Valentine’s Day has always been my favorite holiday, and this year we had such an amazing time I'm still glowing four days later.Usually my husband A.D. (aka Mr. Glamorosi) and I plan our Valentine’s Day celebration together, but this year he made the reservations and decided to keep me in the dark. The day began with flowers, sweets and gifts, but instead of giving A.D. everything at once I decided to surprise him during dinner with the jewelry I made for him - a sterling silver chainmaille tie chain with topaz.
At 5:30 PM a cab whisked us off to the first secret location which turned out to be the newly-opened Chifa, the fourth Philly restaurant from renowned Chef Jose Garces (his others are Amada, Tinto, and Distrito). After a champagne toast we feasted on Peruvian-Cantonese cuisine, then right before dessert I gave A.D. his tie chain. Suddenly he produced a tiny box, opened it to reveal a stunning white topaz ring, and he proposed! We’ve been married for going on nine years but every now and then he asks me again and of course I always say “Yes” (P.S. How neat that we both chose topaz!).
After dinner there was another surprise. This time A.D. asked the cabbie to bring us to The Kimmel Center and then laughed and said to me, “I can’t believe you don’t know about this”. I really had no clue what we were going to see – even as we entered the theater I looked for but couldn't find a marquee. Once we left will call A.D. handed me the tickets and Oh. My. Gawd! We were at a Rufus Wainwright concert!
Rufus has been the soundtrack to our entire relationship; through the years we’ve seen him in venues ranging from the small but legendary Philly club J.C. Dobbs all the way to his big Judy Garland show at Carnegie Hall. We love Rufus. Watching him perform makes me want to do better at everything: I want to be a better artist and make better jewelry, I want to see more, feel more, do more… Rufus’ immense talent gives me a sense of all that is possible.
As if the whole day wasn't over-the-top enough, the opening act was Rufus’ sister Martha Wainwright. We love her too – her voice is gorgeous - and to hear them sing together is proof of angels on earth.
This was truly the most romantic Valentine’s Day I’ve ever had. I am astounded by how much effort went into surprising me, including hiding the fact that a week prior to the show A.D. interviewed Rufus Wainwright for Philadelphia City Paper. To read the piece click here.
Gems and Findings
- My aforementioned husband A.D. Amorosi starts his radio gig on WXPN 88.5 FM this Thursday (February 19) with Dan Reed during the 4 PM hour.
- There's a new blog called 37 Questions About One Thing - the current topic is Seattle. I'm not telling you about it because the author is my friend (she is), or because I want an extra entry in her Vivace Coffee giveaway that runs through March 16, 2009 (but I'll take it), I'm telling you because she's cool and it's a fun read. Check it out!
- Finally, the winner of GlamorInky Friday #19 has been selected; the person who scored the Sterling Silver Chainmaille Earrings from my new collection is… Lilyk! Congratulations to Lilyk and thank you to everyone who participated.
All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.
~Charles M. Schulz
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