The Best is Yet to Be: Weekend Snapshots

Hello friends. Happy Monday.

I'm a little under the weather today so I'm home and looking at the bright side, it's nice to have the down time on a Monday to put together an actual weekend recap. Also, thanks to the glorious weather we have going on here in Orlando, I've got the screen door open and I'm soaking up the sounds of this day -- birds chirping, the trees moving with the breeze and the sound of our wind chime ringing away. I may not be feeling well, but this sure is good for my soul.

I'm reflecting on the last few days and I'm feeling so grateful because this Valentine's Day brought us just what we needed: time. A weekend without places to be, without work to be done, without people to see. The last few months have been a good kind of busy -- the kind where you feel productive and happy and purposeful. We've both thrown ourselves into all kinds of good things to fill up our free time - volunteering, bible study, working out, working more, networking. It's been great but it's had us craving some quality time just the two of us.

We kicked off our day on Saturday with brunch at home. We slept late, made breakfast together and chatted over mimosas while we planned our day together. When breakfast was over, we climbed back in bed for more mimosas (duh) and a movie.

We never really talk about exchanging gifts for Valentine's Day. We usually decide how we want to spend our day or night and that's the end of it. One year, I made Jonathan a gift basket with all his favorite snacks and some homemade goodies. The next year, I didn't plan anything for him and he surprised me with some new earrings (which he hid in our spice cabinet) as many of my earrings had been stolen out of my suitcase on our honeymoon. We don't ever really expect something from each other and I love that. It takes the pressure off and the stress of it all. We genuinely look forward to how we decided to spend the day, not what we'll be getting or not getting.

With that being said, as we were sipping champagne enjoying our movie, the doorbell rang. I assumed it was one of our neighbors or something and Jonathan ran to get the door. I stayed in bed and when Jonathan came back, he excitedly told me I got a delivery and handed me a package. This little sneak had ordered me the new Kindle Fire. I don't think I'd even mentioned wanting a new Kindle even though mine was pretty outdated and didn't always work properly. I was totally surprised and overwhelmed by his thoughtfulness.

I had a haircut scheduled for noon, so we headed out for my appointment and ran some errands together. Later that afternoon, we went on a bike ride to Publix so we could pick up what we needed to cook dinner that night. Like I said, the weather has been gorgeous here lately -- it would've been wrong if we didn't get out and enjoy it. Ah, the photos below make my heart so happy. Also, I colored my hair this week and this is the darkest I have ever been in my whole 28 years. I'm getting used to it but woah.

We had to stop for a bit to say hello to our neighbors -- they were just asking for us to stop and visit!

We got home from our bike ride and I got right to work prepping our dessert - chocolate covered strawberries and we relaxed for a bit before starting dinner. On the menu: steak, scallops, asparagus and sweet potatoes. I wanted us to make something a little out of our comfort zone and scallops were one dish I'd never dream of attempting to make at home. I feel like they are too easy to under/over cook. We found some tips on Pinterest and tackled it together -- they came out great!

I loved our dinner at home. I had a romantic dinner with my husband while wearing yoga pants and how adorable is he with his hair and flannel deer pajama pants (not pictured)?

After dinner we snuggled up for a movie, more champagne and dessert. It was the best day. The best!

Sunday was all about bible study homework, church and running errands. We're looking to get hardwood floors and stopped at a few places for pricing and samples.