At the end of 2012, Nick had just finished working on a feature film, SHARP, and was in the city visiting his dad. Bay was on winter break before entering into her last semester of graduate school at San Francisco State. We were introduced by our mutual friend, Sir Xander Oltmann, and the rest is history! We fell in love that first night while bonding over crab cakes and wild king salmon at Scoma's on Fisherman's Wharf. We spent the next 30 days straight together, traveling up and down the West Coast and discovering our mutual love for music, films, writing, photography, and of course...food.

After traveling around America for 100 days, we were celebrating Bay's 27th birthday, our anniversary, and New Year's Day on the Ewald avocado farm. While doing a ceremonial champagne cheers, Nick got down on one knee and pulled out Nana Nigro's ring. When Bay turned around to cheers Nick, her first response was, "Where's your champagne?" So, because Bay has both the dating and the engagement anniversaries on her birthday, we figured it was only fair that Nick got the wedding anniversary on his. Yes, his 30th birthday really is on July 12th!

Gram's Home has been in the family for 60 years. It's the home where Nick's mom, Shawn, his Aunt Heidi, and his Uncle Jeff were raised. Later on, it's where Nick was raised, too. It's the home were everyone is always welcome. And as Gram likes to say, "where the door is always open." We lived at Gram's home together for a few months, learning how to foxtrot to Glenn Miller in her open kitchen, eating homemade pasta outdoors on her patio, and putting the final touches on our cookbook. Many of the photos in the book are shot in Gram's backyard and on the full-size basketball court (which was also where Nick discovered a life-long love for his favorite sport). The book is even dedicated to Gram and Nick's cousin, Carter. Recently, our beloved, blue-eyed Gram has moved into a sweet care facility and her home is being sold. The signficance of Gram's home extends beyond the immediate family and it's a place where generations of friends have always gathered. (In fact, Gram and Grandma Paul were known to throw an excellent garden party, themselves.) We hope you'll join us for one last, very special, wedding + 30th birthday in the rose-filled, twinkle lit, backyard of Gram's home on the cul-de-sac.