James and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. We kept it simple — we rode our bikes to lunch in The Plantage — but when you live in paradise even that is pretty spectacular.
Lunch at the Birdhouse in The PlantageFancy tonicsAfter lunch we bought each other this bouquet of flowers which was so heavy James had to carry it home while riding his bike, like a true Dutch person. FYI, this bouquet was $34 Euros. I can’t imagine what it would cost back in the States.
For those of you who don’t know our story, we have a pretty awesome meet cute. After living parallel lives — we both moved to Virginia at the beginning of 7th grade (me from Spain and James from Canada). We went to rival high schools and our families lived less than two miles from each other, and though we’ve since figured out we’ve had friends in common and have been in the same place at the same time (most notably, we both remember watching a car burn in the parking lot of the first Lollapalooza concert at Lake Fairfax) we never officially met until one fateful night on August 8, 2002 at the Williamsburg, Brooklyn rockabilly hipster bar Union Pool.
I’m not exactly sure if it was love at first sight, but this is a photo booth photo from the night we met.
Kissing the night we met
We got engaged in New Orleans the following spring and got married in Virginia on April 24, 2004.
James and I went to New Orleans on a press trip when I worked at Redbook and he popped the question. He confused the hell out of me because he said he “wanted” to ask me to marry him and I thought there was a “but” coming but then he pulled out the ring and I realized he was actually proposing.
We went back to New Orleans for our one year anniversary, but I wasn’t feeling very well and was super tired. Turned out I was pregnant with The Dude!
I spent several parts of my pregnancy on bed rest for various complications and I outgrew my maternity clothes at 6 months. James Wilson was due on Jan 5, which is my birthday but he was born on December 18, 2005 at a whopping 9lbs. It was a brutal, violent, traumatic birth and he had reflux and colic and we lived in a 1-bedroom apartment in NYC. I was in no way ready to go back to my job at Teen Vogue, but I did, briefly. I was miserable and full of anxiety. One night James and I asked our babysitter to stay late and he and I went to the Dublin House, where all of life’s big decisions are made, and we decided to quit our jobs and move back to Virginia where we could be closer to family and I could try being a stay at home mom. Two weeks later we loaded up a U-Haul and moved into my parent’s basement. James did a phone interview for Mark Logic on the Jersey Turnpike on the way and got the job. Looking back, I think that was our first of our many big leaps of faith….
Since we met we’ve had such amazing adventures together. We moved from Brooklyn to the Upper West Side, then when The Dude was 6 months old, we quit our jobs in NYC and moved to my parent’s basement in Fairfax, Virginia while we looked for our first home to buy. We found it in Reston, Virginia.
Me embracing domestic bliss (which didn’t last long — I went a little nuts and got a job at Capitol File).James Wilson meeting Brian for the first time!Bonding in the zen gardenJames built this patio brick by brick and even built the shed himself. The continual fight for dominanceFriends Fighting again. I have so many memories from hanging out in our kitchen in Reston.Serious and handsomeOur traditional trip to Cox Farm. We went every year and I really missed it this past fall.
After I started my job at The Atlantic and the commute was killing, we moved to our dream house in Falls Church, Virginia. We thought this would be our happily ever after, but after I quit my job we found ourselves at another crossroads. James’s company gave us the opportunity to move to Amsterdam.
Deciding to leave our house in Falls Church was yet another huge leap of faith. It seemed so risky and we were very settled and secure in our lives there. I’m so thankful we did it. I never imagined our life would take us to a major city again, and I’m the happiest I’ve been since moving from Charlottesville to NYC when I was in my 20s. Life is full of surprises and I’m so grateful for the opportunities we’ve been given and for having the courage to take them. I love this picture of James Wilson and James working on Halloween costumes in Falls Church. We weren’t sure if the cat would ever forgive us for moving her to Amsterdam.Typical scene at our house in Amsterdam these days. After a long winter, the cat is now exploring the back garden. She mostly sticks around, thanks god.
We’ve traveled and settled and nested and planted roots and yanked the roots out and started over, and we’ve grown and laughed and grieved and built a life that is unique and beautiful and totally ours.
Young and Beautiful daysChilling in BrooklynBig trip to ItalyBraving the sharks in Santa Barbara. Letting the dude surf took YEARS off my life. Goofy as everBack in NYC for New YearThe time I threw James a birthday party at his loft in Williamsburg. The bangs were a mistake I still regret.Camping in the rain at Knoebels in Elysburg, PA. My mom is from Shamokin so I grew up going to Knoebels but we rediscovered it with our friends during our NYC years. Our friend Greg nearly got us kicked out one year because he set fireworks off just as the security guard was driving by in his golf cart. We started taking James Wilson when he was a toddler. It’s THE BEST amusement park in the States. Old fashioned wooden roller coasters, amazing bumper cars, adorable kids rides, home made food (peirogis and ice cream!) and everything costs 50 cents. The Polar Bear Plunge at Lake George on New Year’s Day!Fancy Us.Drunk in Central Park at 5am.
5 Replies to “Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy Anniversary”
Wow!! How beautiful.
I absolutely love this.
This is an absolutely beautiful tribute to your life with James and The Dude thus far. You are also an inspiration, Jen. Life is full of surprises, for all, as long as we strive to discover them. I really enjoyed the timeline of pictures! Loved that Greg was mentioned. I was just reminiscing over our camping trip with you guys and having such a laugh about it with Alicia, just yesterday! Happy Anniversary to you and James, My Friend! Love you.
This is an absolutely beautiful tribute to your life with James and The Dude thus far. You are also an inspiration, Jen. Life is full of surprises, for all, as long as we strive to discover them. I really enjoyed the timeline of pictures! Loved that Greg was mentioned. I was just reminiscing over our camping trip with you guys and having such a laugh about it with Alicia, just yesterday! Happy Anniversary to you and James, My Friend! Love you.
HAPPY HAPPY Anniversary. Amazing to think 15 years has passed. It does fly. Keep having fun and growing
Wow!! How beautiful.
I absolutely love this.
This is an absolutely beautiful tribute to your life with James and The Dude thus far. You are also an inspiration, Jen. Life is full of surprises, for all, as long as we strive to discover them. I really enjoyed the timeline of pictures! Loved that Greg was mentioned. I was just reminiscing over our camping trip with you guys and having such a laugh about it with Alicia, just yesterday! Happy Anniversary to you and James, My Friend! Love you.
This is an absolutely beautiful tribute to your life with James and The Dude thus far. You are also an inspiration, Jen. Life is full of surprises, for all, as long as we strive to discover them. I really enjoyed the timeline of pictures! Loved that Greg was mentioned. I was just reminiscing over our camping trip with you guys and having such a laugh about it with Alicia, just yesterday! Happy Anniversary to you and James, My Friend! Love you.
HAPPY HAPPY Anniversary. Amazing to think 15 years has passed. It does fly. Keep having fun and growing