string art // surprises

Our first valendate was so great. Sam had decided to make the entire day a date for me (even though we were both at work). In the morning, I was given a stack of envelopes and told to open the first one when I got to school. Each note throughout the day came with sweet words and a surprise treat. 

One note told me to get a vase ready. Sam brought home the most beautiful arrangement of flowers. 

Funny story about these flowers. I work about 25 minutes away from our house and didn't fully anticipate what kind of challenge it would pose to bring a large vase full of water and flowers home. Oh, and I drive a standard. There were a few scary moments but floral arrangements are worth a little bit of danger, right? 

dinner. tucci's

activity. string art

bow tie // fox and brie

shirt // gap

cardigan // gap

jacket // banana republic

shoes // johnston and murphy

 Tulsa has quite a few good places if you're looking for a fancier dinner experience. I chose one of our favorite Italian places, Tucci's on Cherry Street. Jordan spent a summer in Italy and swears that their Penne l'Arrabiata is about as close as you can get in northeastern Oklahoma. If you go, order it. We also splurged this time for their Artichoke Cichetti (pretentious name for "Artichoke Dip"). Incredibly satisfying meal altogether. 

In one of the notes, Sam told me to wear heels. I am absolutely the worst at walking in heels. But it was really fun to be all dressed up and fancy for this date. If you haven't noticed yet, oxblood is one of my favorite colors to wear. 

top // similar

skirt // anthropologie (old)

tights // similar 

belt // j.crew

shoes // borrowed from mom

Our first detail shot. Sam is getting better at photography :) 

Jordan says it's ok to take pictures that do not include the subject's face. 

One of the last cards of the night announced our activity. Sam said that he loved doing all sorts of activities with me, even crafts. We got home and he had all the supplies to do string art! If you don't know what I'm talking about, imagine the manliest craft you can think of. That's pretty much it. Nails, hammers, boards, it's all there. In fact, Sam did much more of this craft than I did.

We basically followed these instructions completely. It took much longer than I had anticipated, but it was worth it.

And here's the finished product! After only a couple bruises and two nights of working on it (not to mention a pretty nastily punctured thumb). I'm pretty proud of my crafty husband.