Valentine's Day

I guess this can count as day 14? Whatever. Anyways, how was your Valentine's Day? If you're taken, did you have a lovely day celebrating your passionate romance and get all the flowers and chocolate you wanted? And if you were single, did you have a great day flying solo, going to dinner with your girlfriends or watching a chick flick or just ignoring the day in general?

Regardless of your relationship status or thoughts on Valentine's Day, I hope that it was a great one. 

A little recap on ours. Like I mentioned a few posts ago, our tradition (even though this was only our second year being married on V-Day) for Valentine's Day consists of a quiet but nice dinner at home, on the living room floor with our nicest dishes. 

Nothing changed this year, except that our low-key day with no gifts involved somehow turned into me having a husband who knows me too well and really, truly, must somehow find it in his heart to love me a lot.

My "gift" (if you could even call it that) to Chin was our dinner, and I went all out this year (or tried to at least). But honestly, can you even call making dinner a gift? I certainly know the way to Chin's heart, but I'm thinking maybe I should cook like this every night? Housewife failure.

Anyways... When Chin got home at 5:30 he had a few things for me that I wasn't expecting. 

The first was a nice bouquet of tulips. Always a thoughtful gesture. My favorite flowers from my favorite person.

But the second was something that took me by surprise entirely. 

A while ago I had mentioned to Chin that I wanted to go somewhere for my birthday. I wasn't picky, I just wanted to do something different for my birthday, since I'm turning the big 21 AND it's my golden birthday. 

I would have been happy going to Salt Lake for a day or taking a couple of days to explore Southern Utah. Anywhere but Provo.

We talked about going to Denver to be with his family, but plane tickets were expensive and I figured we could keep our money in savings and see family when they come out for Chin's graduation.

However, when Chin got home, along with the tulips, he had a silly poem and plane tickets in hand for this upcoming weekend! 

We're headed to Denver for a birthday weekend filled with fun. 

That sneaky kid planned a weekend for me, and I don't think I'll ever deserve him.

Aside from my big surprise, our evening turned out great:

 

we ate on the floor as per tradition

We used dinner ware a little bit more toned down than red and pink

Broke out the bubbly and candles

Started with homemade garlic bread & salad

feasted on spaghetti with homemade red sauce and meatballs

And went into a sugar coma with bittersweet chocolate mousse.

Overall, the day was a success. I don't mean to gush, but I feel truly lucky to have a wonderful husband, friends, and family who make every day feel like Valentine's Day. I'm filled with so much love for all the wonderful people in my life, who I cherish dearly. 

Chin, thanks for being the best valentine I could have asked for. You went above and beyond any expectations I had, and you continue to be the best thing I've got in my life. Maybe someday I'll be worthy of you, because right now I have no idea why you chose me. But I'm so glad you did.

Day 13: A Valentine's Day Outfit

Call me crazy, but I've worn this sweater three days in a row now. I decided to take a break for today, but I can't help thinking that I'll probably wear it AGAIN on Valentine's Day.

I'm a freak.

As much as I love a good pencil skirt, there's something about a fuller skirt that I just adore. Maybe it's because it adds a girlier feel to an outfit, or that it can dress up an outfit without looking too formal. Either way, between the sweater and one of my favorite skirts (I've had it since I was 17), my new shoes and a fun pair of tights, I'm ready for love day.

And I'm also ready to start blogging about real life things again too! As much fun as these last two weeks have been (for me at least), a lot has happened and I want to share it all with you! 

So starting Wednesday, I'll be back to blogging about our V-Day festivities, my birthday plans, a trip to a tree, the superbowl, and all the other craziness that has been our life in the first two weeks of February. 

 

I'm a big fan of mismatching pinks. I thought this belt (a $3 find at F21 mind you) added a brighter touch to an otherwise neutral outfit.

Resorting back to taking photos in the comfort and warmth of our home. And I can't wait until we get our own furniture when we move in July. No more purple couches!

On my wish list all Winter, I finally cracked and bought these shoes on sale at Nordstrom (found here) the other week. I want to wear them everywhere. They have a nice chunky heel, so I never feel off balance or too high off the ground.

Target/DIY sweater, Ralph Lauren button down, DownEast skirt, Gap tights, Sam Edelman heels, Forever 21 necklace and belt, Fossil watch

Day 11: V-Day on a Dime by Guest Blogger Melissa

 I'm so excited to premiere one of my favorite friends of all time! I was so honored that she agreed to guest blog for me, she always has such great writing on her own blog, and I knew she would create a little post for me.

Melissa writes for Love, MDC. Please check it out, I know you'll love it!

This Valentine's Day, I had the highest expectations. I was going to to make my own and use glitter and doilies and sparkly pens. If I didn't make them, I was going to buy the cutest vintage ones like these:

But that didn't happen. Between midterms and one too many trips to Target my week and my bank account were spent. But luckily, Pinterest came to the rescue. I found some free printables, so you can make your own valentines without breaking the bank or spending a lot of time.

It looks like Valentine's Day is saved after all.

-Melissa

Day 1: DIY Heart-Tagged Tea Bag Tags

HAPPY FEBRUARY 1ST! 

Not that I'm excited or anything.

February is always the best month of the year. Valentine's day, a 3-day weekend, and my birthday always adds up to be a fun month.

 Plus... today is the first day of the 14 Days of Valentine's! I'm so excited. So to start off, the first craft I'm going to be sharing is how to make adorable tea bag tags (say that 1 million times fast. that's right, you can't) to give as gifts or use with your loved one at home.

My darling friends helped me make these, and we all thought they turned out so cute! 

Heart-Shaped Tea Bag Tags

What you'll need:

Herbal Tea bags without seeping strings (as many as you like.. Celestial Seasonings doesn't use string)

Red cardstock 

Double-sided Tape

Scissors

Twine/string (I used baker's twine)

A heart puncher (or you could cut your own hearts)

a gel pen of some sort 

Stapler

To start, take your twine/string, and cut a piece about a foot long, maybe a little less. Fold it in half, and tie the ends together in a knot. Take your tea bag and staple the string to the bag, making sure that the knot is below the staple, to keep the string in place on the bag.

Next, punch/cut out several small red hearts (as many as you think you'll need, you'll need two for each tea bag)on your cardstock.

Then, put a small piece of double-sided tape on one heart, and place the string on top of the taped heart, wherever you want the heart to be on the string. Sandwich the string with another heart so they stick together. 

Then, with your gel pen, write a little love note!

There you have it! The perfect gift and treat for a cold night in February.

A mountain of cookies and the aftermath of a craft project. Another successful crafternoon.

Introducing...

I am so excited to announce my latest and most fun project I've done here on the blog. For Valentine's Day (one of my very favorite holidays) I'm putting together a craft, recipe, or thought to share with you for each day of February leading up to Valentine's Day.
Yep you heard me, 14 days of non-stop ideas for you to make your Valentine's Day extra special! I am so excited!

I'll be posting yummy valentine treats, so many crafts, a few outfit ideas for Valentine's Day, and a few other tricks. EVERY DAY Monday through Sunday until the blessed day is here.

BUT, this is where I need your help!
14 days is a long time, and while I have a majority of those days all filled to share with you, I'm looking for a few more ideas.
I would love to feature anyone (whether as a guest post or have me to the craft and give you the idea credit or however you want to do it) who has a great craft, recipe or outfit for Valentine's day who wants to share it with me and with everyone who reads this blog! (does anyone even read this thing? haha)

If you're interested, PLEASE (I'll be so sad if no one does) leave a comment, email me: hayley.dickens@gmail.com, tweet me, or facebook message me. Write on my wall, text me, call me, beep me, page me.

BUT SERIOUSLY. 

I hope you're excited as I am and can't wait to get started! :)

we pretend to be fancy

i'd first like to thank everyone who emailed, texted, and commented about my post asking for advice for our Valentine's Day dinner.

it turned wonderfully.

not only was the food excellent (not trying to toot my own horn but i was really proud of myself), but it was easy and stress free.

i transformed our coffee table into a fancy table setting.

i used a pink infused table cloth covered with a frilly burlap table runner. red placemats and pink napkins and we were all decked out for the night. 

For our appetizers we feasted on Artichoke-Parmesan Crostini, which took me all of 5 minutes to prepare. recipe found here.

i was extremely proud of how our main course turned out.

the Slow-Roasted Tomatoes were juicy and savory, and blended perfectly with the smooth and creamy Creamed Spinach. The star of the night however was the Pepper-Crusted Filet Mignon. Not only had i never cooked a nice cut of meat before, but i was at a loss of where to even start. After researching a little bit, i found some tips to make the filet turn out how i wanted it to. The pepper and sea salt added a big kick to the flavor and it was rich and decadent and felt oh-so fancy.

recipes found here, here, and here.

to top off our night we had Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse for dessert. i was skeptical because there were some negative reviews online, but we were not disappointed. The mousse was smooth and silky, and i used 2 teaspoons of cocoa powder instead of  2 tablespoons, making the mousse less bittersweet and more creamy.

i made the mousse in the morning and let it chill all day in the fridge, adding a whole lot less stress when it came to cook everything else that night.

paired with chocolate covered strawberries, we were all chocolated out by the end of the night :)

recipe for the mousse found here.

look at how cute he is! we got all dressed up to sit on pillows on the floor. but i felt as if we were at a restaurant, but more private and secluded, and no waiting or ordering or anything like that.

we decided to make this a tradition of ours.

after dinner chin took me on a little tour to some special places of ours, where he had a poem written for each place. they were sweet, short, and funny, and it absolutely made my day.

i love you because...

dear christian,

i love you because you make me laugh.

i love you because you kiss me goodnight.

i love you because you always say sorry, please, and thank you.

i love you because you treat me sweet.

i love you because you hold my hand.

i love you because you play with my hair.

and i love you because you rub my back.

i love you because you serve me.

and you let me serve you.

i love you because it's valentine's day.

and i love you every other day of the year too.

:)

happy valentine's day friends!

i hope it's filled with love and happiness.

an invitation

happy friday to you all!

anyone have any big plans?

my weekend consists of afternoon tea, grocery shopping, basketball games, and double dates with friends.

or are you going out with someone special this weekend?

because this is it people! Valentine's Day weekend!

Valentine's Day is only a mere three days away!

i received a question on formspring wondering what Chin and I are doing for Valentine's Day. 

since my birthday is exactly one week past valentine's day and we have some big plans for that, we decided to keep it cool on actual Valentine's Day by having a nice dinner in the comforts of our own home.

so when Chin came home from the gym last night,

there was this waiting for him on our door:

a little invitation to dine in with me on Valentine's Day. :)

not only will our evening be spent by candlelight, but we'll both be dressed to the nines and looking spiffy (at least he will be).

i decided to test my cooking skills by making one of Martha Stewart's Valentine's Day Dinner Menus.

here's what it consists of:

Appetizer: Artichoke-Parmesan Crostini

(i thought i would serve bread as well and possibly a salad).

The Main dish: Pepper-Crusted Filet Mignon

Sides: Creamed Spinach and Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

Dessert: Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse

what do you think?

i've been researching for a couple weeks on what to make and how to find a meal that was elegant and sophisticated but not stressful or time consuming.

even though i think this will be a big step for me in my cooking, i'm excited! i hope it turns out as well as it sounds.

i was thinking about adding place cards and pulling out as many stops as i can think of...

so now i'm asking you this:

what do you think of my idea?

what would you do differently or add to make this night special!

let's hear it people! i want your expertise advice! :)

love more

i'd like to say that i have an eye for fashion and cooking.

but i definitely wouldn't say that i am any good at design.

i don't know, but i always just feel like an amateur.

we don't buy fancy, modern furniture because... we are college students.

because the furniture we have is what came with our apartment,

probably full of lint and germs.

most of our things are cheap.

(someday i will be able to decorate with fancy things to my heart's content! but we still have a lot more schooling till that's going to happen...)

but, in honor of valentine's day i decorated our coffee table with some fun things to add festiveness to our little abode.

i absolutely adore the "love more" bunting that my mother made for us. the rustic book pages are so cute and i love the vintage look about it.

then, when i got home from florida christian had these beautiful tulips waiting for me (my favorite)!

he is the sweetest, most adorable husband in all the land.

i love the framed v-day themed pictures, so festive!

 christian. pingree. i love you. b-e-a-uuuutiful!

 i love the detail on this. 

so there you have it. my most recent "decor" situated in our apartment.

in a couple weeks i thought i would highlight some other features in our apartment.

what do you think?

hope you're all having a fantastic weekend! xoxoxo

winter treats #4: key-lime coconut cupcakes

well valentine's day is quickly approaching and all that i can think about are flowers, chocolate, pink and red, hearts, and little men in diapers shooting people with rubber arrows.

i love valentine's day.

but one of the things i love most about valentine's day are the sweets! they make me go crazy. and even though i'm off sweets for a while (i've recently lost 10 pounds, take that corn syrup and sugar!), valentine's day is an exception.

so i have a recipe for you today that will make you fall in love.

Key Lime Coconut Cupcakes.

the combination is sweet and tangy, and blends perfectly with the cream cheese frosting.

i found the recipe from the food network, adapted it to my liking, and LOVED it.

they were a hit.

put them in valentine's day themed cupcake liners, dip the top in coconut, and you're ready to have your valentine fall in love with you.

Key-Lime Coconut Cupcakes

1 1/2 sticks butter (3/4 cup) room temp.

1 c. sugar

2 eggs at room temp.

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 heaping tsp. lime zest

2 Tbsp. lime juice

3-4 drops green food coloring (if desired)

1 1/2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. buttermilk

1 1/3 c. loosely packed coconut flakes (plus more for coating for your frosted cupcakes)

preheat oven to 325 degrees. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla extract, key lime zest and juice, food coloring and mix well. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 5 parts total, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold the coconut into the cupcake batter.

Line a muffin pan with liners and fill each liner almost to the top with batter. Bake for 25 minutes or until the tops begin to brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting

(this is my go-to frosting. i memorized it so i don't even need to think twice about it while making it. it's simple, fool-proof, and delicious!)

2 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese at room temp.

1 stick butter at room temp.(1/2 cup. or you can use 4 tbsp. butter and 4 tbsp. shortening. either or!)

combine all ingredients until mixed well and there are no lumps. if frosting is too thick, add  1 tsp. milk at a time until desired consistency is reached.

i know that coconut is iffy. you either love it or you hate it. but you can always leave out the coconut.

enjoy!

valentine's day DIY: burlap heart flags

I absolutely love these adorable bunting flags.

i found the idea from some blog (haha it's so sad to say that but i honestly cannot remember!)

but these are easy to make and fun.

also, not too expensive. 

i had lots of extra burlap lying around (randommm) and all i had to buy was some twine, felt, and clothespins.

Burlap Heart Flags

what you need:

burlap (enough to make at least 6-10 flags. i made 14)

red, pink, or white felt (2 sheets of red, one pink)

clothespins

twine, string, or ribbon

heart cookie cutter or stencil (unless you are free-handing the hearts)

hot glue gun

what to do:

1. Trace desired amount of hearts onto felt and cut out.

2. Cut burlap into flags. 

3. Hot glue felt hearts onto center of burlap flags.

4. lay out string and clothespin flags in a row on the string.

5. hang up over a door way, on a mantle, or just on a wall!

i absolutely love these and think they add a rustic valentine's look. :)

enjoy!

at last

i could not be happier that it is friday.

this was a long week!

even though Valentine's Day is a month away,

i am so eager to start decorating for it!

i love everything about this frilly, lovey-dovey, cutesy, romantic holiday.

my mom sent me a package yesterday with some fun valentine's day things to decorate my table with so i thought... why not start now?

last night, instead of doing accounting homework, i created a new tablescape

to help get us all in the loving mood.

enjoy!

have a great weekend!

i love these necklaces turned napkin rings.

so easy!