Valentine's Day!

We were greeted with quietly falling snow this Valentine's Day, which as it so happens, is my very favorite holiday.

Truth be told, I never had a date on Valentine's Day until I met Jake. Isn't that funny? But, it's always been my favorite holiday for a few reasons:

1. My birthday is only a few days away. (and it's my mom's birthday today!)
2. There is chocolate everywhere!
3. The official colors of the day are pink and red, two of my favs:)

My celebration of the day will involve only a few special tweaks to our normal routine. I'm meeting my mom to get our hair done together, and then I'll probably finish grading some papers before getting dinner started. For a couple of years now, I've gotten a special, super easy Valentine's Dinner routine: herbed rack of lamb and roasted vegetables to throw in the oven, some fancy little store-bought macarons,

 and champagne, bien sur!

Simple, and just special enough for a snowy Tuesday night. :) I might even sit down and make out a few cards, carrying on my own little "galentine's tradition." Maybe I'll even go crazy and craft cards of my own design, like these, or these. Maybe not.



But whether you run about town gathering supplies, or plan a magical winter outing, or just have a blind date with a book, I do wish you the very best day. Know that you are special, unique person with a purpose: to love and be loved.

Here is a romantic song to set the tone, which my friend, Jamica, and I decided is one of the best love songs ever! (She and her hubs have a lyric from it engraved in their wedding bands, and I walked down the aisle to it.) Hope you enjoy:)

Valentine's (or birthday...) in the Mitten

To kick off this weekend-before-Valentine's Day (and that big birthday), I thought I'd do a special "five gratitudes"--the five fun date-places I'm grateful (get it?) to live near.

1. I'm grateful to live near the Whitney--a beautiful mansion-turned-fancy-restaurant that would make for a pretty romantic dinner-date. 

2. I'm grateful to live near the Detroit Institute of Arts--among the top six museums in the country! A dreamy place to wander around and hold hands.

3. I'm grateful to live near the French Laundry--no, not the place in Napa...but this one is pretty charming in its own right. We had our rehearsal dinner for our wedding here, and loved it so much we celebrated our first anniversary here, too!

4. I'm grateful to live near the Detroit Opera Theater--so many cool cultural experiences to be had here! We saw Alvin Ailey's dance company one Valentine's a couple of years ago; breathtaking! I'd love to see the production of Swan Lake there this spring.

5. Gah! Now that I'm into this list, I realize how hard it is to only pick five great date-spots. But, this list would not be complete without a shout out to Iron Chef (and my Grandma's crush from the Chew): Michael Symon's Roast. We had one of the best meals of our lives there! I'm so grateful to live near this impeccable establishment.

What about you? Got any fun Valentine's Day plans? Do tell.