Thursday, February 16

Cozy Valentine's Day

Jon and I celebrated earlier (last weekend in fact) since he's still on 100% travel for work. The only upside to all of this business travel is free upgrades, and using his points to pay for our summer getaways.

We went to Daniel's Broiler for some good eats. Jon had the filet mignon, and I opted for the lobster tail (one of the few shellfish I can eat!). Afterwards we did a staycation at W Seattle hotel, and enjoyed a nice breakfast the next day.

I surprised Jon with a second Valentine's Day dinner to our classic and favorite Italian restaurant, Volterra. Nestled in the heart of the Ballard neighborhood they offer our favorite dish- wild boar in a gorgonzola cream sauce. We were in luck that night because the sommelier was on site that evening. So I was finally able to ask an expert what a good pairing would be. I normally sample one of their delicious cocktails or drink scotch with Jon. He recommended the '08 Avignonesi Rosso Toscana which was delicious (label below).


Next time I'll have practice delayed gratification and take a photo of the dish before I devour it! Anyway if you're looking for an excellent red wine to pair with boar or a similar meal I recommend this red, by far one of my favorites.

Contrary to most women for Valentine's Day I did not wear pink, red, or purple. This year the weather was rather chilly and I really wanted to wear pants. Jon likes me in a dress so I opted for tights instead. I have a really bad habit of buying a dress and then wearing it once or twice. My new year's resolution was to try to wear one of my many pretty dresses at least twice a year! Below is what I came up with!


I'm reminded of Bethenny Frankel saying, "Use what you have" on Bethenny Ever After, every time I rewear something in my closet.

Dress: Thread Social  (Gilt)
Purse: Kate Spade (Gilt)
Tights: Betsy Johnson (Nordstrom Rack)
Shoes: Joan & David (Nordstrom)
Scarf: Cashmere (Nordstrom)
Blazer: Gibson Blazer (Nordstrom)

I bought the dress a year ago because I thought it was super cute. The last time I wore it was to a ballet last winter. It was the perfect splash of personality to a nice formal dinner. I'll have to make a mental note to post more rewear/reuse clothing items as the year goes on!