Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day was sweet!

We awoke to a beautiful frosted wonderland. For those of you who feel sorry for me for living in such cold weather-- don't. It has seriously snowed five times all winter. Most of the time we are in the high 50s and sometimes we hang in the 60s. I quite love Colorado weather as a matter of fact. And who could not love waking up to this? Especially on a Saturday where you don't have to drive anywhere?

To get ready for the day, I dressed Hallie in red and pink. I can't tell you how much I enjoy dressing up my little girl for holidays. I did her hair into little pigtail "ears" that made her look like my Valentine's bear. She was a ball of cuddly cuteness.

For breakfast I was going to make heart pancakes, but when I opened up my Betty Crocker book and saw crepes they just seemed that much more romantic. So, I made my first crepes! They weren't nearly as hard as I imagined they would be. I bet seasoned crepe pros think I am a baby-- but they honestly have intimidated me for years. But, I have joined the crepe club. Thankfully, I had Nutella on hand (love that stuff) so we could have "raspberry hazelnut chocolate crepes" which sounds way more romantic than just crepes. We also featured some with applesauce (Hallie's favorite)and others with blackberry jam (a close second to the nutella crepes).

Hallie helped me wield the blender so she could make her daddy an "I love you berry much" smoothie. She sure is a pro at pushing the buttons on the blender. She also contributed the lovely art on daddy's plastic cup.

This cheese ball (cheese heart) was made to snack on several nights before Valentine's but it deserves a spot in this post. I love how adaptable this appetizer is. It can be shaped to almost anything to match your festive menu. Remember the Thanksgiving pumpkin? I have done Christmas ball ornaments, snowmen, and Christmas trees as well.

I have to say Chris' mom was our special Valentine's sweetheart this year as she played with Hallie for hours so we could have a fun date. In the early afternoon Chris took us out on a drive, he pulled over the car after several minutes and parked. Then he pulled out two fancy wine glasses and sparkling apple cider. We toasted to us as he had me open my perfectly wrapped gift to reveal a new Taylor Swift CD. He bought the CD because we have built so many memories around music and he wanted me to think of this day when I listened to the CD-- so romantic. I love it! He also got me the BEST card in the world. Have you seen the Hallmark commercials this season? He got me the "I Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore" card. I was more than thrilled. Every time I saw the commercial I was giddy. I LOVE 80s music and REO Speedwagon totally fits the bill. I was touched that he observed how much I loved that card and went and bought it for me. Every time I open it I get a rush of happy.

We had an incredible meal at Carrabas, I gave Chris a handmade card and a Frank Sinatra CD, and then we went to the movies. We had planned to see an action movie but everything was sold out so we ended up at the ultimate chick flick-- Confessions of a Shopaholic. I was surprised when I totally loved the movie. I look forward to owning it on DVD.