Valentines Gift for You

The big day of love is only one week away.  In our family my husband & I don't really celebrate Valentine's Day.    But we always do something for our kids.  In our house Valentines is more of a kids holiday.  I get a small gift bag for each child with some candies & maybe a small toy or pair of socks.  Something really small & generally from the Dollar Store.  We also always make a trip to the Dairy Queen.

I know this may sound strange, but up here in cold Montana our Dairy Queens are not open year around (except the one in the mall, but I hate going to the mall).  The tiny huts that our local DQs call home are not warm enough to serve ice cream all year long.  Also, they have no indoor seating.  There are not too many people lining up outside in 10 degree weather to get a frozen treat.  Every year on Valentines Day the two little Dairy Queen huts begin operating again.  I love this for two reasons: 1)I can get the best cheese hot dogs in the world 2)It's a sign that spring is on it's way.  So each Valentines Day we make the trek over to the DQ & get ourselves our long missed baby cones & cheese dogs.

I like this holiday because it's low key, involves lots of chocolate (and in our case, cheese hot dogs), and is symbolized by my two favorite colors- red & pink.  In honor of Valentines treats & gift giving I'm showing ya'll my love by giving away this cute little baking set.  Included (all Valentine's Day themed of course) are 2 oven mitts, 2 silicone spatulas, a bunch of Valentine's cookie cutters, & an assortment of colored sugars & sprinkles.  You could decorate cookies all day with this fun kit!

To enter just tell us what your Valentine's Day tradition is in the comments section below.  I will randomly draw a winner & announce it on Friday.

Romantic Movies

Since this is the time of year to celebrate love I thought that one of the great ways to do that is through the movies.  Now, I'm not a huge "chick flick" fan, so my file of romance movies is a little slim.  But nonetheless, here goes- if you want to watch a romantic movie may I suggest...

Roman Holiday.  This one never gets old.  And I love that it's in black in white.  Plus is stars two of the most attractive people that ever lived, Audrey Hepburn can Gregory Peck.  It's a wonderful story of a princess that just wants to enjoy everyday/normal life.  So she escapes one night and goes out on the town, in Italy of course.  Now you have to watch the rest of the movie to find out what happens.

Princess Bride, always a crowd pleaser.  I love satires so this one is on the top of my list.  Plus it has a million great one liners.  A classic rags to riches story that includes a princess, of course.  This is a great one to watch with your kiddos too.

The Wedding Singer.  First of all it's funny.  Second of all it takes place in the 80's.  Third of all, it's funny.  Fair warning there are some swear words (hard to find a movie without them these days) and two "not so pure" acting girls (but no nudity).  But overall a very cute love story with lots of fun 80's flashbacks.

Now it's your turn.  What's your favorite(s) romantic movies?  Please share your romantic movie suggestions in the comments section below.

Easy Valentine's Day Cards

This is a great way to do homemade Valentine's Day cards with your kiddos without having to do too much of the work yourself.  Isn't that how homemade projects always go, the adult ends up doing ninety percent of the work.  So with that in mind I'm sharing these cards.  That ninety percent part of the job you'll end up doing is easy & minimal, you could even watch "Say Yes to the Dress" while you helped make these.  Here's the DL:
Supplies
construction paper or coverstock
pipe cleaner
tape
"Smarties" candy
markers, stamps, or stickers

First fold a piece of construction paper or coverstock in half (if all you have is printer paper just go with it).  Now you are going to cut out a 3 inch butterfly shape.  My tip on this is to start like you would a heart & when you're a little from completing the bottom go back out & make a smaller upside down heart shape.  Or find a stencil, or get a picture from the internet & print & cut it out.  

Cut the pipe cleaner into 3 inch pieces.  Wrap around one end of the "Smarties" & twist a few times to keep it in place.

Then put the pipe cleaner antennas down so they are parallel to the "Smarties"

Next tape the "Smarties" to the butterfly wings & you're done.

You can leave them plane like this or do more decorating depending on the child's age.  Kids could decorate the wings with markers, sticker, or stamps.  For smaller children I would suggest stamps & stickers.  Have kids decorate the wings before attaching the candy.  You could also make these larger & use other types of candies, whatever floats your boat.

Teachable moment: you could use this project to double up on home school lesson about butterflies. Or teach about symmetry and have kids concentrate on making both sides of the wings the same.  Or do an art lesson on negative & positive space (the wings are the negative space & the designs they put on the wings are the positive space).

Good luck with all the Valentine's Day cards.  Hope this helps.

Love Story

For the next couple of weeks I'll try to stick to the Valentine's/Love theme.  So here's my first little love story.  Last night at church it was Mexican theme night at AWANA (a children's program).  In the course of the evening a piñata was smashed & my twins ended up coming home with a small stash of candy, erasers, stickers & little toys.  Later that evening when I went in my room to go to bed this is what I saw.  My sweet little second to oldest (but only by 10 minutes) had left little gifts on my husband's & my pillows.  For her Daddy she had sometime during the day found this magazine; and knowing how much her Daddy loves to hunt mountain lions knew he had to have it.  Because it has some sort of large cat on it, she knew it would be prefect.  And for her Mama she left some sweet treats & a little note- she's knows the way to my heart.  So sweet!  I think I kissed her a billion times after I found it.  Proving that it really isn't the gift but the thought that matters.  Remember that at Valentines this year, even the simplest, cheapest, most homemade gifts can really show how much you love someone.

If you have a cute love story please share it in the comments section below.  Everyone loves stories about love!

Valentines Treats

If your looking to make a Valentines cookie that's not a cut out heart or covered in frosting you've come to the right place.  These Cranberry Chocolate Oatmeal cookies are the ticket.  They have the red & white colors that Valentines warrants but are less time consuming than the tradition decorated sugar cookie.  These cookies are hearty, chewy, & just plane scrumptious.  Here's the scoop:

3/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsps vanilla
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 3/4 cups rolled oats
1 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly coat cooking sheets with non-stick spray.  Beat shortening, sugar & brown sugar until creamy.  Beat in eggs & vanilla until fluffy.  Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in small bowl.  Beat into shortening mixture until blended.  Stir in oats, dried cranberries, walnuts, & both chocolate chips until combined.  Drop on baking sheets about 2 inches apart & bake 8-10 minutes.

And that's all there is to it.  So quick and yummy, but still festive enough for the season of love.

A Good Gift Idea...

 Today I'm featuring the work of my friend Jami from Scrappy Chic.  She does amazing shabby sheek projects in almost any form.  I love so many of her ideas, you must check out her blog.

One of my favorite items that Jami does are these pre-made scrap books.  This is one I got for my preggo sis-in-law.  At the time the sex & name of the baby, so this one is generic.  Still so cute!

She makes these one out of paper lunch bags.  So adorable.

 The lunch bag pages make for these great little pockets to hold keepsakes & memories.

 She even fills the pockets with these cute little cards for you to write down thoughts, memories, etc.

This is how the pages look, all you need to do is add the pictures.  Perfect for the time-crunched & scrap book challenged like me.

I had her make this one for my son JoJo- notice the initials.

Here's what it can look like with the pictures inserted.

Here's the book I got for my daughter Danica.

This kind is a little bigger & is made out of cardstock rather than paper bags.

At the back is that cute pocket stuffed with memory/milestone cards.  So pretty & girlie.  These pre-made scrapbooks are the perfect baby shower gift.

Here is some other stuff I've had Jami make for me.  My awesomely huge & cute recipe box.  A perfect Mother's Day gift.

  

My calendar.  Love this because I don't mind having it on the wall in my kitchen.  It's not embarrassing like the free ones you get from the farm equipment guys.  Plus, I ordered it in September & had her make it from then through 2011- so custom.

I love that it has the general colors & idea for that month, but not the generic iconic symbols that most calendars have.  These would make great birthday gifts.

So, if you need a little gift for someone (yourself included) or you want some home decor inspiration check out Jami's blog for some ideas or to contact her for custom made items.

Beauty Secrets

Okay, so they're really not secrets, but rather things I love.  You may want to try a few.  First off is this new trick I read about to really cleanse one's hair.  Out on the ranch we have hard well water.  While it taste delicious it does leave my hair heavy & limp.  I read in one of my magazines to add one teaspoon of baking soda to your shampoo & then wash your hair as normal.  I tried it & it worked beautifully.  Much better than expensive hair cleansers & cheaper too.

Second up is my eyeshadow.  This is one of the cheapest eye shadows you can find.  I got mine at Wal Mart.  I love the colors & I generally put it on with my fingers- I really like that for some reason.  The lid closes magnetically & it has a mirror.  Cheap & good, I like that.

Bare Minerals makeup is my favorite!  My Mom got me some a couple years ago & now I'm hooked.  But it needs to be the Bare Minerals name brand stuff to work really great.  I've tried the knock offs & they don't even compare.  I especially love the mineral veil, makes my skin look so smooth.

Pumice stone.  Must have, I use it every time I shower all year long.  Dry skin just grosses me out- I hate the feeling.  I need my feet to be smooth & moisturized at all times.

Last but not least is Burt's Bees Day Cream.  I love all Burt's Bees stuff, by the way, but I really like the stuff that makes my skin look better.  This is great for all those wrinkle prone spots.  Plus it's all natural so you can feel good and safe about using it.  I also LOVE the container.  Aesthetics are big for me so they totally sold me on the jar itself.  I think I would buy this just to look at the pretty jar everyday, it's just a plus that I also like the product.

Have a beautiful day!