Our Special Vday Celebration 2014

I know it’s been a month since the heart’s day but please indulge me.  It’s just that this year’s celebration was quite extraordinary in the sense that it was treated like an ordinary day with a little extra effort filled with love and appreciation. 

Hubby and I have long decided that Valentine’s Day is not for us.  Sure, we do dine out but only for the heck of it.  We don’t go all the way with fancy dinners in Michelin star restaurants with me receiving a huge bouquet of red roses with a gift to boot.  I used to receive fancy flowers from him before we had kids but all that has now changed.   Both of us realized how expensive flowers are and how this whole shebang is a commercialized celebration to convince people to spend horrendous amounts on dinners and roses.  We decided we are not gonna fall for that.  We will celebrate Vday how we want it to be – lowkey, private and memorable just as we like it. 

So on the eve of Valentine’s Day, we ate at Romano’s Macaroni Grill 2 hours before the clock struck 12 midnight.  Quiet, delightful and kids-free, haha!

super late dinner

The next day was spent rough housing and playing with the kids.  They were so delighted with the balloon that Dada got for me from Party Centre.  I even caught the two of them kissing the owls!  So adorable!

Dada & Mom :)

Finally when the kids were asleep, we had our chance to have our planned Vday dinner.  Our evening celebration was inspired by The Every Girl.  I whipped up Barefoot Contessa’s Spaghetti Aglio E Olio while hubby prepared the roasted chicken.  

i can cook, too, you know!

dinner is served

We popped open a bottle of wine, plopped ourselves on the rug, and had dinner in our living room while watching ‘About Time’.      

For dessert, we had Lindt chocolate-dipped strawberries.

not the yummiest strawberries but definitely made sweet by Lindt

And I got this for a present, surprise, surprise!  Haha!!

Pandora Interlocking Hearts 

My husband is not the romantic type when it comes to film screening but he sure knows what movies I would typically like.  He picked out our film for that evening, and I must say it was the perfect choice!  If you haven’t seen it, I recommend that you do.  It’s all about finding the one, building a family, appreciating life, and knowing which ones matter the most.  Very timely.   

I loved how our evening ended with a beautiful conversation talking about our family life, our plans for the future, and our dreams as a couple.  It was all about love, love, and more love.  Our celebration may not have been the typical run-off-the-mill type but it was quite memorable to me.  I loved every bit of it, and I hope next year’s would be as intimate and meaningful as this one.  Probably a picnic by the beach you think?