A Tale of Two Valentine's Days

Chris and I officially celebrated Valentine's Day on Sunday, but I did a little celebrating of my own last Thursday as well.  So here's my tale of two Valentine's Days...

1 - Met Life Building 2 - Joe's Pizza 3 - yummy macaroons 4 - Molly's carrot cake cupcake

If you've been following along, you know that I've seen all of the Oscar nominated Best Pictures (feel free to check out Part 1 and Part 2 of my reviews now if you haven't done so already) so I thought I'd treat myself to a showing of the Oscar nominated shorts on Valentine's Day.  I was SO glad that I did!  They were all very fun to watch.  My pick to win is Head Over Heels, but it barely edged out Paperman and Fresh Guacamole.  I wasn't too crazy about the other two - Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare" or Adam and Dog.  All were quick - roughly 20 minutes or less - and very creative.  It was a great experience!

Now...on to my real Valentine's Day fun :)

 

Chris planned a full day of fun adventures and delicious food.  We began the day by exchanging a few small gifts.  He got me some chocolates and a lovely card.  I made him a fun frame and gave him a little piggy bank to save up for future adventures together :)  I found some cute penguin stickers to put on the card so I had to snap a picture of that as well.   After we exchanged gifts, we headed to lunch at Cracker Barrel.  This is my absolute favorite chain restaurant.  I love the little shop.  I love the tasty food.  I love the quick service.  I love the affordable prices.  And there isn't one near me in the city, so thankfully there is one not too far from Albany.  Love!

1 - Cracker Barrel 2 - Canele' from Berkshire Bakery 3 - Pump Station Mac and Cheese

After lunch, we headed off to the Berkshires for a lovely day of fun together.  We drove through lots of winding and mountainous roads with gorgeous views before we ended at the Country Store.  I love these kind of little shops.  You can always find something unique.  Chris did a great job of picking out a place where I would really enjoy browsing around. 

Once we'd gathered up a handful of fun purchases, we headed off to our next stop - Furnace Brook Winery.  This place was great!  Just $5 got you six samples.  And they have some award winning wines, too!  We picked our wines and had fun tasting and comparing them.  I really liked the Johnny Mash Original American Cider and the Apple Ice Wine, a dessert wine that was SO good!  I enjoyed the "Bee My Honey" Mead and Sparkling Muscato, too.  The only one I tried that I didn't really like was my red selection - Shiraz Special Reserve.  Wine has to have some sweetness for me to enjoy it.  So far, I haven't found any reds meet that requirement.  Chris really liked the Riesling he tried and of course, the Apple Ice Wine. 

1 - wine tasting 2 - freezing outside winery 3 - Apple Ice Wine 4 - gorgeous sunset

After the wine tasting, we headed over to the Berkshire Bakery before making the trip back to Albany.  The bakery had sold out of most everything by the time we arrived, but we both really liked the canele' we tried there.  I'd never had a canele' before, but the sign indicated it was a French confection with a custardy interior.  It was delicious!  On the way back to Albany for dinner, we saw the most gorgeous sunset which was a perfect way to end our fabulous day!   We had dinner at one of my favorite Albany restaurants - the Albany Pump Station.  I tried a new dish, the Lobster and Shrimp Mac and Cheese - SO good!! 

I honestly couldn't have asked for a better day.  We had such a wonderful time together.  Being in a long distance relationship is very difficult, but I know Chris worked really hard to make sure our Valentine's Day was great.  And he did a fabulous job because I enjoyed every minute!!
 
Andrea :)