Valentine's Day

Well hello, and happy Valentine's day! : )

If your Facebook/Instagram feed is anything like mine, you have probably seen 100+ pictures of flowers, chocolates, purses....you name it. Pictures of those things paired with sentences like, "My husband made me a homemade Valentine's Day dinner with an "I love you" cake and hearts and xoxoxo cupcakes! He never ceases to impress me!" have been keeping my cheeks hurting from giggling today. {I didn't make that sentence up by the way, it's straight from my Facebook.}

Don't get me wrong...Garrett and I got eachother a couple of things and said, "Happy Valentine's day!" several times, but something this year was different. I didn't feel the need to blast to the social media world every single gift I was given and go on and on about how lucky I am that he is my man and blah blah blah.

Again, don't get me wrong, I know without a doubt that I am the luckiest girl alive, but who am I trying to prove that to? Why post pictures of the gifts I was given and say how lucky in love I am? Why brag and be sure everyone knows that I wasn't left out Valentine's day? It seems unreal and cheap. Garrett knows how in love we are, so do our friends and families. That's all that matters. 

It felt weird not to share pictures of the gifts we gave eachother because I truly am excited about them and feel lucky to have a husband who wants me to have nice things. But, again, Garrett knows that. Who cares if my old roommate's sorority sister's cousin's girlfriend knows? Ok, that was extreme, but you get the point. 

I guess what I am trying to say while on my soapbox is this: I think that if you love someone and they love you and you have this great relationship, everyone who is important already knows about it. It seems to me that the one's who consistently talk about how in love they are on Facebook are the one's out to prove how great their relationship is when it actually isn't. They want people to think, "Well he bought her flowers, chocolate, AND a stuffed bunny rabbit? He must really love her!" Love should be celebrated year round, not just on the one day out of the year when you are told by corporate America that you should go out and buy your honey something. It's not as special that way. If you are lucky enough to have someone by your side in your life, then show them everyday that you love them and that they are special. Prove to them you love them, not everyone else.

I swear I am not anti-Valentine's Day at all. Even though this post makes me seem like a liar. I just couldn't believe how full my Facebook feed was today of "look at me! He got me this!" posts. I get that not everyone share's pictures of their gifts in order to get attention, but it just seemed that way. It was comical but also a little sad. It made me not want to post a single picture of anything Valentine's related....and we both know that's not me! : ) It felt like all of these people were more excited about their balloons and roses than they were about the actual relationship, if there even is one.

Now that I got that out of my system, I really do hope you each had a special Valentine's day with your babe and that you remember to show them your love year round! A great relationship isn't based on giving eachother chocolates one day out of the year, it's about being there for eachother every single day with little surprises thrown in along the way! 

Alright. Done. Now for the important stuff: Don't forget...Valentine's Day candy will be on sale tomorrow!! : )

Celebrating Valentine's Day

I know, Valentine's Day was last week. 

But, I still want to share our day with you guys and, you know, get it on the ol blog.

Technically, we celebrated Valentines day at 3am Friday morning when G got off of work. That's our new normal, up until 5am and sleeping until atleast 3pm. 

Earlier that day, before Garrett had gone to work, I started working on the crossword puzzle that he had made me to start off my Valentine's scavenger hunt. I finished the crossword and decided I wanted to wait to finish the scavenger hunt/exchange gifts until he got home that night.

 So we took a nap. 

This crossword was all about our relationship, and I knew ALL the answers but 2. I was pretty proud! {The 2 I didn't know were hard! Ex. The name of the street our apartment in Florence, Italy was on? Answer: Ghibellina.}

I spent the day cleaning the apartment and getting Garrett's gifts set up. 

And I may have watched the Bachelor. 12 hours is a long time to be home by yourself!

When Garrett got home we ate dinner and I finished my sweet scavenger hunt. G hid thoughtful notes in places around the apartment with a small gift. It was fun and something I won't forget!

{I wasn't wearing makeup so don't judge too hard on these pictures!}

After the crossword, my next clue led me to our collection of vinyls. 

This was hidden in a note in our Def Leppard vinyl:

So, as I went around the apartment {and outside in the freezing weather} I gathered up my sweet notes along with the thoughtful gifts at each place. 

 I am so thankful to have a sweet, thoughtful husband! I thought my gifts to him were sweet, and of course he out did me, as usual!

After I finished the scavenger hunt, it was his turn. 

He didn't have to work too hard, his gifts were laid out right in front of him.

My friend Diedre gave me the idea to make G this Saints thinga-ma-jigger for his new office. 

It's wood, nails, and thread.

He loved it.

 {He was even wearing his Saints shirt that day!}

We ended up hanging out until around 5am and went to bed. 

It was a great Valentine's day! I've said it once and I'll say it again; I am so very thankful to have such a sweet, thoughtful hubby who can make me feel so special!

ps. Don't forget to enter into the giveaway I am participating in here! Giftcards and a cute accessory!

DIY {Dollar Tree} Valentine's Wreath

I literally own zero Valentine's decorations. None. Zilch. Nada.

So, when I saw this, I decided that I had to make it. Or something similar to it.

I bought all of my supplies and decided not to look at that tutorial until after I was done. That way, mine would turn out differently than the one that sparked the idea. I knew if I looked at her's I would want to copy it exactly because it is so cute.

All supplies, minus the spray adhesive and "Shaved Ice", are from Dollar Tree!

You will need:

Hot glue gun, and glue.

A wreath form. You choose the size! I would recommend getting a light colored one just because it is more easily hidden, but if you already have a darker one that would work too. 

Heart Picks. There are red ones and pink ones, sparkly ones, and felt ones. I used a combination of all of the above. Total I used around 6 packages of these.

White loofah's. I used 3, but depending on the size of your wreath you could use more or less.

Spray adhesive. I got this from Hobby Lobby. 

"Shaved Ice". Also from Hobby Lobby. This is definitely optional, I actually liked the wreath without it better I think!

What to do:

 1. Cut the ties in the middle of the loofah to unravel it and, using your hot glue gun, glue the loofah fabric around the wreath form. Bunch it up so that it hides the wreath. I ended up double layering loofah fabric on top of loofah fabric in order to completely hide the wreath. Once you have it glued you can go back and glue down places that look too fluffy or are out of place.

2. Start adding your hearts! {The wooden stick part easily pulls out of the heart if you just wiggle and pull.} There was no organization to the way I did this. I just evenly spaced them out and glued them on.

3. Once you have all of the hearts glued on that you want, spray with glue adhesive and sprinkle on the shaved ice evenly. {Do this outside!}

That's it! Ready to go on your door!

Total Project Cost = Around $25

 If you already own spray adhesive that will cut the cost in half. The spray adhesive I found was $12!

I think I like the original a little better than my version, but I like mine too! I'll consider my first wreath making a success! : )
Sharing here.

Do you put up Valentine's decorations?