all about valentines

happy (almost) valentine's dear friends!

and it is a long holiday weekend too! 

i am looking forward to a great time this weekend. although we are working come monday, that's not stopping me to enjoy this lovely weekend. we are celebrating valentine's day with family and friends and i've got an old high school friend coming into town to visit. it well then be a galentines weekend along with our families. should be fun! 

my husband and i work together so we always get to go out do lunchdates all. the. time. so valentine's day is everyday for us. *heart* 

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here are a few valentine's-inspired favorites this friday. if you have a few minutes to spare before celebrating, do check them out!

• super hilarious and too darn honest valentine's day cards. great laughs. 

• cute and funny valentine's day puns

•  valentine's day cocktails

• swooning over this pink room. the wallpaper is everything. 

• possibly the perfect pink bucket bag. sigh. 

•  3 perfect valentine's day outfit choices depending on your mood! 

• sweet valentine's day breakfast treat

have a sweet sweet celebration this weekend friends! 

happy sweets

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valentine's day is just a few days away and if sweet treats are your jam, these are the way to go. i never say no to sweets, so i would definitely love these........

~ affiliate links

hello february

LET ALL THAT YOU DO BE DONE IN LOVE. 

1 corinthians 16:14

valentine's day : gift guide

top L-R  butterfly crystal / sweatshirt / necklace / print
middle L-R  sneakers / earrings / cologne / crossbody bag
bottom L-R  candle / envelope / compact / piggy bank

top L-R  men's cologne / biker jacket / bracelet / sneakers
middle L-R  messenger bag / travel kit / gingham shirt / foldable headphones
bottom L-R  weather station / bowtie (similar) / boxers

~ affiliate links

weekend report

how was your valentine's weekend?

our's was really nice. i feel like all we did was eat and drink. friday i had a wonderful lunch date with ben  and that evening, we took the family and my parents out for sushi. most restaurants were booked but i was able to get an early 5:30 reservation in one of our favorite sushi places. that place never disappoints. when we were still dating, we would frequent their first original location back in the day!

valentine's day lunch date was at veritas.  i had the lobster salad and it was delightful!

a delicious chocolate treat from one of our staffs. belgian chocolate-covered oreos. oh so yum! 

early saturday morning, we took aston  to the first showing of the Lego movie which we all enjoyed. he is still into legos so he was looking forward to watch the movie! 

that night was date night for ben  and i. we had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, brasserie 19. we started with an order of delicious burgundy escargot. i then had truffle wild mushroom soup - so rich and creamy. ben  had the dry aged ribeye (with bone marrow - yum!) and i had the chilean sea bass special that was just as delectable. for dessert, we shared the warm chocolate cake - what can i say? it was the perfect sweet concoction to end the evening! 

sunday after church, we had to do some errands at the highland village. so we decided to eat brunch at escalantes - i missed their puebla french toast with apple syrup. 2 blocks of crispy mexican bread soaked in apple syrup goodness and sprinkled with cinnamon - oh my! 

it was a wonderful weekend. unfortunately, today is an all work monday for us. aston  does have school, so it's a normal working holiday monday for all of us! 

valentine's : here and there

happy valentine's day, loves!
perfect ending to the week - a lovely valentine's day!

we've got a few outings planned with the family and just us two. i'll share more about it come monday. 

here are a few valentine's inspired links around the web lately for you to check out : 

{image source}

• the most adorable prints you can download for free courtesy of the lovely sara. i just adore her work! 

• i love semi-homemade delicacies you can create at home. but DIY CRONUTS? TRUFFLES? i need the recipes asap! 

• perfect valentine's day pjs : this, this and this! 

• more than just hallmark cards, here are some of the cutest valentine's cards out there! 

• last minute valentine's shopping ~ don't shop anywhere else but HERE! it's never too late......

• a most darling valentine's day party with the cutest babies (and check out the DIY polaroids in acrylic boxes with confetti as party favors). 

i hope you all have an amazing time celebrating valentine's day and the rest of the weekend with your loved ones! 

valentine's at home

whether you are cooking an elaborate romantic dinner for two or simply do a take-out, we have to agree that the valentine's day ambiance is what counts. flowers, candles, dim lights - all provide the perfect valentine's day atmosphere. 

i'm not the one to put up valentine's day decor but a touch of these little things do come a long way. i do love to stock up on a variety of desserts a few days leading to valentine's. chocolate-covered berries or french macarons will be the perfect sweet ending to a valentine's day dinner. here are just a few valentine's day must-haves at hand for your home : 

plum pretty sugar

if you're looking for the ultimate luxury and romantic girly sleepwear and apparel ~ plum pretty sugar has just about the loveliest line of loungewear, sleepwear sets, robes and even coverups.

i'd rather get a set from PPS than victoria secret but that's just me. and if you love them like i do, send over a valentine's day gift idea hint to your significant other along with a link to their online store. they are currently running a special where you receive a complimentary makeup bag for every $50 purchase with code HEARTFULL (ends Feb 11th). 

here are my picks : 

pj set 

pj set

robe

shortie sets

robe and cami dress set

long pj set

~ affiliate links

valentine's : men gift guide

in a few weeks we'll be celebrating valentine's day. 

if you're likely to spoil your significant other on this hearts day, here are a few gift ideas :

men's birchbox subscription // button down shirt // after shave balm

watch // socks // wayfarers // gym bag // cufflinks

spring pink

our city has been paralyzed for the second time in 5 days due to freezing rain and icy roads. some businesses and most schools are closed. i am a little embarrassed to share that but we all know texan drivers don't know how to drive in icy roads, so we are better off staying home. nevertheless, we are keeping warm and entertaining ourselves. aston  took home piles of homework yesterday so we will tackle that and i am planning to bake cookies. 

i thought it's fitting to do a little preliminary spring dreaming amidst this freezing weather. and with valentine's coming up, pink is the most popular color to brighten up things around here. how cute is that puppy umbrella? 

blouse // umbrella // highlighter // bracelet
pillow // blush // nikes // thank you card



in other stories, our 23 MADISON STUDIO GIVEAWAY is still ongoing and you still have time to join! and don't forget the 30% discount coupon (code : HAPPY2014) she's offering our readers to use on her shop - you need her art in your life :)

strawberry pecan fudge

CRAVING

image and recipe from here

hearts day

valentine's day will be here before we know it!

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8

our valentine's day

we normally don't have big plans for valentine's day. up until we had aston, we'd go out to dinner avoiding valentine's day but opting to dine out a few days later. so tonight, it's dinner at home and sharing desserts. 

but aston and i had been busy preparing for his valentine's day party at school. i ordered stickers to go on his sweet treat packages (finger skateboards and sports erasers - ha! - boymom for sure) and last night we finished off writing valentines cards to 13 friends for school. poor thing mastered drawing hearts and writing his name, such a pro! 

later, i'd be heading to his valentines party and snap pics for his classroom. thankful that i can spend that special day with him!

can't resist wrapping his teachers a couple of sweet valentines gifts! 

and we received a lovely card from my parents this morning! 

HOPING YOU HAVE THE SWEETEST DAY TODAY, friends! 

last minute guy's gift guide

i realized it's a few days away before valentine's day and if you're still searching for the perfect gift for him, here's a last minute gift guide that will make your life easy. i myself just picked up my hubby's present yesterday, so it's never too late! 

shaving brush // stainless steel flask // music mixer 

portable speakers // travel kit // ipad case

whisky stones // perfume // playing cards  (only $6 !)

my valentine

so the other day, my husband sent me a text message stating that he ordered a hybrid car for me. as far as i know, i am perfectly ok with my current car but it seems that my husband is always in the market for a new one. an aston martin-lookalike hybrid ford fusion is what he wants and he's making it sound like i need it. 

honestly, i think this car is really for him. and for what it's worth, any of these babies would do it for me. something sparkly, something pink, something lacy or something smelling divine!  what are you getting your sweetie for valentine's day? 

earrings // clutch // perfume // shoes // iphone case // camisole

what is love?

what is valentine's day? straight from the mouth of babes. 

sweetest, funniest kids ever. 

source : small fry blog

valentine's day date night

make it extra special that night and dress up girly and flirty. what are your plans? 

dress (other options here and here) // shoes // earrings (similar here)

clutch (similar here and here) // perfume // gloss

valentine's for all

it was just weeks ago when i compiled holiday gift ideas
and now i'm back with a quick valentine's gift guide for you! 

nars collection // striped apron and pink sprinkles // wallet
teddy bear and pedal car // pink boots and pink jeans with bows

more gift ideas here :

happy hearts day to all

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY everyone!

Source: marthastewart.com via LiliPaz on Pinterest

image from marthastewart.com

little valentine's

the weekend was a quiet one. it was a cold weekend and after church and brunch, the little guy and i spent some time preparing his school valentine's treats for his buddies. 

he is bigtime into lego star wars lately and it was one of those days that a store bought lego star wars treat was just the perfect valentine's for his little friends. i am glad that he is willing to share that obsession with them and is just ecstatic to hand them out. we received strict intructions from his teachers that they themselves need to write their names and their classmates' names on the cards so he spent a great deal of time perfecting the scribbles. 

of course, i was not about to give up my semi-crafty skills and  helped out on the simple packaging for it.  check out the little guy's handwriting below. i think more practice is in order for him during the summer in preparation for kindergarten! 

for the easy bags to hold the stickers and cards, here are the supplies : 

smallest sized ziploc

craft scissors

card stock paper

glue

all i did was cutout the patterned paper (i used a polkadot red & white one - not too girly but still perfect for valentine's) just enough to fit as a favor topper to dress up the package. i trimmed the edges using a pretty craft scissor for an added design touch. finally, i glued them using my trusty tombow glue.

you can kick it up a notch and stamp a valentine-themed design (with the help of the little one) on the favor paper topper if you are using a plain colored cardstock. but since we are using a patterned one here, i left that out and just trimmed the edges with a fancy craft scissor. 

......and here are the valentine's treats all ready to be handed out this tuesday! 

{photo apps used were pixlromatic and phonto via iPhone}