When John and I were younger, we went all out for Valentines day. It involved books of poetry, champagne, heart shaped candy boxes, gushy cards and candlelit dinners.

Now, John and I have been married for fourteen years. We have two boys, a dog and a pretty great life.

But life is full of unromantic things; money stress, sniffly kids, unfortunate haircuts, dirty dishes left on the counter, right above the dishwasher. The true test of love is how you deal with these issues. It’s easy to feel all lovey-dovey lounging in front of a roaring fire with a glass of wine. But you know that you’ve won the love lotto when your  husband makes the kids breakfast on a Saturday morning so that you can sleep another hour. Life is not perfect. But the best thing is when you realize that he’s not perfect and you’re not perfect. But your life together? Pretty darn close.

So over the years my idea of romance has changed. You can keep the white teddy bears. I just love to spend time with my honey. This year our day after Valentines date involved lunch and photography. We’re such rebels.

We went to the always delicious (and romantic) Daniel Packer Inn in Mystic and then walked around downtown for some fun shooting.

_JMB9025-Edit

Mystic-1

Mystic-2

Lunch was delicious; Calamari, tenderloin meatloaf and crab cakes.

_JMB9004-Edit

_JMB9005-Edit 

_JMB9008-Edit 

And dessert! Red velvet cake and Pot de Creme. It’s like eating the inside of a truffle with a spoon! So good.

Mystic-3

After lunch we shopped around Mystic and took some pictures of the drawbridge.

_JMB9046-Edit

Mystic-5

_JMB9055-Edit

Mystic-4

3 Comments

  1. SWEET! ♥ I had a wonderful (yet ‘unromantic’) Valentine’s Day as well. We did have champagne & strawberries dipped in chocolate — but none of that commercialized stuff…..
    Lovely photos, as always!

  2. This is totally making me hungry!! Everything looks so delicious. Love all the detail shots of Mystic too, looks like the perfect Valentine’s Day.

  3. That Calamari looks sooo delicious!

Leave a Comment