We arrived in Rochester Sunday the 24th after having moved half of our apartment that morning in New York City.  It was a long day.  Luckily, Rochester greeted us with clear blue skies and this:

courtesy of Lily Twomey

The table was filled with goodies, from gluten-free snacks to soda bottles with out photos on them to a beautiful bottle of champagne and scotch.  All these was courtesy of Alex’s amazing family and the incredible staff at the hotel that they own.   And, it was all a surprise.  I had nothing to do with any of it.  It wasn’t just us that got these goodies, every guest upon arrival received the m&ms, the soda, the napkins, local beers (courtesy of my Mom!) and a plate of cheese and meat.

The staff was amazing all week- they were willing to help in any way they could.  On the morning of the wedding when it was pouring rain, Alex asked the front desk for “8 yellow umbrellas” and they looked at him and said, “we can make that happen.”  The best they could do was black, but that was more than fine!

courtesy of James Twomey

On Saturday, the day after the wedding, when we were running around trying to figure out what to do with everything, the (amazing) Chef offered to personally look over over wedding cake for the year while we were away and keep it safe for when we returned.  Suffice it to say that we felt very special and our guests were treated with the same amazing attitudes and service.

*all photos mine, unless otherwise stated

On Saturday, a friend of mine sent me an article from the New York Times about gluten-free (another one, so soon?!).  It was about the recent growth of gluten-free focused businesses like bakeries and stores resulting from the owner’s dreams of a “plan B.”

It is fitting that I would read this article now.  Although I’ve revealed to my readers that I am getting married soon through posts about gluten-free cupcakes, menu tastings, and how to accommodate guests with food allergies and dietary restrictions, there are more big changes ahead in my life.  Alex and I are moving to Vienna, Austria in September.  Alex is a dual Austrian/American citizen and to keep his Austrian citizenship must complete civil service with the government for 9 months.  It’s a temporary move, and while necessary, is also about the experience: traveling, learning and hopefully speaking a foreign language, making friends, exploring a new city, and doing this all before we have to “settle down.”  I am incredibly excited and incredibly nervous.  But, it’s really happening now, we’ve bought our plane tickets.

Of course with this move, we’re leaving our jobs and leaving New York City (not to mention friends and family- but they’ve promised to visit).  I’ll be sad to leave the life I’ve made here, but I’m ready for a change.  I have been happily employed at my job for three years starting right out of college.  I’ve realized in those three years, that maybe, what I thought I wanted to do after college, isn’t playing out how I imagined.  While I do love my organization, and the people I work with, I’m not sure that the office-desk job is right for me.  So, I have a plan B.

Maybe I’m a little young for a plan B (did you figure out how old I am?).  Maybe, it’s really Plan A 2.0.  Whatever you want to call it, it’s a big change from what I’m doing now.  Going gluten-free had a huge impact on me: from learning how to adjust to the new diet to writing this blog, it’s a big part of my life and I think I’d like it to be even bigger.  You see, I’m just like those women in the New York Times article.  Even though gluten-free awareness has certainly grown, it’s not mainstream, and in a city a large and all encompassing as New York City, there are still only two dedicated gluten-free bakeries and dedicated gluten-free shop.  I don’t think it’s enough, and I’d like to do more for the gluten-free cause than just write this blog.  I want my own gluten-free business.

The most common question I get when I tell people I’m moving to Austria is, “What are you going to do when you’re there?”  Well, first I need to learn German.  Then, I’d like to travel.  And when I’m not doing either of those things, I’ll be working on my plan B.