Adventures in Valentine's Day 2015

Our lives are so crazy that weekends without events, activities, house work and other stuff to occupy our days are very seldom. So I love it when Husband and I can spend good time together, without stuff to do and places to be! This weekend, he decided to make a whole day of plans without telling me where we were going, or what we were doing. I hate surprises but secretly love them! He loves holding the secrets over me too. ;)

So he planned the whole day, starting with a great Valentine's Day card (the first of a few during the day). Apparently there were a bunch of these on a Buzzfeed article and he printed just a few of them... I won't show you the rest because this is a family blog!

Our first stop after Starbucks was the Botanical Garden, even though it was crazy cold and snowing just a bit. We got our tickets and took our time in the Orchid Show... what a way to get my floral quota in for this holiday!

Lots of people were there for the Orchid Show, so after a trip around the garden, we went onto our next stop. Urban Chestnut Brewing Company is just down the street and we were the first ones there when they opened at 11 am. Pretzels, oysters plus fries with dipping sauces and of course, beer! I asked for a syrup in my sour beer and didn't even realize it made my drink more festive! The bartender even wanted to take a picture for their marketing purposes for later. Hah!

Our next stop was the Art Museum for a wander around the permanent collection, then a special exhibit of American prints. Husband knows the museum really well and likes to see anything new that they bring in.

Husband was telling me all day that we had multiple stops, with one absolute time that we had to make. It was 3:30 pm and for the whole day, I couldn't quite figure out what we were doing!

The St. Louis Science Center has the Planetarium across the highway and I haven't been in years. That was our next stop, with a showing of Live Sky Tonight - an interactive show that tells you what stars will be in the sky tonight and how to pick out the different stars and constellations.

While they do have some chairs in the Planetarium, they have most of the space cleared out so you can grab a mat and lay down to see the stars all above you. So much fun!

It was the best time to snuggle up and really enjoy his new cologne - Calvin Klein's Reveal*. They say that it's got notes of crystallized ginger with vintage vanilla bean and golden amber. I never quite get all the notes that they say, but this one definitely was yummy when Husband wore it for our day out. We got to try it out and I thought Valentine's Day was the perfect time! The free sample we got came just in time.

After the Science Center, it was time for dinner. We've been meaning to try Peacemaker in Benton Park for MONTHS, ever since we saw that it had opened.

Never seems like we had the time, or the money. But when we finally got the chance to sit at the bar and enjoy our hurricane slushie (me) and scazerac (him) while waiting for our yummy lobster rolls, it was worth it.

While not quite as amazing as the lobster rolls we got to try in Boston, the hush puppies and the rolls were pretty darn good for St. Louis. Even if we did have to contend with all the crazies leaving Mardi Gras.
 

The final stop of the day was Ted Drewes - they always open around Valentine's Day. While we don't live near the shop anymore, we don't get frozen custard as often as we did a few years ago which is a bummer. So any opportunity, snowing or freezing temperatures or no, we have to take it! Husband got his standard chocolate shake and I got the special chocolate covered cherry special. Such a perfect way to end my day with my amazing husband, heart-shaped marshmallow whip cream and all.

How did you spend your Valentine's Day? 

*Disclosure: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.