Hair

When we were in New York 2 years ago, we were astounded by how my hair had changed. It was shiny and healthy, just like it used to be when I was younger. I said that it must be the city water, because we have well water. But we also found out that the hair rinse in the hotel was amazing! It was like a Fountain of Youth for hair!


So the other day I came home to find out that Aaron had bought me a pre-birthday gift....40 bottles of the hair rinse from that hotel! And they're regular size bottles, not the travel size....I won't have to buy another bottle for 10 years! Ha ha!

Look Alike

My Grandma gave me the most thoughtful gift last weekend...

a doll that is wearing an exact replica dress of my wedding dress. The pattern is EXACTLY the same! She even has a tiara and a similar veil!

And you know what's REALLY special? My Grandma MADE my wedding dress when I got married (AND my 6 bridesmaids' dresses AND my flower girl's dress AND my junior bridesmaid's dress). I sketched what I wanted, brought another dress that I had with the pattern I wanted. Then she scanned it into her embroidery machine and changed the color of the thread from black to gold. Finally, she put each embroidered piece on the dress that she had sewn from 2 patterns. Isn't she amazing?

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?

Christmas Photo Shoot

Every year we fight about it. Every year (so far) I've won. The Christmas Photo. He doesn't want to. I do. Let's just take the picture on the couch...No, it will look prettier outside.

We picked the very coldest and snowiest day of the year, and I was allowed only 5 shots (which was quite fair and more than I expected in the bargain), to which I did a lot of editing. 

 Aaron was freezing and thus scrunched his shoulders up...we threw this one out.

  

  

My favorite

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Aaron wanted an artificial tree this year...but what's the fun in that??? So we...well, he...cut down a real tree. It's a very beautiful tree and smells so delicious. The smell of pine is similar to such wonderful scents as fresh coffee grounds, lilacs, cut grass. I can't help but smile when I get a whiff of it.

Butterscotch...he wanted to help cut down a tree, too!

We found the perfect one!

It was a most lovely day....perfect weather, perfect hubby, perfect tree.