As for the past few days, we have been away in Tampa celebrating Ben's birthday. It is only our second New Years together, but we decided at some point last year to do a weekend trip every year so that we could focus more on celebrating his birthday than getting entangled in the drama of making plans for NYE. It has actually been really nice, being able to do our own thing for a holiday that for me, in the past, has been full of disappointment (created by unusually high expectations).
We picked Tampa because Ben has been wanting me to try this restaurant, Berns. If you are a Florida person, there is a good chance you've heard of it - for everyone else, click here to see the amazing-ness. Ben has been there several times but was excited for me to see it so we had a wonderful dinner and then did the tour of the restaurant (and the wine cellar, of course), and then had dessert in the special dessert room (I had pineapple upside-down cake; Ben, something chocolate, of course).
<------ This is us in the dessert room.
The next day we spent most of the day on St. Pete Beach, which is about 30 minutes outside of Tampa. It is where Ben went to law school and is also one of our favorite places in Florida. Ben decided to be "spontaneous" (which never happens -- this was pretty special) and we stopped at a few different places to have drinks and just enjoy the beach.
These photos not only summarize our day, but also pretty much everything in the world that makes me happy. The weather was perfect (in the mid-70s) and was the kind of weather that I enjoyed in a sweater while the tourists paraded around in shorts and tank tops. Ben and I always talk about how much happier we feel we are by the water and sat around making plans for the distant future to spend more time by the water.
That night we met up with some of Ben's college roommates, most of whom I was meeting for the first time, and their girlfriends and friends who live in Tampa. We had a great time, did some drinking and some dancing, toasted champagne, and all of those things you are supposed to do on NYE. Ben and I came home early (around 1:30), after realizing we are too old (or too boring, or both) to hang out in crowded bars far past midnight (new years or not), and went back to the hotel room and tried to order pizza. Obviously not the wisest thing (both because of the holiday and because of the time), but we settled for Cheetos from the vending machine and went to bed.
I have been fighting a cold ever since I got back from Ohio and it finally caught up to me this morning. I woke up feeling terrible and Ben had to go to breakfast by himself and bring me medicine instead. I have been resting all day, hoping to kick this before returning to the office tomorrow. We were supposed to have traditional New Years dishes with our friends Sean and Jill, but I slept through the whole thing. Later on I did muster the strength to prepare some sauerkraut, kielbasa and mashed potatoes for Ben and I. After talking to some Florida friends, I realized not everyone knows about this tradition, although I grew up doing it and have spread it to some of my friends here. There are a lot of different culinary traditions for the New Year - pork and sauerkraut beginning with the Pennsylvania Dutch - and is said to bring good luck for the year.
Anyway, despite my run-down state, I am looking forward to getting 2013 underway. I can't wait to share with you all what is going on this year... and hope to stay in better touch with all of you this year too.
Happy New Year!
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