Alphablog - A

I've decided to do a little blog project wherein I write every day for 26 days. I've been neglecting the blog for other creative outlets, but I'd like to try and make it a habit, so this is my attempt at giving it a little more attention. Let's get started!

[note: This post is actually from Wednesday, October 23rd, but I went out that night and forgot to hit 'Publish', so there will be another post later today!]

A is for Anniversary.

On October 6 we celebrated our one year anniversary! It's a funny thing to say because when people ask how long we've been married and we say a year they always come back with something about being newlyweds, but we've actually been together for 8 years, and known each other for almost 10! But we have a new anniversary now, a married anniversary, and so yes - it has only been a year.

Our wedding was fantastic - so filled with love from every single direction, and I still reflect on it often. I know that the wedding is just one day in a whole life, but I will always remember it fondly and I don't think I will ever stop looking at the photos. It was such a joyous day and it still makes me so happy to think of it.

My friend/photographer put together this slideshow - she said that she tells clients they are only up for a couple months, but mine is still up, so I'll keep looking at it for as long as it's there!

http://www.dreamboxphotography.com/archive/whitneyclinton.html

It's an odd thing, really. In some ways, it's amazing how fast the year has gone, but it also feels like we've been married forever. I realize that that is a terribly cliché thing to say, but it's true. Something funny happened to me recently - I was looking through old Facebook stuff recently, and I saw something where I said, "my boyfriend and I recently adopted our dog" and it looked so weird! I couldn't even fathom calling Clinton my boyfriend, it just sounded so strange! I laughed and told him about it and he agreed that it did sound really odd.

A lot of times, people will ask things like, "So how is married life," and the truth is, it is exactly the same - sort of. We were together for quite a while before (including 5 years of shacking up) so really, nothing has changed other than the rings on our fingers, a piece of paper, our titles, and my name. So why does it feel so different? Our lives are exactly the same as they were before we got married. We loved each other, we were happy together, we were committed, and there was never really any doubt to our relationship - but somehow, we are even happier now. More than one person told us that we were ruining a good thing - that couples who are together forever get married and then end up hating each other. I don't know, I think those people probably just didn't really belong together in the first place. Even though nothing has technically changed, there is just a more secure feeling that comes with knowing you've got a partner for life. I'm pretty stoked about my partner - I think he is kind of awesome. So yes, things are the same, but they're also different. Life as a Reissig is a thousand times better than life as Reissig and a Martini.

We honeymooned in Las Vegas - we've been there plenty of times before, but our honeymoon was more chill - all about relaxing, and eating as much gourmet food as we could get our hands on. We ate at Todd English's Olives at the Bellagio, and it was amazing - one of the top two meals we've ever had - and so we decided to go back there for our anniversary. It's not 100% decided yet, but we have kicked around the idea of going back and doing this every year.

We exchanged the traditional paper gifts - I commissioned an artist to do a drawing based off of a photo (featured in the above slideshow!) taken of the spot where we had our ceremony, and he found someone to make paper flowers - the song on them is "our song", they are made to match our wedding colors, and some of the flowers are made out of wedding photos.

Sunday morning we got up bright and early, and headed to Vegas. We got there around lunchtime. I had told Clinton he could decide what we were going to do, where we were going to stay for the night, etc. - all that really mattered to me was that we eat at Olives, and possibly go check out a place I had seen my friend post about a few days earlier. When we arrived, we went to the Mirage just to look around and check things out since we had never been there before - he scoped it out beforehand and had some plans including lunch at BLT Burger, and an afternoon at the Secret Garden to see dolphins and the jungle cats from the Sigfried and Roy shows.

After eating our fill and walking around the Secret Garden and watching a dolphin training session (so cute!) we still had some time to kill before our dinner reservation, so we decided to go check-in at the hotel and then walk around the shops at Caesar's Palace for a while. We stayed at the Bellagio, which was a surprise to me. Clinton decided it was worth it - we were only staying one night, and it was our anniversary, after all! Plus it was super convenient to be staying in the same place as the restaurant, so we didn't have to deal with driving or a cab or anything. I was very happy to stay there - it's on my bucket list! The room was gorgeous - I took a bunch of photos to save for inspiration down the line. We were in a blue room, but we passed a few others with open doors that were orange, yellow, and green - they all seemed to have a color scheme but similar design elements.

After wandering around the shops for a bit, we decided to head back to our room and get ready for our date, and then we promptly decided that a mirror double-selfie was totally necessary for this momentous occasion. It's not every day that you celebrate your 1-year anniversary, after all!

There's a secret at Olives, and beyond the fantastic food, this is the real reason to go - you can sit on the patio and watch the famous fountains! There is one catch - you cannot reserve a patio table. You can make a reservation, and then ask to be seated on the patio once you get there, but they won't hold a prime table for anyone. Trust me though, the wait is worth it! Sitting outside by candlelight, devouring a mouth-watering meal and watching the fountains dance is a magical experience. We arrived for our reservation and told the hostess we would like to wait for a patio table, and then sat at the bar. We were there for about an hour and a half which sounds like a long time, but it passed quickly. We ordered drinks and chatted between ourselves and even met another couple there celebrating their 22nd wedding anniversary! If I recall correctly, their names were Eric and April, and they were so lovely.

After 2 drinks each (you don't even want to know how much 4 drinks and a tip are at an expensive restaurant, ha!) we were finally seated. Our waitress brought out the standard bread basket which, by the way, is not standard at all. They serve delicious bread and flatbreads with 2 a mix of olives and 2 kinds of tapenade. Sooooo tasty. Clinton ordered an appetizer and a side, while I ordered a main dish, and we shared everything. It was, of course, to die for. Between the two of us we've now tried 7 things there, and I haven't had a single regrettable bite. I sometimes dream of eating at Olives - that's how good it is! It was so lovely to watch the fountains lit up at night and celebrate in such a charming spot.

We had talked about going to a show after dinner, but we were both tired since we had gotten up so early and had a pretty long day, so we decided that we just wanted to go back to our room and relax. Well, we obviously needed to take some more photos first! What can I say, I just love pictures.

Monday morning while Clinton was getting ready I enjoyed looking out our window - there were some really cool clouds forming, and I liked looking down at the pool area - seriously, even the pools at the Bellagio are beautiful!

We checked out and put our bags in the car, then went back in to have breakfast at a sweet little cafe overlooking the pools (where I had the best breakfast sandwich, it was on a delicious rosemary bun!) and relax for a little bit longer. After that, we decided to check out The Cosmopolitan - a friend of mine had posted a photo from there recently that intrigued me, and I wanted to check out The Chandelier, a 3-story bar/club inside that is just one huge chandelier! I seriously, seriously wish that photos could do this place justice, but they simply can't. I'm a sucker for a shiny thing so I could hardly contain my excitement. Clinton was literally in the middle of a sentence when I burst out with, "Oh my GOD, this is the prettiest thing I have ever SEEN!" It was stunning, and we didn't even get a chance to go inside! Something about it being 10am, apparently people don't go to bars then... weird. Still though, it was just beautiful, and I was amazed at the detail and level of planning that must have gone into making it.

After I had gotten my fill of the sparkle, we walked around the strip for a bit, finishing up with a walk past the Bellagio lake for one last look at my new favorite hotel and Olives, and then we made our way back home.

It was a fabulous anniversary, and I look forward to many, many more of them.