12 days of Valentine's Day

Have you heard about the 12 Days of Valentine's Day? My version started years ago when I was in full Valentine's swing around our house (pink placemats, heart shaped brownies, mailing cards, pink sprinkles everywhere and he suddenly said, "What is this, the 12 Days of Valentine's Day?" And a celebration was born. 

You see, I am a firm believer in sharing love and happiness through easy and accessible gestures. Valentine's Day is the perfect time to acknowledge all of the love in your life. I also think we can agree that there is just not enough time to fit all that Valentine's Fun into one day. You can't possibly make heart-shaped pancakes, visit the school party, have a romantic dinner with a partner, celebrate with your galantines, practice some selfcare by treating yourself to a new scarf or face mask, bring heart donuts into work etc. etc. There is a lot of fun to be had and we can spread a lot of unexpected joy if you do it in the name of the 12 Days of Valentine's Day. 

You can do anything on any day. And if someone notices your bright pink sweater, say "Thanks, it's Day 2 of the 12 Days of Valentine's Day." Or when you bring your daughter an orchid on a Wednesday, answer her surprise with "It's Day 8 of the 12 Days of Valentine's Day." She'll love it. Mail some letters. Bake some cupcakes to give away. Whatever makes you happy and fits into your schedule, that should be the plan. I promise it will brighten your month. Let me know what you do and how it is received, ok? 

P.S. On Day 1, I bought a variety of 6 beautiful donuts (some Valentine theme) and a latte at our local Krispy Kreme to bring home. I then pulled into the Home Depot parking lot next door and proceeded to eat 2 of the donuts in my car while I sipped the latte. That somehow qualifies as self-care, right?

#12daysofvalentinesday #selfcare #valentinesday #beautyofeverydaylife #seattleblogger

12 Days of Valentine's Day: Day 11: Make Memories and Art with an App

It's the last day of the 12 Days of Valentine's Day 2020 and I was trying to think of a way to make this string of delightful days last a little longer. How can I encourage you to make the perishable permanent. Yes, I've said that before, but when we're talking about remembering all of the love you have in your life, it seems even more important. 

That's when it occurred to me that though I've told you about the app Waterlogue (this is not an ad; I'm just a fan), I haven't told you to convert a photo in relation to Valentine's Day. Waterlogue is an app that can change any photograph on your phone into a watercolor image in about 5 minutes. The image is stored as a jpeg and can be adjusted in style, brightness and color. It is amazing. I used Waterlogue to convert my photo of Valentine's chocolates in the beginning of this blog series.

Isn't it fantastic? My suggestion is you take a photo to commemorate something fun from this week and then convert it to a piece of watercolor art you can print and save. Isn't that a great idea? Your desk needs a little something extra to show that at Valentine's Day you were extra.

Tomorrow is the big day. May you wear red. Greet people with kindness and enjoy some sweet treats. Happy Day 11.

#12daysofvalentinesday #valentinesday #valentine #waterlogue #makingmemories #finddelight #beautyofeverydaylife #littlepiecesofart #makeart

12 Days of Valentine's Day"Day 10: Be Yourself & Wear Red

Who is this girl writing about the #12daysofvalentinesday? It’s me! And thanks to my mom, we’ve been celebrating love and hearts and friendship for my whole life. I’m just trying to bring you all in on the fun. Yes, I’ve been expertly ladling punch since I was 12. Today I’m baking cookies for a party tomorrow and wearing a red scarf when I go out on errands. My message is be yourself and wear red today. Let me know how it goes. Happy Day 10! 

#valentines #valentinesparty #ivebeenmeforalongtime #day10 #beautyofeverydaylife #finddelight #beautyofeverydaylife

12 Days of Valentines Day: Day 5: Sugar Cookies

It isn't Valentine's Day without my paternal grandmother Nama's sugar cookies baked into hearts. She made these gorgeous cookies for us every year and I remember that she liked to include a few hearts frosted in chocolate frosting (add cocoa powder to frosting when mixing) and she loved the color purple, so many of her heart were shades of lavender and purple. This batch was all shades of pink. I am helping to host a Valentine's Galentines Party next week and I am baking these for the girls. Yum! Happy Day 5

Nama's Old Fashioned Rolled Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 Tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder

Cream butter in mixing bowl. Beat in sugar, egg, milk & vanilla. Add flour, salt & baking powder. Mix well. Divide dough in half and wrap each disc of dough in waxed paper. Chill in refrigerator at least one hour. Use plenty of flour on board, rolling pin & cookie cutters to prevent sticking. Roll out dough 1/4 inch thick and cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Bake at 375* on a parchment paper lined or un-greased cookie sheet for 5-8 minutes.

Nama's Frosting

Mix 2 Tablespoons of hot water to 1 cup powdered sugar. Mix with whisk until no lumps. Tint with a drop or two of liquid food coloring. Spread with knife. Frosting should not run off the cookie. add more powdered sugar if you make it too thin. Frosting will dry and look beautiful. Do not stack cookies or they will dent each other.

Note: Using hot water makes the frosting shiny. Add drops of hot water as needed to perfect consistency.

#12daysofvalentinesday #valentinesday #cookies #beautyofeverydaylife #finddelight #grandmothersrecipe #cookiemonster #prettyinpink

12 Days of Valentines Day: Day 4: Add Some Whimsy

12 Days of Valentine’s Day: Day 4: Add Some Whimsy to Your Home. I hung framed and hung these 2 holiday cards recently. I love the contrast of soft winter white with shades of red. The painting of cherries was done by my great-grandmother and I was able to hang it with Elmer's mounting putty. Safe for the walls and this precious antique. But I have been grappling with what would finish this grouping and I have been patiently auditioning different things in my mind. Then it came to me...my tin hearts would be darling. 

You may not have wire hearts ready to hang on the wall with mounting putty, but you probably have something cute to add a little something around your family room. Be on the lookout for some way to add some whimsy to your life this week. Push a straw into the dirt of a houseplant and attach red glitter heart. Buy red heart paper place mats and put them on your table for breakfast. Arrange the magnets on your refrigerator into a heart. You get the idea. 

Today’s the day look for a sweet (and inexpensive!) touch of whimsy. Happy Day 4.

#beautyofeverydaylife #12daysofvalentinesday #finddelight #day4 #whimsy

12 Days of Valentine's Day: Day 2: Send Letters in the Mail

Could any of us really be too busy to write? I have chosen "Mailing Valentines" as my activity for Day 2 of the 12 Days of Valentines Day. You can do whatever you want to mark the occasion, no pressure. I just like to tell you what I'm up to so that you have ideas to work from.

I'm going to take an hour after dinner and hand-write notes to some of my oldest friends. I haven't done this in ages and I know that they will love getting something in the mail as much as I do.

Don't you love this Vintage Valentine? I found it at an antique show and knew that it would be fun to share here. I hope that even if you have been going on long walks in the woods, you still aren't too busy to write your friends. Happy Day 2.

#12daysofvalentinesday #beautyofeverydaylife #valentinesday #writeyourfriends #finddelight

Krispy Kreme Salutes Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! Join me in thanking Krispy Kreme doughnuts for being so darn whimsical and cute. They made heart-shaped doughnuts in honor of Valentine's Day and are selling them for the 2 weeks leading up to the big day. We went on Feb 13th when the store was just about to close. The staff must not have had the energy to pipe Sweet Thing or Kiss Me onto their conversation heart doughnuts before they closed for the night. We didn't mind! We ate one on site and had the second one with coffee in the morning. Remember when I got these darling plates?

#happyvalentinesday #12daysofvalentinesday #krispykreme #doughnuts #seattleblogger #valentinesday #conversationhearts #sweethearts 

Heart shaped Waffles

My friend Angie got my 12 Days of Valentine's Day back on track when she texted me a picture from the new Crate and Barrel catalog. An entire page dedicated to Valentine's Day and the focus was a new heart-shaped waffle maker! 

Dan and I were given a heart-shaped waffle maker for an engagement present in 1992 and it finally stopped worked just a few years ago. I've missed it; Angie knew it and suddenly had an urgent errand to run.

I tried it out last week and the results were delicious. Good eye, Angie!

12 Days of Valentine's Day starts Feb 3rd

When's the last time you knew you were going to have fun for 12 days straight?  
I know, we don't often look at things that way, and that is precisely the beauty of celebrating the "12 Days of Valentine's Day".  It's a time when you do little things to show love for family, friends and while you're at it, yourself. Wear pink one day, make a cake, put out red place mats - everything counts when you are celebrating the fact that you love a lot of people. 

There is no set schedule; Nor is there a "number" relationship, meaning you don't have to sneak 10 Hershey kisses into a loved one's pocket just because it is Day 10 (but what a great idea!).  Nope, you just do what feels right (and fits into your schedule) on any particular day leading up to Valentine's Day.  When someone compliments your pink scarf, just smile and say that its in honor of the 12 Days of Valentine's Day.  If your neighbor questions your sudden gift of 6 muffins, cite your inspiration, The 12 Days of Valentine's Day.  Have fun with it.

Remember, this is a gift of the heart, so any gesture, no matter how small, will be appreciated.  If you type valentines into the search box at the top/right of my Moments Of Delight blog, you'll see lots of Valentine's posts from prior years. Have fun!

*This is my beautiful heart-shaped shell covered box. I have it on display this month in my living room. A small treasure with a big message.

12 Days of Valentine's Day

Celebrating the 12 Days of Valentine's Day helps make lovely gestures a habit. It's a time when you do little things to show love for family, friends and yourself. Wear a pink sweater one day, put red food coloring in your cake batter, set the table with red place mats - everything counts when you are celebrating the fact that you love a lot of people.

There is no set schedule. There isn't a "number" relationship between the days (meaning you don't have to sneak 10 Hershey kisses into a loved one's pocket just because it is Day 10).  Nope, you just do what feels right and fits into your schedule on any particular day leading up to Valentine's Day.  

When someone compliments your pink scarf, just smile and say that its in honor of the 12 Days of Valentine's Day.  If your neighbor questions your sudden gift of 6 muffins, tell her it's The 12 Days of Valentine's Day.  Have fun with it. And let me know how your coworkers and friends respond. 

Day 1: Call an old friend to talk.

12 Days of Valentines Day

I think you should have fun for 12 days straight. I know, we don't always look at things that way, but that is the beauty of celebrating the "12 Days of Valentine's Day". You decide what fun little thing you want to do each day in honor of Valentine's Day and the people that you love in your life.

Celebrating the 12 Days of Valentine's Day helps make lovely gestures a habit. It's a time when you do little things to show love for family, friends and yourself. Wear a pink sweater one day, put red food coloring in your cake batter, set the table with red place mats - everything counts when you are celebrating the fact that you love a lot of people.

There is no set schedule. There isn't a "number" relationship between the days (meaning you don't have to sneak 10 Hershey kisses into a loved one's pocket just because it is Day 10).  Nope, you just do what feels right and fits into your schedule on any particular day leading up to Valentine's Day.  

When someone compliments your pink scarf, just smile and say that its in honor of the 12 Days of Valentine's Day.  If your neighbor questions your sudden gift of 6 muffins, tell her it's The 12 Days of Valentine's Day.  Have fun with it. And let me know how your coworkers and friends respond.

My suggestion for today is order a David Austin rose bush for your garden. You will never regret the day-after-day beauty you will enjoy this summer.

City Series: Dallas: Ted Cantrell's Art at Ginger Fox Gallery

I stopped in my tracks when I saw Ted Cantrell's heart piece in the window of the Ginger Fox Gallery in the Bishop Arts district of Dallas.  His skillful use of pencils and rulers brings back memories of my grade school crushes. I love when people highlight the beauty of everyday objects.  Happy Valentine's Day, Ted!

The 12 Days of Valentine's Day starts today!

When's the last time you knew you were going to have fun for 12 days straight?  

I know, we don't often look at things that way, and that is precisely the beauty of celebrating the "12 Days of Valentine's Day".  It's a time when you do little things to show love for family, friends and while you're at it, yourself. Wear pink one day, make a cake, put out red placemats - everything counts when you are celebrating the fact that you love a lot of people. 

There is no set schedule; Nor is there a "number" relationship, meaning you don't have to sneak 10 Hershey kisses into a loved one's pocket just because it is Day 10 (but what a great idea!).  Nope, you just do what feels right (and fits into your schedule) on any particular day leading up to Valentine's Day.  When someone compliments your pink scarf, just smile and say that its in honor of the 12 Days of Valentine's Day.  If your neighbor questions your sudden gift of 6 muffins, cite your inspiration, The 12 Days of Valentine's Day.  Have fun with it.

Remember, this is a gift of the heart, so any gesture, no matter how small, will be appreciated.

#12daysofvalentinesday #valentinesday #valentine #celebratevalentinesday #celebrate

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you have enjoyed counting down the 12 Days of Valentine's Day with me.  There are so many people we love in this wonderful life - I can only hope that these ideas, recipes and encouragement have inspired you to share a moment of delight with those around you.

Need one more idea?  Order a heart-shaped pizza!  Happy Day 12.

12 Days of Valentine's Day: Kitchen Centerpiece

It starts today!  In honor of the 12 Days of Valentine's Day, you can spread some love (and bring delight) to the people in your life.  To read my philosophy for celebrating this lovely string of days, click here.  Remember, you can do any of my ideas on any day that works for you - there are no rules.  Just have fun.

I am starting my celebration with something that I can enjoy for days - a pretty centerpiece!  I chose antique pink spray roses from the grocery store (on clearance, no less!) and paired them with pale pink paper doilies ($1.00 for 6) from Michaels craft store.  Now my kitchen table gives a nod to the season I love.

Day One:  Make a Valentine-inspired centerpiece on your kitchen table.