do, I believe he was very humbled by the amount of love that he has in his life, and his new pair of "cool, kimified, shoes".      

        

2 FOR ONE

Cousin Cheri with her husband Bill

Count on Cousin Cheri to pull off a get together midweek to celebrate her husband Bill's and her favorite cousin, Josh's same-day birthday.  With Wisconsiners in the house—two very sweet souls—the conversations were twice as meaningful and the laughs were twice as big.  A delectable dinner was prepared by Cheri who made her own jello shooter to top off a very beautifully flavored salad.  Josh's rekindled ancestral relationship—well, it's a beautiful thing. 

Cousin Pepper and Josh

(left to right) Freddie, Pepper, Aunt Jane, Aunt Marcella, and Aunt Jean

This is a semi-charmed kind of life that we are living here in Hampton Roads.  We did not plan on living here, it just sort of fell into our laps.  With Norfolk and Virginia Beach starting to grow on us, Josh and I have made some amazing relationships that we are so very thankful for.  They say Toronto has beautiful people—and it does—but we have beautiful hearts here.  And that, ladies and gentlemen is something to drink to.

VALENTINE'S DAY, OUR WAY, FEBRUARY 21st

The view from our room of the Elizabeth River

In our day and age, being romantic isn't always easy, and Valentine's Day brings on that added pressure which leaves you in this je ne sais pas situation.  But, let me tell you nothing beats a classic.

A beautiful sunset, champagne, sinful sweets, a red rose, love letter, and the person who just does it all for you, what more would you need?  Since the beginning of time, we have begged the question, "What do you want from me?"  The answer is so simple, "Just love me".  You've seen the movies and have read the stories, that's all we want!—K.C.H.

A Midweek Full of Surprises and a Very Special Birthday

It was your typical Tuesday night... 

We were looking forward to meeting Executive Chef Robert and his wife Chieko at Kyushu Restaurant in Virginia Beach, a local sweet spot for authentic Japanese cuisine.  Our drive over to the restaurant was a bit awkward as we ended up at the end of 264, about 10 miles past our destination point.  Guess that is what great conversation will lead you to—missing your exit.  The Newtown Road exit is located off the 'collectors' and we were on the express side of the road (in Toronto highways are often divided into Collectors and Express).  Chef set us straight and we ended up only 10 minutes late.

Kyushu is a restaurant that Chieko is a partner in and offers the best traditional Japanese cuisine in the region and is the only Japanese resto to offer shabushabu—so I hear.  The restaurant is quaint with probably only a dozen tables along with the sushi bar seating (probably the best seating as to watch the masters at work).  Very tradition with a lucky kitty statue to greet you at the entrance.  Expect a casual welcome home family oriented atmosphere with eveyone saying "hello" you upon entrance.

http://www.kyushujap.com/

We entered the restaurant and upon a quick glance of the room, we did not see an open table.  Interesting, I thought, a busy night for a simple Tuesday.  Upon spotting chef seating near the kitchen, I glanced over and noticed a few other co-workers in the restaurant.  Suddenly, everyone turned around and started clapping.  WOW - they were clapping for our us!  Awesome, we had rock-star status here—gotta love it.  How touched Kim and I both were.  All of these people joining together to celebrate our marriage after the fact, all arranged by Chef and Chieko.

Sitting down after some greetings, we were greeted with platters of appetizers to temp our tastebuds which included mussells, battered shrimp, and various rolls...ummmmmm!  Having a warm bottled of Sake started off our night of fun and bliss with friends.  I truly enjoyed my u-don with Japanese potatoes and Kim loved her tempura soba.  The warm Ginjo Sake was a perfect match and added to to atmosphere of bliss.
After finishing dinner and a short and sweet thank you toast, we were told we needed to go the Chef''s house to top off the festivities.  The cavalcade of cars left the mini-complex where Kyushu was tucked away in and headed to another part of the mega Virginia Beach proper.  This is the largest city (sq. mileage-wise) in the US of A so you could realistically drive an hour and not be beyond their city limits.

Chef had a massive spread of dips, condiments, and snacks spread out in his beautiful house that paid homage to Japan.  Here is the best part though, a beautiful two-tiered wedding cake awaited us in the dining room, surrounded by bottles of fantastic wine (yes, I know wine, the Sommelier I am).  Chef also brought out a big 1.5 liter of Champagne for which we started off our evening with.

Right into the cake cutting we went with Kim taking the first piece with her fingers and giving her new husband a mouthful with a good smear afterwards. Brave she was, knowing that I still yet had to feed her a piece.  Being the gentleman and having the understanding of how long it takes to put the make-up on, I was more than kind when I let her taste the piece.  What a great tasting wedding cake to boot.

Conversation, laughing, and drinking consumed the rest of our evening, keeping the chef and his wife up later than I am sure is usual.

Wednesday morning was a bit tough.  Either way, I survived the day and came home to find Kim so sweetly sound asleep on her birthday.  A quick kiss to the forhead stirred her and a happy birthday greeting brought her back into reality. 

A full chef's uniform on, I emerged to start preparing her birthday dinner.  Salmon en pappiotte with fresh peppers, onions, carrot, and herbs.  Not a big salmon fan, I substitued mine with chicken breast.  A side of potato hash accompianed the dish along with a nicely chilled bottle of ZD Chardonnay, so skillfully produced by my friends in Napa Valley, California, on the Silverado Trail in Napa.  What a great pairing this was, excellent food, fantastic wine, and a love that is unmatched.

A great two days, celebrating so many things: so in love, such a great future to look forward too.  Cheers.