A Valentine's Sweet Treat

I hope all of you love birds had a sweet treat for Valentine's Day! I had a great time. Last year Ryan surprised me with a dinner date at Roys Hawaiian Fusion in La Jolla...so this year, I surprised him with a dinner date at Roppongi in La Jolla. We love fine dining and it's so fun to get to dress up once in a while, at least for me.

Ryan loves sushi so this is essential why I brought him to Roppoingi since they are well known for their unique Asian cuisine and sushi bar. To my surprise Ryan didn't ordered sushi, at all, but it's okay. The important thing for me was that he enjoyed the location and had a great time. And he did!

So our own quick restaurant review..."the food was good and the service was great. for some reason I was not all that impressed with my meal, but it could be that i had really high expectations, especially for what we paid. we are willing to back, but this time we are definitely trying the sushi. the price for this date was $$$, be prepared. how can i forgot, the dessert pictured was also just okay, a chocolate molten cake with raspberry sorbet (taken by me with my new Cannon Rebel from ryan which I got for my bday just days ago...2/9)."

Anyway, so how can you ensure you have a Sweet Treat for Valentine's Day in 2010? Here are some tips you might find useful and keep in mind, a Sweet Treat can be anything to you if you know what I mean:

1. Book a reservation, NOW...just kidding, well somewhat. Seriously book as soon as possible because restaurants, hotels, and other romantic services book fast for Valentine's Day. Try opentable.com an online restaurant reservation service. I recently started using them and it's way easy to use. They even offer special promotions and invitations.
2. Before your reserve a location, if you have not been there do some research. Read the reviews and ask your circle of friends if they've ever been there or done that. The responses you receive will help you make a decision.
   
3. Gentlemen, almost every woman loves flowers...if anything they don't mind receiving them at work in front of all their friends! hint...hint...Ryan did this last year when Valentine's Day fell on a weekday, it's so sweet and you know he got his treat!
4. Ladies, this is a special day for the men too. In fact, I take that back, it's a special day for the both of you. And we all know you've got to give and receive. This is the time to gear up in your best Victoria's Secret apparel. Your men will appreciate the thought you put into this part of the evening every time!
   

So, you might think that Valentine's Day is a bit over rated and I on certain levels agree. We should all show our love and gratitude every day. However; take advantage of Valentine's Day to step up your game and do things you wouldn't or couldn't normally do for your significant other.

For more exciting tips check out Valentine's Day Tips.

p.s. if you've been proposed to this Valentine's Day don't forget to check out my website at Elegance is Easy to "experience easy planning for your elegant event."

Making up is NOT hard to do...

The past week has been rough on the both of us. My family came into town from CT for the week and I just had to spend some time with them. It was a bit of a sacrifice when it came to my husband, my dear, my Ryan. I felt really bad for leaving him and coming home in the wee hours of the morning. It was hard because I missed Ryan so much, but I also knew that my cousins would only be here for a week and I wouldn't see them until 6 months from now! I did what I could to take care of Ryan and make it so nothing really changed for the week, but it was challenging. I still made breakfast for him, but I was lagging a little on keeping up with the some chores and packing lunch...dinner was almost out of the question. It was hard for him to go out since he was working.

Anyway, some disagreements and a few love quarrels, but in the end we really just missed each other - A LOT! Ryan was very understanding of the situation and I believe that he saw my efforts to keep him and my family happy...which is not the easiest thing to do! I know that ultimately he is my first priority and he is my world. I thank God for his love and patience with me. He has such a big heart and a kind soul ;) I wish that every woman I know finds a man like him!

The lesson I learned, is that you can never have enough of your man. Always show him how much you love him, cater to his needs, and even when he's not accepting of an apology at the time it is given...keep trying and he will come to grips with the fact that he simply cannot resist your charm ;) On a serious note, one thing we've always remembered is to communicate everything to one another. It's the key to making a relationship work. Never let the sun go down on your anger...I may have said that one time before, but it's true! Cuddle in bed and hold each other as long as you can...you never know when things might take a turn for the not so good...

My family is now gone and things are getting back to normal fairly quickly! I love spending time at home with Ryan. Our first night together again we watched 21 and The Other Boleyn Girl and ate Pad Thai at HOME! I love it!

I love you Ryan. Thank you for letting me spend time with my family and for putting up with us the whole time! I love you!

Making up is never hard to do...you just gotta do it...no matter what time of the day it is...just do it and you will slepp much better!

Opposites Attract

Paula Abdul was my favorite entertainer as a child! One of her songs and videos I will never forget is "Opposites Attract" with the cool cat ;) No matter how different we are we end up coming together because opposites attract. Ryan and I have come to appreciate our differences as they make us who we are. We've come to realize that what we saw in each other, is what we actually wanted in ourselves. For example, Ryan is the more reserved and conservative type of person, very mellow. Myself on the other hand is quite the opposite. I am a talker and most of the time not afraid to put myself out there. Whatever the case, our characteristics offset each other to make our relationship "colorful."

It's always interesting to see how we pick up on each other's facial expressions and slang. I guess what I'm trying to say in this post is that we should embrace our differences...the personalties of our significant others because those are the things that make us who we are as an individual and as a couple. Learn from each other, give and take from each other and learn to laugh at the things you may have found annoying when you first met, but now can't live without!

Check out the cool video too!

Dating after marriage...

Many people may think that the flames of love begin to dwindle after marriage. Ryangela begs to differ. Our relationship has never been better after being married for almost two years. Just as a great wine comes with age, relationships, if they are the right ones, also improve with age. It's something as a couple you have to want and keep working at. This is why we encourage dating! No matter how busy you may get or how much money you have in you bank account we recommend having a dedicated and consistent date night. Set aside time to build your relationship, to build each other and to just hang out.

Last week Ryan and I had a great night out on the town. We had dinner at RA Sushi downtown (which was great). I've been wanting to eat there only because of the initials RA for RyAngela :) I know corny...Then we headed over to the House of Blues where we had reserved seating to watch Lyfe Jennings! This is hands down the best concert we've ever been to and probably will ever go to. We've been following him for the past three years now, haven't missed a show here in Diego yet! After the concert we walked around the Gaslamp area, not really Ryan's thing, but totally my thing...at least until my feet start to hurt. We just weren't ready to go home and call it a night. I didn't want the night to end so we ended up driving to a little place called Extraordinary Desserts! Lovely little place on 5th Avenue that stays open late where the desserts are...just like the name says...extraordinary! We had great coffee, Ryan's was quite strong, great dessert and great conversation as we reflected on the evening!

We just had a wonderful time and although we splurged a bit, it was well worth it. It's times like these that we always look forward to. Times like these that motivate us to work harder to get to a place where all we have to worry about is what we're going to do today!

Our advice is to do something you both like and don't be afraid to show each other something new...a side of you your significant other hasn't quite seen before! Use your dates as you did in the past - to learn more about each other and to enjoy one another's company. The best part about dating as a married couple, is that you can go home together and you don't have to worry about whether you made a good impression or not! Besides, you know when you get home - you're both going to get some :)