romance

Lately I’ve been thinking about what true love is. I think it’s less about the expectations of romance that Chick Flicks have ingrained in our brains. Sure those huge productions we see in the movies would be nice, but is it reality? Sometimes I think gestures of love are more romantic when they are the little things that we do for each other.

THIS is true love:

Michael hooked up my lamp on my side of the bed to a separate powerstrip so that I don’t have to get my lazy butt out of bed to turn off the light at night.

How awesome is that? No, it’s not rose petals on the bed or chocolate on the pillows but it made me happy! I was so excited when I saw it. And since he’s been home unemployed he’s been taking care of a lot of the house stuff. He surprises me with my laundry being done (which is awesome) and cleaning the kitchen (even better). True love!

You know what else is true love? The love that you get from animals.

Look at that love! Fat Kitty loves his momma more than anything. He sits in the front window waiting for me and when I pull into the driveway I can see from car that his ears perk up. He gets so excited to see me when I get home! He always knows when I need kitty cuddles. He gives me unconditional love all the time.

This year Michael and I actually celebrated Valentine’s Day. He woke me up Tuesday morning with pancakes for breakfast! It was a pretty nice surprise and the pancakes were delicious!

I also had a surprise card and a big chocolate bar (I did not have it for breakfast, don’t worry).

It was such a nice, sweet surprise from Michael. He did a good job this year. After work we got dolled up and went out to dinner at Hoda. It’s a Lebanese restaurant on SE Belmont that I’ve loved for years. After we decided to go to Hoda a few days ago, I’ve been dreaming of their hummus! I could not wait.

And it was all I had hoped it would be! The hummus came out with the piping hot bread fresh from the oven which I definitely ate too much of. I enjoyed one glass of Pinot Gris with dinner. Michael had an IPA, but I’m not sure what kind.

For dinner I ordered the lamb kebob sandwich. It was sort of like a gyro but a little bit different. It had veggies and a sauce inside the wrap and chunks of lamb instead of strips like a traditional gyro. It came with a side salad and a small dish of more hummus (which I promptly slathered in my sandwich. I liked it a lot and restrained myself–I only ate half of the sandwich and the salad. I saved the other half for leftovers. I was pleasantly full but not bursting, which was good.

It was a lot of food. Michael ordered the lamb and onion kebabs with Basmati rice. I love their rice–it’s mild and buttery and absolutely delicious.

The serving sizes are pretty big, so there’s always leftovers. The service has always been great at Hoda too. It’s a good restaurant to go to when you’re craving Mediterranean food. It was such a nice night!

QUESTION: What’s “true love” for you?

I had a great weekend. It was a mixture of fun things and low-key laziness. Friday I biked home from work and Michael and I got a quick bite to eat before see Apollo 18. It was a good movie, scary and nothing like what I was expecting to see. It’s a shame the movie probably won’t make a lot of movie (the theatre was mostly empty) because it’s worth a see! Saturday we got in a scenic hike in The Gorge.

After our hike we got cleaned up and drove out to Hillsboro for Michael’s friends’ wedding.

The wedding was at McMenemin’s Cornelius Pass Barn at Imbrie Hall. It was a beautiful day for a wedding, warm and sunny.

The wedding was outside the barn. I loved the setting! It was rustic, with trees all around, bark on the ground and candlelight everywhere. It was gorgeous–and the colors were ones I always thought about having for my wedding someday. I love sunflowers and the red flowers.

We wandered around the wedding before it started, enjoying a glass of wine and beer and then sat down for the ceremony.

I was wearing my new dress, new shoes and new necklace. I love my new dress!

The wedding started a bit later. Her dress was gorgeous!

The ceremony was short and sweet. They looked adorable up there! So in love. After the ceremony was over, it was cocktail hour while the attendants moved the chairs and tables outside for dinner.

During cocktail hour there was a photo booth! With props! It was so much fun. The photo booth took four photos and duplicated them so we could take some home. The other set was glued into a scrapbook for the couple and we got to sign the book with a message. It was such a fun idea. I loved it!

We had some fun with the photo booth. 😉 I need a pair of these glasses for my day to day life.

After cocktail hour we all sat at our prospective tables to get ready for dinner. It was buffet and the food was exceptional for a buffet. Michael and I both agreed that it was all delicious. McMenemin’s food is often mediocre or at best, average. I’m dying to know if they used a separate caterer or if McMenemin’s has just gotten better.

It was finally our table’s turn to go through the buffet line. I have to admit, I was pretty hungry! I hadn’t eaten much that day and was ready for yummy food!

Caesar salad, vegetarian lasagna, raw veggies with some dip, fresh fruit, a slice of roast, one roll and a few raviolis. Everything tasted so good! And not just because I was hungry from our hike.

I had a few glasses of McMenamin’s white wine during the evening. It was a nice, crisp drink on a hot summer night.

The couple made the rounds chatting and Michael got to catch up a bit with the groom.

The whole wedding was just beautiful. The colors, the location, the speeches everyone made were heartfelt and lovely. You could really tell that they are a happy, in love couple. It was so sweet. I was glad we could be included in their big day.

There were the speeches and then the cake cutting. The cake was adorable. It was rustic and made to look like the nature theme the rest of the decorations were like.