I have always loved Valentine’s Day – regardless of whether I was single or dating or married. Really, what’s not to love? Copious amounts of chocolate, pink, flowers, and hearts. I guess you could get all cynical and “anti-Hallmark” about it, but for me it’s an excuse to bake pink frosted cookies, cut out red and pink hearts to make cards, and to do something fun with friends and loved ones. This year was no different for me – I made cards for friends and family, made heart sugar cookies, and cooked up a special meal for James and me on Saturday night.

Then on Monday, James brought me red roses at work and took me out for a fabulous meal at Meson Sabika. In our married years, James and I have had a track record of good intentioned Valentine plans run amuck – we’ve gotten the flu, we’ve had a car break down on the way out to eat, and I’ve had to work until late. But this year, our plans went off without a hitch and James may have just picked the best restaurant in Chicagoland!

This is the five-course meal we each enjoyed (it’s a Spanish tapas restaurant, so thankfully each course was tapas-sized):

Mixtos de la casa- An assortment of toast points topped with Jamon Serrano and cheese, smoked salmon, roasted veal with sun dried tomato and Alaskan King crab mean with avocado relish

Tapas Frias Populares – Robust garlic potato salad, sautéed vegetables, and tuna filled cannelloni

Mixto de Calientes – Chicken tenderloin brochettes, dates wrapped in bacon, and grilled tiger shrimp

Mar y Montana – Combination of beef tenderloin medallions served with Vega Sindoa wine and lobster tail in a lemon butter sauce served with mashed potato and sautéed asparagus

Pasteles – White chocolate pistachio mousse layered with cherry custard and chocolate cake served with raspberry sauce.

White cake layered with French vanilla buttercream and raspberry marmalade served with chocolate sauce

James and I do not go out to fancy restaurants often, so this was a major treat for us! Meson Sebika is in a large, old mansion and each room is set up a little differently. It is filled with fantastic crystal chandeliers and beautiful wood paneling. Cheers to my Valentine lover for finding such a great place!

Hope you all feel loved this week and every week!

Meson Sebika:

Snowpocalpyse 2011

Apparently we just survived the third worse blizzard in Chicago’s history this week. In 24 hours, we accumulated around 20 inches of snow, thunder and lightening, frigid temps, and massive wind gusts.

Fortunately, Wheaton College closed down at 3:00pm on Tuesday and was closed all day Wednesday. So we got to stay bundled up and warm in our home, despite the fact that we lost power for 12 hours overnight. Thank goodness for our fireplace! James has co-workers that have been working at Wheaton for over 20 years, and they said they’ve never had a snow day before. We were happy to catch one in our first year here!

After we lost our power on Tuesday night, we played checkers and drank cocoa by the fire for hours. There is something wonderful about having to live simply – no tv, internet, electricity, etc. Then we read by candlelight before we drifted off to sleep. Of course, it’s only romantic for a day and then I’d miss our modern amenities. But what a great reminder that simple pleasures can be so fulfilling.

Now we’re back to our regularly scheduled winter of 20 degrees and occasional snowfall. And I’m proud to say that I’ve made it halfway through our first winter in Chicagoland. Now I’ve just got to hold on a few more weeks until I’m heading south for a weekend getaway…

Everyone I talked to spent 3-4 hours shoveling their driveways. My husband managed to knock out the job in less than 2 hours!

Here is a view of our back patio, which is still a massive blanket of snow.

And a few shots on campus: