Random 2010

*oh yeah, we're fierce*

So, I haven't been posting very frequently, and there's too much to catch up on! Here's a summary of our 2010!

We bought a house, and then we learned some of the joys of homeownership! We mainly worked on taming the garden this summer, when we were in town, and look forward to doing more as it warms up this year.

*taking a break!*

*picking mulberries for mulberry pie-yum!*

We traveled fairly often, attending weddings and going on vacation to: Montreal, Ft. Lauderdale, North Carolina, Ludington, New York, Philadelphia, and Ohio! Bryan and Laney got married in November, and we are so happy to have a new sister!

*Ft. Lauderdale*

*North Carolina*

*Family vacation in Ludington- at the altar where our parents said "I do" 30 years before!*

*with the beautiful bride, Laney*

*meeting up with good friends from around the world in NYC*

For the holidays, we surprised our family in Ohio by driving there unannounced for Thanksgiving celebrations, and flew to Colombia to celebrate Christmas and New years.

*after Thanksgiving at Bryan and Laney's house*

*in Colombia, with the whole family*

Whew! 2010 was a great, and very exciting, year. I have a feeling 2011 is going to be a good one too!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

I recently gained another year-- one year older, one year wiser (let's hope!). We had a wonderful time celebrating!

PART ONE

Julian took me out for dinner and dancing at a bar that plays salsa every Tuesday. It was a late night for us, but it was fun to dance and spend time with good friends!

*dancing with my amazing husband*

*with Gio and Carlos Miguel*

*wonderful friends!!*

*there was even a performance!*

*eating part of Julian's hamburger, which was tastier than mine :) *

PART TWO

Julian took me to a soccer game for my birthday! (DC United vs. AC Milan). The game was great, with several highlights, such as Rondaliño from Brazil bicycle kicking the ball into the goal, only to have the ball hit the goalpost and bounce right back out! We were amazed by the enthusiasm of the fans, who jumped enough to make the stadium shake, and who never stopped their drum-beating and flag-waving during the entire game. Plus, DC won!!!

*crazy fan section*

*go Ronaldiño!*

*not really the final score... but it looks good!! the final score was 3-2*

Mulberry Pie

*it's ready for the oven!*

We have three mulberry trees growing in our front yard. Two of them don't have berries yet, but the other one is dropping black, juicy berries. I had never had mulberries before, but when we found out that they're sweet and safe to eat, we harvested the first crop of mulberries! Last night I baked a mulberry pie (which was delicious)- a very proud moment since it was my first fruit pie (with a lattice top, even!) and it was even more delicious knowing the berries came from our yard!

Now I'm spotting mulberry trees on my way to work and in our neighbor's yards... most people dislike mulberries because they stain, so maybe Julian and I will provide a neighborhood service of picking the berries :) Pie all summer long, yum!

*my wonderful husband, picking mulberries*

*proudly displaying our haul*

*time to make it into a pie!*

*fixing the crust*

*nice and warm- time to eat!*

New Windows

*new windows!*

We decided when we first bought the house that we wanted to take advantage of the government rebates for energy savings and replace our original (rope-pulley) windows with new, energy-efficient windows. Although I was sad to see our unique windows torn out, we're very happy with our new windows!

*goodbye old windows*

*hello new windows!*

Happy 2 Years!!!

*love pancakes :)*

Julian and I celebrated two wonderful years of marriage together earlier this month. After the craziness of buying our house and moving in, we decided we would have a much-deserved day of rest. We slept in, had a nice romantic breakfast, and then went to see Avatar (great movie!). We had dinner at an Irish restaurant to try something new-- we shared a Shepherd's Pie and a quesadilla (in case the Shepherd's Pie was not very tasty). It was a wonderful, relaxing day, and we look forward to many more anniversary celebrations together :)

*Julian brought me a new flower to plant for each year of our marriage-- a great surprise!*

*happy with our new flowers!*

*anniversary brunch*

*Julian is enjoying his love pancakes*

Our Home

*proud new home-owners!*

We're finally in our new home, and semi-unpacked! It looks wonderful, and feels wonderful to be in our little place. We're very happy with the paint colors-- it feels much warmer here than in our white-walled apartment :) We're already learning the joys of owning a home, with a leaky shower faucet that we're repairing to little ant friends in the kitchen... but they really are joys because it's exciting to have our own place to fix!!

Here are a few pictures of our new home:

*Julian and Dad, hanging out in our living room*

*kitchen!*

*our bedroom*

*guest bedroom*