A 1940's Valentine

So a bit late in my recap, but better late than never right?  The boy and I had a lovely Valentine's Day at home last week, but in an effort to make it unique, we celebrated the night with a 1940's theme...

We got dressed up in 40's garb, listened to jazz records from the era, and ate re-heated chicken pot pie.  The boy gave me a $5 bouquet of tulips and he remarked at how they were expensive (as this was the 1940's after all.)

We stayed away from our many computer screens, iphones and television shows for the night and just enjoyed some quiet time together.  It was perfect.  

We did also exchange gifts, though they weren't really in the theme of the night - I have the boy some new threads and he gave me a fancy-shmancy electric toothbrush.  Not that romantic, but certainly needed.

I really do like any excuse to tell the boy how much I love him; and as cheesy as it is, Valentine's Day remains one of my favorite holidays!  

Jigsaw London's Valentine's Day Shoot

HI All!  I just had to share this video I put together for work.  A weekend ago, I orchestrated a little photo shoot for Jigsaw London showing off our newest, most romantic outfits modeled by some of my favorite bloggers and friends!  Here's the behind the scenes video I threw together to show just how much fun we had together.  Enjoy!

Also, be sure to enter the giveaway on Jigsaw's blog for one of their most adorable pink bags! 

Sweet Valentines

I am definitely in the Valentine's Day mood.  Something about hearts, flowers, red and pink just delights me year after year.  The boy is not a huge Valentine's Day fan, and I understand his point of view.  I mean why do we need a designated day to tell the ones we love how we feel about them?  I know it's a bit of a racket and an excuse to sell cards and flowers, but I still love the idea of Valentine's Day.  

I've been curating my favorite V-day images over on Lockerz.com.  It's a wonderful way to save and share images, inspirations and things that just straight up make me happy.  Plus, everything I share has the potential to earn me points which equate to amazing savings on some of my favorite brands!  

If you haven't checked out Lockerz yet, I highly recommend it...It's totally addictive and fun!  Plus you can view more of my Valentine's Kisses Collection and help me spread the love!

**All sources linked within here **

Valentine's Day Candle

Over the weekend, I worked on a quick little Valentine's Day craft with my mom.  She had bought a pair of tall, red, cylinder candles - The kind that are like the religious candles you can find at the super market - And we decided to cover them with some Valentine's embellishments.  

These candles are totally inexpensive and easy to personalize.  All we needed was some scrapbook paper, Valentine's stickers and vintage-style valentines, along with double sided tape and scissors.  Simply cut your paper and embellishments to size and tape to the candle.  The scrapbook border stickers worked especially well, and the whole project took about 10 minutes to complete!  It's a craft that's easy to love!  

Fashion Friday: Valentine's and Strawberries Dress

This is the outfit I wore to work on Valentine's Day.  I was originally going to wear something pink, but my strawberry Vera print dress from Anthropologie won me over in the end.  Paired with a red sweater (Target), red pumps (H&M) and one of my heart hair clips, I couldn't help but feel romantic!  

I was trying to make a heart with my hands, but instead I look like I'm doing the Leena Lamont dance move

Just as planned we stayed in on Valentine's Day and watched movies.  The boy also made me a lovely dinner.  He made me a pizza.  It was shaped like a heart....

Oh yeah, I heart him so much!!!!

Happy Friday!

A sweet Valentine's treat!

Saw this and thought it was too cute and amazing not to share.  Hope you're enjoying your Valentines!


Happy Valentine's Day! XO, Etsy from Etsy on Vimeo.

Some Enchanted Evening

Happy Valentine's Day Friends!  As I've said before, this is one of my favorite holidays.  Not only do I love pink and red and doilies and paper hearts and roses and chocolate (all of which are abundant on Valentine's Day) but I also love having an excuse to stay in and watch a romantic movie with the boy.

With all the craziness that surrounds Valentine's Day, we much prefer to skip a crowded restaurant and spend a quiet evening at home. Which basically means the boy will cook something delicious and we'll snuggle up on the couch to watch some romantic classic film.

When we first started dating, the boy and I bonded over the fact that we're both movie geeks and love classic films.  So in honor of that, here are a few of my favorite classic movie choices for Valentine's Day...(Warning: Major spoilers to follow!)

Roman Holiday - This film is just so sweetly romantic! Especially the last scene, when you just know Gregory Peck just wants to take Audrey Hepburn in his arms and give her a big smakeroo!  But he can't because she happens to be a princess and you know that, through their silent desire , they know it's probably the last time they'll see one another.  (Sigh.)  Also Audrey just looks gorgeous from start to finish! 

Sunrise - This film has been highly acclaimed as a masterpiece and a feat of it's time with the special effects used and the compelling cinematography, but beyond that, it's also an extremely romantic and dramatic story.  Perfectly composed from the acting, to the effects, to the story telling, I feel like this film is easily the most romantic thing ever put on celluloid.  It really shows the caliber of a truly great silent film.....And there's a pig that gets drunk, bonus! 

Ball of Fire - Barbara Stanwyck is just about the coolest chic ever in this rendition of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  In this version, the seven dwarfs are actually 7 professors writing a new encyclopedia and shenanigans ensue when a love blooms over a lesson in slang and some mobster hijinks.  I laugh all the way through this film from start to finish and Gary Cooper couldn't be more hopelessly adorable!  It's a film you're sure to enjoy and you may walk away with several choice slang phrases like, hoi toi toi and scram, scrim, scraw! 

It Happened One Night - A Capra classic, this film wrote the book on what a romantic comedy should be.  Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert find themselves as unlikely travel buddies on a bus trip to New York.  While they fight like cats and dogs every step of the way, a love eventually blossoms between them that even the walls of Jericho can't keep out. Oh and Clark Gable, let me join Judy in saying that you made me love you!  He's pretty dashing. 

An American in Paris - Yes, it's a musical starring Gene Kelly, and all the music is by Gershwin, and there is a complete ballet in it, and it's set in a technicolor version of Paris...So do I even need to go on?  While it may not be traditionally thought of a a romance film, just trust me on this one, it is.  I personally think that the scene where Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron dance by the Seine to "Our Love is Here to Stay" almost exclusively without touching, is one of the most romantic moments captured on film.  It perfectly communicates their young, tenuous, and uncertain love affair all through music and dance.  It's brilliant.  Also, Leslie Caron wears just about every color pointe shoe possible - Delightful!

Gidget - Ok, it may be completely hokey and cheesy, but if you're looking for something that captures 1960's wholesome adolescent love at it's best, look no further.  Plus it's the perfect film to make you feel like your 1960's summer is just around the corner!  It certainly makes me want to wax down my surfboard and hit the swells!  What makes this film most charming is the way Sandra Dee tries to figure out a way to get her Moondoggie (James Darren - quite the looker in his day) to see her as more than a surfing pal - it's just adorable.  It's a super fun film to watch.  Plus it features a few choice songs and Gidget's swimsuits are totally cute! 

So there you have it!  Those are my classic Valentine films of choice.  Hope you all have a lovely V-day and let me know if you watch any of these films - I'd love to hear what you think!

Lots of Love,

Heather

Made this Monday: Last Minute Valentine

Here we are again, another weekend gone and another week just beginning.  But you know what helps me get through my Mondays?  Crafts!  I'm so excited for Valentine's day tomorrow that I simply had to share this last minute Valentine craft I wrote for DIY DANCER.  

It's a super easy tutorial on how to make paper flowers from cupcake wrappers and then stitch your very own embroidered card.  Go check it out if you get a chance.  Happy Crafting! 

Hearts 4 you!!!

It's funny how up and down my emotions have been this past week.  I guess it's just residual jet lag, but in the span of just a few days my emotions have ranged from gloomy, anxious, worried, frustrated, restless and uninspired to bored, panicked, listless and discouraged.  Don't I sound like a bundle of laughs? 

I hate when I start feeling that way, as it's completely unproductive and not fun for anyone, including myself.  So as a way to snap myself out of it I decided to do something nice.  Niceness almost always cures feelings of discouragement, at least for me. 

So here it is, as a NICE gesture, I will be giving away super cute handmade Glitter Heart Hair Clips just in time for Valentine's Day!

The way it works is simple, if you'd like to receive a heart clip, just send me a message via my contact form with your mailing info and I'll send you one.*  Sound good? 

There is kind of a catch....I mean, I can't force you or anything, but if you like my clips enough to request one, I would be ever so appreciative if in return, you could spread the word to your blogging, tweeting and facebooking friends.  That would be sooo....Nice.  ;)

*While my supplies last, what do you think, I'm made of gold?  Helllll NOOOO! ;)

Made this Monday: Good Fortune Valentine

Ok, so actually my mom made this for me, but I thought it was so cute I just had to share:

It's a Valentine Chinese Take-out box filled with delicious chocolate goodies and some very special fortune cookies!

My mom made each cookie with pink or red felt, cut in a circle, filled with Hershey kisses and a special fortune.  She then folded the circles over and sealed the felt with double sided fabric tape and glued to give it that fortune cookie shape. 

Then she decorated the take-out box with cute stamps, cut -out hearts, a valentine message and a red satin bow - so cute!  

This would be a wonderful Valentine's Day gift for a friend or co-worker.  It's simple to make and super sweet!