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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday: Things I Love About Valentine's Day!

I was never a big fan of Valentine's Day in high school since it seemed to be hijacked by couple-y types.  I vowed even then to not become "That Girl" once I did have a boyfriend/husband!  I have kept my promise, and Josh finds the holiday even less appealing than me--good match :)  We did start a little tradition years ago of going to Chipotle for dinner (I think they used to do a good Valentine's coupon?), and last year it shifted over to Qdoba.  Cards and burritos--what more could a girl ask for?

Having kids makes holidays SO much more fun!  Valentine's Day is the holiday that needs the most oomph from my children since it's my least favorite holiday.  Being me, I pretty much love all holidays :)  I have been looking forward to Valentine's MUCH more this year, mostly thanks to my cute decorations, I think...  So, here is a list of 10 reasons I am enjoying Valentine's Day more this year!
 1.  Getting Jackson excited for the holiday!  He was so excited to make Valentines!

2. Year #2 of a date night of sorts with the Yanceys at their church.  The youth group puts on a "romantic" dinner AND provides childcare!  Susie, Joe, Josh, and I got to enjoy a yummy Italian dinner complete with dessert while Rachel and Jackson played in the nursery.  The proceeds from the dinner go to summer mission trips for the youth.  Win, win, win!  (Of course, I didn't get any pictures of this fun event :()
 3. These three faces :)  The Bascoms came to spend most of the day on Sunday, and Jackson, Maddie, and Brodie played SO well together!  Jackson and Maddie had quite the dinner conversation going on, and Jackson LOVED practicing being a Big Brother to Brodie :)
 4. Front of the house decorations: I think our Smith Welcome sign is one of my favorite decorations!  It came with quite a few seasonal "charms" to change out on the bottom, and there is one for every holiday!  I also love all of my garden flags--they just make me smile when I pull up to the house :)
 5. Before I ordered our Smith Welcome sign, I accumulated a collection of seasonal door decorations.  They all have been packed up and moved a few times, but I found a new spot for them under the arch in the front room right by the stairs.  I think this LOVE one looked perfect!
 6. These letter blocks are my new decoration this year--I LOVE the $1 bin at Target (well, $2.50 bin in this case).  The back of this arrangement has Xs and hearts :)
 7 & 8. I bought this adorable heart tree at Kohl's last year right after Valentine's Day.  I think it was $4?  SOOO cute!  It actually sits in the middle of the island, but I moved it over by my new Subway Art frame for a photo shoot.  I recently discovered Subway Art at my friend, Kim's, house this winter.  She had an adorable Christmas print framed on her kitchen counter.  I honestly thought it was a pieces of wrapping paper or scrapbook paper!  She introduced me to the world of Subway Art, specifically the site: eighteen25, which has a bunch of FREE printables!  I plan to switch out the art to match the season, of course ;)
9. Chai Latte Cut-Out Cookies with Royal Icing (pardon the leftover Super Bowl plate!).  I have been wanting to experiment with cut-out cookies, but am not a huge fan of sugar cookies.  I came across this recipe and thought they would be just right for Valentine's Day!  Jackson helped me mix them up, and then I rolled them out, cut out the hearts, and decorated later :)  I think they are pretty delicious!
10. My littlest Valentine (for right now)!  We had a really fun day that ended with our special dinner at Qdoba and exchanging cards with the neighbors and Daddy :)

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