a perfect weekend

I mentioned this last year, but guys, I love Valentine's Day. I think it's fun to celebrate love, even if everyone else is celebrating love that day, too. This year was super fun because I actually started planning it like 5 months ago, and Russ had no idea until about a week before that anything at all was going on, and even then, all I said was, "I'm planning a Valentine's something for Friday, February 13. Plan accordingly." (aka, don't plan anything else that night.)

So on Thursday night I was running around like a crazy person trying to get everything ready for Friday, and with the help of my mom, I did it. When Russ got to work on Friday, this is what he saw on his desk:

His response when he got there? "You sneaky lil lady :)" Haha I loved it :) So each hour he opened a present containing a clue about what we were going to be doing to celebrate Valentine's Day, but I didn't want the clues to be too easy, so mostly they were completely tricky for him :)

8:00 - Intro explaining that the rest of the gifts were clues

9:00 - Periodic Table of the Elements --> "Elements" was the name of the restaurant 

10:00 - This framed famous couples thing --> The room we were staying in was called "Juliet's Balcony," so Romeo & Juliet was the clue

11:00 - A note saying to be ready to leave work at 3:00 --> self-explanatory

12:00 - A Valentine's card --> not a clue, just a love note :)

1:00 - A dot-to-dot of a temple --> we were going to the temple

2:00 - Baby name book --> "Logan" was highlighted because we were going to Logan

3:00 - Anniversary Inn gift certificate --> Anniversary Inn!

So by the end of it, he had pretty much only gathered that we were going to Anniversary Inn and the temple, but he hadn't flipped through the baby name book so he didn't even know we were going to Logan. Also, my periodic table was a total fail, because instead of being actual elements, it was this:

Only I didn't even notice that when I printed it out (I was only looking for the word "Elements"!), so around 9:30, Russ texted me and asked me if he was supposed to decipher something from all the crazy words. Whoops! But even though my clues didn't quite lead him to everything we were going to be doing, he said he still really liked being surprised and getting clues each hour :)

So at 3, I picked him up for work and we headed up to Logan :) We went to the Anniversary Inn a few months ago (we really love it) but because we planned it so last-minute, we didn't get our top choice of room. This time, since I planned 5 months in advance, I got a room we had both really liked when we toured a few rooms last time :)

When we walked in, the first thing we saw was the giant bath tub sprinkled with rose petals. I had paid extra for them to do that, and I was so glad I did! Haha we didn't even use the tub while we were there, but every time I walked past the rose petals, I just smiled because they looked so pretty and were so romantic to me! $7 well spent.

We basically just dropped our stuff off and then headed out to dinner. I wanted to go someplace fancy and tasty, and my friends on Facebook helped me decide on Elements. They made a good recommendation! We had an amazing meal. We did the Valentine special, so we got an appetizer, bread, soup/salad, an entree each, and a dessert each. We definitely splurged, but I thought it was worth it :) The food was delicious and pretty, which is a combination that I love haha :)

clockwise from top left: creme brûlée, shrimp & spring roll appetizers,
salad, chicken pillard, filet mignon, and ultimate blondie

Another thing we loved about the restaurant was that is was pretty quiet! I hate going to restaurants where I feel like I have to scream to be heard, but we didn't have that issue at this place. It was a great setting and we just loved being there together and talking.

After dinner, we were full and Russ was tired, so we didn't even watch a movie, but it was okay. Idk what it is about Anniversary Inn, but it always just puts us in a more romantic mood, so as much as I love cuddling (and other stuff . . . ) at home, it's even better at Anniversary Inn. It just feels like we're at the height of infatuation all over again haha :)

The next morning we enjoyed breakfast in bed, a movie (The Switch), and more cuddling in the giant bed before we had to check out. Always the worst part of any trip to Anniversary Inn--checking out!

It was our best stay yet at Anniversary Inn, and I definitely think it's going to be a yearly tradition for us. We just love it too much! :)

After checking out, we went to get some spudnuts from Johnny O's. Maybe it's because I had already had that pastry for breakfast and cheesecake for a mid-morning snack, but the spudnuts were a bit too sweet for me. I should have said no, but I was just so curious about spudnuts haha :)

Next we went to the Logan temple. I'm still working on getting to all the temples in Utah before my birthday (in just 3 months!), so I was happy to check Logan off the list. It was good to be in the temple with Russ :)

We ended our weekend with a very bad decision. We went to Center Street Grill and each got a burger, fries, and a shake. We were dying after. We weren't even super hungry to begin with, so eating that much food was just a bad idea. We contemplated sharing a burger and/or shake, but sharing just doesn't work well for us because our preferences are always different. So we didn't share, and we both felt full for the next several hours. Haha but the food was good :)

Basically, we had a perfect weekend. It's always good to spend time together, just the two of us, doing something out of the ordinary. I love this man like crazy, and I'm grateful for every minute I get with him :)

Hope you all had happy Valentine's Days with people you love :)






**This post was not sponsored in any way. Though if Anniversary Inn wanted to give me a free night's stay in exchange for a blog post, you better believe I would be all over that!