Happy Wife – Married to the Weatherman

It’s been a long time since I’ve written a blog post and Jared has reminded me about it a dozen or so times. It’s the 24th of April and it seems like a good day to pen something and perfectly fitting since it’s Jared’s birthday. As usual, I wait until the night before his big day to break out his birthday card to begin writing (that is what I am doing now). We have this long-standing tradition of expressing how much we love and appreciate one another in writing on our birthdays. I always look forward to opening Jared’s handwritten card each year on my birthday telling me how much he adores me. It never gets old, unlike each year that passes which in turn, slowly ages us. We are all told that in a blink of an eye, our life is over. Birthdays have always put that phrase into an unnerving perspective for me. In what used to be another year closer to becoming an adult, has fast become another year closer to the other end of the life spectrum. What do we want to accomplish in the next year of life? In the next five? Do we have goals and steps to get there?

One thing I have come to learn (taught myself to learn) is to love without fear and to love without limits. I am blessed beyond belief to love a man who loves me tenfold in return and he shows it unabashedly each and every day. So for his birthday this year and every year I want him to know that I think about him at every moment of the day. I love waking up each morning and running to the TV to turn on News 2 so that I can see him once more. I adore the way he holds doors open for me and pulls chairs out for me to sit in restaurants and even when it’s just the two of us at home. I am amazed by his generosity and his thoughtfulness not just to me, but to so many others he encounters. I love that he cherishes each and every friendship he has and how he never takes them for granted. I love how he thanks each viewer that comes up to him for watching and I know he truly feels blessed. I am amazed how he welcomes my family into our home to visit for as long as they want. I cherish how he wants to take advantage of each moment we have together and to live life beyond the fullest in the small amounts that we share.

I have shined in his grace on some of my darkest days and have been lifted up in his support by a shield of encouragement and strength. In moments of winning, I have been electrified in his embrace and warmed by the exuberance of his pride. Jared has never withheld his love for me whether it has been a really bad day or a really good day for us or one of us individually. He is all that I have ever wanted and beyond anything I could have imagined. On this birthday of his, I want him to know that I am blessed beyond wonder and blessed beyond prayer that he is mine and that we share this life together. Each year that he turns older is a moment that I reflect of how far we come, how deeply we love and how happy I am to be with him. Jared, you are amazing. Happy birthday to the most handsome, brilliant, goofy, loving man that I am blessed to share my life with. I adore you. Happy Birthday!

P.s- He is a huge Orioles fan, so I guess I’ll say go O’s! (just today!) haha

xox

I typically give Jared a hard time about the weather especially during long bouts of never-ending rainy or overcast days. This weekend, I decided to give him a break mainly because we were celebrating our anniversary, but mostly because everywhere we went he got a hard time from someone else. To give you an idea… Nashville experienced record-breaking heat Friday through Sunday with the temperatures hitting the mid-90’s. It’s the first full week of October and most everyone is ready for it to feel like fall.

Jared loves when people come up to him to either give him a hard time or to thank him for the weather above. I swear he likes the idea of people thinking he has some sort of decision-making when it comes to forecasting. So for 3 years of marriage we had 3 days of 90-degree heat, but I swear it’s all on Jared and I have nothing to do with it.

We both took Friday off from work and spent the entire weekend here in Nashville. I had been asking Jared to join me at Barry’s Bootcamp for over a year and he finally came through and signed up for a class with me. We started our weekend celebration with an invigorating workout. I loved it (as usual) and Jared survived.

The Gulch was already humming with tourists when our class finished so we decided to grab a smoothie at the Juice Bar and stroll around the area while watching people love on our city.

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For lunch we went over to True Foods to have a light bite. We didn’t want to eat anything too heavy because Jared had made special dinner reservations for us that evening at Bourbon Steak, located at the top of the new JW Marriott in downtown Nashville. We both had been wanting to try the much anticipated Michael Mina steakhouse since we heard of the plans for its opening.

At True Foods, we sat on the outdoor patio under an umbrella that shielded us from the abnormally hot October sun. I ordered the Korean Noodle Salad, Jared got the Mediterranean Chicken Pita and we shared the cold brew coffee topped with shaved coconut. It was delicious and the patio seating made for a fun experience watching people trying to snag a parking spot across the street at Trader Joe’s — that place is popular on the weekends!

Korean Noodle Salad and Mediterranean Chicken Pita

As I mentioned in my initial post, we love to eat and explore new restaurants, however we rarely eat out twice in one day. We try to save money and maintain a healthy lifestyle by cooking at home as often as possible. However, this weekend was truly the exception to the rule and we enjoyed every bit and bite of it!

Now to Jared’s favorite part: Bourbon Steak. He had made these reservations about a month ago and could hardly wait to tell me about his plans to bring me there for our Anniversary. Something you may not know about Jared is when he get’s excited about something he can barely keep it to himself. So I had known about these reservations for a good three weeks and was equally excited. When we arrived at the JW, we were shown to the “express” elevator that took guests from the lobby directly up to the restaurant’s 34th floor. As soon as you walk off the elevator and to the hostess stand you get a peek of the expansive views of downtown Nashville that you are about to experience in the dining area. It was so much fun to see the city lit up in all different areas of downtown. Jared and I agreed that the vibe felt very mid-town Manhattan with a noticeable nod to Music City. The food was equally phenomenal and many of their dishes came with a table-side show of their own — check out the Lobster Pot Pie video.

Burbon Steak — Jared and I at the top of Bourbon Steak – JW Nashville

We finished up our weekend with a lot of needed rest and relaxation — as well as some good news… Jared has informed me that there is going to be a cool down towards the end of the week. YAY!

This Week’s Forecast: happy wife, happy life and fall temperatures. Don’t forget to catch Jared on WKRN-News 2 tomorrow morning.

Cheers!

Emily

Tag: Happy Wife

To Jared, on this birthday…

Fall, where are you?