We celebrated Valentine’s Day a little early this year, because I had plans to visit my best friend in Philadelphia with my girlfriends on February 14th. I took some photos of the girls matching in red to commemorate Valentine’s 2015!

Valentines M&Ms

 

Valentines M&Ms
It was impossible to get them to both smile in one shot! Sigh.

 

My Valentine Mio
Smiling sweetly for the camera! ♥

 

My Valentine Mirei
Mirei’s expressions look so mature lately…

 

My Valentine Mio

 

 

Dan and I got to have an early Valentine’s dinner date on Thursday, thanks to my sister watching the kids for us! We dined at Maple Ave Restaurant, which we had heard so many good things about! We were pretty excited to have a quiet romantic dinner together, and the food did not disappoint. Everything was so incredibly delicious!

Maple Ave Restaurant

 

steamed PEI mussels with saffron coconut broth, chinese sausage, crostinis
Steamed PEI mussels with saffron coconut broth, chinese sausage, and crostinis as an appetizer.

 

duck leg confit with caramelized brussel sprouts, truffle aioli, and apple cider gastrique
I ordered the duck leg confit with caramelized brussel sprouts, truffle aioli, and apple cider gastrique.

 

beer braised Pineland Farms beef cheek with sweet potato purée and caramelized onions
Dan had the beer braised Pineland Farms beef cheek with sweet potato purée and caramelized onions.

 

Hubby at our Valentines dinner date
Happy Valentine’s Day to my sweet hubby! ❤

 

So nice to have a relaxing dinner out
It was so nice to have a relaxing dinner out.

 

chocolate dumplings with fried pastry shell, melted chocolate ganache, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate sauce
For dessert, we had the chocolate dumplings with fried pastry shell, melted chocolate ganache, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate sauce.

 

"omg" flourless chocolate cake
…and the “omg” flourless chocolate cake. Both were amazing!

 

Love you hubby!
Love you hubby! Thanks for a lovely and romantic evening.

 

Mio delivered Valentines gifts from Dan!
When we got home, Mio delivered surprise Valentines gifts from Dan!

 

Valentine's card from Dan and the girls
A sweet Valentine’s card from Dan and the girls!

 

 

Mio signed her Valentines!
Mio signed her Valentines to her classmates this year! This was actually her first time writing her name out. We’d been encouraging her to write her name for a while now and she always resisted so we’ve tried not to push her… but she willingly wrote it this time. So proud of her!

 

Mio's Valentines from classmates
Mio’s Valentines haul from her classmates. She loved it, and has been treasuring her bag of Valentine’s cards in the days since!

 

Valentine's card in the mail from Mio (via preschool)
On the same day (Friday), we received this card in the mail. Mio’s preschool class has been learning about the post office, and apparently they sent their Valentine’s to their parents out in the mail in time to get to us by Valentine’s Day! I will treasure this always.

 

Mio with her Valentine's card for us
Mio telling us about how she sent the Valentine in the mail.

 

Mio with her Valentine's card for us
Thank you sweetheart for such a beautiful Valentine! We love you and your sister so much!