It's been one month since graduation. What a month it has been! I graduated and left Chicago within about 24 hours. Not that I didn't love living in the city, but I had enough city living. I was so ready to sleep in my bed, drive my car and cook in a kitchen comprised of more than three cabinets and a mini-stove. I'll admit that I just unpacked the last box from the move this weekend. It has taken us a while to settle back into living with another person, but I think we got it figured out.
Christmas was the next big event and it was a good one! I received some great cook books, kitchen tools and clothes. We watched Elf on Christmas Eve and I went to midnight mass (at 9) with my mom. Christmas Day, the hubby and I spent the morning together, but traveled to my parents' for lunch and his parents' for dinner. It was a wonderful day, but I hope next year I'm more in the holiday mindset. With graduation and moving, the holidays weren't so much on my radar.
The best Christmas gift we got each other is our dog! The hubby and I decided to only spend $35 on stocking stuffers and then together, get a pet. We went to the Humane Society the week before Christmas and fell in love with a dog, Jax, that turned out to be not other-dog friendly. It was a hard decision to not adopt him because he was so sweet with us. But it wasn't meant to be. Indie was meant to be! On Monday, 12/27 we went to meet him and within 5 minutes we knew he was the pup for us. We picked him up on Tuesday after readying the house and ourselves and he has made himself at home in the apartment and in our hearts. He's a lover- loves to be in right next to you, cuddled and petted. We are his third home and he's bonded to us pretty well in the three weeks he's been with us. We love having him around, even when it is bitterly cold and he needs to pee.
Then it was the end of the year, my birthday on New Year's Eve. I had a great 26th birthday. Hubby gave me some very warm socks for walking the dog and cute magnets. We got all dolled up and headed to my parents' for drinks with them and my aunt and uncle. Sadly, my grandma's travel plans were foiled by the weather and she wasn't able to join us. They headed to dinner downtown and we met up with my best friend and her fiance. I wanted nachos and beer, so in my finest dress, we went to the local taco hut and got exactly that. I was disappointed in the nachos. Limp chips and the flavor wasn't awesome. I did have Oreo ice cream cake to look forward to, though. And was it ever delicious. We played games, drank champagne and watched the ball drop. Another year behind us- 2010- the most eventful year in my short life: I got married, went on a great honeymoon, transitioned back to school to follow my pastry dream, lived apart from my new husband, graduated with honors, got a dog and turned 26. Phew! What a year!
The week after my birthday, the hubby was back to work and I went to a second, working (paid!) interview for a job I really wanted. I GOT THE JOB! I started that Thursday and have hit the ground running. I am essentially the pastry lady and I have a lot of creative freedom. I do report to the Executive Chef, but he is okay with new recipes and products, and doesn't mind tasting! It is such a relief to be employed. I was getting worried that I didn't have a job lined up or many interviews before graduation. Again, it was meant to be with this job. I had to wait to get the right one. I like the people I work with, especially the Sous Chef. She is a strong woman who knows her craft really well. She's new to Madison, so it is fun to share my love for this city with her.
It has been quite a month. This past week I finally felt at "home". We did a bunch of home projects: hubby build another shelf in our laundry/baking room so I could settle in there. I finally went through my closet and the last boxes from the move and put things away, we put together a bed for our spare room for hubby's brother to stay with us, re-arranged furniture in our living space, got some lamps for our room (we are sorely lacking overhead lighting in this place), and re-organized the kitchen so it made more sense. As I look around, I can see a few more things to do, but it feels great to have done so much to make this house into a home.
