twenty
March 3, 2017: I updated my spam filter a few days ago and it seems that it wasn’t letting any comments through at all. I only found out after some readers let me know (please, if you run into any issues, don’t hesitate to drop me a line so we can try to fix it). I think it’s working now, but we’ll spend a little more time on it this weekend. Thanks for your patience! xo -jen
In the beginning, when Jeremy and I were newly wed, our wedding anniversary felt like an imposter. It wasn’t the day that was most important to us because getting married didn’t change much in our lives with the exception of the car insurance discount (the discount was awesome). Our special day was and remains November 1, 1992 when we decided we liked one another enough to be a couple. As we progress through life, that first kiss in the mechanical engineering building and that 13-person, 1-dog wedding in my graduate advisor’s living room begin to merge in retrospective. We now count our life together in decades rather than years.
anniversary dinner at frasca (last night)
Today marks our 20th wedding anniversary. Something about nice round numbers – because I am partial to decimal – grabs my attention. I assembled some photographs of us from the last couple of decades, which was no small feat prior to the smart phone. How time flies. Instead of making me feel old, it makes me feel very, very fortunate.
horse flats, california (1993)
strawberry peak, california (1994)
lassen volcanic national park shortly after getting married (1997)
redwoods national park (1997)
kaweah gap in the high sierra, california – name ring a bell? (1999)
single cone, new zealand (2003)
wine country, california (2003)
antelope valley, california (2005)
mount audubon with kaweah, colorado (2005)
mcclean falls, new zealand (2007)
death valley national park (2010)
san juan mountains, colorado (2010)
nederland with kaweah, colorado (2010)
yosemite national park (2012)
red mountain pass, colorado (2012)
maroon bells-snowmass wilderness, colorado (2014)
scarp ridge with neva, colorado (2015)
crested butte, colorado (2015)
roosevelt national forest, colorado (2016)
roosevelt national forest, colorado (2016)
crested butte, colorado (2016)
crested butte with neva, colorado (2017)
We have enjoyed twenty-plus years of adventure, happiness, learning, and loving – together. I hope that I might be so lucky as to share another twenty with this kind, good man. Happy anniversary, Jeremy. You are the very best person I know.
March 3rd, 2017 at 7:00 am
Congratulations on 20 years together — and having found each other all those years ago. What a treat to see these photos, thank you so much for sharing them with us!
March 3rd, 2017 at 9:40 am
This is adorable. Charles and I are in the same ballpark and it’s hilarious to look at old pictures. Happy anniversary. May there be many more to come.
March 3rd, 2017 at 9:52 am
Happy Anniversary Jen & Jeremy!I saw your instagram update but this post was precious with all the old photos. Puts into perspective how long you two have been together. Thanks for sharing them and I wish you get to have your wish:).
March 3rd, 2017 at 10:08 am
Happy Anniversary. I enjoy being a voyeur into your life and sharing in your joys, sorrows, adventures, puppy parenting, frustrations, cooking, fabulous recipes and your stunning photography! 20 is a marvelous accomplishment. My husband and I will celebrate 26 years next month. May you have many, many more years of adventure and loving! Thank you J and J for sharing your lives with us. Wishing you lots and lots and lots more snow and beautiful bluebird sky days for your alpine adventures.
March 3rd, 2017 at 11:55 am
Happy anniversary!! Loved this series of photos – I’ve been following your blog for years and didn’t know until now that you guys are/were climbers! Always exciting to meet kindred spirits :)
March 3rd, 2017 at 3:08 pm
Congratulations and happy anniversary! We had our 20th a few years ago, and honestly it’s hard to believe so much time has passed. Feels like it was yesterday. Thanks for sharing these great photos!
March 3rd, 2017 at 8:46 pm
Oh my goodness, these are adorable. Congratulations!
March 5th, 2017 at 7:54 am
Congratulations you both found your soulmate :-)
March 5th, 2017 at 9:25 am
What a beautiful post! I don’t even know you irl, but I am tearing up. It’s so nice to see beauty and happiness when there seems to be so much of the opposite in the world right now. Congratulations, love, and best wishes from a virtual friend!
March 5th, 2017 at 6:46 pm
Thanks for sharing these pics with us, it’s awesome to see you two ‘grow up’ together! I especially like the one in Colorado in 2012, you both look so joyous. Happy 20th!
March 6th, 2017 at 9:44 am
Happy Belated Anny! I tried to comment earlier on the day but I could not. Nonetheless, it was so nice to see the pictures of you and Jermey through the years. You both look happy and very sweet together, so here’s to another 20 more years (invisible toast)! Jermey looks like a character on the Big Bang Theory. I am here at a nerd conference in Pasadena as my hubster buster is giving a talk this week. I feel like Sheldon is somewhere on campus.
March 6th, 2017 at 3:13 pm
Happy anniversary to you two! 20 years is amazing. It looks like your life together gets better with every year. Wishing you decades more! v
xo
Hungry Dog
March 6th, 2017 at 7:54 pm
Lovely, lovely photos, Happy Anniversary to you both. Lovely, lovely couple.
March 8th, 2017 at 7:04 am
Congratulations on your anniversary!
I have not written to you before. I tried, but couldn’t get through, when you responded to people who were critical of your blog, as your response was simply on the mark. I felt compelled to thank you and to share how grateful I am to you for your years of sharing your story – your twin passions for food and photography, your love for your partner – and (of course) your love of Dog.
PS: Good luck with the wee beastie.
March 13th, 2017 at 1:48 am
Happy Belated Anniversary, Jen and Jeremy! So sorry to be late, but I’m just now catching up on your last few posts, Jen. I can’t begin to tell you how very much I enjoyed the photos of the two of you through the years. Thanks not only for posting them, Jen, but for once again sharing such a special part of your life with us. We appreciate you more than you will ever know.
March 13th, 2017 at 8:40 am
Bette – Thank you! I sometimes think it was pure dumb luck that we found one another and managed to create a relationship that lasted this long :)
Fiona – Yeah, we’re at “that age” – ha! Congratulations to you and Charles!! xo
Rima – It does put it in perspective! When I was rummaging through my archives to find old photos I realized just how long ago some of these were. We were BABIES back then ;)
Deb Kelner – Thank you, and congratulations to you on 26! xoxo
Cat – Ha ha, “were” is more like it. Jeremy taught rock climbing back in the day and was high angle search and rescue. Naturally, he taught me to climb and it was fun until grad school when we had neither the time nor the money to climb :)
Sobaka – Doesn’t it, though? Where does the time go? Hopefully, we’re doing it right :) xo
Robyn – Thank you!
Shari Q – Thanks :) I don’t actually believe in a soul mate, but I do believe we are very very fortunate! xo
Kristin – What a sweet comment. Thank you, dear. I think we all have to make the best of what we’ve got (yes, even now – ha!) so that we can look back someday and know that we did the right thing :)
monsoonmiss – Thank you!
Pey-Lih – Thank you :)
hungry dog – A lovely thought, I like that! Thank you xo
farmerpam – xxoo
Sharon – Thank you! We get Neva back this week, so we are excited to be a “whole” pack again :)
Trisha G – No worries, I am always late replying to comments ;) So very sweet of you, thank you!! xo
March 16th, 2017 at 8:57 am
Congratulations on 20+ beautiful years. I wish you both even more happiness and peace together for the next 20! Jen, you inspire me in so many ways through your food and your take on life. Jeremy is lucky to have you (and vice versa, I’m very sure!).
March 19th, 2017 at 9:10 am
Nabeela – Thank you!! xoxo
March 27th, 2017 at 4:21 pm
Thank you for sharing your photos & blogs with us. And Happy 20th Wedding Anniversary to you & Jeremy! You are a very handsome couple, to say the least, and very fortunate to have each other to share many more years together. Treat each day like Christmas, because that’s what life isβ¦a precious gift.
April 10th, 2017 at 7:42 am
Lindasu1 – Thank you :) Yes, it really is a gift <3
May 15th, 2017 at 5:13 pm
Happy Anniversary!!
May 21st, 2017 at 6:51 pm
Chef Veronica – thank you, my dear :) xo