Show of hands, who is still surprised when their husband does something sweet?
Mine is raised.
I’m not sure why, my husband can actually be very thoughtful, but I’m definitely still taken aback when he surprises me with a gesture that wasn’t a direct result of me threatening his life.
With his new role, my husband will be traveling a ton. Mostly back and forth from Maine to South Carolina until we permanently move but also internationally to work on site for his company.

His first  trip took him to the wine region of France.

I was so panicked about being alone with the baby and planning my escape to my parent’s that I didn’t even have time to be jealous….until the text pics and instas of wine caves and vineyards started rolling in.

I mean, the kid doesn’t even like wine.

I LOVE wine! 
Shouldn’t I be the one shacking up in a chateau and drinking me way through Burgundy and Alsace!? 
Behold, his actual hotel:

Just as I was starting to really hate my husband (and coincidentally just after I went to Target and bought anything that might make myself and our baby feel better after a marathon day of screaming), I received this text:

without me knowing, my husband packed an empty suitcase to fill with wine and bring home to me.

Talk about speaking my love language.

Behold, the actual suitcase:
In my house, we have a little saying “pic or it didn’t happen”….the claim of said wine suitcase was too much for be to believe without a pic. 

After each vineyard, fancy french dinner or countryside tour, my husband sent me a photo of the bottles of wine he selected to bring home for us….or of the glasses he consumed that lead him to his purchases. 
By the time his trip was over, 12 bottles of wine (including two bottles of bubbles!) were making their way stateside.

Sadly, we lost two in transit
RIP, friends.

but the 10 who came home to roost were lovingly displayed on the counter for me when I made it back to Maine with the babe. 
We decided that (since I have a portion control problem) we should assign each bottle of wine an occasion or milestone, mark the bottle and wait until just the right moment to open it. 
I have to say that I am just in love with this idea. 
We’re huge travelers and we always struggle with just the right souvenir to bring home – you know, one that isn’t tacky/cheap/meaningless once we shake off the vacation goggles and have to find a home for it in our house. 
To make the deal even sweeter, because my husband worked so hard to pick just the right bottles, he’s now super invested in the fancy wine drinking! He told me which bottles we should let age and which were ok to drink that night (love language, there you are again) and helped me pick which occasions were just the right level of momentous for each vintage. 
Don’t get me wrong, mama is still slugging back grocery store clearance wine during the witching hour on a Tuesday night but I honestly can’t wait until we purchase our new house in South Carolina and get to open our first tagged French Red. And Gray, when you go to kindergarten, mama and daddy are celebrating by day drinking the second fanciest bottle of French Champagne we’ve got. 
Hope you’re cool with riding in car pool on day one! 
linking up with Annie for Thoughts on Thursday