Ann Elizabeth Creations: The Bestest Valentine's Day Ever

This is a somewhat difficult - and I have a feeling, somewhat long - post. I've been putting it off because... well, I met someone, and it has always been hard for me to articulate what I hold close to my heart. I'm pretty reserved when it comes to personal matters; it's tough to put into words - on a public blog, nonetheless! - how good things are and how happy and lucky I feel every single day. Everything is - as a Swedish female partner at my law firm often exclaims with an adorable lilting accent - Peachy!

The fact that I'm in a wonderful, stable relationship is especially significant for me. As some of you know, I went through a rough patch two years ago when the guy I was engaged to at the time abruptly broke up with me and moved out... three months before our wedding. Yes, you read that right. We had been inseparable for six years, lived together for five, engaged for two.

I was devastated at the time and floored by his needlessly cruel actions and words. But in retrospect, I consider myself very fortunate that that happened to me. In so many ways, these past couple of years recovering from the blow have simultaneously been some of the worst and absolute best times of my life. I've proactively made wonderful experiences of a lifetime happen; I've strengthened old friendships and forged new ones; I've been bone-crushingly lonely; I've been on top of the world; I've faced up to painful realizations; I've opened myself up to experiences and emotions I never would have considered before; and I've learned that my family can be counted on no matter what and that the advice they give actually makes sense! I know for a fact how strong and resilient and capable I am. Cheesy as it sounds - and however belated my development is - I now know exactly who I am, and what I want.

I often reflect on how true it is when people say that the right person will come to you when you are in the right place. It wasn't until I was really and truly 110% happy with myself and my life that P waltzed in and joined it.

I wanted to make P a really awesome card for Valentine's Day. He had been hinting at a special surprise in the weeks leading up to the day, and I was almost beside myself with anticipation.

Way back when, I had suggested ABC Kitchen for our third date, but when P called the restaurant the day of, he was informed that reservations must be made months in advance. Months later, he remembered how much I wanted to go and organized a Valentine's Day that, without question, blew all Valentine's Days out of the water.

ABC Kitchen was closed to the public for us and other select couples that evening. We started off the night with delicious (and deliciously strong!) craft cocktails and a whiskey tasting. After we were loosened up a bit, Jean Georges Vongerichten and his lovely wife, Marja, held a lively cooking demonstration for us. Imagine the scene: This (relatively random) woman derisively referring to Jean Georges - JEAN GEORGES!! - as her sous chef and roundly scolding him for blending the cabbage too long and ruining her dish. It was entertaining as hell.

Best of all, as if by magic, the dishes they were preparing appeared on silver trays by our sides, and we tried every delicious item.

After the cooking demo, we sat down in the fairy tale-like dining room (see below picture!), and I went on to have one of the very best seven-course tasting menus with wine pairings of my entire life - and trust me, I consider myself somewhat of a gourmand and am no stranger to fine dining! P and I had a extraordinary evening. During the course of the night, P even got a fantastic picture of me and my new bestie, Jay-Gee!

Courtesy of Sip, Chat, Chow

Jean-Georges even mentioned the special evening on his personal blog!

And Valentine's Day didn't end there - the next morning, we got on a plane for a two-week trip to London.

For P's card, I used a weathered bronze keyhole embellishment and little blood-red Swarovski crystals on the front:

What is fun about the metal keyhole embellishment was that I used bronze brads that I happened to have on hand to hold it in place; you can see the prongs of the brads peeking out on the back of the front cover.

For the inside of the card, I stamped a gorgeous image of an old-fashioned key to cardstock, and then painstakingly cut it out and threaded it with cute red and white baker's twine. I made a little pink envelope to hold the key. I really love the detail on the key; I have a whole set of key stamps and I can't wait to find even more uses for them!