Our 17th Wedding Anniversary

 

Hello chic friends :)

Last Thursday was our 17th wedding anniversary, and I thought it would be fun to share some photos of Paul and I in 2008!

 

When we met almost 22 years ago, I asked the Universe for someone who was ‘like me, but the guy version’. I wanted a calm, steady, happy, easy-going relationship, and the Universe delivered. Right down to us having the same birthday! How’s that for ‘the same’. We met at the pub on a night out, an age-old classic way of meeting someone 😊

 

 

Our wedding was tiny, less than 40 people including us. We had it at an Italian restaurant in their private function venue below ground, and it was dreamy. Candelabras dripping with wax, a giant tiramisu instead of a wedding cake, red velvet drapes, and low lighting.

 

We used to go back to that restaurant – Toto in Auckland city, so lush – for our anniversary each year but it closed down at some stage, and now we don’t even live in Auckland anymore.

 

We both always forget the actual date of our anniversary because it’s such a funny number to remember: 6 March 2008. Is it 06 03 08 or 08 03 06? We always get there though 😊 And I even thought that we were married on a Friday but everyone (my mum and Paul) insisted it was a Thursday. I looked it up and it was a Thursday.

I’m not one to be stuck on remembering dates or days though (thank goodness), just that I’m happy and content. I get to make my own fun and if others want to join in that’s great. Over the years I’ve cultivated the ability to not make feeling good reliant on others.

After all, when you please yourself it seems that others want to please you too. Something that recovering people-pleasers like myself would do well to remember!

~~

 

The grapevines on our road 🍇

 
The past few weeks we've had harvesting machines picking the white wine grapes. It's fun to see the changing seasons of the vineyard as I go for my daily walks, and then the big bins filled with light green or dark red grapes at harvest time.

My husband Paul works for a winery now as a cellar door host, and he sees firsthand the trucks full of grapes pulling up and emptying them into the first tank where they are squeezed gently.

The whole process gives me so much appreciation for winemakers. With fruit such as apples, you 'only' have to grow the fruit.

But if you have a vineyard, growing the fruit is only half the job, then you have to make the wine, then you have to market it amongst the many thousands of wine labels on the store shelves.

Here's cheers to to all the hard working people behind the scenes when we sit down with a glass of wine on a Saturday night! 🍷

Wishing you a fab week :)

xx Fiona