Valentine's in T-minus 10...

We have officially hit February 4th, ladies & gentlemen. I know that this day might just be another day in the neighborhood for some of you parents, but I challenge you to make your feelings known!

Some days I feel like I have fallen into a day to day routine now that I have children, how about the rest of you?

 However, on a side note, I have also recently made a major life breakthrough, mentally. Not to get to sappy, but once you loose someone close to you, you really start to appreciate how short life is. So again, make it a point on this "Hallmark Holiday" to participate.

I understand the cheesiness of it all, but remember when you're on the receiving end of it, you truly do appreciate it, right?! So write a cute lil message on their morning banana....

Put a quick note on their dashboard....

Or if you are feeling extra LOVING <3 p="">

How about my treat from last year.. I made a brownie box mix, added a couple drops of raspberry extract into the mix & once it was cooled I cut them out with a heart cookie cutter. For the "sauce" I mixed raspberry jam with a little apple juice to dilute it and shook it in a shaker till it was thinned down. I then just spooned a few droplets to add color to the plate. 

SO what do you think? Will you take the challenge?

Sometimes these little, very unexpected things are better than the standard card and flowers.

Surprises are a lovely thing <3 p="">

A Latte Love <3

I know that Valentine’s Day is done, but one more post on that thought, okay?

I made this drink cozy for my husband a couple years ago, but came across it again just in time for the day. Unfortunately things have been crazy at work for him, so I stopped by Starbucks & bought the biggest cookie I could find… because I equate chocolate chip cookies with love, don’t you? I believe that he thought it was the best Valentines as well.

Happy Valentine’s Day 2013!

 

I wish you all a very loving & lovely day…

I am happy to announce that I am off to party it up with a bunch of Kindergarteners.

So? Are you loving my chocolate décor as much as I? I am beaming with pride for myself on this one! I don’t usually toot my own horn, but I’m lovin’ myself on this Valentine’s Day.

A Chocolatey Idea

I need to start off this post by saying, I am no chocolatier. I am, however, a chocoholic. Not the kind that I crave it one week a month, and not the kind that I LOVE, love. Love! Chocolate (although I do). I do mean it in ever sense of “aholic” you can imagine. Hide it? yes. Horde it? yes. Not willing to share? yes. But the one that made me stop and evaluate my situation is the day I stopped to get lunch and bought three salted dark chocolate caramels, individually wrapped. I put one in my mouth, and the other two in my pocket. Within the ten minutes I needed to get back to work, I had another one gone… I sat at my desk, seething for the last one. LOL desperate? I think so! I really wanted to keep it for that 2 pm crash/hang up, but no! It was gone 10 minutes later.

Now that you know my love/hate relationship with this most wonderful/most loathed object in my life, I have a nicer story to end with…

As I was drifting off to dreamland the other night I had a vision of creating chocolates for Valentine’s Day. They were going to combine two of my favorite flavors, Chocolate (of course) & raspberry. I had some jam in the fridge…

I also had a very lovely silicone heart mold I wanted to use for the occasion. You guessed it, the idea nagged at me, just as that last salted caramel. I decided to try my hand at being that non-chocolatier. I have to say, for my first time with “filled” chocolates, I feel like I did a fabulous job! The professionals seem to get more “stuff” in the middle, but I was fearful it would ooze out the back or the sides. They tasted just like my vision as I drifted off to sleep.

<3

It’s beginning to look a lot like…

 

You guessed it! Valentine’s Day!

This is lil punkin’s first Valentine’s Day @ school, and her Valentines are due tomorrow.We have loads to do!

Big Thanks to Cinnaberry-Suite & Pinterest for giving us something to give to the boys, that was not too princessy <3

Butterflies in the winter

 

How cute is this… the craft, not the amazing little girl! While at the ice carving festival, there was also a wellness expo going on in our local supermarket’s side deli. To keep warm, we bopped around the expo for a bit. My lil punkin’ here is the crafty one, she loves being creative any way possible. When the lady invited her to make this cute butterfly, she was up for it.

What do you need?

1 ziplock baggy

1 clothespin (colored pretty with markers of course)

a pipe cleaner (folded in half)

some yummy food or candy

How easy is that? The possibilities are endless. I am thinking a springtime birthday party craft, or Valentine’s craft with conversational hearts in place of the goldfish?! How about homemade caramel popcorn with red sprinkles and white chocolate, red pipe cleaners with red heart antennae tips. Oh I love it! Must. make. some :)

Free Valentine's Printable

It is Valentine's Day!

Do you have something special planned for your sweet heart? Maybe you've already celebrated with your love ones this past weekend? This is what we did, and I had a wonderful weekend. I got time out of the house, sans kids ;) For this, my little princesses got little necklaces for their Valentine's Day gift. They also got a cute heart tin with three chocolates inside... perfect amount for a 3 and 4 year old.

Everyone who would like to download can also benefit from my little R&R. I have a free printable for you, and you, and even you!

If you'd like to download this file please click on the link below.

RIGHT HERE <3