pony_head - 5 whole years

03:19 pm - 5 whole years

it's true. i've been with my boyfriend, J, for 5 whole years as of this saturday. it's so hard to believe (i checked the math a few times, but it's right) because it really doesn't feel like that much time has gone by since we started dating. we met the summer after my first year at university. i had gone back to the nest to get a summer job, and ended up with a bizarre 'general labourer' job at this warehouse, working on the trade show that would accompany that year's major league baseball all-star thingy. exactly. i did a lot of painting. anyway, that's where we met--J was working as a carpenter on the same show, and as the only female in the entire building, i guess i caught his eye. the funny thing is, as i write this, i realize that we probably have some different ideas about how we got together, but the main thing is that we did and we're still going strong.
in order to celebrate, we each planned part of friday evening. J made us dinner reservations at this restaurant i found, called the rosebud (at queen and bathurst), and i had booked us a room at the gladstone hotel. unfortunately, for pretty much the first time ever, i had to work late unexpectedly and nearly missed dinner. that was unpleasant, but i extricated myself from the mail-out project from hell just in time to go home and change for dinner, and pack a bag for overnight.
dinner was stellar. really, really above and beyond my expectations. the place is so tiny--really long and narrow--and lit mainly by candles on each table. hello, romantic. it's a la carte style, so you can order more dishes and sides also, and share. we had some garlic bread to start (which wasn't even on the menu, but there was some confusion when J meant to order 'grilled artisan bread' and said 'garlic bread' instead. without batting an eye, our server made it happen) and it was tasty.
for starters, i had beets with hazelnut-coated goat cheese and greens, and J had some grilled veggies on a salad. we both preferred my dish, but that's only because beets and goat cheese are such a great pairing. they really compliment each other well.
next came kobe beef for J and veal medallions for me, and a giant bowl of saffron risotto to share. it was heavenly; cheesy and the smokiness of the saffron really came through. J was in heaven with his kobe and my veal was good (if not politically correct). it was a truly great meal, and the service was what knocked it out of the park. the servers went above and beyond, and really made us feel like royalty. i'd asked for a mojito, and the server sadly informed me that they'd had to stop serving them because they took too long to make (in such a tiny place, they can only handle a minimum of staff, and each person there was really busy). he was really apologetic, and then changed his tune and said he would go look for some mint and make me one. when no mint was to be had, he offered to make me a martini, which i was hesitant about. i'm not a drinker at all, and don't enjoy strong, boozy drinks. if you're gonna get me liquored up, you have to disguise the alcohol with some other flavour. i explained my aversion to booziness, and he said "leave it to me, i'll invent something that you'll love". he reappeared moments later with a giant martini glass filled with a pinkish liquid. i couldn't quite figure out all the ingredients, but it turned out to be vodka, lime juice, campari, pineapple juice and something else. it was delicious! and i really appreciated the care taken by our server.
the only downside to dinner was that we were so full of risotto we didn't have room for dessert. oh well, i'll have to go back sometime and save room; a couple of their offerings were pretty tempting.
we did a bit of window shopping at a couple nearby home decor shops, and then headed over to the gladstone. J and i had been a few months before for an afternoon during 'doors open toronto' and were really in love with the place. it was recently completely renovated and turned into quite a cool place. there's a bar on the main floor, and then the first 2 floors have been turned into gallery space. instead of individual rooms, it's a bunch of tiny galleries for local artists. very cool. the next 2 floors are rooms that have each been designed by a different team of artists/interior designers. each room is unique and some are really beautiful and innovative. our room is too hard to describe, but we loved it. it was a really great setting for our night, and i'm really glad that i thought of it. the disappointing thing was that there was a wedding taking place on the second floor the next day, so we couldn't look at the mini galleries, which was my main reason for choosing the gladstone in the first place. it was a bummer, but no way around it.
the next day we had a yummy breakfast downstairs, read the paper, and then went out to take some photos and explore the area a bit. queen west west (as some call it) is a bit of a contradiction in terms of storefronts and inhabitants, but it made for some interesting people watching and photo ops. did a little bit of shopping and then headed for home.
it was the best anniversary so far, i'm sad that it's over. i absolutely love celebrating things and i wish we could prolong it for a while. but then it wouldn't be as special, so i guess i'll just have to wait for next year. i wonder what we'll come up with that will top the rosebud and the gladstone..?

Current Mood: jubilant