Though Valentine’s Day has a long and complicated history and arguably most people find it now too commercial and insincere, I’m going to embrace it as a day to just share some extra love and appreciation for people. Instead of the usual last minute treats, I’ve surprised myself and already have found some sweet things to consider.

FOOD

You could make any type of cake and add some dainty hearts to it like this.

I want to try to make these salami roses! They’d be adorable on a charcuterie board. I wonder if they’d bake nicely on a pizza too using big pepperonis?

How about these beautiful apple tarts!?

This steak recipe sounds amazing! Blaine cooked me the best ribeye this week from Heartland Beef. The war on food has begun. We can fight back by supporting our local farmers. More yummy Valentine’s recipes from Jenny here.

A pretty festive tablecloth for your dinner here.

TAGS & WRAP

There are a lot of adorable tags on Etsy these days! Here are a few that caught my eye.

Love these!

These tags would be sweet on a little gift.

I actually ordered the Raisin cards for Jack to give to his PreK class. I’ll either bake some oatmeal raisin cookies, or just buy some raisin boxes to give to the kids! I’ll package them in clear cellophane bags as shown. Easy and sweet. 🙂

These “For God so loved the world…” cards are adorable!

These Animal train cards are sweet too.

And these would be sweet with a few cinnamon hearts candies or something like that.

Vintage love gift tags from here. 

Jenny always has a cute Valentine’s line at her shop, which isn’t up just yet (check her website later this month). I went ahead and ordered a few things that are on sale right now, which could be used for V-day or other occasions this spring – like this pink velvet ribbon.

Gingham wrapping paper here. I’ve also found some very similar at TJ Maxx recently!

GIFTS

Send a few love notes on these pretty postcards.

More sweet notecards to send, made in the USA, here.

These handmade hairbows on a barrette are adorable! Cute for both little girl and mommas! Made in USA.

A friend of mine gave me some rose petal tea from Savoy and I’ve been enjoying it. It’s not this exact one, but it’s close. No weird chemicals or toxins added!

A beautiful artisan mug, handmade in Paris – the City of Love! 

 

I just ordered some lime green zinnia seeds from Floret Flowers at the recommendation of a friend, and I’m excited to see what they’ll do this summer! They’re supposed to be great seeds which will grow here very well. They have way more than just zinnias  – have a look!

This heart bird feed would be a fun craft with Jack, and a sweet gift! Just need bendable wire, oat cereal and ribbon.

Here’s another bird food craft/gift idea. Instead of using corn syrup and gelatin, I wonder if some beef suet might be a good replacement? We have a lot of beef fat in our freezer right now that I need to use up!

A classic book that Blaine and I read together when we were dating. Must read for any couple – both dating or married!

Get a batch of sourdough starter going today and give as gifts in the future! We were gifted a bit of starter from a friend and Blaine has been turning out some delicious loaves of bread from it. His recipe is easy – good quality all purpose flour, salt, water, and starter. I’ll share more on that later!

 

I hope you enjoyed some of these ideas to share some love. 

~Mir