This has been a very exciting year for us; we got engaged (best thing ever!!) and Cosmo became the Chef de Cuisine at the Publican. These two pivotal moments wouldn’t have happened if we didn’t throw caution to the wind and move here three and half years ago. There were so many little pieces that brought us to where we are now.

Cosmo and I actually broke up in May of 2010, weird as I am writing this I realize it was almost exactly four years ago… it was the weekend before Memorial Day. I was a nanny and he was a chef so our work schedules and lifestyles were completely different. It was honestly incredibly hard and it felt like my life was over, but looking back now it was the best thing that could have happened to us. We were only 18 when we met, so I think we still needed to do some growing and learning on our own.

In August, he got he invitation to our friends’ wedding in New Buffalo… It was addressed to Cosmo Goss and Julia Franzosa. Ellie (the bride) tells me to this day that this was her plan, that it didn’t say “guest” because he HAD to bring me 😉 He called and invited me… we started talking and planning our trip, that was the beginning of us rebuilding.

The wedding was in October and the week before our trip, Cosmo met the Chef/Owner of Publican, Paul Kahan, at a private event in California. Cosmo’s friend and boss at the time, worked for Paul in the early years at Blackbird and recommended Cosmo for a job in Chicago. Paul said if he was interested to come by and check out the restaurants while he was in town. Little did Paul know, Cosmo had been following the Publican since it opened; checking out the menu and admiring their farm to table concept.

We spent one night in Chicago and had dinner at Publican. We were totally blown away by the amazing food. I didn’t know we were eating there because Cosmo wanted to work there. I don’t really even think he knew. It was such a foreign concept and so far away from our families. It was just a fun thought…

We went to Pat and Ellie’s wedding in New Buffalo and danced the night away. This trip changed us. It opened up doors, possibilities and our hearts.

When we got back to California, they officially offered Cosmo a job at the Publican. When he asked how long they could hold the position for him the response was slightly shocking. Thirty days. He had thirty days to leave everything and start something new in Chicago. He turned in his notice… he asked me to go with him… I turned in my notice… we left…

Benny rode in between us with his head resting on the center console for the entire drive… three days and a few stops. Can you see his adorable little nose up there?

We packed all our stuff into a POD and shipped it out to Chicago. We hopped into my Subaru (with Benny of course!!) and started our drive from Santa Barbara to Chicago. We stopped in Vegas, because it’s awesome 😉 Then in Denver where Cosmo went to culinary school. We stayed with his college roommate and stopped by his school… a little bittersweet visit of where he came from to where he is going. Our drive was long and sometimes boring… but it was so fun and an experience that we can always look back on.
When we finally arrived in Chicago, we secured a vacation rental for a week. We had one week to find a place in a safe(ish) neighborhood that would allow dogs. The first place we looked at ended up being the one we chose, but we wanted to see what else was out there. There wasn’t much… since I didn’t have a job we had a very small budget (so small that the most of the bedrooms wouldn’t fit our queen size bed!!). We ended up calling the landlord from the first place and offered to drop a check off that day. He said to wait until the following day because he wanted to meet Benny first. Uhohh!! Those who know Benny know that he is quite excitable, especially when meeting new friends. Luckily, our landlord loves dogs… even crazy ones. We moved in and started a new chapter of our life together.

“For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn’t understand growth, it would look like complete destruction.” Cynthia Occelli