My Little Loves

I wanted to share a few picture of my little loves on Valentine's Day last week! Grammy bought them coordinating outfits that were oh so adorable! 

My little drool bug is 3 months old now! 

Ava striking her hip pose!

She adores her little sissy!

Sweet little munchkin! She reminds me so much of Ava as a baby!

Golden Hugs and Kisses

Every girl needs a little sparkle in her life, right?! I created these letters last year for my mantle and loved them so much that I'm using them again this year! 

I picked up a few paper mache' letters from my local craft store and my go to glitter spray paint from Krylon. First, I primed the letters white and let them dry in between coats. Then, I evenly coated the letters with the gold paint. I used the whole can! You want to apply liberally so the white doesn't show through. After they dried for about 30 minutes they went right up on the mantle!

You're left with beautiful, golden hugs and kisses in less than 20 minutes! 

Tomorrow I'll show you the whole mantle so come back!!

Gifts Galore {Valentine's Day}

J Crew Monogram Cap  Lily Candleholders  Heart Bowls  

Michael Kors Watch  Bobbi Brown Bronzer  Kate Spade Earrings  

Tassle Pillow  TB Flip Flops  TB Cosmetic Case

These Valentine's gifts are sure to make any girl giddy! Hint hint hubby!! 

New Wreath

A new month means a new wreath! 

I purchased the wreath from the craft store for $5 and wrapped it with burlap ribbon that I had leftover from last Easter. I hot glued the beginning and the end piece.  The mdf letter I painted red, then attached to the wreath with heart ribbon that I looped through. 

The whole project took about 30 minutes and cost less than $10. 

I'd say this was another successful diy project! 

A few more additions and the porch will be Valentines ready! 

Valentine's Mantle

There's no denying Valentine's is around the corner at my home. Just look at my mantle! 

The yarn wreath was a diy project last year that I'm reusing! No sense in recreating the wheel! You can go here to read about it. 

The love bottle is actually an old wine bottle that I sprayed with chalkboard paint, and tied twine on for an added touch. 

The golden hugs and kisses were a quick diy explained here. 

Target had the cutest pillows that I scooped up on sale last week along with the heart votive holder sans candle. Oops! And, the banner was a Hobby Lobby find for $2.50. I couldn't make one for that inexpensive. All I did was glue the letters on and string them with the twine. 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

*Linked up here: Mopping the Floor, Home Sweet Home, The Gunny Sack, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Craft O Maniac, CRAFT, Skip to My Lou, Sugar Bee Crafts, DIY Dreamer, Cherished Bliss, Uncommon, My Uncommon Slice, Today's Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, Project Queen, Boerman Ramblings, Someday Crafts, Printabelle, Southern Lovely, Cheap Crafty Mama,  Savvy Southern Style, The Sasse Life, Clean and Scentsible, Ginger Snap Crafts, Somewhat Simple, Delightful Order,  Embracing Change,  Fireflies,House of Hepworths, Shabby Chic Cottage, KatiesNesting, The Shabby Nest, Beyond the Picket Fence, French Country Cottage, Simply Sweet, Sassy Sites, Chocolate, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Delicate,  Finding Fabulous, Five Days Five Ways, Remodelholic, Fingerprints on the Fridge,

Golden Hugs and Kisses

Every girl needs a little sparkle in her life, right?! Well, not only did I need some sparkle, but so did my Valentine's mantle. 

I picked up a few paper mache' letters from my local craft store and my go to glitter spray paint from Krylon. First, I primed the letters white and let them dry in between coats. Then, I evenly coated the letters with the gold paint. I used the whole can! You want to apply liberally so the white doesn't show through. After they dried for about 30 minutes they went right up on the mantle!

You're left with beautiful, golden hugs and kisses in less than 20 minutes! 

Tomorrow I'll show you the whole mantle so come back!!

*Linked up here: Mopping the Floor, Home Sweet Home, The Gunny Sack, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Craft O Maniac, CRAFT, Skip to My Lou, Sugar Bee Crafts, DIY Dreamer, Cherished Bliss, Uncommon, My Uncommon Slice, Today's Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, Project Queen, Boerman Ramblings, Someday Crafts, Printabelle, Southern Lovely, Cheap Crafty Mama,  Savvy Southern Style, The Sasse Life, Clean and Scentsible, Ginger Snap Crafts, Somewhat Simple, Delightful Order,  Embracing Change,  Fireflies,House of Hepworths, Shabby Chic Cottage, KatiesNesting, The Shabby Nest, Beyond the Picket Fence, French Country Cottage, Simply Sweet, Sassy Sites, Chocolate, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Delicate,  Finding Fabulous, Five Days Five Ways, Remodelholic, Fingerprints on the Fridge,

DIY Heart Garland

While perusing the dollar section at Target around Christmas time I discovered this pack of hearts and knew they were perfect for a diy project. With a plethora of twine on hand, I  decided to turn simple hearts into festive garland. I chose a hot pink twine for this quick and easy project. 

The steps were simple and it took all of 5 minutes to complete my project. I used an oversized push pin to create the holes in the hearts and help thread the twine through. A needle would have been easier, but I don't sew, therefor I didn't have one. Note to self, buy some needles for future needs! 

My plain chalkboard is now dressed up! 

I threw together this simple vignette with items around my home from last Valentine's Day including a bag of candy hearts. Yep, recycled candy that's a year old! Now you know not to eat them if you visit me! And, at least this is one way to keep my kiddo out of the candy. 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

*Linked up here: Mopping the Floor, Home Sweet Home, The Gunny Sack, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Craft O Maniac, CRAFT, Skip to My Lou, Sugar Bee Crafts, DIY Dreamer, Cherished Bliss, Uncommon, My Uncommon Slice, Today's Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, Project Queen, Boerman Ramblings, Someday Crafts, Printabelle, Southern Lovely, Cheap Crafty Mama,  Savvy Southern Style, The Sasse Life, Clean and Scentsible, Ginger Snap Crafts, Somewhat Simple, Delightful Order,  Embracing Change,  Fireflies,House of Hepworths, Shabby Chic Cottage, KatiesNesting, The Shabby Nest, Beyond the Picket Fence, French Country Cottage, Simply Sweet, Sassy Sites, Chocolate, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Delicate,  Finding Fabulous, Five Days Five Ways, Remodelholic, Fingerprints on the Fridge,

Valentine's Gift Ideas {For Her}

Tory Burch Heart Earrings/ Tory Burch Cosmetic Case/ Heartbreaker Sweater/ Pave' Bracelet/ Clarisonic/ Michael Kors Watch/ Kate Spade Bag/ Jo Malone Cologne/ Diptyque Rose Duet Candle/ Fushia Crochet TOMS 

Sweet Treats for Valentines

Hi Everyone! I'm so happy to have the opportunity to guest blog for Megan while she is away! My name is Amanda Kuzak and I am a professional organizer from the San Francisco Bay Area. My blog, Kuzak's Closet, features my adventures in organizing as well as my adventures in life. In my free time I spend my time in my kitchen and today I wanted to share a few sweet recipes for Valentine's Day. Sometimes simple is better, and these chocolate sour cream cupcakes with buttercream frosting are no exception. Let's be honest, who doesn't love a chocolate cupcake with rich chocolate frosting? They are SO delicious, you won't ever want to use a box cake mix again! Chances are you have most of the ingredients in your pantry already so get to work!

Chocolate Sour Cream Cupcakes

Ingredients 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 ¼ cups sugar 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ½ cup sour cream ½ cup water Directions Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl or the top of a double boiler and place it over, but not touching, a saucepan of barely simmering water (or the bottom of the double boiler). Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from the water and set aside to cool slightly. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until smoothly blended and creamy, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, mix in the melted chocolate. On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is blended into the batter. Add the vanilla and beat until the mixture looks creamy and the color has lightened slightly, about 1 minute. Mix in the sour cream until no white streaks remain. On low speed, add half of the flour mixture mixing just to incorporate it. Mix in the water. Mix in the remaining flour mixture until it is incorporated and the batter looks smooth. The batter is ready to bake, or for additions such as nuts, fruit, chocolate chips, or other flavorings. Bake cupcakes at 350 for approximately 20 minutes.

Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting

Ingredients 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar 1.5 tablespoons cocoa 3 sticks of butter 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream 1 teaspoon vanilla 3 oz melted unsweetened chocolate Directions In a mixing bowl, cream confectioners' sugar, cocoa, and butter. Beat in heavy cream and vanilla. Add the melted chocolate and frost each cupcake.

Here are some more sweets for your sweeties!

Nutella Cupcakes

Chocolate Caramel Cookie Bars

Simple Chocolate Brownies

I hope you all enjoyed! Too keep up with everything that is going on in my kitchen please stay connected!

My Little Valentine {19 1/2 months}

Valentines at our home was spent enjoying the gorgeous spring like weather. How crazy is it that Sunday night it was snowing while I was watching The Grammy's and today it was sunny and 61'! We took full advantage of the weather and ventured to the park for an impromptu photo shoot and some playing. My munchkin had a blast and was so full of life! Once again, I just can't believe how big she is getting. Such a  difference from last Valentine's Day.

She was very excited to receive a gift from Grammy and Poppy! Dora books are always a hit!

After more gifts from mom and dad, we had a nice family dinner at home. We cooked fresh halibut, asparagus, and sweet potatoes. Delicious! 

I hope your day was filled with joy and love as well!

Red and Pink Galore

In celebration of this Hallmark created holiday called Valentine's Day, we will celebrate with red and pink galore! I find this color combo to be so feminine and romantic. It always excites me when January nears because the red and pink starts to appear on shelves. I get all giddy inside. Maybe it reminds me of the color of roses. I mean, who doesn't love roses or any other kind of fresh flowers?! 

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HAPPY HEART DAY!