Things That Become More Intense And Flavorful With Time
Monday, April 30, 2007 at 2:50PM I think I can safely post this without spoiling the surprise because my husband doesn't read my blog(s) unless forced to at mouse point. (If you do so under somewhat less duress, and know him, please don't spoil the surprise.)
My ten year wedding anniversary is this week and I have been flummoxed to come up with something that acknowledges the glory of the occasion without necessitating a second or third on the house. Initially, I was going to send flowers to his office and pick up a gift certificate so that he and our son could go get a toy they've been slavering over. Yes, after ten years of marriage and a child, one actually can be tempted to buy one's spouse an anniversary present intended for one's child. Though I fully recognize how pathetic that is, it took some time (and the pressure of the impending event) to eventually get inspired in a different direction.
What I wound up doing instead was moseying over to my favorite wine and spirits purveyor, Hi-Time. These people have everything, and know their stuff cold (or properly climate controlled, at any rate). Originally, this trip was simply to replace the flower notion: a bottle of wine and some sweets to pass out at the office in gift basket form would simply go over better than a few soon-wilting blooms or another plant to keep watered. That's when the obvious came along and mercifully bashed me over the head: wine is put up each year, and in many cases ten year old bottles can be quite good. Aha! We found some terrific '97 California cabernets, champagne of the same year that's straight out of a James Bond flick, some 10-Cane Rum for a taste of the islands, and enough cookies and candy to hopefully distract the office minions from the nice booze. And of course a heartfelt card penned by me and not the person taking/delivering the order. I'm proud enough of myself (and relieved enough to have kept Toys-R-Us out of the picture) that I had to share the suggestion with anyone else who might also routinely confront the spouse-who-has-everything/wants-nothing problem. Santé!
[Update:] Threw in a copy of Casino Royale for good measure in honor of the champagne (a friend's son designed that Yahoo! contest page; nice work, huh?). Y'know, I struggled with whether to opt for something more personalized, creative, and media rich, like a movie, slide show, photo book, etc., but in the end decided (1) he gets a lot of that sort of thing from me (and will likely do so again for Father's Day), and (2) this particular occasion called for something less family focused and more indulgent. Sorry, Dad.