Wow - I wonder what he has in store at the year mark!

This month marks a small, but significant milestone in my very young marriage. As of Dec. 14, Brent and have been married for six months.

Let me backtrack a bit and say that with the exception of our one-month anniversary on July 14, the 14th day of the other months have been - understandably - quite unexceptional. If I happened to notice that it was, for example, Oct. 14, I might give Brent a, "By the way... happy four-month anniversary hubby!" kind of remark, but other than that, I didn't expect to celebrate anything until the big ONE YEAR! (Fingers are still crossed very likely in vain for a very unlikely surprise trip to Hawaii!)

So it wasn't a surprise to me that I didn't put 2-and-2 together when Brent asked me if I had any plans for yesterday night - a Sunday. Now I know I've only been married for six months, but I do know my husband. Therefore, I know that it's like pulling teeth to get him out of the house on Sunday nights - he would much rather relax in front of a football game and get mentally prepared for the work week ahead. So when he mentioned a surprise on Sunday night, I immediately became suspicious, yet didn't register the date.

He told me to dress nice, so I put on a dress and high heels and off we went down 57th Street so I could see my favorite NYC Christmas decoration - the giant star that hangs over 57th Street and 5th Avenue.

But then he cut over to 58th Street an led me into this restaurant called Tao. I had never heard of it before, but I later found out that it's a trendy place popular with celebrities that's also the largest and most popular Asian restaurant in New York City.

Apparently, it's designed to indulge all the senses. To that extent, it's relatively dark so you can't see what you're eating as much as you can smell and taste it. Also, they spin their own music inside the restaurant, which looks much like someone decided to turn a big, empty warehouse with a high ceiling into an Asian retreat.

After sharing a warm edamame appetiser, I dug into my fillet mignon over spicy noodles and veggies and he nibbled on his salmon. Then, we were given the dessert menu. Normally, Brent doesn't even glance at it, but this time, he asked me what I wanted for dessert. Again - I was very suspicious. So we ordered a pot of green tea and decided to go with the over-sized fortune cookie that was filled with white chocolate mousse on one side and chocolate mousse on the other and surrounded by fresh fruit.

A few minutes later, the waitress brought us our dessert - complete with two lit candles and the words "Happy Anniversary" spelled out in chocolate sauce on the plate.

"How did you..." I began to ask Brent, who had never left my side the entire time we were at the restaurant, so I know he couldn't have let them know it was our anniversary that evening.

"I can't let you in on all my secrets," he replied with that impish smile. But he did tell me that he had to make our reservations at the restaurant at least a month in advance. So while I was or was not noticing it was our five-month anniversary, he was already planning something special for our six-month anniversary. You gotta love the guy!

And of course we each got a fortune with our cookie. Mine said "Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it that you can," which was appropriate for me as I attempt to be a painter in my art class.

But Brent's was absolutely perfect for a couple in love celebrating their anniversary. It said "Sex without love is an empty experience, but as empty experiences go, it's one of the best." What's more romantic than that?