Our Valentine's

If you walk into any store around this time of year (really any time after New Year's Day), you will no doubt find everything redone in red and pink, with hearts all over. Eli and I are not so "lovey dovey" about it. As much as we appreciate having a national holiday dedicated to celebrating those you love, we feel like this is something we should be doing every day, not just once a year. That said, we still try and find simple ways to make Valentine's Day special.

Last year, we went on a date the weekend before Valentine's Day. This year we tried something different: Eli cooked an entire meal of my choice, and I baked a dessert of his choice. Sounds like a deal, right!

The delicious meal cooked by Eli himself: steak, cheesy garlic mashed potatoes, and fancy green beans. He even looked up a new way to cook steak - in the good ol' cast iron. Definitely one of the best steaks we've ever had.

From Eli's request, I made my first ever Chocolate Lava Cake. If you have never made one or eaten one, go to the Pioneer Woman's recipe right now and make it. Right now. It's that good! And make sure you follow all the directions. This cake is definitely worth making correctly.

Oh, and be sure to serve it hot with a couple scoops of Blue Bell!

After all of this wonderful food, our bellies were so full and grateful. Then we finished out the night by watching NCIS and snuggling on the couch. Another great low-key Valentine's Day celebration.

So how was your Valentine's Day? Did you do anything special or start a new tradition? We'd love to hear about it.