Our 2nd Valentine's Day as Mr. and Mrs.

I woke up this Valentine's Day morning to find this adorable Precious Moments little boy kneeling down on my nightstand. He will hold my engagement and wedding rings, pictured here, at bedtime. ♥

I came downstairs to find this on our dining table. Craig keeps a tradition that is one of my most precious memories from my childhood: Valentine's Day when I was in 2nd grade, my Mom picked me up from school and took me to Grandpa A.D. and Grandma Cleva's house. When I came through the back door, I saw the "Pink and Pretty" Barbie I dearly wanted on their dining table along with some chocolate chip cookies. They had gone in together and bought me the Barbie doll. Funds were tight and it wasn't easy for them to be able to do it, I see that even moreso looking back as an adult, but they always put me before their own self and that lesson made a lifelong impression on me. This is Breakfast at Tiffany's Barbie with Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly wearing one of my most favorite movie outfits EVER: the Givenchy pink cocktail dress with matching coat and a tiara. 

He sent me these flowers that arrived later in the morning, delivered to our front door by Sherwood Florist (Sher-wood Florist, ha!).

Before dinner, I came back from delivering valentine treats to our next door neighbors to find this amazing sight in our living room. My squeals of surprise and delight came first, followed by tears. Valentine gifts from my husband: Kate Spade's Wellesley "Quinn" handbag in pink, Lilly Pulitzer "Maddie" fleece jacket in pink and green (Thank you to The Pink Door, the Lilly store in Memphis for helping him pull off this surprise!). Lilly Murfee scarf in "First Base", Lilly pink and green print makeup bag from the new Estee Lauder collaboration, Valentine Marshmallow Peeps, a chocolate-covered heart Peep and a bottle of NY Finger Lakes Moscato with a pink label, pictured with "Breakfast at Tiffany's" Barbie in pink. He blew me away with these amazing surprises! 

The new bottle of Moscato wasn't displayed in my wine bottle holder long, because it was opened pretty quickly, but I did think it was a perfect "fit" in this wonderful gift from my treasured Delta Zeta sister Emily. 

Instead of eating dinner out and dealing with the crowds and, in most cases, loud restaurants, this year I'm making our dinner and we will have it in the comfort of our own home. It's a surprise dish for Craig. I am aspiring to recreate our favorite dish from our honeymoon in New Orleans (that I also enjoyed with my DZ Little Susan several times over in December): Shrimp and Grits Napoleon, a tower of fried green tomatoes and seasoned creamy southern grits surrounded by gulf shrimp drizzled with a Cajun cream sauce. I had to go to five local stores to find some of the ingredients for this Southern dish! As another fellow Oklahoman who now resides here tipped me off about, I found one Southern ingredient in the "Foreign Foods" section of a local grocery store here in New York! My husband loved my version of Shrimp and Grits Napoleon. For dessert, I made a raspberry wine pound cake and topped it with a scoop of local-made Port wine ice cream. The dinner was a hit with my husband! We enjoyed a wonderful 2nd Valentine's Day as husband and wife.