Buffalo Chicken Pizza and the Keys to Our Home

As I’ve previously mentioned, the night my husband and I met, we ordered a buffalo chicken pizza as a late night snack. We ate it straight from the box, talking and laughing until the morning. Two years ago when we closed on our house, we sat on the empty living room floor, sharing the same pie (this time upgrading to paper plates), as first time homeowners, best friends and soon-to-be husband and wife. We raised our styrofoam cups of champagne to pure bliss before running around the house, buzzed from bubbly and drunk off love. We stood arm in arm, bare toes in the grass of our backyard, looking up at the biggest purchase we ever made: our new home.

We continued our traditional meal last year with Kosher for Passover wine and matzah pizza since the occasion fell during the holiday. This time, our dining room was equipped with furniture and we upgraded to breakable plates and real stemware. We reflected on the little details we added in each room, new pieces we picked out together, and various paint colors that danced on our walls. We thought about countless occasions the house was filled with positive energy from family and friends, the many parties we hosted and all the holidays we celebrated for the first time beneath that roof. We toasted to a successful full year as homeowners, now as husband and wife.

Last night, we celebrated another year flying by, and we still walk through all the rooms and can’t believe it’s ours. Most importantly, I’m so grateful for who I’m lucky to live here with; the most incredible husband (and dog!) anyone could ask for. It’s been an amazing experience decorating and pouring love into our space to make it our own. Mo loves playing out back and we relish in the days we can grill on the deck or lay in the hammock and let him run around the fenced-in yard.

As we clinked our champagne flutes together, we thought about how far we have come. Mortgage payments, house projects, modern updates, paint jobs and minor repairs aside, that first night eating pizza from a cardboard box was a life changer for us. A simple meal that has become symbolic, representing each year we build upon our own foundation (crust) with layers of moments and memories (sauce, cheese…) slice by slice to create a whole pie. That proverbial pie isn’t covered with buffalo chicken or extra ranch. It’s filled with loyalty, trust, honesty, sincerity, romance, love, teamwork, and a safe, warm place we call home. So now, we lift our glasses to the next year ahead. To hopes, to dreams, to another piece of the pie…