Valentine's day. From what I can tell, there are two kinds of girls. One kind who wants Valentine's Day to be a big to-do with flowers, gifts, a fancy restaurant, etc. The other kind of girl doesn't so much care about the 'fancy' but still, if she's honest with herself, wants her special someone to acknowledge the day with even the most simple gesture.
I haven't often celebrated Valentine's Day like girl number one. Many Valentine's Days passed when I had no Valentine. One year, in particular, the day started with a Valentine and ended without one. I wasn't a very good Valentine to that sweet boy from Alabama that day.
Another vivid memory that I have of Valentine's Day goes back to high school. About a week before every Valentine's Day, students could purchase single carnations for other students with a note to be delivered with the flower during class on Valentine's Day. Boyfriends to girlfriends and vice versa. Girls also always bought their close friends a carnation so, as you can imagine, it boiled down to quite a showy day. The girl with the most carnations wins. I still remember the anxiety of that day. Thankfully, I was never without carnations but I still think of classmates who may have gone home that day disappointed with no flowers.
I was actually excited about Valentine's Day this year. Alex and I had decided that we'd give each other a little something but we'd put a very modest price cap on the gift :) Alex had bought my gift and made restaurant reservations well before the big day and that thoughtfulness meant so much to me regardless of what was in the box or where he was going to take me for dinner.
Sarah and I thought we'd bake our husband's something sweet for the occasion so we hit the kitchen in the afternoon to make a certain red velvet cake (the cupcake version) that we'd both seen on Pinterest. A few hours in the kitchen and we'd made cute red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing. The only problem that we saw at that time was that the shortage of red food coloring resulted in light brown velvet cupcakes instead of red velvet cupcakes. The cupcakes were still in the shape of hearts so we didn't let the color fail get us down. But, what was more upsetting was that our cute little brown velvet treats tasted more like muffins without a trace of chocolate. We're certain there had to have been a typo - did anyone else make that red velvet recipe and have a problem? Keep reading to see how Alex responded to his special cupcakes.
7:45 rolls around and Alex hurries though the door from work looking tired and sicker than he did when he left for work that morning. We've both been battling bad colds that I'm going to blame on the arctic temperatures that we've had in Luxembourg for the last 2 weeks. The two of us got ourselves to the restaurant only to realize that neither one of us really felt like being there. Alex had worked a 12-hour day to make a deadline and was feeling worse by the minute. My decision to do Yoga Meltdown that morning was probably premature - my head was pounding and I couldn't breathe through my nose. We were in and out in less than 2 hours and for Europe, that's dinner at lightning speed. No small talk, no coffee and no dessert. The special cupcakes were waiting for us.
Home by 10:00, Alex and I sat down to a brown velvet heart cupcake. Noticing the odd light brown color, Alex asked me what flavor they were. Deciding not to tell him it was supposed to be red velvet, I waited for his response. "Is it carrot cake?" he asked.
Next, the gifts. Alex's gift to me was so thoughtful. Several weeks ago, Sarah had introduced me to a Van Gogh painting that I fell in love with called 'Peach Tree in Blossom.' The colors go perfectly in our home and, after all, I AM a Georgia Peach :) Alex remembered me talking about the print and gave it to me for the perfect little Valentine's Day gift. Here's a picture of the print...
If only I'd done such a good job on Alex's gift. Alex is hard to shop for when the price cap is so low. In my opinion, he is a fantastic dresser with great (expensive) taste :) In the words of his Brooks Brothers personal shopper in Nashville, Alex is "persnickety." I had a little trouble finding a gift in the price range but I settled for a red and dark blue plaid button down shirt from a little shop that I like down the street. I had doubts about the shirt (because Alex doesn't own much red) but I ran out of time and options. Upon opening the shirt, I could tell right away that I should have kept looking. His words affirmed my fear. "It looks like a farmer's shirt," he said, albeit with a smile.
So, gone are the days of carnation anxiety, the wrong Valentines or the lack of a Valentine. However, with carrot muffin-tasting brown velvet cupcakes, a farmer shirt and two sick loves in bed by 10:00, Saint Valentine continues to have a sense of humor. Regardless of what the Hallmark holiday brings, I'm just thankful that I'll never be without a Valentine again.
Love from Luxembourg...Melanie
