A Valentine’s Day Story

I wanted to share a couple of Valentine’s Day stories with you guys…

Amanda Uprichard Silk Dress // Valentino Pumps (under $100 dupe here) // Loren Hope Earrings

Two years ago I was still a senior in college, my boyfriend and I were doing a year of long distance. I had booked a flight from Boston home to Chicago so we could celebrate our first Valentine’s Day together, and made a reservation at a restaurant I was super excited to try. I’m a big fan of reading menus online before I eat out (okay, actually I always do this), and I had already planned out everything I was going to order. I thought about the risotto of my dreams all week as I sat in class; I mean, yeah, I was totally pumped to see him, but oh man was I excited about this dinner.

So, I was essentially heartbroken when we got all dressed up and were seated, realizing the restaurant was offering a very limited selection prix fixe menu, with of course contained none of the entrees and apps I had been drooling over in anticipation, and it was also like… reaaaaally expensive. And I felt pretty bad for choosing the place, knowing he would would be treating, and then surprise springing this pricey dinner on him. I had no idea at the time, but turns out a ton of restaurants in Chicago will forgo their normal menu in lieu of something special on Valentine’s Day. The dinner was kind of average, and we were served sorbet for the dessert course— Not a bite of chocolate (it was anarchy).

That said, it still ended up being a perfect night. Our relationship was fairly new at this time, and we were living in different states; our time together was limited, so no matter what happened, being able to just enjoy each other’s company was more than enough. Dinner may have been a bust, but we went back to his apartment, got into sweatpants to watch a movie, enjoying our last 12 hours together before I had to catch a flight back to Boston. I don’t miss those times, but ya know, I remember being really really happy that night. 

The following year, we decided that we would stay in and cook a special dinner for ourselves. We learned a harsh lesson about the realities of eating out on holidays in Chicago, and we wanted to do something different and mix things up. We found this amazing sounding 3 course, lobster dinner for two on Buzzfeed. It starts out with a 3 cheese garlic bread, followed by lemony garlic-y baked lobster tails, and a molten lava brownie for the grand finale. And lots of champagne along the way. We were sold. The problem, is that the two of us can be really dumb together sometimes, so we just totally failed to do any sort of preparation, literally didn’t do any shopping beforehand, so it’s Valentine’s Day at 7 pm and we’re like… K, we should prob get going then. 

We run over to Whole Foods, and they don’t have any lobster tails. Walk over to the Jewel and they don’t have any either. At this point it’s past 8, we’re hangry, and it seems like all hope is lost, and our Valentine’s Day is destined to be ruined (what a difference a year can make lol— Suddenly you’re just two people who know each other really well and feel completely comfortable yelling at each other in a grocery store on Valentine’s Day because you’re hungry AF and just want to find some f***ing lobster tails!!)

We push through our hungry despair and soldier on to a third grocery store, where thank the universe, they have the lobster tails. We went home, popped open some bubbly, blasted some music, got going on our elaborate dinner, and lo and behold, it ended up being such a fun and special night. I’ve never really been a fan of exchanging gifts for this holiday, but I’m a huge sap for letters or written notes; my boyfriend and I have been finding each other cute and funny cards for each other over the last few years, and exchanging them on holidays and birthdays is always a highlight. Literally turns my heart to a pile of mush reading his to me; better than any present I could ever hope for!

Oh— And the meal was delicious! Seriously. If you love to cook and are looking for a more low key idea for V-Day I highly recommend it! Here’s the link again 🙂

Sooooo, we don’t exactly have the best luck when it comes to Valentine’s Day, but at the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter. The day is about celebrating love! Well, and eating chocolate. All I need is my babe (ok and also definitely a little bubbly) to be happy 🙂

I hope that whatever you have planned this year, whatever you wear, whomever you spend it with, that your day is filled with all of the heart eye emojis and you feel all of the love around you! Celebrate your friends, your family, your bae, celebrate YOU!