glasses & grenades: Heart Eyes For Days

THURSDAY:

It was the fall of 1996. My mom dropped me off at the movies in her 1980ish Toyota Corrolla station wagon. I hated that car. I spent most of my teen years laying down in the back seat just so no one would see me riding around town in it. I was meeting up with a few of my girlfriends. We had just started 6th grade but we had known each other most of our lives having gone to the same elementary school. None of them of course gave a shit about my mom's car but as soon as I hopped out of it I still gave my mom a look that said "ok, you can go now!" - and she did once she spotted the rest of the girls. We met at the Colonial Promenade which back in the 90s was a popular movie theater. It still exists today but it's been turned into a dollar theater. I can't remember if this was my first no adult/friends only movie but it's the one that sticks out most in my mind. Me and the rest of the girls skipped right up to the glass window and bought tickets to see Romeo + Juliet. I have no idea who suggested this movie but I am forever grateful they did. I was fascinated by it all. The violence, the costume party, the music, the romance, and the sadness had my full attention for two hours. It was that movie that made me forget all about my childhood crush, JTT. I was all JTT who when I was introduced to Leonardo DiCaprio. I think all of us girls at the time were drooling over him, writing our first names followed by DiCaprio down in our Five Star Trapper Keepers. I just really loved that version of Romeo + Juliet. I watch it every time I see it on TV. I was and still am obsessed with the soundtrack. So when I saw that it was going to be shown February 13th for Winter Park's monthly series Popcorn Flicks I was ecstatic. I texted the screenshot to Dustin one work day back in January. He was in!

We checked the five day forecast and it showed that our movie night was going to be cold. It was actually the only day/night of the week that was going to be cold. Just our luck. So the night before we put blankets and sheets in my trunk. We also got gloves, hats, and our heaviest of jackets ready to go. When I got home from work it was 61 degrees. It wasn't bad at all but all but the stuff was already in my trunk so I just left it. Dustin decided to wear a lighter sweatshirt and SHORTS which I thought was kind of ridiculous but to each his own. I wore a lighter sweater too but I still brought my puffy jacket aka the jacket I bought in Pittsburgh to wear to the 40 degree Steelers game. We grabbed a quick dinner and off we went. We got there about 20 minutes before the movie started. We set up right near the front with our sheet, comforter, beach chair, and Dustin even brought a pillow. There were still about 15 minutes left until the movie started and I had to pee so I left Dustin to guard our area and walked a block to Panera to empty my bladder and buy some drinks. At this point it was in the 50s and we both still opted for cold drinks (lemonade for him, bottle of water for me). The movie started and was just as magical as it always is but even more so because I was with Dustin outside in the middle of a park. I sat in the chair with a snuggie on and he laid down at my feet wrapped in the comforter. We were cozy for awhile and then the temperature dropped to the 40s. I noticed so many other couples in light jackets and super thin blankets struggling to keep warm. Shit, Dustin and I were some of the most prepared for the cold and we were struggling to keep warm, especially when the wind blew. But I was too focused on the movie to really care. The most annoying thing about the whole experience were the trains that kept coming through. Someone would pause the movie each time they did but there were at least 5+ trains. That damn Sunrail is already pissing me off. We didn't let it ruin the night and with each paused train moment we rearranged ourselves and wrapped our blankets more tightly around ourselves. There was only 30 or so minutes left in the movie when I realized I needed to pee - AGAIN. I have the bladder of an 80 year old woman. It's not fun. I told Dustin I was thinking of walking back down to Panera but he said I wasn't going alone in the dark unless he went with me which would mean packing up early. I certainly didn't want to skip out on the ending. Then I noticed a girl walk in front of us up to the from and then step into the porta-potty. Dustin suggested I used that and I gave him a "eww" face and told him I'd hold it. Except I really couldn't hold it and apparently neither could most of the girls there because as soon as one girl left another girl walked up. I decided to be one of those girls because I just couldn't hold it any longer. The porta potty was completely dark except for the moonlight that peaked through a very small window at the top. I sucked it up, hovered, and pissed for what felt liked an eternity. I got to see the end of the movie and all was well. As we walked back to my car our bones hurt, our noses were pink and our fingers numb from the cold. We saw the temperature read on a bank sign - 46 degrees. I get that we weren't sitting in snow or anything but 46 degrees is fucking cold. It's cold in northern states and it's especially cold in Florida. It's even more cold when you're out in it for 3 hours. But we had the best time even with the cold weather. Even with the train interruptions. There was no where else I would have rather been on that cold Thursday night than with Dustin shivering while watching one of the greatest love stories of all time.

Dustin preparing for the cold the night before. // Sipping on lemonade.

Cozy. // Montague & Capulet. // Layers upon layers.

Full moon hangs over the park. // The pool scene is one of my faves.

FRIDAY:

Before I left for work, I left a card and bag of Reeses cups on Dustin's chair so he would be sure to see them when he woke up. I went to work in a good mood, mostly because it just so happened to be my early day which means I got to leave at 1pm. The day went by pretty fast and before I knew it I was hauling ass home to pick up Dustin.

We had lunch at Five Guys because CHEESEBURGERS. Then we went to see 'That Awkward Moment'. It would have been a movie I would have asked Erin to see with me but she's not here anymore so Dustin offered to take me. He's kind of awesome like that. I really enjoyed it. It reminded me of a male version of Sex in the City. I mean sure it was predictable but who cares. It had some pretty laugh out old moments mixed with different romantic relationships. And plus Zac Efron was naked a lot so you can't go wrong there.

Side Note about the movie: I've heard the phrase "the key to Gramercy Park" in various pop culture - always thinking it was an expression of some kind. I had no idea that it is an actual private park in NY for the snobs that live in the area. And you need an actual key to get into it! You really do learn something new every day.

I had to pee after the movie was over. Surprise surprise. I came out of the restroom expecting to see Dustin waiting for me but I didn't see him anywhere. I looked to the left, to the right, no Dustin. I assumed he went to the restroom too so I was just going to wait. Then I heard someone say "Ashley!" so I looked around and I still didn't see him. I was so confused. I almost thought I was going crazy until finally Dustin revealed himself. He was in the cardboard Muppet poster (see photo below) and blended right in. He was there the whole time and I hadn't even noticed. I looked right at him several times! WHAT THE HELL. He was cracking up. I was cracking up. Everyone in the theater hallway thought we were nuts. We literally laughed all the way to the car.

After the movie, we went to Target. We recently got our tax return back and agreed to use $100 for household items we needed and put the rest into savings. So with our $100 we bought a really nice new frying pan (for Dustin since he cooks 99.9% of all of our food) and a cordless handheld Shark mini vacuum (for me because I always leave crumbs everywhere). We still had $30 leftover.

On our way home, we stopped by The Food Truck Bazaar for some Yum Yum Cupcakes. We were still too full from lunch to buy any real food. I hadn't had my favorite cupcakes in months! MONTHS! We left with 3 Dom Berrignon's and 1 Peanut Butter Chocolate. YUM is right.

When I got home I checked the mail as I do every day and it was quite possibly one of the greatest mail days ever. Four v-day cards! I tried to tear into them the minute I walked back in the house but Dustin made me put them down and lead me to the living room. He said, "These are for you" pointing to tulips, a card and my fave candy. I immediately read his card and started crying. He wrote the most beautiful things that will forever be for my eyes only.

Me: Thank you so much! This is all so nice!
Dustin: Did you really think I didn't get you anything?
Me: You paid for lunch and the movie and I thought that was plenty!

And then I opened my other cards. Two from my mom, one from Sam, and one from Erin (with earrings included). In that moment, I felt really loved.

My Valentine's Day was one of the best I've ever had. Love is a great thing.

I wore my heart on my feet, neck and sleeve.

Delicious donuts at work. // A cute sign I drove by.

I bought this card for Dustin on Etsy. He loved it even more than I thought he would. // Waiting for our favorite Food Truck to open. They are the only cupcakes in Orlando as far as I'm concerned.