Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! I hope it was dangerously romantic! It’s 8:15 in my house. I’m in bed… David is passed out next to me, Shaya is in the middle watching Monster’s and Aliens, and I’m pounding away on my laptop writing this blog. Quite the lover’s celebration, huh? Actually, I’m not writing to complain, I had a wonderfully sensual Valentine’s weekend, which started Saturday morning and ended Sunday night!
Today was more like what time am I driving who where, and how many places can I be in one day! We’re so tired that we are happily calling it an early night. I will admit that we hit the early bird special with our two youngest before the lover’s crowd rolled in. David and I giggled to each other as we read the table topper “Prime Rib special for 2, lovers only.” So did the waiter when he took our simple order and 2 nuggets and fries for the kids. I hate a set menu anyway, although I do like to guess the length of time couples have been together by their displays of affection, or lack thereof!
Today David and I made 3 trips to different schools, went grocery shopping, worked out, volunteered for the 3rd grade Valentine’s Day party, carpooled 6 kids to their volley ball game, lost one iphone, put out one small tantrum during dinner, cleaned the garage my dogs destroyed and watched a kids flick for the 37th time in bed at 8pm on the most romantic day of the year. But, the beauty of today is that we did it together, we did it in love, and we are able to laugh at the reality of our lives.
That being said, let me share my weekend with you that was pure fantasy…
We decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day all weekend long. Sat morning we took our coffee to go and drove into town, while the kids slept in, to shop at our favorite fish market and fresh produce store. We bought all our favorite ingredients to make the perfect meal; bruchetta, cucumber avocado endive boats, butter lettuce salad with French shallot mustard dressing, grilled asparagus, cheese and baguettes, heart shaped chocolate cheesecake, fresh berries… Are you hungry yet? David would prepare his famous Branzino; I would do all the appetizers and make a homemade penne puntanesca. I bought all my favorite flowers, yellow orange roses and white hydrangeas.
It was almost 80 degrees this weekend; we took full advantage of the wanabee summer day. We heated the pool and set up the backyard like a European hotel pool. I dressed our cabana table with many of my favorite Italian pieces for a backyard feast. My favorite! We invited a few couples over to share the experience. My intimate romantic dinner for 6 soon became dinner for 12 and turned into a stay-cation at Château Charvet. All our kids went to one of my girlfriend’s houses to enjoy their own action-packed weekend with their kids and all the adults came to ours. We quickly went from Family Ville to a romantic rendezvous. All it took was a few hours to set the mood, the right ingredients and of course, great company. By the time the sun went down, the wine was flowing, the Jacuzzi was bubbling and not a candle was unlit in our home.
We woke up late Sunday morning, walked to the beach with coffee and then enjoyed a stroll to one of my favorite terrace restaurants. I totally believe in setting the mood for romance at home, and I know I never need to leave to experience heaven. But having a house full of friends to experience our vibe and share it was so special. I think I enjoyed this weekend more than I have enjoyed many hotel getaways. It’s important to remember how far intent and creativity can take you… Passion and love can fill in the blanks. This weekend there was an abundance of everything, and I loved every moment of it!
