A day set aside for LOVE

There is no denying it, a whole lot of people live in New York City. I found this little card tucked all over Grand Central Station on Valentine's Day and I deemed it cute enough to snag. Inside was a simple request for love stories of all kind.  

Living in Seattle I would not deem it a very festive place to reside on Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day could come and go and you might never be the wiser, but in New York City they do it right. Every corner you come around there are delivery men balancing enormous bouquets of red roses, flowers for sale on every corner, or people walking down the street with fresh flowers in hand. Since New York City is such a pedestrian friendly place, everyday life is played out in a more public sense. In Seattle most people I know jump in their car whenever they want to go somewhere, so all these little moments are missed.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I wrote this message in the sand in Sequim, Washington on February14th 2012

Show someone how much you care about them today. It needn't be elaborate or grand, just from the heart.

A Pike Place Market Valentine's Day

Anyone who reads my blog knows I am a big fan of Pike Place Market. Some locals might stick their nose up at it as merely a place to take tourists, but there are a lot of great places to check out in not a lot of square footage. Lunch dates are by far the best kind of break in the middle of my day. It needn't be with a spouse, it could be with a child or a friend. It needn't be more than a hour, but it can be pure joy.

This time of year the tulips start making their way into the stalls at the market. Forgo the pre made bouquets and pick out your very own custom bouquet stem by stem, it does not cost much more and allows you the freedom to select what you like.

Heart Attack

Valentine's Day is rapidly approaching, so here is a great, inexpensive way to show your love. The best part, you can use items you most likely already have on hand.

Supplies:
Newspaper or card stock for heart stencil
Flour or powder sugar
sieve

Directions:
1. Lay heart stencil on lawn/sidewalk.
2. Shake flour/powder sugar over stencil and then pour excess flour back into bowl.
3. Place stencil in another location and continue as desired.

A valentine's day to remember

I knew when we decided to take the day off from work it was going to be a good Valentine's day. We slept in, went out for breakfast and then took a ferry ride to Southworth and drove to the Dungeness Spit. The weather was cold, windy and rainy, so when the clouds parted and the sun began to shine I was in heaven.

One stop shopping for a valentine dinner

My parents were in town for a long weekend and I wanted to surprise them with a Valentine dinner. We decided to keep the menu simple, but tasty: salad, mushroom risotto, asparagus, bread and heart shaped meringues. Rather than be stuck inside at our local grocery store, we knew Pike Place Market was the perfect and more festive place to procure the necessary ingredients. 

Valentine dinner shopping List:

flowers

something sweet and heart shaped

mushrooms

arborio rice

asparagus

bread 

mixed greens

vegetables for salad

pink/red colored beverage

Our first stop was to select some gorgeous tulips. Spring is definitely in the air with such wonderful color abounding. 

 Shopping with a view like this is better than fluorescent lights and narrow aisles.

 Even the outdoors needed a little sprucing, so we picked up some white primroses for the front yard.

There is no shortage of inspiration or color at the market. Chocolate covered strawberries would be perfect or a chocolate cake with fresh raspberry sauce.

The pussy willows intrigued me, so we also took a bunch of these home with us.

Le Panier is my favorite french bakery, where we picked up the heart shaped baguette and the pink heart shaped mini meringues.

We brought all our treasures home and got to work on setting the table. We have not found a new dining table, so we are still stuck with our way too small table for dinner guests.

I just love the intricacies of the parrot tulips.

 My pussy willows enjoying their new home on the mantle.

I went to The Confectionery, my favorite candy store/party supply place at University Village and picked up these tissue paper decorations. The best part about them is they store completely flat, which makes them ideal to hang onto all year long.

 The sweet meringues from Le Panier.

All ready to celebrate.

Alternative to pink and red

I know some people are not crazy about pink and red, especially when it comes to Valentine's day. There is no rule which states those colors have exclusivity to the holiday. I wanted to package some treats for my friends, but did not want to go the traditional route. I happened to have this sweet XO scrapbook paper on hand which complimented the handmade chocolates nicely. It is easy to repackage chocolates/candy for any holiday.

Instructions:
1. Select a plain cellophane bag.
2. Place chocolates/candy in bag.
3. Fold top of cellophane bag over, punch two holes with a hole punch.
4. Thread ribbon through holes and tie.

Voila! A little treat bag for an occasion.

Heart Attack

I saw this idea on the Oh Happy Day blog and thought I would give it a try. All you need is a heart template, a bowl of flour/powder sugar and a sieve.

The instructions are simple:

1. Place the template on your desired surface.

2. Dust powdery substance over template with sieve.

3. Remove template

4. Move onto next location

In just under a half hour I had our whole front yard covered with these adorable little white hearts. When Cameron awoke he was surprised to find this all over the yard. 

Romantic places

Maybe it is the cold weather or the upcoming holiday, but when I think of sand, sun and surf I automatically think of romantic getaways. While doing a little research on National Geographic Traveler, I came across the Top Ten most romantic hotels in the world. Ironically, three of the ten were located in either Bora Bora or Moorea. In honor of the upcoming holiday I thought I would share some photos of the most romantic place I have ever been: Moorea, Bora Bora being a close second. There is something about staying in a overwater bungalow, being able to dive into the water from your room and feeling like you are all alone hovering out over the water that is intrinsically romantic. So here is a little trip down memory lane. Enjoy! Where is the most romantic place you have ever been?