Love is a wonderful thing...

Yes, that's right, I just quoted Michael Bolton. I had a major obsession with him in the 4th grade (blame my mom) and to this day I still get super happy inside when I sing along to his tunes. The happiness that this little ditty evokes is not even close to the happiness that I felt all weekend with my husband.

I'm a love nerd, most people know this. It's why I choose the books and movies that I do and why I continue to obsess over each season of The Bachelor despite its unsuccessful history- I love, love. So, with that being said, Valentine's Day automatically ranks in my top 3 holidays (in between Christmas and my birthday of course). Brad and I don't typically make a big deal over elaborate Valentine's Day presents or anything like that, I just love the cheesiness that goes along with the holiday. The hearts, the flowers, the whole bit.

This year Brad and I are trying to stay on a budget, so I wasn't anticipating any big plans for the holiday. We'd decided to buy a desk for Brad to use to study as our gift and I thought we might do a simple dinner or something--but not so fast. Brad had a plan (and we know I love plans). When I got home Friday, after receiving a dozen beautiful tulips at work, he informed me that he had our whole Saturday planned and it would start with breakfast at V. Richard's. I was ecstatic and even woke up early on Saturday to begin my day of fun.

The day started with two roses, one from Brad and one from Oliver of course, and then we were off to have an incredible breakfast at V. Richard's. I pigged out on french toast and cheese grits and then we hit the road for our next stop--ice skating! Brad has always said he'd like for us to go, but it hasn't ever really worked out. Fortunately, this time, we got to lace up our skates and take the ice. Brad was hysterical--I called him Grandpa all day because he was hurting all over (of course I was a natural Kristy Yamaguchi, ha!) but we had fun none the less. Plus, Brad finally admitted that he had "found something he wasn't good at." Ha!

We finished off our day out and about with a late lunch/early dinner at Cafe Lazio, buying chocolate covered strawberries from Crave (the best I've ever had) and picking out a Valentine's Day surprise for Oliver at Pet Smart. As the traffic picked up and people were clearly trying to make it out for their Valentine's Day dinners, we were thankfully heading home. We spent the entire night hanging out, relaxing and watching movies; it was perfect.

This Valentine's Day was undoubtedly the best one I've ever had. For the first time in a really long time, Brad and I took the whole day just for us. We simply enjoyed each other's company and put all of our worries aside. I don't typically gush, but I have to say that I'm incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful husband.