Salad, spaghetti and "meatballs."

So I got tricked on Valentine's Day, and I loved it. Harbor texted me just before he was going to arrive to pick me up and told me that he was "running late" so I had to drive over to his apartment and when I walked in, I saw this little setup in his living room and got so excited. A romantic dinner at home, cooked by my favorite boy. 

See, I've been hearing about these famous meatballs his mom makes since we started dating, but because I don't eat meat (I mean, I eat fish - I'm a pescetarian - so technically yes, I do eat meat) and I've never been able to sample their deliciousness. So guess what the sweet boy did? He looked up a recipe for vegetarian meatballs and used lentils to recreate his mom's recipe. They were SO good, like better than we could have imagined good, and we'll be eating the leftovers tonight. (Maybe he'll let me post his recipe on here... I'll have to ask him.) It was his first time using the kitchen in his place, and that was a challenge as well. Look at that teeny-tiny stove!

We enjoyed delicious sparkling peach cider from our IKEA visit the day before, and he bought me my favorite brand of red wine too. I got Harbor the latest Wild Nothing record for Valentine's Day, so we enjoyed the sound-quality that only vinyl has to offer while we dined. Super romantic and just really cozy and fun.

And it wasn't over yet. We were craving a sweet treat after dinner (but, when are we not?) so we brainstormed and decided that it was late enough to brave the restaurant world and take advantage of an evening out. We went to Carrabba's and hoped a yummy dessert would catch our eye. Turns out they make canolis with pistachios in them! I was in heaven. Harbor got an espresso and I finished the evening with a crazy-good chocolate dessert martini.

Hope your evening was special, whether you spent it with someone or not.
K

Hearts and flowers and all the mushy stuff.

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and I'm so excited! I've always loved this holiday, even when I wasn't dating anyone. In fact, this year will be my first Valentine's Day where I've been able to go out on a date with a boyfriend. So I think that's pretty exciting. Still not sure what HB's cookin' up for our date, but I'm sure it'll be cute and low-key and fun. Just like we like 'em.

In the spirit of valentine fun, here are some really great valentine-y things I've seen lately.

Emma's mini red velvet cupcakes! I swear, if I could pick a time to go and visit that adorable Red Velvet Store in Missouri, this would be the time. Last summer I wished to be able to go and have a bubble tea and cupcake in the Red Velvet Sweet Shoppe, browse for a cute new dress, and take an epic roadtrip this Valentine's for a weekend getaway. Buuut, we couldn't swing it. So, I'll just have to be patient a while longer.

When I spotted these valentines on Rachel's blog, I flipped. I think they're so pretty and perfect. But then I clicked through and saw the tutorial, and I enjoyed the actual valentine so much more than the velum envelope I had originally been attracted to. Really great idea for little hands and crafty moms. And for single girls who just love to get their paint on.

I'm a cat person, but these naughty puppy valentines are just really cute. The other night on a run, Harbor thought he spotted a basset hound and it turned out to be a little beagle. Then he said to me, "you know though, a beagle is really just the more athletic basset hound." hah.

Unfortunately, I can't show you the valentines that arrived in the mail for me this week, but after I send them to all my friends I'll be sure to reveal them. They are seriously just too good...

Love birds. Love owls. Love this.

In other Red Velvet news, the brand new online shop opened today! I'm still browsing all the treasures on this site, but this necklace caught my eye right away. How cute would it be to wear on a Valentine's date?! I am thinking about making my own, but I'm torn between this necklace or my own take on a mini heartlette crown.

Decisions, decisions.

And, the most incredible Valentine's Day treat I've seen this week is Photojojo's Instax Mini pack. You get a camera, a pack of film, and little photo caption stickers for super cheap. I looooove instant photos!

Do you have any plans for this holiday that's not exactly a holiday? Spotted any cute gift ideas I can whip up last minute for friends?
K

Birthday week!

I love birthdays. I love them so much that I rarely ever confine the celebration to the literal day of birth. This Wednesday is Harbor's birthday, and we've started his b-day celebration week off right!

I surprised him with a trip up to St. Augustine last night, and it was a blast! The original plan was to head to Nalu's for fish tacos, walk around a bit and grab paletas at The Hyppo for dessert. Turns out, Nalu's wasn't open (or maybe they just have shorter winter hours?) so at first I thought we may have to hop over to our staple restaurant Pizzalley's, but THEN I was struck by a genius idea. And off to The Floridian we went!

The Floridian is the cutest little restaurant that serves local, seasonal and sustainable ingredients and seeks to support community farmers, producers, etc. You can tell because the flavors are so intense, and surprisingly, the prices are way inexpensive for the quality and portion size. Plus, they have the most creative menu ever, and it's constantly changing with the seasons to ensure freshness.

I enjoyed a glass of red wine in their bar (past "The County Line" -- literally, the restaurant sits on the country line and since it's too expensive to get a liquor license for both parts of the restaurant, you have to walk to the back bar and enjoy your drink) before we were seated. We had fried green tomato bruschetta for an appetizer, then enjoyed some of the local catch for dinner. Harbor had fish n' grits (polenta cheese cakes, sheepshead, and fancy collard greens in a beet sauce), and I had a cornbread stack (blackened sheepshead, a HUGE piece of yummy, cake-y cornbread and pickled veggies) and a side salad. Portions are huge there, so don't expect to go home hungry at all.

Then we walked just down the road and got paletas at The Hyppo -- a new, very popular gourmet popsicle joint. Paletas are Mexican popsicles, traditionally made with tons of fresh fruit and spices. They are so dang good. Last night I got "honey honeydew" (blended fresh honeydew with real honey) and Harbor got "horchata." (Probably in honor of Vampire Weekend.)

All in all, we had a blast. Had some quality time chatting in the car, scrumptious food, amazing desserts, and lots of cute moments.

He doesn't know what I'm cookin' up the rest of this week in celebration of 25 years of Harbor. So, to be continued... :)

K