Tag Archives: valentines

Happy Love Day!

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It’s Valentine’s Day today! I hope you feel loved every day and but specifically more today. If you want to ask someone out on a date for this wonderful day of hearts, this dating advice is the ultimate answer for you.

I agree that 2/14 is a Hallmark holiday, consumerism at its finest. But it doesn’t have to be. It can simply be a day to remind you to love the people around you. In my own busy life, I forget to admire and appreciate the people around me. Be honest, does this happen to you too?

Valentine’s Day is just this. It’s just another day to remind myself to show people around me that I love them. People desire love. People want to be admired and acknowledged. Do it today!

One prime example is marriage. MG and I are coming up on 2 years in June (wow that was quick). He works all day, I work on projects, and then when work ends, we sit on the couch and watch TV and/or do personal things on our own tablets, phones, and laptops. Then we head to bed. It’s not like we don’t converse throughout the day, but we don’t have any serious conversations or emotionally invested talks. This is an easy cycle where couples grow apart, so it’s extremely important to have date nights.

I didn’t buy anything for MG, but I made him “date night” letters. I put together 13 envelopes for every month, leading up to next February. Each envelope contains a date night idea for each month. MG will have to open one envelope the beginning of the month, and we’ll set a day to go out.

I decided to make this gift because MG and I always talk about how date night should be built into our relationship, especially when we have kids. Life only gets busier with kids right? Or so I hear. Unfortunately, we haven’t started setting date nights yet, so I hope this gift will be a jumpstart for us because giving gifts is just one of the multitude of ways to tell a guy you like him.

Writing
These papers were from our wedding!

Gift
All wrapped up and ready for MG! (I used my DIY pom pom to top it off)

And lastly, I made him Valentine’s Day cards.

Meat Valentine

Adorable right? WARNING: this can only be given if you’re in the comfortable phase of your relationship. Don’t misuse this Valentine and don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Download the Meat Valentine here

And here’s my favorite one!

Anxious poops

Don’t even… I’m sure you get anxious poops too! If you know me at all, you know this is the PERFECT card. You can use this card too!

Download the Anxious Poops Valentine’s card here

What are your Valentine’s plans? What did you get your loved one this year? How will you be showing your love to people around you?

Now go and tell people you love them. Everyone!
Jay

Ooey-Gooey Cookie Recipe

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It’s Valentine’s Day this Friday! I’m sure you already have something planned for your snuggle muffin (yep, that’s what I call MG). But do you have something prepared for your friends and coworkers?

Remember in elementary school when you decorated your brown paper bag so that your friends could give you Valentine’s Day cards? I picked out the best ones for your best friends (Don’t lie, you did this too). Maybe even add a piece of candy here and there. Those were the days… when your biggest decision was “which card to give whom?”

For this Valentine’s Day, remember what this day is really about – showing people that you love them. I don’t know what that means to you, maybe it’s a nice dinner to set aside time to catch up apart from your busy lives. That’s definitely the case for MG and I. He’s been really busy with work, so we’ll be going out to dinner on Monday for a date night. It will be time well spent, and I’m looking forward to a special date night out.

Another way to show love is to bring treats to work on Valentine’s Day. It’s such a nice way to give someone something without having to spend too much money. My go-to treat, cookies! Simple recipe, you can make them in bulk so it won’t take a lot of time, and they are easy to carry to work.

Cookies

This chocolate and caramel cookie is one of my favorite recipes! The chewiness of caramel makes for a delicious cookie. Crunchy on the outside, chewy in the middle with bits of chewy caramel, and melty gooey chocolate throughout.

Ooey-Gooey Cookie Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 2 cup and 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup butter (at room temperature)
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs (at room temperature)
  • 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup of caramel bits (I use Kraft)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Beat the eggs, then add the vanilla extract.
  3. Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a separate bowl.
  4. Mix the granulated sugar and brown sugar together. Then blend the butter into the sugar until light and fluffy.
  5. Blend the eggs and vanilla into the sugar mixture. Add in the dry ingredients.
  6. Mix in the chocolate chips and caramel bits.
  7. Form dough balls onto a baking sheet. I like to make bite-sized cookies, so I use a 1 teaspoon measuring spoon to help me form the dough balls.
  8. When the oven is ready, put the tray into the oven and bake for 7-10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Dough balls
Whenever I have extra dough, I freeze it. You never know when you might have guests so prepped homemade cookies is the perfect sweet!

Displayed
Got this sweet stand as a wedding gift – from the Royal Albert collection at Macy’s 

Cookies
I can easily eat a dozen of these! Though I must’nt

Yum
Ready for Valentine’s Day with my red nails and pink lips!

Do you bring goodies to your friends and colleagues for Valentine’s Day? What will you be bringing this year? What are some other items you like to give?

All my love,
Jay