Holiday – Love Letters

Happy Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 14, 2016Author CucLeave a comment

I’m usually not too concerned about Valentine’s Day. I think it’s a little cheesy and kind of unnecessary. This morning you were looking at your phone and said today is supposed to be a national holiday. It had completely slipped my mind at that moment too and I said it’s probably something lame like Groundhog’s Day or National Donut Day. LOL, today is Valentine’s day.

We both had a blonde moment together. We had just told each other “Happy Valentine’s Day” earlier in the morning and had been gifting each other. You had even apologized for the long-stemmed strawberries that you were too cheap to get from Target even though you aren’t cheap at all. It was cute.

While this is not my favorite holiday, I do have so much love for you and that’s the only reason I felt inclined to celebrate it more this year. We had our first Valentine’s Day together last year, but our relationship is much different and stronger this time. It’s special because it’s our first one while being in love.

I knew that I wanted to do the couple’s massage with you for Valentine’s Day for some time already and had gotten clues of massage places you liked. When you said your favorite was Sound Stone Massage, I made a mental note of it. I was excited to do the couple’s massage with you and I liked the fact that you had never done this before. I made an appointment for Sunday, a week before Valentine’s Day.

You told me about the tour of France meals that Vin de Set was doing a couple weeks ago. We there for dinner on the night they were doing foods from the Champagne region on Thursday (February 4th). I really enjoyed everything about the meal and loved the atmosphere. I liked that fact that it wasn’t Valentine’s Day weekend, so it felt special but not clique. Thanks for the lovely and thoughtful dinner, sweetie. I also enjoyed our night cap at Cyrano’s for the Erin Bode concert.

I had seen a cute adult graphic book (not the dirty kind, but just a picture book) about a couple’s love story a couple months back. I had also made a mental note to get that for you for Valentine’s Day. I saw sample pages of it and thought it was really cute and kind of quirky, like us. So, I ordered “Soppy” and hoped that it would ship in time even though it was out of stock. (When I gave it to you this morning, I had forgotten to write a note in it for you. I wanted to gift this blog via that.)

After I ordered it, I started looking for more sample pages of the book on Google to see what parts of the book resembled our relationship. I should have probably done this before, but even if it didn’t, I thought it would be fun to read together. I really wanted to create something like this for us when I first saw the book, but it would have been impossible to find the time to complete it.

Then, I decided that the next best thing was to create a website or blog about us. Tani shared a website that her friend had made for him and his girlfriend before and I always wanted to do something like that with you. We’re both in the business of making websites now, so it seemed fitting for us. I started getting down to business last Saturday morning.

I was so excited that I got so much done that Saturday afternoon while I was by myself. I spent the rest of the weekend typing away my thoughts on my phone whenever I got a chance and making a list of all the memories I wanted to capture. You were curious about all the secret notes I was taking and got a glimpse of me working on a website before I could shield your eyes. You probably had a clue…

I’ve had a lot of fun putting the pieces of our relationship together from its beginning. It’s been a journey to see it grow and evolve. I had to use my superhuman power of data recollection based on my outfits of the day to help me remember the details and dates. I thought that it would be neat to post-date all of the posts of our dates and memories to the actual date of the event. I’m pretty confident of the accuracy of the dates.

While I’ve managed to get over twenty posts completed in just a week’s time (which by the way, is more than I could even do on my personal blogs), this still incomplete and will always be a work in progress and I hope we will continue to build this together. Let us reminisce about our history and continue to create more memories together.

I am looking forward to finishing the movie “Chocolat,” making chocolate-covered strawberries that you were too cheap to buy :), and enjoying this beautiful, snowy winter day with you. Thanks for shoveling my driveway and walkway and for the sweet presents. I look forward to enjoying them with you. You are the best boyfriend ever!

Happy Valentine’s Day… I love you.

Happy New Year 2015

Posted on December 31, 2014Author CucLeave a comment

We had plans to ring in the new year together with some champagne and lucky foods. But first, I had to go to Yuan and Kyle’s for hotpot with their mother and friend. It was the first time I had hotpot with them and it was really good but I was eager to go over to your house. I ended up coming over a little late.

You had been sick from drinking too much the night before. It might have been the continuation of your birthday celebration. I think we had discussed going out for a short bit, but plans had changed from the looks of you still being in your PJs. You heated some traditional lucky German food you had made for us earlier and made some pistachio pudding too. I told you that I never had fruit cake when we were talking about A Christmas Vacation, so you got some for me to try. You tried it first and told me not to, lol.

We channel-surfed through all the performances and I told you how much I didn’t like Pit Bull. He just looks so greasy and slimy. I also told you that the performances were nothing like they used to be and you knew what I was talking about. They used to start earlier and last past the end of the countdown. Nowadays, it seemed to be lacking. I would have enjoyed a drink with you while we were watching TV, but you were still hungover.

It was a little weird to watch TV with you, because you were usually on one end of the couch and I was on the other. We had been dating for about three months by this point but there were still barriers. While our conversations were always consistent and I always had fun with you, rarely were we cuddly or psychically close.

You know that I take things very slow, but at the same time, I love the small innocent and sweet gestures of hugs and cuddles. I always felt confused about this especially after an amazing date. I felt we had a really great connection but it didn’t always translate. It seemed like things would build up, we would have a “moment”, and then wait for the next burst of affection. You gave me a quick peck after it turned 2015 and I went home shortly after. I always have a good time with you, but I have to admit that it felt a little awkward sometimes. I just figured you weren’t an affectionate guy, so I left it alone. Or I was sending off the wrong vibe.

When I Returned From China

Posted on December 26, 2014Author CucLeave a comment

I had been back from China for a few days and this was the first night I got to see you. It was the day after Christmas. We had been texting since I got back and you had told me that missed hanging out with me. You also said that you would miss me before I left. It was nice to hear. I thought about you a lot when I was in China. I didn’t like not being able to communicate much those two weeks. t was happy to be back and doing things with you again.

You made dinner for me that night. As you were finishing up with preparing for dinner I told you about my trip. I told you about being scammed at the teahouse and how it didn’t quite live up to what I remembered. It felt different and the nostalgia from ten years ago no longer resonated with me. I learned some lessons from the trip and I had no desire to go back to China anymore. Maybe if I went with you…

I brought you back those lucky lions “dragons” because we had such a debate on what kind of creature they really were. I wasn’t expecting anything from you for Christmas so I was surprised when you gave me presents. It was so thoughtful. You got me the book of places to travel in the U.S., the treats for my pets, the orange watch that I regrettably lost the next evening when I was out, and that Ritz tin as mockery of my Secret Santa gift in first grade. This was the first glimpse of your amazing gift-giving skills. I didn’t experience your wrapping skills yet.

pet treat

I was so glad to be home. It felt comfortable and right to be where you were.

Our First All Day Date

Posted on December 6, 2014Author CucLeave a comment

We had our first morning date on this day. I left for your house in the morning and you drove us to the Mastermind Distillery in IL. Everyone there were couples and there were a handful of us. While we waited we got some tasty drinks. The Bloody Mary I got was one of the best I’ve ever had. I could feel myself warming up from the alcohol and the heat while we were attending the demonstration.

When we got the tastings for the vodka and other products they had, I really took a liking to their moonshine, LPR. The guide explained the story behind the name. It was provocative but easy to guess what it stood for. I ended up buying a bottle of it after our tour. You got to take home a bottle of the vodka that we got to dip and seal ourselves. I forgot to ask you to save the bottle as a keepsake.

When we got back to your place, you put old Christmas records on and we tried our new alcoholic purchases in your lab. After a little bit, we started working on the gingerbread house. It was a cute idea and I’m glad you saved it for us. We had a lot of fun with and found many ways to be creative. I think it’s the best gingerbread house ever.

gingerbread house

This was in a way our Christmas together. I was leaving for China on the 9th and this was one of our last dates before I left. I might have seen you one more time before I left. I was bummed that I left while the night was still young. My friend was in town and staying at my house, but I honestly didn’t want to be with anyone but you. I had started realizing that my time with you was my best times. It diminished the desire to be around anyone else. We had spent at least twelve hours together and I still wanted more.

Our Magical Date Night at the Garden Glow and Grand Hall

Posted on November 28, 2014Author CucLeave a comment

We’ve had so many amazing dates but is was the one that tops the rest during the early days of our relationship. Sometimes you like to make our date activities a surprise and this was one of those nights. I think the only clue you gave me was to dress warm that night because we were going to be outside.

I expected a below average dinner when you told me we were going to Mochi for dinner. The first time I was there, I thought they had subpar sushi. I really enjoyed it that night though. I especially liked the spicy octopus roll. I’ve been back without you and it just wasn’t as good. I guess you make everything better.

After we got done eating, you told us that we were going to the Garden Glow. You thought we would be late but the Botanical Garden was open later you thought. I think we both thought that it might be a little cheesy, but were immediately impressed as soon as we pulled up. The dragon display in the parking lot was beautiful.

One of the first things we came across was the snow globe. I wanted to go in it and take pictures with you, but I was a little shy to say I wanted it. That wasn’t something that my ex ever wanted to do and I guess I developed a complex about it. The next time we go back, I want to do this.

Some of the lights were so small but bright. The colors were beautiful and I was getting lost in the lights. One of my favorites was the eery green light. You said you wanted it for your backyard. Tilles Park has the Winter Wonderland, but it is nothing compared to this. The Garden Glow had the feel of Christmas without being gaudy.

Garden Glow

Garden Glow My absolute favorite was the tunnel of flickering lights. I was so mesmerized and it was the first time you noticed that I get consumed by lights. You were quite amused by it. I felt like a little kid going through a magical kingdom of lights. It was all so romantic and I felt so close to you that night.

Walking through a tunnel of #lights. #cool #video #BotanicalGarden #missouribotanicalgarden #stl #CHRISTMAS #xmas #winter #holidays

A video posted by Cuc (@cucloves) on Nov 29, 2014 at 10:51am PST

We got some hot coffee and cocoa to warm our bodies as we walked through the garden. It was cold and being with you and having our hot drinks made it felt really cozy. At the end of our tour we goofed off at the snowmen station. It was a simple activity and childish, but charming.

Garden Glow

After our winter adventure we went off to the Grand Hall at the Union Station. I was just at the Union Station not too long ago for the St. Louis fashion show and had seen the Grand Hall in passing. I had also been seeing people post videos about the place, so I was excited to see it in person. The display show on the ceiling and the ornate decor was break-taking and once again, I felt like I was just pulled into an enchanted world.

Such a #beautiful place to grab #drinks! #Grandhall #lounge #stl #unionstation #bar #downtown #animation #fridaynight #underthesea #seacreatures #fancy

A video posted by Cuc (@cucloves) on Nov 29, 2014 at 12:34pm PST

It was such a magical night and I will never forget the rush of feelings that came over me that evening as we enjoyed our drinks and each others company. We even took our first picture together and you kissed me while we were in the photo booth. While it’s not the best picture and we messed up on choosing the best one, it was a great keepsake from the night.

Union Station

While all the dates had been bringing us closer and closer, this was a pivotable night for me. I realized how much I liked you and how special you were.

OOTD: Armani Exchange leather jacket, thin crystal blue Abercrombie sweater, and gray skinny jeans.

Our First Halloween

Posted on October 31, 2014Author CucLeave a comment

It was Halloween and I was supposed to go to the Grove to meet up with Michelle, the girl we ran into on our first date. I made my Coca Cola costume at the last minute. It was looking really good, thanks your idea to use a red fold up hamper. But it wasn’t quite done. I thought about going with the school girl thing but it was cold outside and I didn’t want to suffer for Halloween or try to look cute. I ended up calling it a night.

We were exchanging texts regularly but not daily at this time. That evening you were at your family’s for Halloween. I thought it was cool that you were hanging out with your family instead of out drinking with friends on a Halloween night. This was another glimpses of you being a family person. When you found out that I was staying in, you made an executive decision to come over and do something with me. We already set a date to see the STL Up Late Show the next night, so it was a nice surprise to see you that Friday evening too.

I answered the door in my giraffe sweater and school girl skirt. I was partially still in my alternative Halloween costume. I was pretty proud of my work with the Coca Cola costume and I wasn’t hesitant to show you. I think that you were surprised that I painted it all by hand. This was the first time you saw my craft room.

We decided to try to continue our drinking-making session in my lab. The drinks were better this time and we enjoyed each other’s company at the bar as we drank and listened to music. We ended the evening the same way as the last time you were over, staying up late talking to each other and looking at strange red lights in the tv while it was off. We ended up falling asleep together. I had class the next day.

OOTD: Me – Giraffe sweater, school skirt, then jeans. You: Green military coat, dog with a top hat sweater.