Reflections on our first Valentine’s Day as Mr. & Mrs.
My first Valentine’s Day as a wife was…
A blessing. I sang in church again, and it was a different atmosphere than the usual full-band feel; we just had vocals, guitar and violin. Definitely a nice change. Our voices blended really well, and I felt like people were receptive of the time of worship. Also, our pastor sang a song he had written which was really moving.
A test of patience. We went to a new (to us) place for lunch, called Pacific Crepes.* It would have been lovely except for a few minor things — including a long, thick hair in my first bite of food (um, EWW much?), and the fact that they brought me a salad I didn’t order, and Joe wanted me to try to eat it even though lettuce makes my throat itch and feel like it’s closing up. Fortunately, they only had one type of salad dressing, which was honey mustard; so, since I’m allergic to mustard, I politely declined to eat the salad I didn’t even order.
Sweetly romantic. After lunch, we strolled around downtown Santa Barbara, stopping by the historical courthouse, checking out the incredible view from its tower, then walking through the Sunken Gardens (which, as Joe pointed out, were more like the Sunken Lawn, since there were no flowers blooming, but it was still really pretty!).
Productive. We stopped by the Verizon store to find out what was up with my phone (it’s been turning itself off randomly, at least 5-6 times a day, even with a full charge). The lady there just gave me a brand new phone of the same make/model, and I got all my numbers transferred over, but lost my texts, photos, and ringtones. Bummer, but no biggie. In a few months, I’m switching to the Droid, anyway.
Tasty. After Verizon, we went to Yogurt Land, because Joe knows that the way to my heart is with a heaping cup of half-plain, half-pomegranate frozen yogurt with chocolate chips and sprinkles. Mmm…
A gorgeous day. During all of our walks around town, my favorite thing of all was the absolutely perfect weather. It felt so good to not be bundled up, to have the sun on my face, and to be able to wander around with my husband — no time constraints, no shivering, no rain.
A chance to relax and “do our own thing.” When we got home, Joe said he had plans for later which would include dinner and “something else,” so we decided to chill for a bit — which, for Joe, meant playing his shoot-em-up game, and for me, meant working on Cari’s wedding jewelry while watching Gilmore Girls on my laptop.
Passionate. I received a surprise delivery while I was beading: a gorgeous bouquet of flowers in pink and purple! So I interruped Joe’s game to thank him, and thank him I did. ‘Nuff said.
Entertaining (and themed!) Joe went out after awhile to pick up something simple for dinner, and when he presented it, I was pleased to see another crepe-like meal (hence, “themed”) — Blintzes!
(source: Wikipedia)
So, while we ate our delicious cheese blintzes, Joe put on the movie “27 Dresses”…and actually watched it with me! (Yes, my friends, that was a FIRST. A sweet, sacrificial first.)
A little bit tense. Something happened in the middle of the movie that led to a serious discussion/argument. Great way to end our first Valentine’s Day, right? But we resolved it, and we fell asleep spooning. And THUS…
I declare it a wonderful, memorable first married Valentine’s Day.
How was yours?
*****
*So, even though this post isn’t solely about Pacific Crepes, I’m counting it as documentation of my third of ten new restaurants to try, for my 101 in 1001 list. Oh, AND it also counts for #69, because we visited two touristy places. Woohoo!
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And in other love-related news: My long-time friend Emily is getting married soon, and she needs your help! Emily and her fiance David have entered Crate and Barrel’s “Ultimate Wedding Contest”, and the grand prize winner will be treated to the wedding of their dreams. The contest is based on couples’ love stories, and Emily and David’s is seriously adorable.
All the need are lots and lots of votes, in order to become one of 50 finalists — and I believe in you, blogosphere! Let’s spread some more love around, eh? Emily says, “It would be so amazing, after putting off our engagement and stressing about our wedding plans and trying to make the best financial choices we can, to let go of all the stress, relax and treat all of our friends and family to a great day!”
So, if you have a minute to spare, would you check out their story and put in a little vote? Click here! (FYI, it will ask you to sign up with your email and a password, but you shouldn’t receive ANY spam. I haven’t, anyway!)
Thanks, friends!
Your Valentine’s Day sounds wonderful!
My man and I also had a heated “discussion” that ended the night on a rather sour note. I’m sorry you did too, but it helps to know that I wasn’t alone.
‘Nuff was said just before you said, “‘Nuff said.”
And what in 27 Dresses could’ve caused a serious discussion/argument?
It wasn’t anything about the movie in particular; it was just something that happened WHILE we were watching it. A bit of a communication malfunction, kind of.
Glad the day ended well.
It sounds like a great valentine’s day, communication malfunction and all! Yay for married life!
Oh! Mid-movie argument?? Lame! lol Nothing like a chance to flex your communication muscles, hey? Oh marriage… =) Hope the rest of the movie was good, the rest of your Valentine’s Day sounds wonderful!
It sounds like a great day — all except for that long thick hair in your food! I am still thinking about it and it’s making me feel nauseous. I’m going to go brush my teeth.
I’ve been to that bell tower in Santa Barbara. And I’ve got to admit, I kind of fell in love with that town. A little bit university. A little bit shishi. A little bit beachy. It was such an eclectic mix. Really, I loved my few days I spent there.
Our Valentine’s Day was very quiet. Though, we did make a pretty damn good dinner at home.
Re: Yogurtland: self-serve fro-yo, mmmm! Have you tried Yo Yum Yum by Zodo’s?
Re: Hair in the food: grrrrroooosssss!!! It would’ve taken everything I had not to retch, myself. *shudder*
As for dinner: so that’s where you guys were. We missed you. The Haxen was beyond divine. You’ll have to join us when she does it again in October for Oktoberfest. Or in a few years, once the novelty of Valentine’s Day wears off and you decide that since you eat dinner alone together every day anyway, it might be fun to spend Valentine’s Day with other couples
p.s. the two commenters above me (Ally and Nilsa) are tripping me out with their near-identical icons!!
You are fantastic! Thank you for sharing the love! And mid-movie arguments are just a warm up for post-movie make ups
I love that you’ll be able to remember stuff like this since you’re documenting it so well.
“Yogurt Land” cracks me up at how close it is to “Yogurt Island” which we have out here.
And yay! I finally voted for you, Emily! Love your photo! Your hair looks so model-esque blowing in the wind and all.
Oh my gosh I thought that was about ME and my David at first. Because we’re totally in a wedding contest too and right now we’re one in seven in the finals to be in with a shot of actually being able to go on a honeymoon (which we cannot afford otherwise!) Sorry for the shameless self promotion but TOO coincidental another Emily and David are in a wedding contest!!
I will go vote only because I know firsthand how much votes mean in something like this 
Oh, that’s so funny! I had forgotten that your hubs-to-be was David, too. This Emily is one I’ve known since I was about 15. Thanks for voting!
Hi other Emily and David!
Can we vote for your honeymoon? I’d be happy to!
The lettuce=itchy throat thing — most fruits make that happen to me. Apples in particular make my throat close up quicker than a flash.
Wait, haven’t we talked about this before? I think we have. Anyway.
Your Valentine’s Day sounds like a lot of fun. Not sappy-sweet all through, but a fun mix of everything.
Haha, yes! We have talked about this before. I think it’s how I found your blog in the first place, or something. But still — allergies suck, right?!
my v-day was awesome.
i asked him not to do anything for me.
and he complied.
win.