I was in charge this year for planning what we would do for Valentines Day. Last year was comprised of taking our 3 month old along with us to a sushi restaurant, so I wanted to try for something a little more romantic this year. We had a tight budget to work with, so I decided to surprise (or attempt to surprise) Adam with a picnic dinner at home--and since it is February and freezing outside, our picinic was held in our living room. :) It was rather difficult to keep it a surprise since Valentines was on a Saturday and he was home all day. All I told him was that we were going to have an awesome dinner at home. Our menu was comprised of a cheese fondue with a hint of apple cider to sweeten it up a bit, along with squares of french bread to dip in it, a nice green salad with candied walnuts and apple slices, a rotisserie chicken, and blueberry lemonade to drink. Now, I have never actually done a cheese fondue before, but have talked about doing one for a long time. So the day before Valentines Day Adam was like, "You're going to do a cheese fondue, aren't you?" At first I was like, "Wrong! (short pause) You suck! How did you guess that?!" Well, after that, I began to see the fruitlessness of trying to keep it all a secret, especially since he was at the grocery store with me when I bought the stuff for the remaining courses. I banished him to our room while I set everything up, since the picnic aspect was about the only "surprise" remaining. I tried doing candlelight for ambiance, but it was way too dark, so I turned the hall light on--how's that for romantic lighting? :)
As you may notice, we do not own a proper picnic blanket, so an old comforter from college had to suffice. I also hope you appreciate the large mixing bowl containing the bottle of blueberry lemonade on ice. That was a last minute idea, so I worked with what I had on hand.This was our dessert--molten chocolate surprise.
It was so good that I made it again the next night. My excuse was that it was Valentines weekend, so it was okay to have such a rich dessert two nights in a row. The best part was that it is so easy to make--the whole thing takes about 15 minutes from start to finish. If anyone wants the recipe, here's a link for it:
http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/molten-chocolate-surprise-74129.aspx As mentioned, we were on a tight budget this Valentines Day, so we agreed that we wouldn't get each other presents, and I made Adam swear he wouldn't get me any flowers. What a strict, romance-hating wife I am! Little did I know, however, that Adam had already bought something for me in January, the little cheater. He got me a bottle of one of my favorite perfumes--I actually already have a bottle of it, but I dropped it a few months ago and the nozzle broke, rendering it unuseable. I was so upset about it, since the bottle was still mostly full, so I was definitely surprised at his thoughtfulness. As for me, I made him a card. I would say this is an accurate comparison of Valentines gifts. It's the thought that counts, though, right?
And just because I can't have a blog post without Lily in it, here is a recent picture of her looking coy.
I was in charge this year for planning what we would do for Valentines Day. Last year was comprised of taking our 3 month old along with us to a sushi restaurant, so I wanted to try for something a little more romantic this year. We had a tight budget to work with, so I decided to surprise (or attempt to surprise) Adam with a picnic dinner at home--and since it is February and freezing outside, our picinic was held in our living room. :) It was rather difficult to keep it a surprise since Valentines was on a Saturday and he was home all day. All I told him was that we were going to have an awesome dinner at home. Our menu was comprised of a cheese fondue with a hint of apple cider to sweeten it up a bit, along with squares of french bread to dip in it, a nice green salad with candied walnuts and apple slices, a rotisserie chicken, and blueberry lemonade to drink. Now, I have never actually done a cheese fondue before, but have talked about doing one for a long time. So the day before Valentines Day Adam was like, "You're going to do a cheese fondue, aren't you?" At first I was like, "Wrong! (short pause) You suck! How did you guess that?!" Well, after that, I began to see the fruitlessness of trying to keep it all a secret, especially since he was at the grocery store with me when I bought the stuff for the remaining courses. I banished him to our room while I set everything up, since the picnic aspect was about the only "surprise" remaining. I tried doing candlelight for ambiance, but it was way too dark, so I turned the hall light on--how's that for romantic lighting? :) 
