The fifth anniversary was one of nostalgic reminiscing while anticipating the future with an additional element of our new babe, constantly at our side.

The morning of our anniversary we woke up with the sun and enjoyed our bodies next to one another before getting up to start our day. As I stood naked wrapped in a plush white towel he asks what was new on Instagram and I tell him how a friend’s account was shut down. He turns to me and if I saw what he posted. I quickly grab my phone off my nightstand and find his post “Happy 5th Anniversary!” with my bouquet of peonies along with a robin egg blue box with white ribbon as well as a pink striped box with gold lettering. He completely spoils me with an elegant silver bracelet with a Tiffany charm as well as a beautiful black sheer and lace night dress for me to wear that evening. I am completely floored and feel so spoiled after the success of the evening before and the beginning of our celebrations.

He comes home at midday from work so that the three of us can spend the rest of the day together. When he walks through the door she is so elated to see him – eyes wide with a smile from ear to ear and her feet moving so fast. She is the highlight of his day. We walk through the city and decide to lunch at the new location of a highly desired restaurant, hubbub. He orders a pulled pork sandwich and I, my tried and true, chicken breast sandwich. As the sauce drips down our hands and we people watch from our window seat along Robson I smile at him – there is a sense of such pride that this is the man I married and still, after 5 years of marriage, a cadence of sensuality between us.

We wander into a lingerie store and he shows me the different outfits he was choosing from and I tell him he chose perfectly. We run errands together. Returning a throw pillow I had purchased for our living room but deciding I was trying too hard and it isn’t us at all. We pick up bottles of wine to restock our wine fridge. We continue wandering around the city before stopping into a café to enjoy a latte for me and a traditional cappuccino for him. All the while Isla is asleep in the pram, perfectly content to be with us as we stroll up and down the city streets.

Afterwards we decide to celebrate happy hour and step into a beautifully rustic restaurant with woodblock walls and a matte black ceiling. We order the special oysters of the day, chef’s creek, and are introduced to the most delicious oyster’s we’ve ever tasted. They are sweet with an almost fruity beginning with a smooth buttery finish. As we shuck the oysters and sip on a bourbon sour and a bacon infused Caesar, we watch a game of world cup soccer and sway Isla side to side in the noisy restaurant.

Once we’re home after a long walk in the sun we cuddle all together on our bed and spend time playing with Isla and see her eyes light up that we’re all together. She coos and laughs, along with grunts of frustration while pulling her bum up into the air to attempt to crawl. She makes it half way across the bed before she tells us she’s had enough. She’s growing so fast but we’re so proud of her drive to accomplish anything she sets her mind to.

While Mister gets Isla ready for bed I linger in a long hot shower letting the mirror steam over and the walls gather moisture. I relax and feel my muscles loosen as the water cascades over me. After my hair has been styled and a natural shade of makeup applied, I step into a navy pencil skirt and a sheer blouse before slipping on my black patent 6″ leather Christian Louboutins heels. It takes a minute for me to adjust to the height, but I feel my body place each muscle where it needs to be to walk in sky high heels. I place a string of pearls around my neck and a pair in my ears, then add on my new Tiffany bracelet to go with my Louis Vuitton handbag. I once dreamed of the designer items I now call mine, and it feels like the perfect selection to go along with my outfit. I feel beautiful, elegant, and most definitely sexy. Before we head out the door I match it all with a swipe of a deep red lipstick.

A taxi takes us to another coveted restaurant in the West End of Vancouver, a place that does not take reservations. However, we are able to secure a table, so that when we arrive, we’re swept past a line of people out the door to a table for two. It’s the perfect beginning to a romantic evening. The restaurant sweeps us into its charm that leaves us feeling like we’re on holiday. Time gets away from us as we enjoy dish after dish of recommended tapas: Spanish style scotch egg covered in a chipotle aioli, blue cheese toast topped with pine nuts, chicken liver pate with rhubarb wine jelly, spiced lamb with patatas bravas, roasted octopus sprinkled with arugula, spicy roasted romesco with saffron, zuchinni carpaccio drizzled in a mint vinegar. Each dish is beautifully paired with bottle of red wine – a full bodied tampranillo, expertly decided on by me. Between bites our conversation flows easily reminiscing the past to ambitions for the future, he spoke of business, career, and success, I express my passion for inspiring others, for business, for living life in a way that truly reflects us. We discuss Ivy League schools and headline news. There is a brief moment of discussing budgets, finances, investment and net growth. We compare living abroad in London and Amsterdam. Over the cheese course of a deep blue valdeon and manchego with honey we anticipate our future together with our new babe always by our side as we travel far and often. We finish the meal off with churros paired with a deep rich chocolate and a house-made yogurt with dulce de leche sauce. As I swirl the last bit of my wine left in my glass I look over at him, and again am so over come by the love I have for him and the life we’ve created for ourselves.

Long after the summer solstice sun has gone down another taxi speeds us home. I stay captivated in my trance that we’re on holiday as we clutch the side of the car door as the taxi driver quickly weaves in and out of traffic narrowly missing other drivers and pedestrians, mumbling under his breath in a thick accent that I cannot understand. Then finally, when we’re in the safety of our home we stand over our deeply sleeping baby holding each other close. I quietly leave the nursery to slip into my night dress and we come together with all the love and passion we’ve accumulated over the past 8 years together. This meeting brings me back to our wedding night 5 years prior, and as our bodies intertwine, it’s a beautiful movement of dedication, excitement, and warmth.