Valentine's Day

Nathan and I realized yesterday that we've been together for eight Valentine's Days.

That is a long time.

We usually don't do much - if anything - for Valentine's Day. Probably because, looking back, on most Valentine's Days in recent history one or both of us has had a rehearsal or a gig or a class or... you get the idea.

Yesterday, despite the fact that I've been nursing a bad cold for a few days now, I thought I should do something to make the day fun. Our last Valentine's Day before Baby arrives!

When I asked Nathan on Monday night what he'd like for dinner the next day, he requested spaghetti. Specifically, his mom's spaghetti sauce recipe. So spaghetti it was! His with meat, mine without. Served with asiago cheese bread.

I found a pack of six heart-shaped votives at Michael's for $1.90, so those graced the table, around a dish of chocolates I got for Nathan.

And I made a whimsical garland of paper hearts to hang from the chandelier.

{Hey, I'm about to be a mom. Doesn't that give me license to do unlimited construction paper crafts?}

For dessert, there was chocolate cake (a recipe of my Grandma's), with some of the batter made into heart-shaped cupcakes.

{Note to self: When using that heart-shaped cupcake tin, under-fill it with batter, because if they rise above the rim of the pan they may not resemble hearts quite so much. Whoops.}

Served with vanilla ice cream.

While I was making dinner and setting the table, I kind of figured that Nathan wouldn't have remembered that it was Valentine's Day, and that the whole thing could be a surprise for him.

And he was surprised...

{Hey, I know it was only spaghetti, but our schedules don't exactly allow the two of us to sit down to a homemade candlelit dinner together all that often}

...but then, I was surprised too, when he walked in the door with these:

I do love that Valentine of mine.