celebrate love

so i dont love valentines day. i dont love it because its terribly commercialized and because so many people seem to get quite upset about it - it doesnt seem worth it.

BUT - we celebrated right.

four best friends who embark upon a five-course meal. and one of my favorite quotes from ryan thus far: "I am thinking a bottle of wine/beverage per course should do us (in?)" so. yeah. lots of delicious food and drink.

but even more than that, the long afternoon/evening we spent preparing, making, eating, and enjoying the food and each other. we dont get a lot of days like this. to just enjoy and celebrate. so ill take the excuse of valentines day to do that.

i also received one of the best gifts of my life. something ive always wanted: a hand-written letter. unsolicited. it made me cry. also it was in adorable pink construction paper.

you see, the evening just keeps getting better. so the best part of the whole evening was the cards in this photo. steph gave each of us these cards with different words on them that reminded her of us. during each course we went around the table and said why that word reminds us of that person. it was so sweet. everyone probably cried. its my favorite thing about steph. that she always draws the focus to the important things in life. thats what makes our friendship life giving. she makes us celebrate, and celebrate well.

this is not the best photo from the evening, but it was the most significant photo so i wanted it to be on here.

it was just the best possible way to celebrate love and friendship. i am thankful for ryan for cooking so much. steph for all of her wonderful and adorable decorations. justin for getting all the stuff and running to the grocery store countless times. and to both of them for cleaning and making it such a pleasant atmosphere.

also everyone for just being the best friends.