Successful {Part I}

That is definitely the word I would use to describe this past weekend. I would love to have used a term like ‘relaxing’ or ‘rejuvenating’ but alas, it was neither - we did have a wonderful few days together.

To start, The Husband really went overboard for Valentine’s Day.  We normally don’t go all out – we will do something small and go to dinner (which is how we spent last year) or spend more on the gift and have dinner at home (2011).  This year we discussed not doing gifts and then probably not going to dinner because The Husband has been so busy with his company.  Wednesday (Feb 12!) he informs me that he has bought me something.  Thursday he tells me that we have dinner reservations for Friday.  The news of the gift left me scrambling to figure something out for him before Friday morning.  I wanted to do a bunch of fishing stuff but it stressed me out so much that I went a different route.

To recap – The Husband is an AVID fisherman and is incredibly picky about the equipment he uses.  I honestly can’t keep up with it all because by the time I figure out what he likes to use, he discovers a product he likes even better.  It is overwhelming! AND have you ever BEEN to the fishing section of a sports store?! Bass Pro is like a million times worse!  I start to wonder what could possibly be the difference but then I remind myself how picky I am about mascara and hair products. Same but different. =)

Friday morning we exchanged gifts – I made up a ‘Man Basket’ for him and he loved it =) He is honestly kind of hard to buy for which is frustrating because I am generally a pretty good gift giver! I pay attention to what people say they like/want/need all year so for occasions where gifts are given, it is usually pretty easy for me to pick something out.  The Husband, on the other hand, doesn't say specifics OR he wants a new scope/ammo/fishing rod…things that I can’t pick out for him.  I know he ALWAYS needs new shirts because he is the type of guy who does some quick repair on a truck or tractor thinking he won’t get anything on the shirt and BOOM! Oil leaks on him or snags it or SOMETHING happens and now he has a new fishing shirt.  Anyhow this was his happy little gift!

He totally blew me away with the gift he decided to pick up for me.  I really didn't see this coming.  I had showed him an initial necklace (J&A) a couple months ago that I really liked.  It was simple and cheap and I figured if he didn't get it for me eventually then the next time it went on sale I would order it. 

Well he remembered that and expanded on it.  He believes that if I like a piece of jewelry a lot then I should figure out a way to get the same thing or idea in a nicer form/piece.  Don’t get me wrong, it is an awesome idea, but I like my fun, loud, costume jewelry.  Anyhow, I did not see this coming:

That’s right, a little blue box.  I was absolutely floored! I was shaking a little tiny bit.  I have never received anything from Tiffany & Co.  That Husband of mine. He is pretty amazing. The gift was even more awesome because he had our initials engraved on the charm.  I love it!

We had dinner reservations for 9:00 pm....NINE people! That's pretty late but hey, that's what happens when you have to make 'last minute' (although Sunday isn't completely last minute in my mind) reservations.  We sat at the bar for about 30 minutes with a TON of other people.  I guess everyone in the first slot of reservations was a good twenty minutes late making every other reservation late AND the normal walk-in wait time was over an hour and a half! We didn't mind waiting for our table to be ready since thankfully we had an actual reservation; we had a drink and just talked with one another and the random people at the bar and bartenders.

Dinner ended up becoming an event: drinks, appetizers, bread, soup…I couldn't decide what I wanted (typical).   Dessert was not in the cards even though we both wanted to order it.  The chophouse we went to is mostly a la carte.  I LOVE that because you can actually pick and choose exactly what you want to eat.  I ended up opting for add-on crab stuffed shrimp and lobster bisque! YUM! After all the extras we had before the actual meal, there was no way I would be able to consume a full plate of food. We had a wonderful night out just the two of us. It was about midnight before we got in.  

I love making our dates an event; something that just takes time where we are out and can’t really do anything but talk to one another and just reconnect.  But then again, I love dating The Husband so any chance I have to cook or go on a date with him, I take it on. 

How was your Valentine's Day?