I think this Valentine’s Day is our 11th together (we don’t know our anniversary, but we’ve been together over a decade) — and though yes, it’s technically just another day, I love any excuse to celebrate a holiday. I’m not the most romantic person in the world, but pink and red are my favorite colors and I love hearts and flowers and bows and wow, I’m just now realizing how different I am as an adult vs a teen. I used to wear a shirt that literally said “Anti-Valentine’s Day” because I was just such a pleasant teenager.

Anyway, knowing I’m not super duper romantic, Bobby used to think I wasn’t into Valentine’s Day. Admittedly, I don’t remember what we did to celebrate for the first two years of our relationship, but I vividly remember the year I made it very clear that yes, I do want to celebrate Valentine’s Day, and that I was pretty bummed that it wasn’t acknowledged. I explained that I don’t need anything fancy, I don’t need chocolates or flowers or a dinner reservation. A handmade card and dinner at home will do. I didn’t like feeling as though I had to play the cool girlfriend who doesn’t believe in Hallmark holidays, because goddangit, I do. To his credit, he rushed to get a table at a restaurant nearby after my emotional speech, and let’s just say that we never ran into that issue again. Communication is my best friend, you guys.

That was when we were very young and he still had some learning to do. Since then, we’ve had a couple of fancier dates and such, but at some point we decided on a tradition that we’ve had going for the past five years or so: a Shake Shack date! It’s not often that I treat myself to something like Shake Shack, so Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse for it. It can be a little tiresome and weirdly intimidating to have a fancy prix fixe dinner on Valentine’s Day, so going for shroom burgers and cheese fries was such a welcome change. We only broke the tradition last year, since we were in Nashville with family. Instead, we went with my cousins to get grilled cheese and soup — a pretty good substitute, and even better with the company we had.

Needless to say, I cannot wait for today’s Shake Shack date. I’ve been dreaming about cheese fries all week! I might even treat myself to a strawberry shake, because Valentine’s Day, you know? It’s time to treat yourself and the ones you love. Which means I’ll also have to pick up a Poochini for lil Miku! To me, Valentine’s Day isn’t just about romance. It’s just a good excuse to have a special day, a nice treat, and togetherness (or relaxing alone time)!

Zimmerman dress, Kate Spade heels, Free People bow

PS: See my love letter to this bow, here.