Valentine's Day

  • Be My Valentine: “I Love Everything You Dew” Love Note

    I LOVE everything you dew!

    A few weeks ago I discovered these cute “pop” love notes from Darling Doodles and have been enjoying adding these love notes to my stash of ones to give to Jake!  🙂  He enjoys drinking Mountain Dew so when it goes on sale I try to get a little for him.  This particular love note was a great one to give to my man!

    When Jake is coming home after being away with work for several days or if he has had a tough day I try to do something special to cheer him up.  I will put the surprises in various visible places throughout the house (his side of the garage, kitchen, his desk, our dresser, on his plate at the table, etc…) where I know he will be.  Although, he never knows when I am doing it or where I will put it he always finds it.  On this particular day he was stressed with a lot on his plate with work, travel arrangements, family and everything else.  I decided it was a good day to put out a special surprise for him to say “I love you”!   The Mountain Dew and sweet note sitting on the dresser downstairs in our family room was the first thing he saw walking into the house and it did bring a smile which made it worth it for me!

    Sometimes taking just a few minutes out of your day to show your spouse you are thinking about them and that you care can make all the difference.  It doesn’t have to take a lot of time, money or effect but the benefits will go a long way.  Doing something special for them could mean packing their lunch for work the next day, laying out their clothes the night before, or even leaving a love note on their pillow.  Investing time and energy into your marriage is always good for the entire family.  How do you cheer your spouse up or make them feel appreciated?

  • Be My Valentine: “Steal My Heart” Cookies

    “Steal My Heart” Valentine Cookies

    Last year I picked up this Valentine Heart pan on clearance after Valentine’s Day.  The girls were very excited to try it out this year.  We made these fun “Steal My Heart” Cookies together.  The girls had a blast mixing up the cookie dough and they thought the cookies tasted pretty yummy too.  You can use a variety  of cookie mixes with this cookie sheet.  Below is your basic sugar cookie mix, you can add in a few sprinkles for an extra special touch.

    Sugar Cookies

    • 1/3 cup Butter or Margarine
    • 1/3 cup Shortening
    • 3/4 cup Sugar
    • 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
    • 1 Egg
    • 1 teaspoon Vanilla
    • 2 cups All Purpose Flour
    • Sprinkles (optional)
    • Icing (optional)

    1.  Beat butter and shortening on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  Add sugar, baking powder, and a dash of salt.  Beat till combined, scraping the bowl so everything is well blended.  Beat in egg and vanilla.  Gradually add the flour into the mixture.

    2.  Cover and chill dough for 1 to 3 hours to make it easier to handle when making cookies or cutouts.

    3.  Lay down wax paper and lightly flour.  Roll the dough to 1/8 inch thickness.  Use a variety of cookie cutters to make the shapes you want.  Place on lightly greased cookie sheet.

    4.  Cut out a heart shape in the middle of the cookies.  Fill the hole with a crushed hard candy.  The candy will melt during baking creating the glass window pane hearts in the middle of the cookies. *We tried using up extra candy canes but they didn’t melt well (they tasted good) but I would stick to the one color hard candies like life savers!

    5.  Bake at 375° for 7 to 9 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are firm and light brown.  Cool until the middle window are set then transfer to a platter.

    Heart Shaped Pan

    Plate full of Valentine cookies

    Heart shaped Valentine cookies

    For more fun Valentine’s Day ideas go to Living in La La Land!