We first met over five years ago on a blind date at First Fridays in the Flatiron Building. Soon after, we had a date that started in the early evening with a going away party, and ended at 4am back at the Flatiron. And every day that passes we fall more in love and become closer companions.

We got Zuzu the summer we moved in together. We lived upstairs in a small two bedroom in our building, but before long we moved down to our current apartment on the first floor. Every summer, we sit with our dogs (Simon was next) on our porch, visit our friends in the Ukrainian Village and at Archies, and bike around the city. And in the winters, we curl up on the couch and watch TV together.

We love to take our pups to the bar, or walk them around Humbolt Park, or take them to parties, or just sit on the porch. Our lives are awesome. :)

We were going to do a camping trip with friends, but the weather for the weekend was looking too bad for us to go, so we canceled. I (Clare) was disappointed, but Ben said we should make a day of hanging out in Chicago instead. We rode our bikes downtown, went to a nice dinner, took a shoreline boat tour, and walked through Millennium and Grant park. At the end of the night, we were at Buckingham Fountain, and it was all lit up. With some completely random music playing in the background, Ben asked me to marry him and I said yes.