So Much Love!

   Valentine's Day seems to be a hot button topic for some people.  I'm always surprised how many people get really worked up about hating it.  I don't know how you feel about it, but it's a "minor holiday" at our house.  We enjoy acknowledging the people we love, and you know I put out a few decorations, but it's definitely not a big deal.  This year was probably the most fuss I've made over it since WAY before I got married, and that's mostly because everything is more fun to celebrate with a preschooler.

   I found this idea on Pinterest, of course, and thought it was just too sweet.  Starting February 1, Abby Kate woke up with a new heart on her door telling her something we love about her.  Usually these great ideas of mine are met with complete nonchalance on her part, which is really a buzzkill.  Not this time.  She absolutely loved it.  Every morning she would run in so excited, yelling "Mama mama!  I have a new heart!  Read it to me! What does it say?!" 

   I worked hard to make sure that these were encouraging traits that I wanted to build up in her, and stayed away from looks.  (Let's not start the body image stuff at age 3, right?)  Please note that I took the first picture before Valentine's Day, so there aren't 14 hearts yet.  She did get one every day, although she had to remind me one day...

   This was about the extent of my Valentine's Day decorations.  It made our meals brighter to have something fun on the table, and still left my usual seasonal decorating spot open for our Lent decorations.  (It's so hard when Easter is early.  My holidays start running together.)  Because I don't want to have boxes and boxes of seasonal decorations, I tried to keep things as packable as possible.

   I "rescued" the tree branches out of my neighbor's trash pile, filled a vase with those gross conversation heart candies (does anyone actually like to eat those?), made a few paper conversation hearts to hang and scatter, and voila!  I did buy the fabric new this year.  It's hard to see, but it has tiny hearts printed on it.  And the little purple heart was a Happy Meal toy from a year or two ago.  Find inspiration wherever you can, right?  I threw the candy hearts away today and I'll buy new next year if I decide to, so that's one less thing to store.  I'll probably use the branches for a while longer, but those won't need to be stored either.  Mission accomplished. 

   And here's my sweet little Valentine before church yesterday.  She got some heart and robot stickers and a new owl pen and she was PUMPED.  Chris and I celebrated by cooking dinner Friday night while Abby Kate was at Grandma's house.  We've always enjoyed cooking together, and NOT enjoyed waiting forever at a restaurant.  We made Balsamic and Rosemary Steak Kabobs and a Pavlova.  So yummy!  It was a relaxing low-key evening, and we slept in the next morning--divine.  

   I hope that your "minor holiday" was enjoyable, and that whether it was by a significant other, a family member, a best friend, or a dog, you felt loved.  I know I sure did.  Do you bother with Valentine's Day decorations?  Show me!