After months of running into each other at the Side Quest, Joe asked Dana out to an astronomy lecture at the Natural History Museum. Dana accepted...and then realized she had Cleveland Orchestra tickets for the night of the lecture. Not to be deterred, Joe suggested the Monet exhibit at the Cleveland Museum of Art followed by dinner at Humble Wine Bar for wood-fired pizza. After seven hours of walking and conversing, a next date was clearly inevitable.

Once upon a time, Dana read an article about a couple who decided to host a dinner party every week, with a simple meal (the same one every week--spaghetti and meatballs!) and the kind of ease and warmth that made it feel less like an event to plan ahead for and more like a relaxed family supper. As somebody who loves bringing people together, and at a point in her life when she was craving connection and community, Dana was struck by the simplicity of the idea: open invitations to dinner every week--with whoever is interested in joining in. The first dinner wasn't perfect--though Dana is a pretty good cook, she and Joe had to learn how to scale up the correct number of servings for a group and time when to start the meatballs, the sauce, and then the pasta to serve it all together--but that first dinner sparked something profound in us all. Joe took on the task of perfecting a homemade marinara while Dana experimented with meatball (and eggplant-ball) recipes--strengthening their partnership while rekindling bonds with friends both old and new. Friday Night Dinner has become an institution in our home and one of our most meaningful projects in building our life together--filling our days with loved ones, laughter, and linguine.

We moved in to our first home together in May of last year. Since then, we have worked hard: replacing outdated outlets, adding smart light switches to save energy throughout the house, painting rooms, building a raised garden bed in the backyard to learn to grow tomatoes, herbs, and hot peppers, and turning the basement into a veritable game museum. We are so grateful to be at this stage and look forward to continuing to build a life full of Friday Night Dinners, "Planksgivings," good, home-grown food, and happy memories with family and friends.

Joe and Dana took a weekend at the end of July at Atwood Lake to visit his mom and step-dad, relax on the water, and attend a crawfish boil. Saturday afternoon, Joe took Dana out on the lake to catch the breeze and the tail end of a sailboat race. Toward the opposite bank, Joe found a nice spot to stop for a while, and pulled up Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky on his iPad. Incredibly confused by this intense music choice, Dana had no idea he was about to propose, but that was his plan all along--the track is anything but romantic, and Joe chose it to throw her off the scent. So when he pulled the ring out of his pocket, Dana laughed and gave an immediate yes, followed by a triumphant burst from the orchestra. Impressive timing, considering that Joe had no help setting the whole thing up!