Valentine's Day Challenge - Day 3 - V-Day Outfits

Today, we're sharing Valentine's Day outfits! Well, I haven't given much thought as to what I'll actually wear on Valentine's Day this year and I don't know that I have any photos of myself in my Valentine's Day outfits from the past few years. Guess what that meant?!? I had an excuse to put together a few more polyvore sets!

The first look I put together is for a classy night out with your guy.  It's for those who love Valentine's Day, but don't necessarily want to be all "in your face" with the over-the-top pink and red.  The look is anchored by black, but is centered around the fun heart-printed blouse and bright red jacket for a dramatic, but still classy look.

I put the next look together with my kids in mind.  My Little Guy would absolutely adore all of these accessories. He's got a great attention for detail and he always notices when I'm wearing fun jewelry or funky socks.  It's also something that you could wear while running errands or hitting the park with the kids!

The final look that I put together is for the more faint of heart.  I didn't use any crazy heart prints or cover you in pink from head to toe.  Just a splash of pink with the cute gingham shirt and I kept the rest of the look simple with gold and tan accessories and a fabulous pair of booties to give the look a bit of kick. ;)

Which look is your favorite?  Which one could you see yourself rocking on the 14th? ;)  If you want to see some other bloggers' favorite Valentine's Day outfits, then check in here!

And I'm linking up today with the lovely ladies behind Monday Mingle!

Valentine's Day Challenge - Day 2 - Worst Date Ever

Day 2 of the Challenge asks us to talk about our worst date ever.  For some, talking about this might be traumatic and horrifying, but for me, it's just another funny story in our life.  See, here's the thing. The Hubs and I have noticed that life often throws us curveballs.  Like if we're leaving for vacation, it is inevitable that we will forget something important.  Or if we're in a rush to get somewhere, it is inevitable that one of the kids will potty and we have to stop to change a diaper.  Or if I'm planning to fix something specific specific for dinner or to bring to some big church function, it is inevitable that I'll forget to buy one of the ingredients and we're stuck. So, basically, we've learned to roll with the punches and make the best of what we're handed.

Anyways, back to the story at hand.  

This story takes us back to Valentine's Day, 2004, our second Valentine's Day together.  On our first V-day together, we had started a tradition of cooking dinner for each other. I cooked our first year, so this time it was his turn to cook for me!  He decided to make pepper crusted tuna and some sort of Indian-inspired side dish. Sounds delicious, right?? 

Well, he decided to cook at my apartment because I lived by myself and he had a roommate.  And really, no roommate wants to be around for some other guy's romantic Valentine's Day!  The Hubs basically locked me in my room and told me to get ready for dinner while he cooked.  About an hour or so later, I had finished my primping and was relaxing with a book when I heard the Hubs break into a fit of coughing and wheezing.  I rushed into the kitchen to make sure everything was ok, only to be confronted by a cloud of peppery smoke.  And of course, I joined his little coughing club. 

It was our first time ever experimenting with Indian food.  Who knew that when you add whatever peppery ingredient that particular recipe called for and then cook the fish, that it would result in inhaling something that resembles pepperspray if you dared take a breath of the fumes?!?  Yeah, okay, I realize that's a really long sentence, but I just don't have it in me to compromise my artistic integrity and make it shorter. ;)  The peppery fumes seriously infiltrated every corner of my tiny apartment.  With tears streaming down our faces and between coughing fits, we opened all of the windows and the front door, to let in some air.

Finally, after a few minutes, the air was breathable again and the Hubs finished up cooking the dinner.  Let me say, I was skeptical about this meal! But being the good girlfriend that I was, I was completely prepared to enjoy the dinner that he had made.  He lit a few candles and we settled down to enjoy dinner.  We both looked at this meal, hesitant to be the one to take the first bite. 

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Being the tough guy, he went first.  He took a bite and his eyes watered.  "Oh", that's spicy!", he said.  I'm not crazy about really spicy foods, but I went for it.  I took a bite and forced myself to swallow.  It was so spicy that it was pretty much uneatable.  We just kind of looked at each other.  I felt so badly for him. He had put so much time and effort into this meal and we couldn't even eat it!

After a few seconds, we started laughing.  And we couldn't stop. 

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We decided to run out to Chili's and get some takeout and then swing by Blockbuster and get a movie.  We ended up cuddling on the couch, eating Chili's takeout and enjoying some chick flick, the name of which escapes me at the moment. 

And that would be my worst date ever.  Not because it ended badly... it actually ended pretty nicely.  It's the worst date ever, just because of how it could have ended!

So, what about you?  Do you have a "worst date ever" horror story?  I want to hear it!! And if you really want to be horrified, check out the other girls terrible date stories here! 

Valentine's Day Challenge - Day 1 - Best Date Ever

A few weeks ago, I got wind of this really fun Valentine's Day Blogging Challenge.  I love to talk about the things I love, so I thought "Why not join in?!?" Then I promptly forgot who it was that was hosting the challenge and spent the subsequent days and weeks scouring the net for the right Valentine's Day Linkup.  Do you know how many V-day link ups there are out there right now?? A lot!!  Yesterday, I stumbled across Brunch with Amber and gasped with delight! She's one of the hosts, along Neely and Casey!! Yay!! So, I decided to join in the fun. =)  I'm actually a day behind, but I'm hoping to catch up so that I can post a story for every prompt!

Day 1 - Best Date Ever

I have so many absolutely perfect and fun best dates because every single date (with the exception of my next story) really could be categorized as a best date ever.  Cue eye roll and sappy little sigh.  What can I say? I love him that much and we really do have fun whereever we go and whatever we do! 

But my story today takes us back before we ever had kids and before we were married.  In fact, I'm taking us back to before we were even thinking about marriage.  Wayyyy back to the ancient time of 2002.  "Say what??? 2002??" At that time, I lived in an incredibly trashy apartment complex. Seriously. I'm pretty sure there were drug deals done on a daily basis in this place.  And the Hubs still lived with his parents.  Don't hate! He was still in college and saving money for dates with me. ;) 

Don't we look like babies??

Usually our dates consisted of us hanging out at the pool, maybe seeing a movie.  We just didn't "go out" all that often.  But on this occasion, the Hubs arranged everything.  He'd heard about a fantastic restaurant in Mobile, and that it was so good it was most definitely worth the 45 minute drive.  This place was called Carrabba's.  What?? Are you laughing because we had never heard of a restaurant that is basically in like every city the world now?  At the time, we didn't have one in our city and had no idea what it was, except that it was an Italian restaurant.  We love and adore Italian food.

So, off to Mobile we went.  The drive over was fun and filled with laughter and happiness.  We had to wait a good hour or so for seats, but that didn't bring us down. We were head over heels in love and it was in the beginning of our relationship, so a little wait only meant more time to bask in each other's loveliness.  (Okay, in case you're wondering, I'm laughing at my own ridiculous sappyness right now.)  When we were finally seated and ordered our food, we were not the least bit disappointed.  The pollo rosa maria that the Hubs ordered and the chicken marsala that I ordered were absolutely heavenly. To this day, Carrabba's is hands-down our most favorite restaurant.  We even have one just a few minutes away from us and it's the restaurant the Hubs took me to on the night he proposed.  It's that good!

After dinner, we got into the car and proceeded home.  We were a little bit drowsy from all the food we had eaten and were enjoying a relatively quiet drive home.  The Hubs was listening to one thing or another on the radio and I drifted off to sleep on his shoulder.  Yep, we were that kind of couple with a bench seat that sat right next to each other whenever we went anywhere. =)  There I was happily dreaming of a future with this amazing guy, when I was abruptly awakened by the sound of sirens and flashing lights.  Yeah, the Hubs was driving just a tad too fast and ended up getting a ticket.

Did that ruin our night? No way!! We laughed about it and finished the drive home, only a little bit slower. =)

Why is that my "best date ever?", you might ask.  Well, this was one of those dates where I wasn't consulted at all.  It was 100% planned by the Hubs and I loved every minute of it.  Things didn't go perfectly, but we had fun with it. So, in my book, it was the best date ever.  =)


And now I want to hear your stories!  What was your best date ever?