would you like some vino with your valentine's?

If you are blessed with a special someone to call your hunny, then I hope you enjoyed your Valentine's Day yesterday. For many, it could have been a unique tribute to Singles Awareness Day. John and I had the opportunity to celebrate Valentine's with a few of our loved ones. We decided on a great little place sometime last week, and decided we would splurge in honor of Valentine's. I explained the extensive itinerary for the evening to my dad, who seemed very intrigued. He politely asked if John or I would mind if my mother and him joined us. I insisted that would be perfectly fine and sure enough, earlier this week, we added Ab (my sister) to the reservation so as not to leave her out of this 'family affair'.

We arrived right on the dot at 6:30 to a quaint little restaraunt, Salud! Winery. We were greeted with imported cheeses, meats, and a glass of pinot noir. Yumm-o. Next came a delicious caprese salad that brought back wonderful memories of Firenze, Italy. There was a small kitchen in the back of the restaurant where they ferment and bottle their own wines. I am going to skip over the details and terminology of the process, because that seems to be John's specialty. Let's just say - it was neat.

The remainder of the night consisted of chicken parmiagan, pasta with zucchini and squash, fried cheesecake and a chocolate covered strawberry. Oh, and more flavorful wine pairings of course (including a chocolate orange port - a fav of john's). We each got to take home a bottle of the wine we prepared, after we labeled it with a cutom label from the event. Check out our sweet bottle! I sent the picture (our first post!) to Salud earlier this week, and they printed it onto one of the Valentine's label. What a great idea.

It was such a treat to be eating dinner with my whole family, which is a rare occasion these days. My dad is the sweetest man alive and will always be #1 - he picked up dinner for the whole table! We had the best time, and I couldn't be more thankful for their generosity. They are so understanding to the fact that John and I are soon-to-be poor newlyweds.

"The more I think, the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people." -Vincent Van Gogh

peace.love.joy
-aj