8 year anniversary.

this wednesday the bf and i celebrated our 8 year anniversary! it's seriously hard to believe we've been together that long - sure we've had a few break ups here and there but we didn't spend that much time separated. we've been through A LOT together and we had to grow up together. looking back on those past 8 years, i think we're in the best place we've ever been. i couldn't be happier. i feel very lucky to have such a patient and thoughtful boyfriend that i still have an absolute blast with no matter what we do.

this was a wonderful anniversary celebration. on wednesday we opened presents, made dinner together and got our favorite ice cream at bobtail. when i got home, i was greeted by very pretty flowers. he knows it's kind of a requirement. then we opened presents. i got him a few small things - a gift card to five guys - one of his faves, a photo book with 1 pic from each of the last 8 years that has room to add on as we go, a shower mirror for shaving that is fancy and steam free and i'm going to pay for a basic bike maintenance class at west town bikes. he liked it all! he got me a lovely card and a membership to the shedd aquarium!!!! i'm so excited, i absolutely love the shedd but don't go very often because admission is kind of pricey. i get to bring a guest with me every time i go too. it's truly the perfect gift. we are going to have a picnic on sunday (if it's nice out) on the museum campus and then go for a visit. can't wait! later on we made a simple dinner - a cheesy chicken concoction we came up with and then we walked to bobtail for some yummie ice cream. they have a bunch of board games there and we played guess who, one of my favorites! rob beat me though.

then last night we decided to take a cooking class. we were both kind of nervous but i called chopping block and they said it was a beginner class. we got partnered with another couple that had no cooking skills so we didn't feel so useless. the chef/instructor went over 3 parts at a time and then would make us just go for it. i definitely thought she would go step by step but she didnt. scary! so rob and i first tackled the citrus herb butter which involved getting lemon and orange zest and mincing herbs and then whipping the butter. we did ok. the other couple cut the potatoes, cut the herbs and got those baking. they also made the biscuits for the dessert. rob chopped the strawberries and i sugared them and cut the mint for them and tossed them together. then she did more instructions for the next part and i tried to 'supreme' an orange - i needed rob's help. then we both worked on cutting the veggies to go with the entree. the other couple grilled the veggies for the salad. then rob and i tackled the walnut vinagrette. that was probably the most in depth thing we did. i got all the ingredients together - rob whisked his little heart out and then we adjusted it as we went based on how it tasted. then i broke up the goat cheese for the salad and got the grilled veggies and tossed it with the salad dressing. then we put the cut up veggies in with the salmon in little parchment pouches. she wanted us to bake them to be medium rare but i said no way and left mine in longer. good thing i did! no one else really liked their rare salmon but mine was pretty good. this was definitely an experience and pretty fun but also kind of frustrating at times. kind of a cool thing to do as a couple. see some of the ingredients and finished product below. yum!