Valentine's Day

Yesterday was fantastic. I'm not really a huge Valentine's Day person--it's probably one of my two least favorite holidays. (New Year's Eve would be the other one.) I dislike both for similar reasons-- it's just a day where everything is more expensive, for no apparent reason. New Year's Eve? Just another day. Valentine's Day? The day to show someone how much you love them...shouldn't that be everyday?

In any case, I digress. The day itself was wonderful. We started off by going to Big Daddy's, our favorite diner, to meet a friend of ours visiting from Turkey. (Kiran--if you move back to the states, you could get bacon everyday! Think about it...) Then, Ash and I came home and had a "lazy day," which I totally love. We cuddled on the couch, watched three episodes of How I Met Your Mother, and a few shows on Air Force One and Marine One.

When it was time for dinner, Ash had made reservations at Ciao Bella--a restaurant that we've always been wanting to try, but never got the chance. For those familiar with the Upper East Side, it took the spot of Panorama Cafe--a fantastic little italian place. Now, it's an upscale italian restaurant named after the same company that makes the famous gelato you see in the grocery stores (which I usually find too sweet). Panorama used to be one of our favorite places, so we were bummed when it shut down, but had high hopes for this new place.

I ordered the butternut squash ravioli (good, but too sweet), and Ash got the roasted chicken (he liked it). Dessert was tiramisu (very creamy, but didn't have much of a coffee taste) and a chocolate souffle (not bad). Their cappuccino was fantastic. Overall, it was a nice, romantic meal, but I don't think we'll be going back. For what we paid, there are many other restaurants in the city with better food.

We had spoken to Priya and Vinny earlier in the day, and had made plans to meet up after dinner. (They went to Pranna, and said it was average.) After convincing them not to go home and to meet us at this hole-in-the-wall piano bar instead, the night became legendary. Yes, I said legendary. (TV show? Anyone? Anyone?) We got there an hour before the piano set even started--a good idea, as the tiny place was PACKED thirty minutes later. Then, after a somewhat boring set of love songs, they sang Journey. And that's when everything turned around. We belted along to "Total Eclipse of the Heart," "Rocket Man," "Cat's In the Cradle," and tons of others. When we weren't singing, we were laughing. The four of us learned that first impressions can be terribly wrong...but hysterical at the same time. (You'll have to ask one of us for the story.) It was a perfect night-- a romantic dinner with my husband, and then a fun and memory-filled night with the three people I love most.

On a side note, I found my new favorite drink! There was a two drink minimum at the tables, and Priya recommended Kahlua. I've never tried Kahlua. I don't know why no one told me about this earlier! It tastes like super sweet coffee--yum. Vinny then had the waitress bring over some milk, and it became the best drink ever. I now might spike everything with Kahlua. It's awesome.

One side note, apparently when you order, you should say "Kahlua on the rocks." Not "Kahlua on ice." Whatever--she knew what I meant. All the laughing was unnecessary. But whatever. (And Vin--I did not say Kahlua on the ice, just Kahlua on ice, funny man.) I'm going to continue ordering it my way, just to spite all three of you. So there. Bastards.

I normally don't place inside jokes in my blog, but indulge me just this once. I just want to place it somewhere it'll be permanently inscribed, so none of us will forget it...

BYE PRIYA!! ;-)

Hope you all had as wonderful a Valentine's Day as I did!