iphone does - valentine's date

Both of us had to stop & count on our fingers to double check that this was our 8th Valentine's Day together. It's starting to really sound like we've been together a long time! That's nice. We spent Sunday celebrating our traditionally belated day of love, since 20 years ago, I got a baby sister as a Valentine's gift. Every once in awhile, we get one of these glorious entire day-dates, & half the fun is just having time to be. Be silly, be lovey, be doing the dishes together. We started our afternoon with a downtown brunch, & finished it with an early evening showing of Her at the cute local movie theater. 

Ya know, I've heard good & bad things about that movie, & we both came to basically the same conclusion - Visually stunning (like, really), musically gorgeous, really great to see Joaquin Phoenix performing like the amazing actor he is... But still, a very odd storyline. I think I definitely would have enjoyed the book, & maybe that would have made the movie better. Or worse. Who knows. I don't really care, because we were hand-holding & foot canoodling, & it didn't really matter what we were watching, so long as we were together. I know, I know... But it's true!

We came home & Chef Jared got to work in the kitchen, making spaghetti alla carbonara & a custom pink apple cider martini that Jared gave about 27 different names throughout the evening. There was The Loooooove Apple, Adam's Apple, The Apple of My Eye, Apple Juice *wink*... The list goes on. He's a little ridiculous, but alllllso really good at concocting tasty beverages, so I'm on board. 

After a token-of-love exchange & love note reading, we made the very wise decision to take a break from the Olympics (which we have watched every night since it started & are maybe a little overly invested?) while also winding down a little from the heaviness of Her & watched Jurassic Park. Yup, true romance. I've been dying to watch it since I heard the soundtrack recently, & when Jared busted out the stash of red velvet ice-cream he'd hidden in the freezer, I thought I just might cry tears of pterodactyl joy. It's also been really hard to enjoy anything even the teensiest bit indulgent while watching Olympians flip through the air on ice or snow or blades or whatever, so it was nice to have our dinosaurs & eat our ice cream, too.

It was a sweet day... It's good to love & be loved. I've always been so grateful to spend Valentine's Day celebrating my sister's birthday with my family, because I don't think Valentine's Day is just about romantic love. I think it has to be a celebration of love, in general. Otherwise, the greeting card companies win. 

Love is good. Love is great. 

a message to my valentine

& that's saying something.

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DIY - xo door hanger

The day of looooooove is nearly here once again, & thus, the crafting begins. I moved away from the traditional wreath this time, & I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. If you want to play along, instructions are below!

SUPPLIES:

- foam board

- printer + word/photoshop or the confidence to freehand

- utility knife

- glue stick

- watercolors or preferred medium

- string or yarn

- hot glue gun

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1. Print your "x" & "o" in whatever your preferred font may be. I used Qumpellka No. 12 at approximately 1079 pt. Since I was using Photoshop, I dragged the corners of the bounding box to fill as much of the 8.5 x 11" page as possible. 

2. Tape the cut out letters onto the foam board. Follow the edges with the utility knife

3. (optional) Flip the canvas horizontally to print a reverse image to place on the foam board. I did this because my board was a little too glossy for the watercolors I wanted to use, but also so that the edges of the paper would overlap the rougher edges of the cut foam board. I used #f0eded as the color on the reverse side so it wouldn't show through once reversed to the white/blank side.

4. Glue & admire your handiwork.

5. I used about five colors to make my... salmon? color, & kept it pretty watered down so I could just keep layering the color. I continued to blend the color as it dried, which is very obviously not pictured. I painted the edges of the board, hence color everywhere! though, I am pretty much a hot mess when it comes to paint.

6. Hot glue yarn to the back of the foam letters. This takes some strategizing to get the letters fall the way you'd like once they're hanging.

7. Stand back & admire your work! I think it's kinda adorable. 

(ps. If you're like me & can't get enough Valentine's Day,

DIY Valentine's Day Felt Heart Wreath

Some other simple Valentine DIYs from last year)

be mine

because I'm so completely yours.

valentine's eve

Little bits & pieces of the rest of Valentine's Day around our abode on this Valentine's Eve. Including, but not limited to: Leftover felt hearts from my front door project, Anna Rifle Bond goodies from Amelia & a wrapping paper heart to let the neighbors know that there is love in this apartment. I won't insult you with a DIY on that last one.

We're celebrating my two younger sisters' birthdays this week, so our Valentine's Day date is happening on Sunday. Guess what - The heart in the window ain't comin' down until then. Sorry/not sorry. 

I told myself I'd be in bed by 11:00 tonight & I'm already two minutes past that. DRAT. It's just so much cozier on this couch with my Jared. *happy sigh*

Have a happy day tomorrow, friends.

DIY - valentine's heart wreath

I love Valentine's Day. Even as a single high school girl, I loved the idea of the world pausing for a moment to appreciate LOVE. & naturally, now that I know the love of a dreamy husband, it's an even sweeter day.

My mom takes Valentine's Day decor as seriously as she takes Christmas decor, & even with a sister whose birthday is on the 14th, we all get & give presents in honor of St. Cupid. Or whoever it is. (That's a joke, & read this if you really want to know more about what Valentine's Day is really about.) The point is, my family loves Valentine's Day, & I am no exception.

So, here's a very simple, very cheap wreath that I made to honor the tradition that my sweet mama started. The only thing I bought was felt, which was $0.94 a sheet, so I'm marking this as a SUCCESS.  There's step by step instructions at the bottom, if you're not a visual learner like me ;)

 

 

Supplies:
wire hanger (or craft wire)

felt (2 sheets)

hot glue gun

scissors

iron

starch or hairspray

1. Bend hanger (or wire) into heart shape. The beauty of wire is that you can make your heart skinny, fat - Whatever you desire!

1 1/2. I didn't add anything to hang my heart from because our apartment door came with a convenient (& slightly off center) hook, but this is the part where you can use ribbon, twine or some of your leftover wire to make a loop. I'd do this now so your hearts cover up any part of the hook that is left visible on the front.

2. Cut felt into four strips, then quarter those strips. You'll need approximately 25 hearts if you're using a wire hanger.

3. Halve your felt squares to cut the heart shape. Trace half a heart onto your square if you don't feel comfortable free-handing. I free-handed my hearts & kinda liked that the hearts were all unique.

4. Fold the hearts in half & iron... briefly. The felt doesn't need a ton of heat, so this can be as quick as 3 seconds plus a quick burst of steam.

5. Spray hairspray or starch to help the heart retain its fold. I used hairspray because I'm a terrible housewife that doesn't have starch, but starch would definitely be ideal.

6. Follow the crease with the hot glue gun & place your felt heart on your wire heart. Press into place.

7. Continue this process until your wire is covered. I kept my hearts going in the same direction, but it would be cute to have them go in opposite directions from the center & meet at the bottom, too.

8. Step back & admire! Then have a photoshoot with leftover hearts!

You guys, this is too easy. I'm already scheming up a spring version, so stay tuned. If you make one, share it! I'd love to see them, so link up in the comments!

(I will disclaimer this to say that I have not searched the internet from top to bottom to make sure that someone else hasn't already made this. If you, your neighbor or your favorite blogger has done something similar, well, let's get coffee because great minds think alike!)