Valentine’s Day Treasure Hunt

For Valentine’s day, Liz and I agreed to not get one another gifts. We decided against going out to a restaurant, and planned for a nice, relaxing evening at home together. We’d make dinner, open a bottle of wine, light some candles, and have an intimate dinner in our apartment.

The one thing we did get one another was a card. While I wrote a long, heartfelt message on my card… Liz had a very short message for me.

That is – a very short message, written in invisible ink. After trying to decipher the note using the candles at the dinner table… we decided to go in to the kitchen, to use the stove.

The message reads: Happy V Day. Follow the clues to get your treat (all 8). Good luck!

Along with the first note, there was a starter clue. The hunt begins.

Front of the card.

Clue: Brrr… it’s cold out side. Must keep warm using my _____.”

My first thought was that it was Liz’s boots. They keep her feet incredibly warm (so much so that she sometimes has to go without socks). I headed towards the front door but Liz stopped me before I got there.

She gave me a slight hint, and I began searching her winter jacket. Not finding anything in her pockets, I spotted her hat nearby. I picked up the hat, then set it down, not seeing anything underneath.

Liz told me I was close, and I then though tto check inside the hat. She would continue to do this throughout the search – whenever I was getting off course a bit, she’d steer me back on track.

The next card.

Clue: Place where you make “tweets.”

This led me to the office, and to my computer. I checked immediately under the keyboard, but found the next clue taped to the back of one of my monitors.

A very appropriate card.

Clue: I’m feeling handy today… must fix things.

This was an easy one! Went right to the utility closet. The incredibly organized utility closet.

Another great card. Interestingly, I used this exact same phrase in my letter to Liz.

Clue: Where do I go to make sweets for my honey?

Another easy clue. Given Liz’s love of baking all manner of awesome stuff, I naturally headed straight to the pantry.

The next card.

Clue: Place where you go for complete privacy.

Naturally, the next clue was in the bathroom.

Possibly my favorite card of the night.

Clue: Must compute! #’s that is.

This one led me back to the office. Liz does a lot of number crunching for her job (and also handles our household finances). So I naturally went over to her desk. I checked her computer, but didn’t see anything anywhere. I then though to open up her drawer, where she keeps her calculator.

Bingo!

Next card (which I’m tempted to say might be Liz’s favorite).

Clue: Place/thing we watch ‘Wild Things.’

This is a reference to my recent fascination with the TV show River Monsters, which I’ve also subjected Liz to. I headed over to the living room, and checked near the television.

Spotted the next note, taped behind the screen.

The next card.

Clue: It’s not out of this world, but it’s out of the apartment for sure.

Ah, so suddenly Liz’s earlier direction was an intentional one, to keep me from going out to the stairwell.

I headed back towards the front door and found the next card.

The last and final card.

Clue: You were sitting on it all throughout dinner.

At this point, I let out a no WAY and made a beeline for the dining room table.

This is what I found, taped to the bottom of my seat. No wonder Liz wanted me sitting at a specific spot for our dinner tonight!

After a lengthy and fun search, I got the box of chocolates out from under the chair and onto the table. We ate a few pieces each, as I marveled at how Liz was able to get all these clues in place without my knowing.

As we were eating the chocolate, we were both remembering a Valentine’s Day dinner from 2007. Four years, three apartments, two rabbits and one wedding later… we found ourselves doing the same thing: eating sweets, talking about them, and talking about our lives together.

I have to say – my wife continues to shame me with her fantastic gift-giving style. Though we were just going to give one another cards this year, she went absolutely all-out and gave me a delightful treasure hunt instead.

My wife is absolutely fantastic, and I shudder to think what or where my life would be without her. I think it’s pretty obvious just how lucky I am to have met her, to have fallen in love with her and, more importantly, for her to have fallen in love with me.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone.

// Edit: The awesome cards that Liz printed out were made (and distributed free) by the very talented Samantha Hahn. You can view/download them here.

Related:
Awesome Birthday Surprise: My Office, Filled with Balloons
My Amazing (and Slightly Terrifying) Birthday Surprise
Birthday Dinner, 2007