Hopeless Romantic

Oh so adorable pillow cover
Available on Esty at JoshuabyOak's shop

How cute is this pillow cover?! I'm loving it! It's just perfect for today as we head into Valentine's Day weekend. I wish you a fun, romantic weekend!

From the Heart

I have some fun times ahead to look forward to: a visit with the talented Jen Kim of Craftiness NOW & her new mascot Mila, a celebration of my fabulous sister-in-law's birthday, a day of love, aka Valentine's Day & a personal favorite, our anniversary. No need to run to Hallmark or Crumbs. I'm determined to craft & bake from the heart!

I'm no Betty Crocker- in fact, my little baking project included a very scary moment of fearing I may cause a fire alarm for our entire building. Anywho! Baking from scratch is out of the question for me so I picked up my favorite Funfetti cupcake mix, along with vanilla icing in pink just perfect for Valentine's Day. Here are the baking supplies & the cards in the works:


I had tons of Valentine's Day supplies left from last year for my cards:


Here are the naked cupcakes patiently waiting for pink frosting & pastel sprinkles:


And here are some work-in-progress cards that need some finishing touches:


Tune in next week for the baking & crafting results!

{puppy love} Love on Paws

Bailey is waiting for his Pup Dad to come home

I often describe our Bailey as Trouble on paws. No, that isn't a typo- Trouble with a capital T. If there is something he shouldn't have, Beagle Bailey finds it & attempts to destroy it. Then again, Bailey is as sweet as the day is long. He is Love on paws.

Case in point is RZ's homecoming each evening. When we were in the process of adopting Bailey from the fantastic All About Labs, his foster Dad warned us that Bailey gets overexcited at reunions, perhaps because Bailey isn't used to people coming back for him which breaks my heart. Now Bailey seems to realize that RZ is coming home but his excitement never wanes. Bailey patiently plants himself at the front door around the time he expects RZ to arrive. RZ's schedule fluctuates so sometimes Bailey waits for close to one hour, sometimes mere minutes. He doesn't care- he stays in position. As soon as RZ opens the front door, I witness pure joy & exuberant enthusiasm. Bailey leaps up, cries, whines & wags his tail so hard that his whole body wiggles. He receives some pets, then drops back to the floor for his favorite belly rub. Any worry & stress disappears from RZ's face, replaced with smiles & happiness. How could he not grin when Bailey is throwing a party merely because he came home?

Can you imagine what a better place the world would be if we greeted each other with such passion & joy day after day, night after night? Our pets demonstrate unconditional love for us day in & day out, yet we're too slow to follow their stellar example. Bailey may be Trouble but he has much to teach us if we pay attention. He is Love on paws & we are so lucky to have him!

As Valentine's Day quickly approaches, I can't let this lovely time pass without mentioning the love for our furry friends. They provide us with endless love & ask for so little in return, it's simply amazing. This post is dedicated to Bailey & those who we loved before him, Gucci & Kaydee~

Love, Me

Available on Etsy in ThePaperMason's shop

Inspired by a Glen Ivy Spa blog post, I took the challenge of writing a love letter to myself. Let's face it, like so many of you, I'm my own worst critic. Ask me to make a list of things I don't like about myself & I can easily tick off one hundred things. The list starts with my procrastination skills and ends with my odd blue spot on my temple. Ask me to list things I love about myself . . . that takes some deep thought & much time.

I can't share my love letter because it's private but I can show you my short love list. I sat down & wrote this list which inspired my love letter. Believe me, my love list & love letter took much reflection. Here goes my love for myself:

1. My creativity.
2. My good heart.
3. My blue eyes.
4. My compassion.
5. My quiet, shy nature.

#5 was the most surprising thing I love about myself. When I was younger, I constantly heard adults explaining that I was quiet & shy. They were right. But they said it like it was a bad thing, like something was wrong with me because I wasn't loud & outgoing. So I believed that I was defective. Over the years, I've embraced the fact that I'm a quiet, shy person. It gives me the chance to observe, to reflect & to form opinions. I don't feel the need to be friends with anyone & everyone- I pick my close friends carefully & this serves me well. & quite honestly, I enjoy the quiet!


Have you written a love letter to yourself? Was it difficult? Did any of your loves surprise you? Go ahead- it's a fun, worthwhile exercise!

XOXO

Valentine Treats

THEN: Valentine Chocolates from Godiva

NOW: Valentine Berries from Shari's Berries

I'm dedicating today to Valentine's Day treats.

I have a notoriously bad, fuzzy memory but when I think of Valentine's Day when I was a young kid, I remember Godiva chocolates. My Dad always bought me & my sister a box of Godiva chocolates. It seemed like such a big deal to me. Godiva was so fancy, those gold boxes were so luxurious. Each chocolate was a different mold & looked like a little chocolate masterpiece. When I ripped open the seal & lifted the gold inner layer, the box smelled like chocolate heaven. I was (okay, still am) a picky eater & I didn't like many of the assorted chocolates but I adored that box nevertheless. I felt lucky & loved to receive it.

While Godiva holds a firm place in my heart, my favorite treats for Valentine's Day are chocolate-covered strawberries. You simply can't beat chocolate-covered strawberries & champagne! The berries are sweet & festive when decorated for Valentine's Day in pink chocolate or heart sprinkles or red drizzle. It's almost as fun to see the creative decorations as it is to eat the chocolate-covered strawberries! Almost.

What are your favorite treats on Valentine's Day?

Love Sweet Love

Love Sweet Love Papel Picado
Available on Etsy in aymujer's shop

Next week is the week leading to Valentine's Day! I have to say, while I value showing love each & every day, Valentine's Day has become a favorite in our love story. The day before Valentine's Day, we celebrate the anniversary of our engagement. Valentine's Day is self-explanatory. The day after Valentine's Day is our fourth anniversary. A pretty special time for me & my hubbie!

In celebration of this lovely time, I'm dedicating every post next week to LOVE in some way, shape or form. There is no better way to kick off this Love Celebration than the
"Love Sweet Love" papel picado shown above. I had my eye on this baby for months, just convinced I needed it to decorate our sweetheart table. In the end, I decided it didn't fit with our look & I didn't order one. However, this sweet papel picado is never far from my mind & I keep hoping I will find an excuse to get it. Until then, I will have to settle for it gracing this post.

Happy Weekend! Cheers to Love~

Just Married!

1.15.11, Our Wedding Day Photo courtesy of Timothy Glenn Photographers

Hello, hello! Today is my first post as a married woman :-)

On January 15, RZ & I became husband & wife. We enjoyed the most perfect wedding day with our beloved family & friends. Shortly after, we had the most fun on our Hawaii honeymoon. Now we're home & ready to savor life as newlyweds!!

Naturally, I am bursting with excitement to share every last detail with you. & I will, in time. Good things come to those who wait, right?! Well, waiting can be an absolute drag, especially when it comes to weddings.

So RZ & I were over the moon when our wedding photographer, the extremely talented Tim of Timothy Glenn Photographers, released the above photo as a sneak peek the day after our wedding. To us, it's the perfect photo. The happy Bride & Groom on their winter wedding night, posed with their snazzy vintage taxi & the backdrop of glittering downtown Manhattan. Love, LOVE it! Since it's the first wedding photo we saw, it's only fitting that it's the first thing I share with you.

Coming Soon: All. The. Juicy. Details!