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

Almost Paradise...

Okay, so that's a really corny song, but somehow I love it. It sounds cornier as a blog post title, though. Regardless, four years ago today, Aaron and I were married. Last night:

Aubrey: Can you believe we've been married almost 4 years?

Aaron: It feels like for-e-ver.

Aubrey: I hate you.

Aaron: I'm funny.

And then he sends me this today...they are gorgeous!

Really, though, we've been married FOUR YEARS! It's gone so fast, and I don't even know how. I'm so blessed to be married to Aaron. He's made me so much better over the years. I can make decisions now all on my own (even though I hate it). I am more open-minded with people. I don't yell so much when I'm angry. And it's not because he buys me nice gifts once in a while or surprises me with dinner and things like daisies he picked from the garden (my favorite). I want to be a better wife because he is such a darn good husband. A brat like me doesn't deserve a guy like him.

Honeymoon...the people at the bar in our hotel found out we were just married and bought two bottles of top-notch champagne, one for everyone there, and one for just us. Then the bartender sent strawberries up to our room. See, people can be nice in big cities.

Aboard the Windy II, a four-masted ship.

Chicago Cubs game

I love you, Aaron. I love everything about our marriage. It's such a shame when people get divorced because I think about how lucky I was to find you the first time around and I wish they would find someone so perfect the first time, too. Thank you for dinner and the flowers and the vacation and a fantastic life with you. To 75 more!