love. love. love.

Little pleasures are sometimes the greatest symbols of love.
Love Lehi Rolling Mills Wheat Muffin Mix (you should be able to find at any Utah grocery store), Mary Engelbreit cupcake liners (Michaels) and the little hands that helped me make them. ;)

I'm happy to be embracing Valentines Day and just told my husband how I think February is the perfect time of year to bring out the red + pink, hearts, and sweet cards. I think this day is a great reminder for people not only to tell someone they love them, but how and why they appreciate them - love interest or not. This year I made a card on Treat.com for my husband. It was fun and free (caught a promo on shutterfly where I just had to pay $0.52 for it in shipping). Here's the saying I picked for it:

"NOT celebrating Valentine's Day has become so mainstream.

Let's rebel."

as well as this quote....

"Love does not begin and end in the way we think it does. Love is a battle, love is war; love is a growing up."  - James A. Baldwin

Other things I've been loving lately...

photo credit
Sometimes I totally forget about this place! Crumb Brothers is a local bakery filled with beautiful and delicious breads and pastries. Did you know they also have a full lunch menu filled with lots of vegetarian options? So yummy, and quaint, and lovely. To me, it's places like this that make Logan so special.





What? Listing laundry as something I love? Noooooo.

What I love is the way I've learned how to finally manage it.

Here's how I do it:
Find 2 or 3 (depending on the size of your household) days in your week (NOT THE WEEKEND) when you only have one or two small things going on. Declare those THE LAUNDRY DAYS for that week. The reason that I like declaring laundry days on days that already have a couple of small things going on is because then I know I'll already be feeling productive (remember that rule of how productivity feeds on itself?) and I"m already in what I refer to as START & STOP MODE. For me, the days my oldest has preschool work best, because my day is already set in this 3 hr time frame of dropping him off and picking him up which makes it's a lot easier for me to stay on task instead of letting the chore drag on and on and on. I know it sounds right to just do laundry on days with nothing scheduled, but whenever I've done this I find I'm much more resentful and unhappy about it taking up the day. So, just remember that the days when you have nothing else scheduled are YOUR PRECIOUS DAYS TO TAKE IN LIFE and to NOT THINK about the mundane monotonous things that can slowly drain you. You can now fully relax be less annoyed on those glorious stay-at-home days without having this never-ending chore loom over you. Oh, and I also find it works well to leave hampers stationary in their rooms, then gather up all the dirty clothes with one big basket (additional trips may be required).

Want to know where to find THE CUTEST little girl hair clips in the world? Well, here you go....Coco Penny (also featured in my side links). I tried buying just 4...then they came and I couldn't stop admiring the pretty packaging, cute colors and designs, and how well they are made. SO, I bought 4 more. Now Elyse has a gorgeous bouquet of stylish hair clips for her dark brown locks. I TRULY LOVE THEM ALL!!!

The following movies (all currently stream-able via Netflix)....

         

Romantics Anonymous ~ so NOT a predictable, cheesy love story. This one has heart and soul and a true artistic quality to it. Even my husband enjoyed it. ;) Love the way foreign films (this one is French) also provide viewers with a feeling of transportation to that place.

GUILT TRIP ~ Remember this post I did about worrying what I'm going to do + who I'm going to be once our children are all grown up? Well, this movie helped give me some perspective and made me laugh. I really liked how both Barbara Streisand and Seth Rogen acted out their characters so naturally. I found them both to be very real and likeable.

Three Coins In A Fountain ~ Okay, I confess. I like old movies. If you've never watched any, I suggest you give them a try. It's hard for me to describe all that I like about them but the commonality I find in all that I've liked are how they each seem to capture a very surreal essence about life and love~ albeit old fashioned, to me that just adds to their charm. ;) Plus, many times the wardrobes are back in style so watching them is like giving an ode to classic fashion. Others I like are...All About Eve, Pillow Talk, Shop Around the Corner, The Apartment, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, and Roman Holiday.

And lastly, my husband telling me I'm funny. ;) I decided I like this more than being told I'm pretty. 

Hope you all have fun ways to take in the rest of this lovely month ~ we've had dashes of warm weather here and it's already made me feel lighter and brought a spring to my step!