Valentine's Day 2017

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day! I hope everyone had a great time celebrating those you love. I know some people don't really like Valentine's day, but I am NOT one of those people! I understand why some don't like it. They're thinking we should always show our loved ones we care about them. We shouldn't need a special day to appreciate them. I completely agree with that; however, I think Valentine's day is a chance to go above and beyond to make everyone you care about feel special (this being friends, family, coworkers, and fur babies.. not just significant others)! I love every holiday, and Valentine's Day is no exception!  

My coworkers are so special. I couldn't make it through a single day at work without them! Everyone has been so welcoming and helpful since I first started working with them, so I wanted to show them my gratitude by getting them some yummy Valentine treats. I didn't get any pictures of the donuts, but they were so cute! Dunkin Donuts made heart shaped donuts and ones with pink frosting and sprinkles. Very festive!! 

I also made my baby sister a special Valentine gift bag. I filled a hot pink bag full of small gifts and had it waiting on her when she came to my house. She loved it! It had a pink and white polka dot coffee mug, pink nail polish, a face mask, strawberry scented body wash, pink lip gloss, and some candies. She got me a gigantic Reese heart (my favorite) and the sweetest card. I'm so fortunate to have such a close, special bond with my little Pooter girl! 

I made a trip to Target to pick up Valentine's gifts (stuff for Kelly's gift bag, a toy for Scruffy, and some baking supplies to make Valentine cupcakes). Of course, I was wearing my hot pink coat with a pink sweater when I went shopping. The cashier started cracking up at me because literally everything about me was PINK from my clothes to the things I was purchasing! LOL What can I say.. Pink is my signature color!

My sweet Scruffy girl liked her Valentine's Day gift!

As expected, Tyler made sure I had a wonderful Valentine's Day. He is always so sweet to me, but for this holiday he goes above and beyond. We celebrated for several days starting last weekend. I made lots of treats for us including strawberry heart shaped muffins and cupcakes. 

Tyler always does such a great job at gift giving. He got me some beautiful black rhinestone Michael Kors slip on shoes that I have been eyeing for awhile now. Also, since the RHONJ DVDs were such a hit on my birthday (and because I have re-watched the first three seasons 100 times now), he bought me season 4! 

We had already exchanged gifts over the weekend, so you can imagine my surprise when I walked into work on Tuesday to a gigantic edible arrangement! Y'all, I'm terrible. I did not get a picture of my beautiful arrangement. It was in a big red basket and full of chocolate hearts, strawberries, heart shaped pineapples, and grapes. It was so pretty! I rushed home from work to break into it, and after Kelly and I had about 14 strawberries, I realized I hadn't gotten a picture LOL So you all get to see the after picture once I had disassembled it. 

We had our Valentine's Day dinner on Tuesday at a place called Paterno's. It was delicious!! The restaurant overlooks the Power Park baseball field. We had an appetizer that was a green pepper stuffed with hot sausage and topped with marinara and cheese. YUM! Tyler and I both got alfredo as our main course. We will definitely be going back to that restaurant! 

For my Valentine outfit, I went with one of my favorites: my Lilly Pulitzer cashmere cape. It is so soft, and it is the most vibrant color of pink. I accessorized with my sparkly J Crew necklace that my mother in law got me and my Louis Vuitton clutch from my parents. 

My handsome Valentine.. the cutest, sweetest, smartest, most caring man I know! 

I think it goes without saying that I had a wonderful Valentine's Day. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to be married to Tyler. He takes such good care of me. I am very blessed to be spending my life with my best friend in the whole world! I hope each and every one of you had a great holiday full of love and lots and lots of chocolate! Until next time.. Take care y'all! 

   

Love Is In the Air

Hey y'all! I thought I would do a small but special post all about love. I don't know about you, but I associate the month of February with all things lovey dovey. I suppose it is because of Valentine's Day. A lot of people have a negative connotation with Valentine's Day because they feel you should celebrate the one you love every day. That is true, but it is fun to have a day designated to pampering each other. Tyler and I don't do lavish gifts or anything for this holiday. Instead, we spend time together and do things for each other to show how much we care. The Friday of Valentine's Day weekend, Ty and I were both exhausted from a busy work week. He surprised me by bringing home Qdoba and roses. He always plans our Valentine's Weekend, so I knew we were celebrating that Sunday at Bonefish. It was still so nice to not have to worry about dinner and for him to surprise me with flowers. I loved it! 

As for Tyler, I know the way to his heart is through his stomach LOL So the morning of Valentine's Day, I got up early and made us breakfast. I brought out the fine china (aka my Lilly Pulitzer dishes), and I tried to make it themed. I made French toast cut out into heart shapes, and I tried to make the bacon into heart shapes.. the key word being tried. I dipped fresh strawberries in white chocolate the day before, so we had some of those too. It was a great start to the day! We had a great weekend just spending time together. It was a great first married Valentine's Day!

My honey bringing me dinner and beautiful roses!

My grandmother got me this chocolate melter, and I love it! It has really come in handy when I bake holiday treats!!

Our breakfast spread for Valentine's Day morning.

Headed to dinner at Bonefish!

I love Valentine's Day because it gives you an opportunity to slow down and focus on what is important in life: the ones you love and care for the most. My whole family celebrates this special day. I woke up on Valentine's Day morning to text messages from my mom and grandmother telling me they love me. I have been my grandparents' valentine since I was born LOL It doesn't have to be celebrated with a significant other. I want to celebrate everyone that is special to me!

Which brings me to this...

On my and Tyler's wedding day, we knew we didn't want to see each other before the ceremony. I did, however, want my grandfather to pray with the two of us before we got married to bless our marriage and honor God before we said our vows. He spoke from the heart and the prayer was so special. It was the only time I cried on my wedding day. In all the craziness going on around me, in that moment I was able to stop and reflect on what was happening. I was about to marry the love of my life.. the man God hand picked for me to spend my life with. The night before we were married, my sister gave me a book of letters written by my friends and family to me. Of course, I cried my eyes out reading all of those. My pawpaw included a piece of his letter to me in the prayer, and that is when I got so emotional. I am so fortunate to have this special moment captured. I love my pawpaw so much and really look up to his marriage. My maw maw and pawpaw are a shining example of a happy, loving marriage. They are each other's best friends, and they have so much to be proud of. I hope they know how much I look up to them, and I know that Tyler and I can have the same successful marriage if we continue to keep God in the center of our lives. Our videographer sent me this clip of the prayer my grandfather did with Tyler and me just before we prepared for our ceremony. I hope you enjoy it! I'm also going to post a link to our wedding video. All of this love talk has me reminiscing on one of the most special days of my life so far! Until next time.. Take care!

A Special Prayer Video

Our Wedding Video