Oops

In all of yesterday's holiday-ness I forgot to take the time to post what I am grateful for, but just because I didn't post it doesn't mean I wasn't thinking about it. Because yesterday was valentines day I spent most of my day thinking about how grateful I am for my husband, and especially the fact that he is someone that I really, truly enjoy being with. I won't get all mushy on you, but not every girl can say that her husband always knows what to do to make her laugh. That is a very important quality!

Here's a picture of us from our trip to Nashville, my apologies on the awful quality, it was dark...

Ah Valentine's Day

I am a romantic. A romance-novel-reading, chick-flick-loving, hopeless romantic. Needless to say, I LOVE Valentine's Day.

Now don't get me wrong, I am realistic. My husband is not the romantic type, and while he tries very hard, and is super sweet, I know better than to expect and over-the-top gesture on this particular holiday - although he has surprised me once or twice.

So on Valentine's Day I choose to share my love for all things girly and romantic. Which is exactly why I spent my Sunday watching chick flicks and baking, one giant chocolate cake and a tone of heart shaped cookies later, I am so ready for this holiday!

Oh Martha

Every time I get a new issue of Martha Stewart Living I flip through and think to myself "why am I paying for this, it's all flower arrangements and recipes that I will never make." But then, I inevitably find one beautiful gem that jumps off the page and screams "this is why you pay for this!"

This month it's this adorable, and completely do-able zip tie heart garland. I love this and will completely be making one for some reason or another. Thank you Martha.

So true!

My absolute favorite candy is Dove Promises Dark Chocolate. I really dolce dark chocolate, but the best thing about these are the quotes on the wrappers. I have been seriously craving some chocolate, and I was all set to buy the valentine version, because what is better than chocolate shaped liked hearts, so I was super bummed when they didn't have them. But it's not like I was going to not buy chocolate, so I bought the regular ones. The first quote that I got made up for the lack of lovey dovey heart shaped cuteness!

Super easy wreath

I've never been one of those people who decorates for every single holiday, I go all out for Christmas, but the rest of the year my house looks pretty much the same, with the exception of some small seasonal changes, and the occasional switcharoo when I get bored with a vase or candle. I just don't see the point in having all those cutesy holiday decorations when my place already looks so great (plus I'm all about matching color schemes, so throwing in some pink for Valentine's day would totally clash with everything else that I own).

That said, I have also been feeling as though I've neglected my front porch, which is, you know, a pretty average front porch, except for the fact that no one ever uses it. The sidewalk from our driveway leads to our backdoor, and there is no sidewalk to the front door, so basically it's a wast of space. BUT it is the part of the house that you see when you drive by, and I promise I'm going somewhere with this incredibly long rant... where was I?

Oh yeah... anyways, I decided that the solution to my neglected front porch was a cute wreath, since I'm obsessed with the super-versatile Styrofoam wreath trend that is blowing up on Pinterest. And since nothing else that I own is seasonal, this seemed the perfect place to celebrate all of those random holidays.

Here is the super cute wreath that I made this afternoon

the base is made from 2" strips of burlap wrapped around a Styrofoam wreath form. The heart designs are hearts that I cut out of random pieces of cotton fabric that I had in my stash. After I cut them out I sewed them to cream colored fleece scraps to stiffen them a bit and add texture. And of course I used my hot glue gun to attache them to the wreath. Add a few bows and there you have it!

Valentine's day...already?

I don't know about you, but I have fully embraced the craziness that is Valentine's day (and yes, I do realize that it is a month away, but you know me... obsessively organized...). Anyway, I spent the evening contemplating what I would create for Valentine's day this year. It all started with my hankering to bust out the cookie press that I received as a Christmas gift.

My parents had one of these, and as a kid I loved that thing, but I've always been just a bit to cheap to purchase one for myself, because I know that it would only get used a few times a year (a la all the other random kitchen gadgets that I own). I was more than overjoyed to get one as a gift, however, and Valentine's day seems like the perfect excuse to bust that baby out.

Therefore the first holiday treat on my V-day list is pink and chocolate heart spritz cookies, just like these:

From there my mind wandered to marshmallows... I know, random, but ever since my first attempt at making them, right before Christmas (and my surprise at how easy the whole process was) I have been looking forward to doing it again - this time I want to cut them with a heart shaped cookie cutter, because duh, Valentines day, just like these:

However I am leaning towards pink, and possibly on a stick, oh, and drizzled with chocolate - so much for that whole eating healthy thing...

Finally, sensing a theme here (heart shaped and gadgets that I don't use nearly often enough) I'm feeling the urge to dust off the awesome Message-in-a-cookie Cutters that I purchased from Williams Sonoma and used to create last years V-day cookies (not to mention all of our wedding favors - see picture!)