I do love Valentine’s Day although now that I’m a married it doesn’t hold near the pressure, in my mind, as it did before. I don’t even care if we do anything on V-Day itself; there are so many crowds to fight that it gets a little out of control. I’d rather celebrate with my husband when it’s less crowded and crazy. This year, we’ll be in Florida for Simon’s conference, so I imagine the majority of the celebrating we’ll do will be minimal.
One of the recurring themes at AltSummit was “stop thinking about it & just do it already.” Because frankly, if you don’t do it, then who will?
And as silly as it sounds, the first thing that came to mind was the idea I’d been tossing around in my head to throw a fancy party. A deck-out-to-the-nines dress-up party. You know the kind – odds are you’ve thought about it, too! Bust out the sequins & glitter, put on those shoes you never have an occasion to wear them to. Heck, even put on that heinous old bridesmaid dress (appropriate since Bridesmaids was nominated!) and let’s give our acceptance speeches as we check out all the fab fashion and toast to the winners. And Oscar night seems the perfect time to do it.
So mark your calendars & save the date for February 26th, OKC peeps. If you’re not local, why not consider throwing your own? We can have a fantabulous Twitter party along the way!
Happy New Year, everybody!
I feel like this is going to be a great year with lots to look forward to. Simon and I had a fantastic NYE, just the two of us. Dinner was at the amazing Red Prime in downtown OKC, followed by a quick jaunt through the Chesapeake campus to see their cheerful lights, and then on to the ghetto movie theater to see The King’s Speech with the deliciously endearing Colin Firth. We got out of the movie just in time to watch the fireworks downtown.
I usually think taking pictures of fireworks is ridiculous, but I do like trying out all the manual settings on my camera to see what kind of effect I can get. The fireworks above look like dandelions.
In years past (read: BC — before child), we would go to IHOP to people watch and carb-load, but this year, we just went on home. There was a huge party at a house around the corner, and I could see enormous fireworks as we approached. It was so loud as it was just two houses down from us. Everybody was out in the yard and I was waiting for the cops to show up! It didn’t really bother me since Jude was at my in-laws’. Otherwise I probably would have been irritated. But as it was, it was a fun ending to a frigidly cold, but delightfully fun New Year’s Eve.
I’m excited to see what this year will bring. As of now, an Etsy storefront is in the works, and I hope to do some more fun furniture flipping. 
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Are you a holiday baker? Do you create tons of sugar cookies from scratch? Or maybe a favorite handed-down recipe that’s a family tradition?
My family isn’t super big on Christmas baking in particular, although I do think it would be great fun to have some kind of cookie exchange. I’m definitely a fan of making things from scratch; I love the process. And I do love to bake. I love that if I follow the directions just so, then I know (almost) exactly how they’ll turn out.
Here’s some favorite holiday food inspiration photos that I’ve been collecting to get you in the spirit of the season – let the baking begin! Sources at my Foodie Pinterest site.
I think these are the cutest cookies ever!
I’d love to know how to make pretty cookies like these – almost too pretty to eat!
Cute cupcakes; makes me think of those vintage Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer stop-motion movies from the 60s.
A clever new twist on a favorite – I think I’ll have to put my rice krispie treats in a muffin pan next time.
Caramel-wrapped marshmallows(!).
Candy cane marshmallows.
Hot chocolate layer cake w/ marshmallows
Melting snowman sugar cookies
Pumpkin whoopie pies w/ cream cheese frosting. Let the pumpkin love continue!!
Pumpkin bars w/ cream cheese frosting
Andes Mint cookies
Tiny little pancakes on a skewer – what a chic breakfast this would be.
Speaking of breakfast, I love the idea of these jam-infused butters paired with homemade buttermilk biscuits.
Broccoli & sausage egg “muffins.” This would be so yummy on Christmas morning.
Nutella-filled donuts. EASILY done w/ Williams-Sonoma’s ebelskiver pan. Ebelskivers are like little pancake balls. I like to stuff them with peanut butter, nutella, or jam.
Ok, this is not really baking, but I could not resist adding this. So pretty! Apple cider cups
Mini eggnog cheesecakes… mmmmm.
I have no idea where in this hemisphere you’d get strawberries that look this good, but aren’t they kinda cheesy-cute?
Frozen Banana Bites
And finally, a cute little igloo cake from Martha.
Whew! I’m hungry now! Must go scrounge in the kitchen for some chocolate …
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