Valentine's Dinner and Love Overflowing...

Monday evening, I was blessed to be able to go out for a leisurely dinner date with my handsome Valentine.  We had a gift card I had been saving for our meal, and the kids were thrilled to spend the evening with one of their favorite sweeties from the youth group!

Earlier that day Madi and Jimmy had given me the gifts they had picked out together.  

This candle, since they know I love me some Red Velvet Cake...

And this beautiful picture for our home, with Joshua 24:15 on it. 

What a special surprise that was!

Tuesday morning the kids went to school with Valentines in hand.  I spent the morning in Pre-K helping serve up a special breakfast, and the afternoon in 1st grade for a cupcake buffet and Valentine exchange!

It was quite a day!  In between the parties, I baked Glazed Tea Cake for a special dessert.  I made this recipe at Christmas with peppermint extract and crushed candy canes and it was so delicious!  This time I stuck with the traditional almond extract and garnished each cake with a cherry heart.  The flavor to this cake is simple, and it would be lovely served at a shower or special occasion.  I found the recipe in my Cooking With Grace cookbook that is one of my absolute favorites.

Glazed Tea Cake

Heat oven to 350.  Grease and flour an 18x12 inch pan.  In bowl, combine 2 cups flour, 2 cups sugar, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp baking powder. Set aside.

In small saucepan combine 2 sticks butter and 1 cup water.  Bring to boil, stirring occasionally.

Add to flour mixture, stirring to combine.  Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream, 2 eggs, and 1 tsp almond extract.  

Pour in prepared pan and bake for 22-25 minutes (cake will be light in color).

Let cake cool, then prepare glaze.

For glaze: In medium saucepan, combine 1 stick butter and 1/4 cup milk.  Bring to boil stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and whisk in 1/2 tsp almond extract and 3 cups powdered sugar.  Spread over tea cake.  Cut into squares, garnish if desired, and serve.

(I added a drop of red food coloring to make the glaze light pink.)

After school I taught my piano and vocal lessons, and then served my family up a Valentine's dinner at home!!  This was more affordable than going out, and kept us from having to fight the crowds and stay out too late on what had already been a very busy school day.

I mixed china and crystal with paper goods found at Walmart!

Everyone got a serving of grapes in these darling Candy Heart cups...

More fresh strawberries were served in small, heart shaped bowls...

Since the heart shaped breadsticks worked so well at Saturday's breakfast, I decided to make them again!  

We had steamed broccoli and kid-friendly green beans...

And heart shaped pasta that my friend Laurie sent me in my fun package!  This was perfect for our main course since I needed to get dinner ready in a hurry after an afternoon full of lessons.

I used a jar of alfredo sauce with a little tomato paste mixed in to give it a pink tint...

And it was both adorable and tasty!

We sipped on sparkling grape juice in crystal goblets...

And just before I served up dinner, my mom gave me this special gift.  We had spied this a month or so ago when we were out for lunch.  It is a vase within a chalkboard - just imagine the possibilities! How thoughtful of her to remember this, it was the perfect Valentine treat!  Madi wrote a message for me and it adorned our Valentine table.

I truly enjoy Valentine's Day!  Celebrating those you love is a good thing to do all year long, and this holiday comes with lots of inspiration and fun ideas to do just that!

I love my husband. My kids.  My parents.  My friends.  My family. My church family.  And above all, I love God who has blessed me with such wonderful people to love, and is the ultimate giver of love.  He gave us Jesus!  And there is no greater love than the love He showed to us on the cross.  My love for my Savior fills my heart and just has to overflow! He is my reason to live and love well.

Valentine's Breakfast, Pinkalicious Pancakes, and a Full Heart

One of things I enjoy most in life is making my family feel loved.  A fun way I have found I can do this is with special meals and celebrations, especially breakfasts.  There is just something about starting your morning off with a celebration that sets a sweet tone for the day!

Since Valentine's Day was going to be a busy school day, I decided to give my family a Valentine's Breakfast on Saturday morning.  After tucking the kids in bed on Friday night, I did some prep work, wrapped some presents, and set the table so it wouldn't take as long to serve things up in the morning.

My friend Laurie sent me these darling plates from Hobby Lobby.  She reads my mind from 1,000 miles away because I actually had my eye on these but didn't purchase them - then one day they arrived in the mail!  How neat.  I set little love notes at everyone's places.

The kids each got two presents...one necessity and one treat.  Madi received a pack of socks because since the school year started, somehow about half of hers have disappeared!  I have yet to figure out where they go when I wash them.  

She also got a cute and stylish new shirt, since she is the self-proclaimed "fashion princess" and "glamour girl" these days.  :)

Trev got a pair of tennis shoes that fit - he had been squeezing into his for quite some time now and this was a huge relief for him!  

He also got the Star Wars version of the old Operation game.  It is a hoot!!  They had a ball with this game, and played it all.day.long.

For Jimmy's necessity, he got also got a pack of socks - comfy athletic ones for his morning runs.  His treats were a new shirt and pair of flip-flops, and the book The Power of a Praying Husband. I read The Power of a Praying Wife early in our marriage and it was great.

And yes, I even treated myself to a gift...

A dress to wear on a date with Jimmy!

The table was set and festive, so it was time to get cooking.

I found this Perfectly Pink Pancake Mix and low sodium bacon at Aldi for great prices...

Check out this batter!  These definitely were perfectly pink!

Madi declared these pancakes pinkalicious!  She and I enjoyed them with lite syrup and fresh strawberries.  They were yummy!  Trev, however, wanted nothing to do with pink pancakes.  

He did, however, love these!  

I had a can of breadsticks in the fridge and tried this...

And it worked!!  My little guy gobbled these up with his bacon.

And of course, our fresh strawberries were perfect for a Valentine's celebration.  This time of year we have an abundance of locally grown berries available for good quality and great prices and I love it!!

My cocoa loving girl got a warm cup of chocolate in a heart shaped mug with heart shaped marshmallows...

Table set, gifts ready, food prepared, ready to go!  

My Valentine's gift to my family.

These expressions are exactly why I love taking the time to do something special.

The kids were so sweet and thankful, and said some nice words that made this Momma's heart happy.

What a sweet, pinkalicious morning!  The evening was special as well, because I sent these two stunners off to a Daddy-Daughter dance.  My daughter had been anticipating this evening for weeks!

What a Saturday!  My heart was full.

Joining the Potpourri Party at 2805 and Marti at Tabletop Tuesday.

Valentine Snack On The Run

Since moving to Florida, our little family has become quite the Disney family.  We have been blessed to be able to go the parks quite often, and it has been such a fun outlet for us to enjoy together.  

When I was doing a grocery run and saw Pillsbury Valentine break-and-bake cookies with the Mickey/Minnie silhouette surrounded by a heart, I knew my Disney kids would love them!  I usually bake my own cookies from scratch for cost and taste purposes, but I just had to take these home.

Friday the kids needed to have their after school snack on the run so I filled heart dishes with fresh red grapes and two of the little Mickey/Minnie cookies.  This super easy snack was a huge hit to say the least!  Fun how something so small can bring such a big smile!

Super Easy DIY Valentine T-Shirt!

A dear lady we know in Maryland gave us a subscription to Disney's Family Fun magazine as a Christmas gift.  Our first issue arrived a few weeks ago and had some darling ideas, including this easy way to make fun Valentine t-shirts.  I knew Madi would love this and she is at that age where she loves to match Mommy, so I found two pink tees at Walmart for around $3 each and got busy.

First I used a strip of double sided tape to adhere heart doilies to the shirts.

Then I got my paint and foam brush ready. I used textured glittery paint, but you can use whatever kind of fabric paint you would like.

I used the doily as a stencil and dabbed on the paint.

Then I carefully peeled off the doily. It looked like this.

I took the tube of paint and following the stenciled dots, added another dot of paint on top of each one.

I let them dry for a day or two and when finished, the heart stencil and paint gave the shirts this really subtle, sparkly, watermark effect.  I was very excited with how they turned out!

The lighting made it a bit hard to fully see the hearts in these photos of us wearing them, but I think you'll get the idea.

I surprised Madi with these after school one day and she absolutely loved them!  Such a simple, affordable project.

And this cute heart chalkboard? Found it for $2.50 in the Target value section!  I'm always looking for new ways to say I love you.

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