Our anniversary

Joe and I celebrated our anniversary at Shanghai Jazz (www.shanghaijazz.com, named one of the top jazz clubs in the world), with crispy crab dumplings, General Tsao's chicken, and a tilapia dish called 'prosperity fish.' Prosperity is definitely the right word when it comes to our relationship, and I don't mean the financial aspect of the word. The true definition of prosperity is having a deep sense of comfort and contentment with what you have. Those who have money and no peace don't have prosperity. They have money and no peace. They're unable to enjoy all they have. So prosperity is one of the perfect words for the great gift I enjoy every day, of being joined with this wonderful man. Shanghai Jazz was where we had our first date, actually. So how fun to return to the scene, see those two bar stools where we sat and talked, and remember how very impressive it was that Joe -- on our first date -- took a moment to watch the musical performer before looking around for me. I still get butterflies thinking back to that...

Right now, I'm editing 'What's Your Bridal Style,' which I wrote with Casey Cooper of Botanicals in Chicago (www.botanicalschicago.com) and it's always a kick to revisit material from so many months ago. We have to cut a lot, since we're almost at 2x the word count allowed, so it's a painful thing to see my birthmonth flower chart go, and whittle down some really great work. I'm chunking out some sections as articles we'll use to promote the book, so at least they'll have a second life! It's windy outside and chilly in here (old Victorian house), so I'm off for a Dunkin Donuts hazelnut decaf and a cozy corner in the library where my frozen little fingers can defrost and work some magic on the edit.