Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day this year!  I actually spent mine in Jakarta, having had to go down for a work trip (more on that later) - but Michael and I did celebrate the night later upon my return. 

We don't usually do anything big or splashy on V-day, however, we do usually do a little something something.  It's not so much that we really believe the holiday signifies anything meaningful, but rather that we like to find ways to show our appreciation for and celebrate each other, and this is an easy way to do so. 

It was all a surprise, but I had been forewarned not to eat too much on the plane because I was getting what sounded like... a home cooked meal!

 

Michael bought me flowers, and set the table with sparkling water and candles.  He made a salad with radish, avocados, tomatoes, cucumbers, rocket and spinach, paired it with a tangy dijon mustard balsamic vinaigrette dressing, and also broiled the main entree, Japanese mackerel fillets, marinated in a mirin, soy sauce, ginger and sugar mixture. 

 

The fish was a better love letter than any missive Michael could have written, because mackerel are a notoriously fishy fish that I love, which Michael loathes.  So I was nearly speechless to see that he had bought them raw, prepared them, cooked them, and then without prompting or cajoling, sat down to eat them with me!  Actions definitely speak louder than words.

I gave him two boxes of chocolate to profess my love - I know he would have liked whiskey more, but my choices were preeeeeeetty limited in Jakarta.

 The best part?  He got me two bags of candy, one sour and one sweet, from one of the best sweet shops in Hong Kong.  Love sure is sweet!