red couches, tulips and birthdays ...oh my!

obviously I love Jeff for many reasons...one of the first reasons happened right after we started dated exclusively. So, my birthday happened pretty quickly after we decided to be boyfriend/girlfriend and I totally didn't expect Jeff to actually buy me a present at that point (okay, a part of me hoped he would I suppose :-)

He even did the whole "oh yeah, I forgot your present at home" gag before laughing and pulling a beautifully wrapped gift out of the trunk of his car.

What was the first present Jeff ever gave me?

Well, he brought nineteen beautiful pink tulips in a green vase...those were gorgeous but the best part was inside the beautifully wrapped package.

I know this may seem unbelievable but I can tell you with sincerity that I knew what was in the box before I opened it. I just knew in my heart.

One of the most incredible things about Jeff is he listens to what I say. He'll probably laugh at me when he reads this because I sometimes yell at him about how he never listens to me... that is not entirely true. He does listen to me and even though he can be forgetful, sometimes he remembers the most random things I talk about.

So...the gift was something I had mentioned seeing in a sculpture class I was taking in school. The professor had brought in the coolest book and I thought it was really interesting so I mentioned it to Jeff (before we were even dating) in passing. This is the book:

It was out of print at the time so he found a really good in shape copy somewhere online. If he was trying to impress me it definitely worked because I was so touched with the thought that went into this first gift. I'll always feel lucky and grateful for the man behind the intention because without the present he is forever the best gift...happy birthday to me!