Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you all have a special day!!!

Embracing Winter: Celebrate Valentine's Day

Celebrating Valentine's Day is one of the best ways of beating the winter blues. Set perfectly between Christmas and the beginning of spring, it gives us something to look forward to, plan for, and be creative with.

Oh I know some might say it is an over-rated Hallmark holiday. But, if you can use it to bring a little joy into someone else's life or your own, then I say make the most of it!

Valentine's Day need not only be for romantic lovers. It is a day about LOVE. Love is at the heart of the Christian faith because it is the heart of God as demonstrated to us in Christ. Surely we should all be looking for more ways to show love: to our friends, neighbors, coworkers, family, spouse, children, strangers.

There are so many fun things to do for Valentine's Day. The trick is choosing which, of the many, you will use for your celebration. Pinterest is my new favorite way to get inspiration and I've collected a board just for Valentine's Day (you can find me on Pinterest by clicking the button over on the sidebar).

Some of our favorite ways to celebrate are: decorated sugar cookies, homemade cards, heart pancakes, a special breakfast on Valentine's morning, tiny gifts at each person's place, a tea party, sending cards in the mail (especially to people who might need an extra bit of joy in their day), a Valentine party, Valentine games, heart-shaped foods, and making a Valentine mailbox for creations to be deposited in prior to Valentine's Day.

If you are all alone on Valentine's Day, don't let yourself get pitiful and depressed. It's not the ideal situation, but you have to make the most of it. Joy is here for the taking, but sometimes one has to fight for it. Take matters into your own hands: buy a few flowers to brighten your home, make a list of 25 things you are thankful for, think about five people who have shown you amazing love over your lifetime, buy something red to eat, think of someone who might be very lonely and write them a letter. Consider even the tiny things in life as gifts from God especially for you.

Oh, and I do think chocolate is nice, whether it is hot chocolate, one square of dark chocolate, or a big slice of chocolate cake!

I don't think any of us says "I love you" as much as we should to those that are close to us. This is another opportunity to do so.

Make your kids feel treasured and give them memories that will help them to spread joy to others when they grow up. Write a tiny little valentine for each child. Hide a valentine under their pillow for when they wake up. Buy your daughters flowers. Have a family tea party.

If you are married, then you have been given a very special gift. Make your spouse feel loved and appreciated.

Reading valentine stories is another very fun thing to do. It is the older books at the library that I always find the most whimsical and full of delight. When we were young my mother had us write our own valentine stories, and I think we even acted some out!

Having a Valentine dinner party is one of my favorite things to do! It can't happen every year but it's a special treat when it does.

I hope you find a way to make Valentine's Day special this year!

Heather Loves Winter

My friend sent me these photos of her local heather bushes thriving in the winter. It seemed appropriate to post them here to go along with our winter theme. Thanks to the mild weather, these plants must be feeling almost as if they are growing in Scotland.

This heather garden is in the middle of New York City! Isn't that hard to believe -- on the Upper West Side.

Enjoy your day!

One More Thing

Sunday lunch was pretty good.....

.....even if we were all hungry several hours later.

Random Things

It's a sunny Monday here in the Midwest. I guess the Superbowl took place here this weekend but funny enough we never really saw any signs of it! Another school week has begun and more to-do lists.

Christina has been stitching up the cutest fingerless mitts lately. Aren't they adorable?! She'll have them available in her Etsy shop soon.

We celebrated my Dad's birthday in late January with his favorite -- pineapple upside down cake. I even made a gluten-free version which tasted so delicious!

My primroses are hobbling along at the end of their blooming life. I'm hoping to plant them all in my garden for perennial cheer.

Laura is as busy as ever, slowed over the weekend by a high fever and a nasty cold. New words come tumbling forth everyday. My new favorite: "I'm sorry."

I like to cut my poinsettias when they begin to fade. They make for pretty cut flowers without the scraggly leaves. (You have to cut the poinsettia stem and immediately seal the end with a flame before plunging into water.)

The boys turned some cardboard into a cool castle.

And now I must go rescue Little Miss Muffet from her nap and see about the rest of my to-do list. Downton Abbey is awaiting on the horizon one of these evenings....as well as a bunch of sewing. And Valentine's Day is around the corner!!!!!

Embracing Winter: Pamper Yourself

It's becoming harder and harder to convince myself that it is winter. Our temperatures here in the Midwest have been ranging between 45 and 58 degreesF which is about 20 to 40 degrees above what it could be right now. And as for snow....I think we've all forgotten what that looks like. But, we certainly don't want to complain!

Winter is a wonderful time to change up your skin care routine. Buy a new scent of handsoap. Ask friends what their favorite moisturizer is, and maybe take time out for a long bubble bath.

Brighten up your bathroom by using a bar of delicious-smelling soap set in a little china dish. Bar soap may seem so last-century, but did you know that dermatologists recommend it as the best thing for your skin? (Of course they want you to stick only to Dove bar soap and I don't really want to go that far....)

Trader Joe's has some heavenly bar soaps. I know they might cost up to $3.50/bar but I also know that they can last up to 6 months and their natural perfume is worth it! I just finished a bar of their Lemon Verbena and am now going to try their Ginger Almond Oatmeal.

It is a real treat to have Bath&Body Works foaming soap by the kitchen sink when you want to wash your hands. I just happened to find a sale recently!

And good old Yardley is always an option -- our dollar store sells these bars in the beauty section.

See the pretty cut glass jar with the silver lid? That was a little gift from my uncle who I think found it at a thrift store and polished it up for me. It makes a perfect container for putting hand cream in and leaving beside my bed or on my dresser.

You've already heard me suggest buying yummy-scented chapstick, and I don't mean flavors like Rootbeer Float or Bubblegum (unless those happen to really make your day). Tiny bits of loveliness sprinkled throughout the day do add up to something.

Every once in awhile rub some sugar into your hands along with your regular moisturizer. Rinse in warm water and notice how soft and smooth your hands will feel. I must go and do this.....

Remember that taking time for beauty, and time for nourishing your soul, will bless you as well as those around you.

Books and Yarn

I thought I would participate in the Yarn Along over on the lovely blog "Small Things" (where everyone is sharing their current knit/crochet and reading).

This is my latest project. I got the idea in my head one evening over the weekend and by the next afternoon I had it finished. It is SO easy! Just 8 granny squares sewn together with a little gather at the top via a crochet string.

I saw the idea in this book but didn't have it to look at when I made this so I'm not sure if it is the same or not.

I've been enjoying my reading lately. We've been on a Tasha Tudor kick so I picked this up from the library to learn a bit more about this eccentric and inspiring person. It is written by Tasha's daughter and filled with lots of photographs. Lovely to read.
I'm hooked on this series, set in the Irish countryside in the 1950's or 60's. This book is set back in the 30's though and I enjoyed the word pictures of Dublin since it would be a bit like Glasgow at the same time. It's an easy-read novel about a doctor in medical school.
I'm reading this just for the fun of seeing what advice there was for economizing in the 1930's. Ha! It's good for a laugh and interesting to see that some things never change.

I decided I just couldn't send this book back to the library without reading it again. I love it and must put it on my to-purchase list. The Gentle Art of Domesticity.....
And now I must return to cleaning the house and making chicken soup. Michael is doing better today, just looking different with his swollen face. The rest of us are trying to get over our colds.