True love is a good pint and 4lbs of pork

Happy late Valentine's Day! While you can't get through this holiday without hearing from both the anti-V-Day camp, complaining about how commercialized and fake the holiday is and the this-is-a-serious-gift-giving holiday camp, you'll find none of that here as I land somewhere in the middle. I don't expect a lot but I enjoy any excuse to celebrate something, especially in the deep dark depressing days of New England winter. Because why not?!

My Valentine and I beat the rush and decided on a whim to go out on Saturday instead of the big day itself. Early that day I stumbled across the news that one of my favorite nearby-ish breweries- Medusa Brewing Company out of Hudson, MA- reopened on the 11th with an all new high-tech air filtration system and all sorts of covid-related safety procedures in place. With little hope, I decided to hop on the website and see if I could get a reservation. Luckily enough I scored one!

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We enjoyed a couple beers and some nachos and tacos, it was a fantastic night. The only thing missing was games- I usually bring some cards or our portable backgammon set (oh yeah, we're serious) but sadly I forgot. 

Medusa always has a good selection of beer for everyone, from IPAs (not my jam) to some great Belgians, to my favorite malty stuff. My absolute top pick was a delicious imperial stout called  Black is Beautiful. If you're in the area be sure to check it out- not only is it delicious, but proceeds from its sale go toward the NAACP legal defense and education fund!

On Sunday, Valentine's Day itself, I woke up to M no so sneakily leaving the house. I got up and was enjoying one of my many morning coffees when he returned with a bouquet of lovely springy flowers (exactly what I want to see/smell when it's so cold and grey out!) and a pint of Ben & Jerry's. What can I say, the man knows the way to my heart.

For my part, I got him a weird chocolate banana because why not and made a fitting card to accompany it. His ultimate gift came later though...

Yeah, I know what M wants in his heart of hearts: meat. Poor guy, I'm more used to cooking veggie based dishes since moving out on my own. Not only is it cheaper and healthier, but I definitely came from that family who more often than not went with the "meat and 2 sides" dinner formula and while my parents are great cooks, it was a revelations that, as long as it met my dietary requirements of course, I could have whatever I wanted! Quinoa and tofu entered into my rotation pretty heavily and though, since moving in with M, I've started cooking more meat again, I most definitely don't do big meat-centric meals too often, especially roasts.

Sunday though, I didn't mind the extra time in the kitchen (it seems more right on a Sunday) so I used this recipe for a spicy brown sugar glazed pork loin. It was super easy and came out fantastic. I finally invested in a meat thermometer so no more accidentally overcooking meat for fear I'm going to poison anyone. 

Overall, it was an excellent, low-key Valentine's weekend. I hope everyone enjoyed spending time with loved ones, whether that means pets, yourself, family, or maybe you celebrated Galentine's Day instead, you do you!

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Anyhoo, like I mentioned last time, I had plans on Monday to go shopping with my friend. While out I decided to treat myself to a personal Valentine's present in the form of some super colorful shoes that-bonus!-will make me t a l l e r.

I've been pretty into this platform sneaker trend- I think it makes young 90s Ashley very happy that she can finally buy herself her dream shoes. These are Converse and are very comfortable and will totally be something I wear often- a benefit of working in an elementary school I guess. 

At the end of last week I also decided to get myself a new game for my Switch since I had an Amazon gift card burning a hole in my pocket. Not technically a Valentines gift but it literally just got delivered about a half hour ago so I'm too excited not to share.

I figured Animal Crossing was just the kind of low-pressure/relaxing game I'll get a lot of play out of. Regular video games tend to work me up (yeah, even Mario64 which I'm working on right now. I don't know what's wrong with me). That doesn't mean I don't like them, it just means I have to be in the right mood for it. To get even more use out of my Switch-and at the recommendation of a few friends-I figured this was the way to go. It arrived that the perfect time too, since M has a [virtual] game night with his friends today so I have a whole evening to dive in!

As a parting gift, enjoy this song that get's me all sentimental and sappy for M and stay warm my friends.