Heart Mini Waffle Maker. $9.99. We bought these last year and they're so fun and cute. I promise it makes waffles taste even better. ;)

Oversized Printed Pajama Set. $35. Bonus- matching sets available for the fam!

"I just want to be friends..." Dwight Valentine's Day Card. $6. I got this for Joe a couple of years ago and we still laugh at it. Plus it didn't immediately go in the trash. Always a plus.

Stanley Classic Tumbler for Kids. $26. So cute for your mini-me. It's too bad Genevieve made it very clear that she's holding out for a purple one. 

Cologne Sampler. $17.99. I always feel weird about choosing a scent for someone- this solves the problem.

8 cup Pour Over Coffee Maker. $19.79. Perfect for those late to the pour over party. It's me. Hi, I'm the problem, it's me. 

Ceramic Mug with Protective Sleeve. $24. In the prettiest shade of pink. Heart eyes.

Gummy Luncheable. $5.99. Remember "gummy vs. real food?" My kids are still obsessed with gummy food and I gotta be honest; so am I.

Quad Goals Multi Palette. $16. This comes in a few colors and let's face it- is adorable. 

Gummy Controller. $9.99. For your little sweet tooth gamer. (Adds to cart).

Essential Oil/Candle Warmer. $40.07. Are these trending?? If not, they should be. Love the thought of not having to remember to blow the candle out (also thanks Joe for always remembering).

Date Night Ideas scratch off book. $19.99. A gift for both of you! Challenges and dates to shake things up! It's on its way to me- I'll keep you posted!

Nintendo Switch Sports. $49.99. I love the idea of a family gift and this nails it. So much fun!

Beats Studio Buds. $99. Joe gifted me air pods one Valentine's Day and it was the best gift- I never would've splurged on myself but sure appreciated him doing it! Bu also a teenage boy would love these too!

Mini Finger Skateboard Ramp. $11.99. Dax has been begging for this for like years. I finally got him a finger skateboard as a stocking stuffer and it only stoked the fire. They're super fun and why am I a sucker for anything miniature?

Herschel Beanie. $15. This is a men's hat but looks pretty gender neutral to me. Love the color.

 

Fun, family-friendly. Try saying that 5 times fast. ;) Do you go out on Valentine's Day? Maybe I'm getting old (ok, yes. yes I am) but going out on February 14th doesn't sound as appealing as it once did. We generally have a date night around Valentine's Day but on the actual holiday, I like to celebrate with my kids too. When they were little, I'd host Valentine's Day play dates and it was always so much fun. Now that they're older we do a variety of things that make the day feel special. Here are some family-friendly ideas to celebrate Valentine's Day with your crew.

Gosh I love Valentine's Day! And since Genevieve has declared she loves it almost as much as Christmas, I'm always motivated to make it special. This year I plan to invite some girlfriends and their kiddos over for a fun Valentine's Day date. Goodies for the kids are a must but I want to treat the mamas too. Here are my must haves that both mamas and kiddos will enjoy.

Today I'm trying something new- offering you FREE printables. I love using scripture in a fresh and fun way in my home so I decided to create Valentine's printables featuring some of my favorite scriptures about love.  Once I did that, one thing lead to another and before I knew it I was tackling this DIY to pretty up my mantle.  The pom garland + pretty 'love' art + romantic candles is perfect for Valentine's Day.  Which printable is your favorite?  What other "Love" scriptures would you like to see?

I'm over on Tall Snob today with an elegant Valentine's Day look. Remember the gorgeous lace back dress I linked on Facebook?  The dress featured in this look is its more conservative (but still pretty) older sister.  Take a look here! And I just might be coming back with a few more dresses because blogging about dresses is sort of like playing with paper dolls.  So fun.

I shared a bit about Holiday Play dates here.  Since Valentine's Day is around the corner I thought I'd follow that post up with some Valentine's Day play date photos from last year. I love the thought of getting together with friends and all the kiddos on Valentine's Day.  Can I be honest with you for a moment?  Sometimes days that are supposed to feel special are a let down when the mundane continues.  I don't mind the daily chores.  It's just a matter of expectation.  Kids clearly don't know to do anything differently on a holiday.  Of course they have their sweet, kind, moments, but they also still bicker, poop (in Dax's case-- a lot), get sick, talk back, and make messes!  So it's fun to get out of the house and hang with other mom friends to have a little something special to look forward to.  And that's just what we did. At the end of the post I share some tips and ideas for a Valentine's Day party.

Last  year I hosted a Valentine's Day play date party and it made me realize 2 things: 1. When you take the pressure off of an event by having it during the day, it becomes so much easier to keep things simple.  and 2. Freeing up weekends by hosting some celebrations during the week is simply awesome.  Obviously not everyone can do this- if you are a full time working mama, a play date party probably isn't feasible.  But you can still use these tips for your weekend hosting gigs.

I didn't tackle a Christmas DIY and it totally bummed me out.  I really wanted to do something inexpensive and simple for Valentine's Day.  Even though it's late, when I saw this post over at A Place For Us, I knew I had to try something similar.  This project was nearly free.  I had everything on hand except for one .97 gift bag.  And even if you don't have craft supplies on hand, these are very inexpensive.  Here's what I used:

No, not that kind of eye candy.  I mean, my husband reads this thing.  More like cute baubles and trinkets that you can pass on to your man as a hint.  Or if you're like me, you can just buy for yourself and call it a day. Or buy for your bff.  She was probably your Valentine before your man was.  Am I right or am I right?

I love it when I come across craft-y type things in the dollar section of Target.  I can buy something inexpensive and "easy," do it with the girls, and feel like supermom.  In my world "arts and crafts time = supermom."  That's what happened this year.  I found cute cards and stickers and thought making Valentine's Day cards would be the perfect project to do with the girls.  By the way, calling anything a "project" instantly makes it special in Genevieve's eyes.

It doesn't get much easier or cheaper than this wreath folks!  I'm attempting to make one craft per month/holiday, and this month I wanted to do another wreath (you can see my Christmas wreath here).  I scoured my DIY and Holidays Pinterest boards and came across this one and a few other Valentine themed wreaths.  When I priced them out though this one won hands down! Not to mention I just love felt lately and love the look of this charming wreath.

I wanted to tell you two things today.  Actually three.  One. I love peanut butter icing and it's super easy to make from scratch.  Two. I love free stuff. Three. There are two (probably many more but these two are my faves) amazing sets of free Valentine's Day printables available in the blogosphere and you need to know about them.

Try saying that title three times, fast.  I mentioned in this post that I would blog about projects that I tackled after seeing it on Pinterest.  It's as much for accountability for me to DO something with all the ideas I collect there rather than just let them gather virtual dust.  It's also hopefully helpful for you if you want feedback on some of the recipes and ideas you see there.  So much of what's there looks either better than it actually is (recipes) or easier than it actually is (projects).  I can guarantee for now my projects will be pretty simple!  I don't have a ton of time to make pallet beds and crate bookshelves. ;)  When I saw this idea, I thought it seemed easy enough and would be so cute for father's day.  Well for Valentine's Day Joe and I usually forgo pricey gifts and instead go out for a nice dinner in which we can order whatever we want and not worry about the tab.  My love language is quality time so I'd much rather spend the cash dining out on a date night, sans kids. (And there's still time to hope for a nice night out AND diamonds, but let's just say that's a hope for the future if we play our financial cards right today!).

So I try to find fun little gifts I can give to Joe to still celebrate on that day.  Usually it's a simple gift/trinket and lots of chocolate that we both enjoy so I can steal it when he's not looking.  This picture seemed perfect for that!  I'd purchased the girls Valentines shirts from Wal-Mart a week or so prior.  I didn't want to spend a lot of money and I wanted it to be something Genevieve could ruin at school and it wouldn't make me mad.  I decided to dress them in those shirts and take the photos that way.  I figured I'd have 20 minutes tops before Genevieve got bored and started looking quite cross instead of adorably in love with daddy...and before Nadia started pooping, throwing up, or fussing.  [This is the life]. I printed out the words on card stock in a fun, somewhat child like font that I downloaded from here, threw them in a neutral setting with lots of light and went for it.  Because I waited until the last minute--story of my life-- I had to print the photos quickly.  I googled "online photos same day pick up" and found CVS photo.  There is a CVS moments from my house so that was perfect!  Here are the photos I used in the frame, the outtakes, and the final product.

I'm in love.  With love...with Joe...with Genevieve...with the etsy store, sendthemarose.  I think I know where I'm getting my Valentine's day cards this year.  And instead of just getting one for my husband and one for my BFF, I may have to buy a bunch and figure out who else to give them to.  Seriously.  With these creative beauties at this amazing price, I may just not be able to help myself.