Valentine's Weekend 2013

This year, Valentine's Day was on a Thursday, so Josh and I planned to celebrate on Saturday the 16th. I had picked a place that neither of us had ever been, and planned it as a surprise for Josh, and a new adventure for the two of us. Since we were going out on Saturday, I hadn't expected to do anything on the actual Valentine's Day, but Josh emailed me at work and said he really wanted to go out that night. Even though I believe you should take advantage of every day to tell those you love, that you love them, not just one day a year that Hallmark uses to get more money from people, it still seemed odd not to go out with my husband on February 14. So we originally planned to go to an Italian place nearby called Travinia's, but even though there was surprisingly not a wait, there WAS a specific menu set aside that cost $99 per couple. Not an outrageous price, but without knowing what was on the menu, we didn't want to have to spend that much money if it wasn't food of our choice. So instead we decided to go to Macaroni Grill, since we haven't been there in a long time. There was almost no wait, and we had such a great time! All bottles of wine were half off, so we ordered some red wine....I think it was merlot, but I am not a wine expert so I can't be sure. But seeing as how it's been a year this weekend since I've drank, one glass of wine and I wasn't doing so well lol! After 2 glasses, well.....it was an interesting night! The food was delicious though; Josh ordered the lasagna, which I've ordered in the past but there was a grilled chicken dish that looked really good, so that's what I got this time. It was delicious but food served on a skewer + 2 glasses of wine = a very interesting meal that included some flying utensils lol! For dessert (I figured I broke my diet with the bread bowl so might as well go all out), Josh ordered the cannolis, and I ordered chocolate cake, which I normally don't prefer but the warm chocolate syrup and whipped cream with toffee pieces sealed the deal for me.

For our actual Valentine's Day meal, I surprised Josh by taking him to a new restaurant I'd heard of, called Cheesetique, which is also a wine and cheese store. I had thought about doing brunch there, but that's only on Sundays, and on Saturdays they do wine tasting from 1-4pm, which is one of the things I wanted to do. So we arrived around noon, and sat down for our meal. To start with, we ordered "The Big Cheese," which is a tray that comes with the 10 cheese they have on rotation, which changes each week. Some of the cheese I preferred more than others, but it was all delicious, that's for sure. You can order accompaniments with it such as bruschetta or olives or (I believe) salamis, but we were fine with the bread basket that came with it. After the cheese, we ordered our entrees; Josh ordered the regular mac and cheese which was truffle-infused and made with goat and asiago cheeses, and I ordered the broccoli and cheddar mac and cheese. Both were delicious, but we were pretty full from the cheese, so I think next time we're going to split a Caprese sandwich, and make the cheese tray our main meal. Of course, no matter how stuffed we were, we couldn't pass up dessert; I'd been looking forward to it ever since I saw the menu months ago! We each ordered the bread pudding, and it was amazing, tasted like French toast in a bowl!! Overall, everything was delicious, and Josh was very surprised! We had a great time, I can't wait until the next time we go back.

Unfortunately, it was also the same night as my brother's 30th birthday party, which we didn't know until after we had made our plans, so we were not able to go. Hopefully we will be able to celebrate with him soon though! We have been spending the rest of the weekend just relaxing and getting some things done around the house....I normally put out Valentine's Day decorations, but I didn't get a chance this year, and it seems like as soon as I put them out, it's time to put them away again! But I did put out my outdoor decorations, I figured I could be somewhat festive! I hope everyone was able to spend the day with those you love, and make sure to tell them how you feel, not just on February 14, but every day!

The cheese tray:

 

 Josh matching the descriptions to the cheeses:



Josh's truffle mac n' cheese:

 

 

 

My broccoli and cheddar mac n' cheese:

Yummy bread pudding!

 

Josh:

Josh and me:

Me:

 

Valentine's Day presents for Josh... .minus the red icing-covered heart-shaped Rice Krispy treat that he ate lol.... I ate the first 3 I kept buying him to replace them ;)



Normally my pig goes out in the summer but I figured the pink makes him Valentine-worthy :)