The Valentine’s Dance

The PCP was a complete doll to be my date the club’s annual Young at Heart Valentine's Dance. 

When I came down the stairs, he presented me with a sweet pink corsage, thoughtfully chosen with a little help from his Daddy. 



We dined, danced and talked.  He opened the doors and used the very best manners, and I couldn’t have been prouder to have him on my arm.  He taught me Gangem Style and I taught him the Macarena.  I conned him into a few slow dances and he got me to play Simon Says.  You know, we were pretty much a match made in heaven :-)









And, at the end of the night, I got a very proper kiss on my cheek as we were recounting the night’s events to Honey.



When I thanked John for one of the best dates of my life, he replied “You’re welcome, Mommy.  But it wasn’t a REAL date.  It was more like a scrimmage date.”

I totally get what he means in his seven year old way of saying it.  And perhaps it was a “practice” date for him, but I assure you it was very real for me.  In fact, I look forward to many, many more “scrimmages” before sending him off for “real”  :-)
xoxo

The Q-U Wedding

We kicked off our Valentine’s Day at the wedding of (the letters) Q and U in the PCP’s classroom.  It was a darling and elaborate affair that is a much loved tradition in Mrs. B’s first grade class.  As the parents arrived, we were completely wowed by the pink and purple tulle explosion that surely must be what seven year old dreams are made of :-)





Every detail of the wedding was meticulously thought out, planned for, rehearsed and executed.  It was truly impressive!  The groomsmen dressed as quarterbacks, and the bridesmaids as queens.  The flower girl dropped quarters as she walked down the purple aisle and the “vowel family” was prominently represented in the front row.

I must admit that my heart went a bit aflutter as the PCP / the groom / the letter U made his merry way down the aisle. 
  

All of the students perfectly executed their lines.  The PCP proudly pronounced to his bride “I do promise to stand by you in cursive and in manuscript.”  A high five sealed the deal.

Afterwards, the students served their parents at a small reception.  There were probably forty guests, with each student having at least one parent in attendance.

We couldn’t have been prouder of this sweet child.  I had to purposefully restrain myself from envisioning this same scene twenty years from now.
    
Their hard work was evident and the morning was not one we’ll soon forget.  We truly could not have lucked out with a better, more dedicated teacher!!  This was beyond “above and beyond”!
xoxo

Valentine’s Day Dinner

Since Honey and the PCP have baseball practice tonight and we have plans to dine on our fave Thai takeout late after the littles are asleep, we celebrated Valentine’s Day as a family over supper last night.



I made the heart ravioli with pink alfredo from Costco (something obvi went awry with my sauce…don’t judge) and a salad with heart cucumbers and cherry tomatoes. 





For dessert, I made little chocolate-strawberry hand pies, as well as a variation of the Dove heart chocolate cookies that’s also been making its way around the web.

For the Chocolate-Strawberry Hand Pies, roll out refrigerated pie crust, cut into desired shape, spread with nutella and then with strawberry preserves.  Top with a second heart and use a fork to crimp the edges.  Brush with an egg white wash and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes or until lightly browned.



For the heart cookies, I pulled the our favorite break and bake cookies (Immaculate Baking Co.) out of the oven 2 minutes before they were done and gently pressed the dark chocolate hearts into the centers before returning to the oven to bake.



Happy Valentine’s Day, y’all!
xoxo

For Love (and Money)

Tomorrow the littles will be thrilled to receive a box of chocolates AND money for Valentine’s Day! 

 
I found the little heart shaped chocolate boxes in the dollar spot at Target.  I raided Honey’s wallet (why DID he have so many $1 bills?!?!  :-) ) and coin cache and folded up a few bills and coins in the chocolate slots.  And then, because I am pretty sure I read somewhere that money is generally super germy and dirty, I cut little parchment squares to cover the money before putting the chocolates back in. 





All things considered, they rang up at about $5 a piece and I have no doubt it will make the littles’ day a little sweeter.
xoxo

PS. I’ll be shipping out an order of Disney Signature Books on Tuesday.  Order by Friday!!  After this, the next round will likely go out March 18.

See all of my Valentine's Day ideas, treats and printables here!!

Find me at: My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Tatertots and Jello, A Stroll Through Life, French Country Cottage, No Minimalist Here, The36th Avenue, It's Overflowing, Shine on Fridays, DIY Show Off, House of Hepworth, 52 Mantels, I Heart Nap Time, The Frugal Girls,Six Sisters Stuff, One Project Closer, Jennifer Rizzo, Le Chateau des Fleurs, Common Ground, Liz Marie Blog, Not Just a Housewife

Heart Hot Chocolate

I whipped up a batch of these cool whip hearts last year and they were SO easy and such a success that I couldn’t not do them again this year! 



Thaw a tub of cool whip, mix in a few drops of red food coloring, spread in a parchment lined pan, refreeze and then use a cookie cutter to make hearts.  Add a little mix of pretzels, cheerios, peanuts and conversation hearts and you’ve got a sweet and easy afternoon snack!  See last year’s full how-to post here.

   
The PCP should be pretty excited when he gets home in a few!!
xoxo

See all of my Valentine's Day ideas, treats and printables here!!

Find me at: My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Tatertots and Jello, A Stroll Through Life, French Country Cottage, No Minimalist Here, The36th Avenue, It's Overflowing, Shine on Fridays, DIY Show Off, House of Hepworth, 52 Mantels, I Heart Nap Time, The Frugal Girls,Six Sisters Stuff, One Project Closer, Jennifer Rizzo, Le Chateau des Fleurs, Common Ground, Liz Marie Blog, Not Just a Housewife

Valentine’s Hot Chocolate Basket + Stirring Spoons

Like last year, the PCP is giving his teacher a little hot chocolate gift basket for a Valentine’s treat.  It’s really easy and affordable to pull together and, let’s face it, who wouldn’t like to get a basket of hot chocolate with all the fixins?!?!

The red spoons, cups, napkins, marshmallows and basket are all from the Dollar Tree.  To make the little hot chocolate stirring spoons, melt a handful of chocolate candy melts in the microwave.  Spoon the melted chocolate into a zip top bag, snip one end and squirt into the spoons.  Use a knife to level, dot with sprinkles and chill until hardened.  Since I already had the candy melts, sprinkles and hot chocolate packets, the whole shebang cost me $6 for TWO baskets!

Last year’s basket was a little different, but equally as cheap and cute :-)  We have a few spoons left to try ourselves, and I can’t think of a better snack on yet another rainy day!  (Other than the chocolate raspberry cake pops at Starbucks, that is.  Daddy-O bought them for the littles yesterday and I can’t seem to get the ONE bite the baby deigned to share off my mind…)
xoxo

See all of my Valentine's Day ideas, treats and printables here!!

Valentine’s Sweet Popcorn Treat

We spent a cold and rainy afternoon in the South watching movies and doing laundry (and by “we” I mean “me” on the latter.)  I cooked up this sweet popcorn treat with things I had on hand.  The littles were pretty pleased with their good fortune!



Valentine’s Popcorn
- Pop a bag of microwave popcorn – I love the Orville Redenbacher all natural.  Spread it out on parchment.
- Melt a handful of red candy melts.  Drizzle over popcorn.
- Throw on a few handfuls of Valentine’s m&ms. 
- Chill in the fridge until the candy melts harden.  Break apart and enjoy!


Mother is making bestie R’s brisket and corn casserole for supper.  It’s been in the oven since noon and it smells DIVINE!!  She’s been helping Sister out with sweet CeeCee and made a little pit stop here for a couple of days before heading back south.  We’re going to drink Paris tea and watch Downton Abbey tonight and then try to tackle a few errands and projects tomorrow.
xoxo

See all of my Valentine's Day ideas, treats and printables here!!

 
Find me at: My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Tatertots and Jello, A Stroll Through Life, French Country Cottage, No Minimalist Here, The36th Avenue, It's Overflowing, Shine on Fridays, DIY Show Off, House of Hepworth, 52 Mantels, I Heart Nap Time, The Frugal Girls,Six Sisters Stuff, One Project Closer, Jennifer Rizzo, Le Chateau des Fleurs, Common Ground, Liz Marie Blog, Not Just a Housewife

Tic Tac Toe Valentine {Free Printable}

After brainstorming a few ideas, the PCP and I mutually agreed that a Tic Tac Toe Valentine with m&m x’s and o’s would be both fun and sweet for his classmates.



In mini-cello bags (about 3” x 4” from Michael’s), we included a game board printed on white cardstock and a total of eighteen m&m x’s and o’s game pieces in two different colors.  We stapled on the Tic Tac Toe bag topper to finish it off.  Find the free printable game board and bag topper here!



I’ve got tons more treats, sweets and ideas up my sleeve for the next few days!!
xoxo

See all of my Valentine's Day ideas, treats and printables here!!

Flattered for the feature at Tatertots and Jello!

Find me at: My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Tatertots and Jello, A Stroll Through Life, French Country Cottage, No Minimalist Here, The36th Avenue, It's Overflowing, Shine on Fridays, DIY Show Off, House of Hepworth, 52 Mantels, I Heart Nap Time, The Frugal Girls,Six Sisters Stuff, One Project Closer, Jennifer Rizzo, Le Chateau des Fleurs, Common Ground, Liz Marie Blog, Not Just a Housewife

Have a BALL this Valentine’s Day {Free Printable}

When the baby ran across a colorful bag of bouncey balls in Target, it was love at first sight ($4ish for 24).  We packaged them up in mini-cello bags with an edited version of our “Have a BALL this Summer” topper and called the Valentine’s for his class complete!



I folded the bags down, printed and folded the toppers in half and then stapled it all together.  The baby signed his name on the back of each card.  Download the free printable tag here!



Stay tuned for the PCP’s printable Valentine tomorrow!!
xoxo

See all of my Valentine's Day ideas, treats and printables here!!

Flattered for the feature at Tatertots and Jello!

Find me at: My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Tatertots and Jello, A Stroll Through Life, French Country Cottage, No Minimalist Here, The36th Avenue, It's Overflowing, Shine on Fridays, DIY Show Off, House of Hepworth, 52 Mantels, I Heart Nap Time, The Frugal Girls,Six Sisters Stuff, One Project Closer, Jennifer Rizzo, Le Chateau des Fleurs, Common Ground, Liz Marie Blog, Not Just a Housewife

Welcome Valentine

It’s February first and I spent a few minutes popping up our meager Valentine’s Day decor.  A wreath on the front door, red ribbons for the dogs and some rather sad looking pansies (clearly they need Sister’s touch) dress up the front portico.




And a DIY pom pom garland and the requisite much anticipated cinnamon jelly heart candies (which I promptly removed to a hiding place after this photo) in the foyer round out the welcome.

 



Using the base from last year’s rather blah wreath and this Pinterest inspiration picture…



I came up with this…



And I spent a whopping $6 at Michael’s to do it! While I was there I picked up the same exact picks in the St. Patrick’s Day version.


So, ladies, that’s the extent of our Valentine’s decor for the year.  Now, I’ve got to go start enjoying the weekend :-)
xoxo

See all of my Valentine's Day here!

Find me at Our Fifth House

Find me at: My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Tatertots and Jello, A Stroll Through Life, French Country Cottage, No Minimalist Here, The36th Avenue, It's Overflowing, Shine on Fridays, DIY Show Off, House of Hepworth, 52 Mantels, I Heart Nap Time, The Frugal Girls,Six Sisters Stuff, One Project Closer, Jennifer Rizzo, Le Chateau des Fleurs, Common Ground, Liz Marie Blog, Not Just a Housewife

A Sweet Roundup {Valentine’s Favorites}

Based on my Pinterest feed, it seems I’m not the only one with Valentine’s Day on my mind!  I’ve started making a little list of sweet things I’d like to do for the little’s come February and thought I’d share a roundup of some past favorites!

Heart Hot Chocolate + Snack Mix

Hot Chocolate Gif Basket

Bento Lunch

You're Just Write Pencil Valentine {Free Printable}

Heart Attack

Sweet Breakfast

Pom Pom Garland DIY

Heart Ravioli with Pink Alfredo

Valentine's Pizza

There’s not much I love more than a good couple of weeks of celebrating a holiday!!

xoxo

See all of my Valentine’s Day ideas here!

Flattered for the feature at Le Chateau des Fleurs!

Find me at: Between Naps on the Porch, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Shabby Creek Cottage, Tatertots and Jello, A Stroll Through Life, French Country Cottage, No Minimalist Here, The36th Avenue, Bacon Time, It's Overflowing, At the Picket Fence,Shine on Fridays, DIY Show Off, House of Hepworth, Homemaker on a Dime, Stuff and Nonsense, 52 Mantels, I Heart Nap Time, The Frugal Girls,Six Sisters Stuff, One Project Closer,Jennifer Rizzo, Le Chateau des Fleurs, Our Fifth House, Not Just a Housewife