Will You Be My Valentine?

A lot of people plan weeks, maybe even months ahead, to make reservations at a fancy restaurant for Valentine's Day with their loved one. But not Aaron and me! We don't technically celebrate Valentine's Day because it's too commercialized, but somehow these gifts just happen to appear for each other on that exact day. Instead of dining with 50 other strangers, we prefer to cook something special and eat at home, just the two of us.

I bought Aaron something he had wanted from the antique store. Do you know what it is?

Antique ski poles, of course!

I came home to the lovely surprise of Aaron cooking and nearly finished with the entire meal.

Jumbo shrimp...

and delicious cheeses (I am a cheese fanatic, and so is Aaron).

Homemade German Potato Salad. Aaron makes it the best. You're really missing out if you've never experienced it.

We also had bratwurst smothered in sauerkraut. Yummy!

I bought some delicious pink champagne and strawberries, and since Aaron doesn't like champagne, I had it all to myself.

What a lovely surprise! I collect coins, although I haven't been much in practice lately. My wonderful and thoughtful husband bought me a Bavarian coin from 1911. It is so amazing, and I love to think of all the people who used this coin. Perhaps it was originally owned by a Bavarian dirndl maker or yodeler or something else terrific. Just think of all the hands it's passed through from 1911 to 2011....100 years of sellers and purchasers and different people around the world.

And to finish off the night, I still (amazingly enough) had room for some molten chocolate lava cake.

(Click here for the recipe. Not the recipe I used, because I can't find that one. But it's still close.)

Seriously, does life get any better?