Valerie’s Italian Bistro

Posted on by Val

Mike and I started dating in April 2004.  Ever since those very first days, we’ve saved little bits and pieces of memorabilia – restaurant receipts, airline tickets, notes and cards to each other.

All of that nostalgia takes up space, and last night (as a last-ditch effort to clean every inch of our condo before I go back to work next week), we went through everything to sort out the so-so stuff while keeping, and appreciating, the good stuff.

The above “menu” was one of the favorite things that I had completely forgotten about!  My senior year in college I made Mike a Valentine’s Day dinner.  I don’t know if I am a perfectionist, a budding restauranteur, or just a nerd, but yes, I actually took this homemade menu to the nearest copy store to get it laminated.

Finding the menu brought back vivid memories of eating the actual meal – I remember it like it was yesterday!  It stands out in both Mike and my minds as one of our favorite meals.

In case it’s hard to read, the menu reads:

Valerie’s Italian Restaurant

Your salad course will be comprised of exquisite mixed greens with tomatoes and feta cheese.

Daily antipasto: succulent crab cakes.

Tonight’s pasta special is a savory capellini tossed with shrimp and capers in a light cream sauce.

The house dessert is a mouthwatering peanut butter Oreo cheesecake.

Bon Appetit!

Ironically, the pasta with capers in a light lemon cream sauce was the dish that I was trying to recreate when I made Raw Eggplant Pasta with Raw Lemon Cream Sauce this week.

One thing that Mike and I both remarked about, while going through the items, was that receipts were the coolest things to find.  A receipt is a lightweight, small item to store, but it instantly brings back memories of wherever you were – whether a comedy show or a restaurant.

Do you save keepsakes like this?  Do you have any great ideas for how to store memorabilia in a fun way? (Ours are stored in tupperware!)

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3 Responses to Valerie’s Italian Bistro

  1. Meredith

    That’s a great idea to save receipts. What was your favorite receipt you came across?

  2. I do save some keepsakes like movie tickets, receipts, random things like that. I just keep them in a drawer for now… I need to find a better way of storing things. I wish I was more creative in that department.

  3. Cute story. One Christmas, my then-boyfriend (now hubby) and I were trying to save money. So, we vowed to give each other something that literally cost NOTHING. He went online and found a site that makes a crossword puzzle out of the questions and answers you supply. It was the coolest/most unusual gift I’ve ever received and so easy to store! It’s in our file cabinet now!
    .-= Jasmine @ Eat Move Write´s last blog ..Legacy4Life- “Fun” Raising for Cancer =-.

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