Annie and I aren't
big gifters, so if you're expecting flowers, surprise gondola rides, and
diamond earrings, then you've come to the wrong place. An anniversary, to us,
is a day to celebrate what we love most about our lives together. So in our
first anniversary spent in North Carolina we wanted to take the opportunity to
translate our classic traditions to our new home 8 hours east.
Above most pleasures
in life we are believers in two things: Food and music. So the fact that our
anniversary has become, in some ways, a fusion of those two things we love is no
surprise. In transferring our traditions here, we sought out two locations: a
record store and a new gourmet restaurant.
When we were
approaching our first anniversary Annie and I were trying to think of a
tradition we could create that was our own - something we could mark the years
with while gifting in a way that actually meant something to each of us. We
settled on our shared love for good music and well-designed album covers - thus our vinyl gifting tradition was born.
yes, that is Hall & Oates classic album, 'Voices,' in case you were wondering
We've marked several
birthdays, Christmases, and Valentine's days with a gifted vinyl; but we never
miss an Anniversary. Each vinyl is dated (usually with an added smiley from
Annie), and added to our collection. I especially love this tradition because it
adds nostalgic value to the gift. Every time we grab a vinyl off the shelf and
pull the sleeve, the date reminds us of year it was gifted. This paired with
the sounds of the needle on pressed vinyl often seem to bring back memories
from that specific part of our lives, a sort of multi-sense time capsule no
other gift really could really serve as.
We decided to
fulfill this tradition this year by selecting a local record from School Kid
Records in downtown Chapel Hill (for you Louisvillians, think Guestroom Records
without quite as much of the digging). Every record they had on site was top
notch (including the entire Tribe Called Quest arsenal and several Kendrick
albums that I drooled over before putting back), with a healthy selection of
new materials and an entire section dedicated to local music. After 20-30
minutes of browsing, discussion, and debate, we ended up with the new album
from a Durham band that we both already knew and loved, Sylvan Esso: 2 days
later it's already on it's third run-through on our player.
Our next move was
our traditional dinner at a new restaurant. We typically select something we
wouldn't do on an average night out, and we order whatever we want on the menu.
We look more for local culinary artistry over one quality staple. Think 610 Magnolia,
Husk, or Coles over Ruth's Chris, Jeff Ruby's, or Vincenzo's. Our previous two anniversaries included Rye
in Nulu, and Lilly's Bistro, a Louisville classic. 
This year, after a quick stop for pre-dinner drink at West End Wine Bar, we found ourselves at Lantern, a fusion of Asian flavors and North Carolina ingredients. Lantern is headed by
Andrea Reusing, a James Beard Best Chef
award winner in 2011, and a local farm-to-table advocate. The crab and spicy
pork spring rolls were possibly the best part of the meal (Annie would of
course disagree and say dessert), while both of our fish dishes were prepared to
perfection with an impressively delicate mix of flavors.
While the food
itself is a vital part of the evening, the experience is what we remember about
these dining experiences. Similarly to our records, we want to be able to
revisit those experiences and document them in a way that's meaningful to us.
We've been able to do this through menus. An absolute necessity with our
anniversary restaurant of choice is that they have a daily printed paper menu.
Over time, we hope to fill our kitchen walls with our favorite food
experiences, and those dated as July 12 will always come with a special
nostalgia.
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