With the official season of love coming to an end, I wanted to write a reflection on my first Valentine’s Day ever with my boyfriend. Yes, you’re allowed to roll your eyes at reading that last sentence; I, too, was once bitter, jealous, and annoyed at other people being happy and in love. Yet here I am today, so very lucky to have my boyfriend, and I want to express my love and appreciation of him in so many different ways, this being one of them!
Our Valentine’s Day was something I had always dreamed about since I was a little girl. I opened my front door to a beautiful bouquet of flowers, chocolates, more presents, and my wonderful boyfriend. We shared the gifts we got for each other in my room. We were exchanging love letters and expressing our gratitude and our happiness together. I was spoiled with framed photos of us. I gave him an activity for us to do later that evening. He had mentioned the activity months prior about something he had always wanted to try, and I found a small business that indulged in this fun activity.
We left Blo-No and headed towards Yorkville, Illinois for a very fun and special themed lunch. Crusade Burger Bar had a Twilight-themed menu, ‘Love Bites Back,’ for Valentine’s Day weekend. If you know me, then you know that Twilight is my favorite thing ever, so it was only fitting that we went to Crusade Burger for lunch. We arrived roughly around 11:50 a.m. and luckily did not have to wait. The atmosphere of Crusade was wonderful. It was decorated in all things Twilight; they had all the movie soundtracks playing, and the first film was on all of the TV’s.
All of the food was Twilight themed and I went in with a game plan. I knew exactly what I was going to order the moment I stepped foot into the restaurant. We started off with the appetizer, “Golden Onion,” which referenced when Bella and Edward won the golden onion in biology class. It was fried onion petals with ranch and crusade sauce. I also had the “Bella’s Blood (Mocktail)” to drink, which was absolutely delicious with raspberry puree, lemon juice, simple syrup, cranberry juice, and Sprite.
Our main courses were insane. My boyfriend ordered the “Esme Island Breakfast,” which was a fried chicken sandwich, pepperjack, spicy pickles, red cabbage, basil aioli, and a red pepper Biscoff spread. This referenced when Bella was cooking breakfast for herself on their honeymoon and was eating peanut butter while cooking fried chicken. I had ordered the “I’m on a Special Diet,” which was cheese-filled ravioli, sautéed mushrooms tossed in a garlic lemon butter sauce, ancho brisket, red pepper flakes, parsley, parmesan, and served with toast. This referenced Bella and Edward’s first date. She ordered the mushroom ravioli, and he got no food because he was on a “special diet.” Our food was beyond delicious. I am still thinking about how amazing it was, and I want more of it.
Of course they had a lot more drinks, main courses, and appetizers to choose from. So much so I wish it was a permanent menu because I want to go back and try everything. For dessert we ordered the “Where the Hell You Been Loca (Team Jacob)” a chocolate shake, marshmallow rim, brownies, cookie straws, chocolate wolf, and puppy chow. I had to make my boyfriend order the shake because I am a diehard Team Edward fan (always and forever), so it pained me a little bit to not order the Team Edward shake, but the one we ordered was just so delicious sounding to not try.
We left Crusade very happy and full. It was very surreal and romantic for me. They played my favorite love songs from the movie, and everything was just so perfect that I could cry. Up next was our activity! We went to Grateful Clay in Ottawa, Illinois. They hosted a couple’s Valentine’s Day Date Night “Ghost Challenge,” in which couples are taught pottery wheel basics and then get to recreate the pottery scene from the movie “Ghost” with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. They played the song and everything!
As a couple, we worked on one bowl together and then went to our own separate wheels and made two of our very own things. My boyfriend and I were beginners. We had so much fun but got frustrated with the clay, the water, and the pedal very frequently. The studio will glaze and fire our heart bowls, and we will pick them up in 4-6 weeks’ time. We got to choose what color and which of our creations they get to fire.
Overall, I am so very thankful for my boyfriend and getting to experience such an unforgettable Valentine’s Day. I will look back on this day for many years to come. Also, remember to go and support Grateful Clay and Crusade Burger Bar if you ever have the chance or are in the area. They made this such an amazing experience!