Kitchen Tables....pointless furniture?

My husband and I celebrated Valentine's Day at home this year, as we have done almost every year in the past during our dating relationship.  Neither of us was ever big on going out to fancy restaurants, on special or non-special occasions. I've always just cooked dinner for him, which of course is more than fine with me (and him!)

As much as I cook, mealtime is never a formal occasion.  In fact, I can't even remember the last time we sat at my dining table, which is actually one of the largest pieces of furniture that I own!  I love my table, but sometimes I wonder why I even have it.  We NEVER sit there!  We always eat in the living room and watch TV.  Not because we don't have anything to talk about, but just because it's comfortable, easy, and usually our favorite shows are on around the time we get to finally sit down and eat.  We enjoy the down-time together and usually one of us ends up with the remote, flipping back and forth between what one of us wants to watch and what the other one wants to watch.  It's cooperative TV-watching if you will. :)

Since last night's dinner was quite elaborate (even for me!) we did, in fact, sit at our kitchen table!  I even decorated it with some heart-shaped tea lights that one of my students gave me.

The meal was delicious and I felt proud of myself.  We had flank steak and BLT smashed potatoes with a side of steamed broccoli.  ("BLT"stands for bacon, leek, and tomato).  Here is the link to the recipe: Steak 'n taters

Sitting at the kitchen table sharing dinner with my husband was probably the best conversation I had enjoyed in weeks.  There was no distraction of the TV, the dogs were in their beds rather than sniffing around the coffee table like usual, and we were left with nothing to do but stare at each other and talk.  And I don't mean that in a cheesy way, I mean that even if we didn't want to that was all we COULD do.  It was awesome and definitely something I want to make a habit of.  Kitchen tables are so often neglected by couples, which I believe, if they were utilized more often, marriages would last longer.