Valentine's Day with my Husband

Josh and I had a lovely first {as a married couple} valentines day together. The intrigue of cooking a lobster hit us and we were inspired to stay home and create a decadent meal on our own. Since it was our first valentines day since getting married, I wanted to add some little touches to really make the day special. 

It's the little things

{place settings}

I had been looking for my heart shaped cookie cutter throughout the week without success. When I got home Wednesday evening, Josh surprised me with a brand new one {among some other World Market surprises!}.

I couldn't resist sending some sweet love off to work with Josh and to my co-workers, so I began my valentine's day baking homemade cookies.  

When you start your day with freshly baked {from scratch!} cookies, no one can get you down. Not even Atlanta traffic. 

Caramel Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies

{this Zesty Cook recipe}

Though the caramel didn't melt as I had expected, these cookies were delicious! A great balance of sweet and salty, and being that they were homemade from scratch, they were ooey gooey soft and chewy. 

Josh sent me this beautiful orchid to enjoy at work. {had to brag}

I stole a play from my mom's playbook and put a sweet note on our door for Josh to see when he got home. I'd be lying if I told you it wasn't still there, can you really remind someone too often that you love them? 

Josh and I share in an intense love for appetizers. To keep the fuss factor low I made world's easiest app.

Mini Chicken and Waffles

{Frozen Chicken Nuggets, Frozen Mini Waffles, Maple Syrup}

 A fun bite full of comforting flavors, we added a dash of hot sauce to some for an added kick. 

The Main Course

Josh picked up two of these chunky little buddies for us.

I spy a hungry and curious little puppy!

We topped the lobsters with a parsley, lemon, garlic, panko mixture.

Garlic and Herb Roasted Lobster

{this Tyler Florence recipe}

This was our first time eating lobster from its shell {plus obviously our first time cooking it too!} and we loved it! The herb crust was delicious and we went crazy for the claw meat. 

Side: Baked Lemon Angel Hair Pasta

{this Pioneer Woman recipe}

Simple, fresh and luscious {especially topped with lobster as leftovers the next day}

Side: Asparagus Gratin

{this Apron Appeal recipe}

I figured it would be the healthy thing to do to add a green to our plates, then I remembered it was a special occasion so I topped it in a homemade cheese sauce and baked it off. 

Side: Burgundy Mushrooms

{this Pioneer Woman recipe}

I successfully cut this recipe down by 75% and made it in the crock pot. Be gone 9 hours of stove top cooking and a lifetime quantity of mushrooms. If you like the taste of wine- you will love these juicy mushrooms! {I did!}

Dinner Rolls: Buttered Rosemary Rolls

{this Pioneer Woman recipe}

I couldn't resist the Sister Schubert frozen Parker rolls so I improvised and successfully made the rosemary cast iron roll recipe work. Incredibly irresistible! 

We gave a healthy toast to love, friendship, faith and marriage. 

Our dinner ended with a slice of strawberry cake with strawberry cream cheese icing. All homemade. All from scratch. With fresh strawberries and a heaping tablespoon of fear {my first cake!}.

Simply Delicious Strawberry Cake

{this Bobby Deen/Paula Deen recipe}

We fell in love all over again with our first bite of this cake. It is so moist, full and fresh, like a face dive into a ripe strawberry patch.

We spent the rest of the evening sipping champagne and dancing to Van Morrison in our dining room. {true story}

Married life, its proving to be a completely beautiful thing. 

I love you Josh, thank you! 

If you make any of these recipes, I would love to know!