Valentine's Day can have a pretty bad rap. Forced romance can really go horribly wrong. But I do like the idea behind it, and done with the right attitude, it can be a lot of fun. We don't put pressure on each other to spend a lot of money and have a picture perfect evening. We do what we can, and mostly just enjoy putting aside a day to just focus on the two of us. The past few years Anthony and I have had a pretty low key Valentine's Day. We were either busy, or didn't have a lot of extra money to spend. Last year we had just moved into the house so we didn't exchange gifts, just had sushi for dinner and relaxed. It was wonderful.
This year I had time to put up a few Valentine's Day decorations around the house. My cousin and my mom found some old pink and red ornaments while they were cleaning out grandma's house, so I found some branches and hung the ornaments up, and kept out my red glassware. I got a few red candle holders and put the rest of the ornaments into a vase. Very simple, but it turned out well I think.
I got Anthony a really nice button down shirt, some white tulips, his favorite cologne, and I made homemade chocolate covered cherries. I found an amazing little copper colored embossed "leather" box to put the candy in at Target. And a monkey. A little tiny stuffed monkey. Because every year for every birthday/holiday/gift giving occasion, he asked what I got him. And every year, I tell him "a monkey". So this year, it was true.
And he seriously went all out for me this year, which I wasn't expecting at all. He got up at his normal time and pretended to go into work. But he actually spent the whole day getting things ready. I came home to curtains in the living room (something we've been looking for forever), 200 tealight candles lit, a fireplace screen saver on the tv, three dozen sweetheart roses, a sushi dinner arranged on the coffee table, and an mp3 player.
I try to keep the smushy romantic stuff to a dull roar on here, but I have to gush about it this year. The flowers and mp3 were amazing, but the amount of time he put into planning and setting it up was what blew me away. Especially because he gets so much enjoyment out of the surprise. I have to say, I seriously love that guy.
