My Fun Valentine's Day Date

Yesterday was Valentine's Day.  For the last couple of years, Hubs and I have forgone traditional "gift exchanging".  Sure, occasionally we give each other a little present on Mother's Day or Father's Day, and Santa always brings a little something for Mommy and Papi.  But, for the most part, we tend save the money we would have spent on a gift and go out to a nice dinner instead.  We are foodies...

Since we live so far from our relatives, and can't exactly see spending more on a sitter than what our kids would spend at a restaurant, our "date nights" usually consist of a party of 4.  Believe it or not, we LIKE it that way!

Even so, it is always nice to be able to spend a little QT without the kiddos.  We decided that instead of a fancy Valentine's Dinner, we would have a yummy Valentine's lunch.  We had been wanting to try this new restaurant that the paper and friends have been buzzing about, and this was the perfect opportunity.  After all, it was our 20th Valentine's Day together!

Let's rewind a bit...

For the last few months, I have looked like a bag lady from morning until 5pm, which is when I shower and put my PJs back on.  I'll admit, this winter weather has me in a fashion RUT!  It doesn't help that we have to be out of the house by 7:30 every morning, and once you hit your "mid-30s", lip gloss and a pony tail just doesn't cover it....ANY OF IT.

So, yesterday morning I decided that Hubs could take the kids to school while I prettified.  I was at a loss for what to wear, and that is when I remembered my clothing board on Pinterest.  The fact that it was going to go up to the 60s was a big deal!

I was inspired by this photo:

Polyvore

Here is my recreation:

I found all of the elements (the cheetah print shoes, the brown slacks, the white top, the cropped denim jacket, the wooden bracelets and the beaded necklace) right in my closet!  HOORAY for inspiration!!

I decided to pull my hair down from its perpetual pony tail and curled it a bit for volume.

I felt like a million bucks!

The drive to the restaurant was BEAUTIFUL:

We were pretty early, so we popped in to some amazing neighborhoods and drooled over their million dollar mansions!

When we finally sat down for lunch, what did we see? One of our favorite wines on the wine list!  THIS is exactly why we don't do gifts.  This wine was a gift to both of us!

This afternoon ranked in my top 2 Valentine's Days.  The weather was perfect, the food was yummy, and I had the best company!

How was your Valentine's Day?  Tell me in the comments!