I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for 2009

because it was the year I finally graduated. We decided to send it out in style and made a reservation at the fancy schmancy restaurant we went to for gradgyation. It was REALLY cold last night, and I felt like a true Sconnie when I donned a little black sweater dress instead of one of 50 slinky cocktail dresses I tried on (at the mall) and rejected keeping the limitations of my bra collection and the grim weather forecast in mind (I am so practical in my old age).

Instead of driving downtown and leaving our car and taking a taxi home, we decided it would suck to walk from the parking garage to the restaurant (lazy! yes, but also, it was BELOW ZERO. but mostly lazy), so we called for a car, thinking maybe a Town Car or at least something black and normal-ish sized.

This showed up:

making this the second New Year's Eve we have called for a car and gotten a giant, old, white stretch limo (in Peoria in 2006 and now here in 2009)-- awesome!
My martini on the rocks (read: a glass of vodka. with ice cubes. and olives.)

Ben reading the wine list and looking at me like is this going on Facebook?

Me, starting to feel a little blurry around the edges


The food was great. We both started with shrimp and steak tartar (which I totally couldn't eat because yuck, but Ben LOVED). Then I had foie gras (and really, I could have been spared the detail about the beef cheeks and marmalade, but what are you going to do) while Ben had lobster hash. I had poached scallops (zOMG so good!), and Ben enjoyed a strip steak (but again, TOO MUCH DETAIL about the what the cows eat and how their diet affects the favor of the meat--blech).

I swear to you, this cake was picture worthy (as was Ben's cheese plate, but we ate that too fast because cheese that old? you can't just let it SIT THERE in the AIR, my gosh.)


Pretty much delicious. Ben went with the sommelier's wine picks throughout, and I nursed my martini diligently, sucking all the vodka out of those olives and admiring all the little old ladies in fur coats. (on my future Christmas lists: a giant fur coat because it is COLD here, but all the little old ladies looked toasty)

Before we left, Harry and Jack bade farewell to 2009 with a gourmet meal of store-brand organic mac and cheese and uncured hippie hotdogs and whatever fresh veggies we could find cut up in the fridge to toss at them

And confetti.

And silly hats.

Also blowers.

Here's to celebrating everyday of the new year



Oh! If you write a resolution post, link it up here.

Oh yeah! The family photo blog is up and running. There'll be a new picture everyday of 2010.