How To Send A Valentine To A Hospitalized Child

February 6, 2020 by

No child deserves to spend Valentine’s Day in the hospital but you can make their time in there brighter by sending them a valentine. Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is running their annual Handfuls of Love campaign and it’s easy to participate and show them that you’re on their team.

The hospital’s goal is to get 15,000 valentines so every child in their care can feel the love on this special day. Your personalized card will be hand-delivered to a patient on Valentine’s Day and bring smiles all around.

Make a child’s day by sending one of four cards along with a sweet note of encouragement this Valentine’s Day. You can send a card here.

Filed Under: Causes/ Charities, Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day DIY Sugar Scrub

January 28, 2020 by

This post contains affiliate links.

With February around the corner I wanted to share this easy Valentine’s Day DIY tutorial. Whether you want soft skin for your Valentine’s date night or want to treat yourself to a little me time, this pretty pink sugar scrub sprinkled with tiny hearts (and scented to smell like strawberries!) is perfect for Valentine’s Day. It makes a great gift idea for all your GALentine’s as well! The best part? It’s simple to make, because busy moms have enough on their plate without adding complicated DIYs to the to-do list!

Here’s how you can make this Valentine’s Day sugar scrub for yourself or a friend:

Supplies:

Directions:

  1. Mix the sugar and olive oil in a small bowl. Stir well.

  2. Add the soap colorant. Mix well.

  3. Add fragrance oil. Mix well.

  4. Add the heart sprinkles. Give it a quick stir.

  5. Pour into an airtight container such as a mason jar.

If you are gifting the sugar scrub you can add a gift tag to the mason jar. Here are some cute ones that I found:

Looking for other Valentine’s Day gift ideas? Here are some fun date night gift baskets that are perfect to give a loved one for a romantic evening in (which seems to often be the only way my husband and I actually have date nights). My favorite is this “dinner for two” gift basket I put together a few years ago and it’s one of my most popular Valentine’s Day posts!

What are you gifting this Valentine’s Day? Chat with me on social media and let me know!

PIN THIS DIY tutorial:

 

Filed Under: crafts, Gift Ideas, Valentine's Day Tagged With: ,

Date Night Gift Baskets

February 5, 2019 by

With Valentine’s Day coming up in a couple weeks I’m thinking about date nights and sweet gifts so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to share some ideas that combine both! Giving a gift basket that has a date night activity is a thoughtful gift that shows your loved ones that you value time with them over any material object. Find the ideas below and click through to get all the details of what you can include in each basket!

Cooking Dinner for 2 Date Night Gift Basket

Painting Date Night Gift Basket

Game Night Gift Basket for Couples

Dinner and a Movie Date Night Gift Basket

A Year Of Date Nights Gift Basket

Looking for other date night ideas?

5 Winter Date Ideas

50+ Date Night Ideas

Summer Day Date Idea: Recreate Memories On A Local Road Trip

One Year of Pre-Planned Date Nights Gift

Strengthen Your Marriage with a Year Of Dates 

 

I’d love to hear about your favorite date night you’ve had with your significant other! Chat with me on Twitter @aliciamarie112

PIN THIS POST TO SAVE THESE IDEAS FOR YOUR NEXT DATE NIGHT!

 

Filed Under: Relationships, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Slider Tagged With: ,

How You Can Help Brighten Valentine’s Day For A Child In The Hospital

January 29, 2019 by

The Handfuls of Love campaign that I shared about last year is back! I’m excited to spread the news about this easy, free way to help brighten Valentine’s Day for a child in the hospital. Just imagine the young child’s face when they receive your message!

Participating is as easy as going to their website, picking out a specially designed card, and personalizing a special note of encouragement to a young patient at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. The hospital’s goal is to hand deliver 15,000 cards to kids this Valentine’s Day!

I’d love for you to help me share about this great cause! Just click on one of the social media buttons below to share on that platform ❤️

Filed Under: Causes/ Charities, Valentine's Day Tagged With: ,

An Easy Way To Send Love To A Child In The Hospital

February 2, 2018 by 9 Comments

Today I wanted to share a simple, quick, and free way to help brighten Valentine’s Day for a child in the hospital. Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago has created four specially designed cards for people to add a personalized note of encouragement in. The cards will then be given to children at the hospital and their goal is to hand deliver 15,000 cards to kids this Valentine’s Day! It’s easy, quick, and free to do online but will mean so much to a child that can’t be home for Valentine’s Day ❤️

 

Click here to be taken to the Handfuls of Love website to send a free card and put a smile on a child’s face!

Filed Under: Causes/ Charities, Valentine's Day Tagged With: ,

Romantic Scavenger Hunt And A Game Night Date Basket

January 26, 2018 by 9 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SendingYourLove #CollectiveBias

When Sinisa and I first started dating he went all out with the romantic gestures, from roses covering my car to mushy Hallmark cards on the regular. Now that we have kids (and have been together for over 10 years), the daily romance has changed from gifts of flowers, cards and candy to acts of love like doing the dishes and bringing me coffee. I still get cards and flowers and things like that, just more sporadically than I used to.

For Valentine’s Day this year I wanted to surprise him with a romantic gesture worthy of those I received during the early stages of our relationship and decided upon a romantic scavenger hunt to find a date night gift basket. I went to Walmart to get the cards for the scavenger hunt and some special date night gift basket goodies, including some games for us to play on our date-night-in since game nights are such a fun way to spend time together. Walmart has the newest collection of Hallmark Signature Cards for Valentine’s Day, so I picked out a variety of cards to write scavenger hunt hints in.

Hallmark Signature Cards are premium, hand-crafted cards and I fell in love with the beautiful embellishments on them. One of my favorites had a lovely message embossed on wood which reminded me of the game pieces to one of my favorite board games. Since I love to get crafty, this inspired me to make a little gift to go along with the board game that I was putting in the gift basket.

I love cards because you can write special messages in them and another favorite thing to give is personalized gifts, like this letter tile craft. The craft itself is pretty easy to put together but does require some planning when it comes to tile placement (which I learned the hard way lol). I was originally going to just put “Alicia”, “Sinisa” and “Love” but that seemed too empty so I decided to add the word “Family” and add my boy’s names in as well. Everything looked like it fit but then I went to put the frame on and discovered some of the pieces were too close to the edge so I had to use their nicknames so that everything would fit.

Here’s what you need to make this letter craft:

  • Shadow box (mine was 8×8 size)
  • Scrapbook paper for the background
  • Letter tiles
  • Adhesive (I used a photo adhesive to adhere the letter tiles to the paper)

To make the craft:

Cut the piece of scrapbook paper to fit inside the frame and adhere it to the inside cardboard backing of the frame


Arrange letter tiles how you would like them and add adhesive to the back of the tiles, one tile at a time, sticking each tile in place where you’d like it to be. Once all the tiles are on, put the frame back together.

When you are done crafting, it’s time to put the basket together. Along with the frame, I added a snack, something to drink, a board game, a deck of cards and a cute Valentine’s decoration.

With the date night basket ready you are all set to put together the scavenger hunt for them to find the basket. You can choose to do the scavenger hunt around your home or at places that are special to the two of you (like maybe where you had your first date, a place your family likes to go, etc.) Since it’s winter, and I live in Chicago, I decided to do the scavenger hunt around the house.

I wrote notes in a few Hallmark cards and hid them around the house, with each card giving a hint of where he could find the next card. The first place I left a hint was on the front door so Sinisa would see it right when he came home from work.

Inside I left a message about the scavenger hunt and then led him to his next card with this hint: “your love makes my heart make music”. You could also say “your love makes my heart beat faster” or something else cute like that. This clue could lead to a stereo or musical instrument. Our son plays guitar so I put the next clue on the guitar.

The card led to a map (hint: “I’m happiest wherever I am, as long as I’m with you”) which led to a pillow (hint: “I dream about you”) which led to the candy basket (hint: “your love is sweeter than chocolate”) which led to the car where the basket was hidden (hint: “you drive me wild”). This was such a fun thing to do and a cute way to start a date night!

The scavenger hunt was really simple to put together and a lot of fun, especially when it ends with a gift basket and a romantic date-night-in!

Don’t forget your loved ones this Valentine’s Day. If you are short on time just head to Walmart where it’s easy to get everything for your Valentine’s Day celebration – including the perfect Hallmark Cards. And, 1/29 through 2/14 (or while supplies last), earn $1 back on Ibotta at Walmart on any Hallmark Valentine’s Cards priced $2.97 and above! You can also keep your eyes peeled for an in-aisle coupon at Walmart – get $2 off when you buy 3 Hallmark Valentine’s Day Cards!

Visit the Hallmark Valentine’s Day Hub for more inspiration and to find a store near you!

How are you celebrating Valentine’s Day this year?

Filed Under: Gift Ideas, Relationships, Valentine's Day Tagged With: , ,

Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas

February 9, 2017 by 5 Comments

Disclosure: Products were received for consideration but all thoughts are my own.

Valentine’s Day is almost here and, for many, that means it’s time to show love with cards, flowers, chocolates and other gifts. I thought I’d share some gift ideas with you all in case you still haven’t had a chance to go out and find something special. Whether you need a gift for your significant other or a “GALentine” gift for a friend, I hope this gives you some ideas!

“Dinner for 2” Date Night Gift Basket

I shared this romantic date night gift basket a few weeks ago but I love it so much I just had to share it again. It’s super easy to put together- just put some dinner ingredients in there, a bottle of wine, some candles and some Valentine’s Day decorations and you are all set to make dinner in with your sweetie!

Get all the details to make your own gift basket here.

Sweets Gift Box

Does your loved one have a sweet tooth? If so, you’ll want to get them this subscription box!  The SweetsGiftBox is filled with 4-5 goodies ranging from gourmet chocolates and cookies to artisan candies and treats. I loved the variety in the boxes and the few things I’ve tried so far from my sample box are delicious! I like that they are all items from brands I normally wouldn’t be able to find in a grocery store.

Learn more about the subscription service here.

Love’s Passion Bouquet by Teleflora

Heat up the romance and passion with this stunning floral arrangement that is sure to capture your Valentine’s attention. This gorgeous bouquet features a bountiful display of classic red roses, tulips, and white Asiatic lilies nestled within an elegant red glass vase. Each bouquet is professionally-arranged and delivered by a local florist so you can guarantee that every petal of your bouquet is freshly cut, carefully prepared and hand-made with love.

See Teleflora’s full line of Valentine’s Day bouquets here.

Custom Print from 78th & Newbury

I love getting personalized gifts and 78th & Newbury is one of my favorite online shops that offers them. At Christmas I reviewed their personalized canvas travel maps which would make a cute gift for travel lovers but I also think this love song print would make an amazing gift as well. If you are buying a gift for a spouse you could have a print made with your wedding song lyrics on it. How sweet would that be?

Find more gift ideas from 78th & Newbury here.

I love reading romance books so I’m very excited to read about the real life love story of Chip and Joanna Gaines, the stars of HGTV’s Fixer Upper. If your valentine is an avid book reader you may want to surprise them with this cute book!

Buy the book on Amazon here.

What is the best Valentine’s Day gift you have ever given or received?

Filed Under: Gift Ideas, Valentine's Day Tagged With: ,

5 Winter Date Ideas

January 31, 2017 by 7 Comments

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post.

As I shared a few weeks ago in my date night at home post, Sinisa and I do not get out to have date night very often. It seems like ever since we had kids we are lucky if we go on one or two dates a year. We are really working on changing this and have been trying to go on day dates while our boys are at school. Since I work from home and he gets one weekday off a week, it seems to work best for us at the moment. I wanted to share 5 winter date ideas for those of you looking to plan something special for Valentine’s Day or any other day you and your significant other can get away and spend some quality time together.

Go ice skating – Whether you find an outside rink or an indoor one, ice skating is a popular winter activity that could make for a fun date night. Just think about how romantic it would be holding hands as you skate around the rink together. Or that’s the dream at least. I’d probably spend most of the date on my butt since I haven’t ice skated since grade school :)

Go see a play – Movie dates have become the norm lately so shake it up a bit by going to see a live play instead. Whether it’s a community play or a show on Broadway, there are a number of options to pick from.

Volunteer together – Volunteering isn’t the most romantic date but it’s a great way to spend time together. Whether the two of you help at a soup kitchen, nursing home or food pantry, there is nothing better than being able to give back to others and it just may teach you a bit more about the character of the person you are on a date with.

Paint at an art studio – If you or your significant other like to paint check out your local art studio for classes. Many studios offer date night options where you can pay to come and paint and they’ll provide the space and materials needed for you to create something. Check ahead but many allow you to bring snacks and drinks as well!

Go out to eat at a B.Y.O.B Restaurant- What I like about BYOB restaurants is that you can save a great deal on alcohol by bringing your own. (Please drink responsibly and don’t drink and drive.) Sinisa and I recently tried out a Thai restaurant and it was a nice break from the typical restaurants we normally go to.

For our date we chose to bring canned wine with us because it is portable and easily fit into my purse. Unlike bottled wine, with canned wine you don’t have to worry about carrying around fragile wine glasses to drink out of or re-corking the wine. Backpack Wine is packaged in recyclable cans that are ready for any occasion, from the ski slopes to your favorite brunch spot. Their wines are sourced from great vineyards and they offer two varieties of canned wine, Cheek Rose™ and Snappy White™ (rose and white wine).

Backpack Wine offers a unique combo of great-tasting, quality wine in a fresh new way so you can skip the cork and bring the pack! Where would you take your Backpack wine?

Looking for more date ideas? I have a list of 50 here!

Filed Under: Relationships, Valentine's Day Tagged With: , ,

‘Dinner For Two’ Date Night Gift Basket

January 10, 2017 by 14 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #WonderfulYourWay #CollectiveBias The following content is intended for readers who are 21 or older.

Before we had kids, Sinisa and I would go on dates quite often. We’d go out to eat, go to the movies, and walk around local downtown areas. It was nice to be able to connect during those times. Unfortunately, once we had our first child, our date nights out became almost non-existent. Nowadays we tend to do a lot of date nights in which basically consist of watching a movie on the couch.

With Valentine’s Day coming soon, I wanted to change things up a bit and create a special date night basket. Since Sinisa loves to cook I thought he’d enjoy a gift basket full of goodies that would let us have a date night in where we could cook a special meal together. I’m calling this a “Dinner for two” date night gift basket.

I started by figuring out what type of meal we’d make and decided upon pasta. Maybe it’s the whole Lady & the Tramp spaghetti scene stuck in my head, but I equate pasta with romantic meals. Along with the box of pasta, I put some other items we’d need for our date night in the basket including Valentine’s themed kitchen hand towels, some red cooking utensils, a couple chocolate roses, salt and pepper shakers, candles and a bottle of wine to enjoy with our meal.

We have a few go-to pasta dishes that we make but Sinisa made a really delicious one a couple years ago that I wanted to recreate together. It’s a dish similar to Pasta Carbonara though we don’t add eggs to it like the typical recipe calls for.

For our recipe, I got all the ingredients at Kroger, including Barilla® Pronto® Penne pasta, a product innovation that allows for one-pan meals to be created with no need to wait for water to boil, and no draining required. I like this pasta because it cooks within ten minutes and is perfect for one pot meals.

Ingredients to make dinner for 2:

  • 1/2 box of Barilla Pronto Penne
  • 1/4 cup of bacon pieces
  • 1/2 cup of frozen peas
  • 2 cups of (cold) water or broth (we used vegetable broth)
  • 4 ounces of cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
  • Seasoning to taste (we used black pepper and garlic powder)
  • A teaspoon of vegetable oil

Directions:

Add the oil to the pan along with the bacon and peas and heat for a minute or so, stirring to mix.

Add the dry pasta.

Pour the cold water (or broth) over the pasta. (Feels strange doesn’t it? Usually you have to put a pot of water on the stovetop and then wait forever for it to boil before you can put your pasta in but this new pasta is “no boil”.) Cover and let cook on medium heat for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the 4 ounces of cream cheese. Then cover and cook for three more minutes to finish cooking the pasta.

At this point the pasta is fully cooked. Can you believe that you have perfectly cooked pasta in just 10 minutes?! Whoever invented this no boil pasta is a genius. I also love that you don’t have to drain it because the majority of the liquid has cooked out. To finish making this pasta dish, add the shredded cheese, season to taste and stir everything together.

I love the combo of cheese and bacon in this dish and the addition of the peas helps me meet my veggie goal for the week lol. This pasta dish is so easy to make and requires little prep which is perfect for date night. You’ll have dinner on the table within 15 minutes and making the whole meal in one pan is great because nobody wants to spend date night stuck in the kitchen washing a sink full of dishes.

What pasta dish would you make on your “dinner for two” date night? Find more “Wonderful Your Way” recipe inspiration here.

 

Filed Under: Recipes, Relationships, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Slider Tagged With: , , ,

7 DIY Valentines With Printables

January 6, 2016 by Leave a Comment

Valentine’s Day is about a week away so I wanted to share 7 DIY valentines that you can put together last minute. These are perfect for your kids to take to school because all of these are candy-free and have printables you can easily print out!

SILLY GLASSES Print the greetings onto card stock; cut out. Use double-stick tape to attach the glasses onto the card stock, or punch holes for each of the temple pieces, thread them through, and fold closed.

JACKS SET Insert scrap cardboard into a small muslin bag (we found ours on papermart.com). Help your child stamp a heart onto the bag; let dry. Print the greeting; cut out and insert into the bag, along with a jacks set.

CRAYONS & NOTEPADS Place crayons on top of a notepad and wrap with a rubber band. Print the template onto plain paper; cut out. Wrap it around the bundle and tape in place in the back.

PARACHUTER Print greeting onto cloud-patterned paper (we found ours at officesupply.com); cut out. Adhere paper to card stock with a glue stick. Attach parachuter with a glue dot.

ZOO ANIMALS  Print greeting onto card stock; cut out. Trim a piece of sushi grass (we found ours on amazon.com) to the width of the card. Insert the greeting, grass, and zoo animal into a cellophane bag; tape it closed.

YO-YO Print the template onto 8½-by-11-inch sticker paper (at office-supply stores), and have your child trim it out using pinking shears. Stick it onto the yo-yo, and you’re good to go!

PLAYING CARDS Print the template onto 8½-by-11-inch sticker paper; cut out. Wrap a box of cards once with washi tape, then stick the greeting onto the box.

___

Thanks to Family Fun Magazine for sending me these great ideas to share! Find all of the printables here (look under Feb/March 2016 No Candy Valentines).

Filed Under: Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Slider Tagged With: ,

10 Valentine’s Day Desserts

February 10, 2015 by 1 Comment

A few years ago I shared a post of 10 delicious Valentine’s Day treats and it’s one of my most read posts ever. I thought it was time to share another post with ten more of my favorites since the last one was so popular. Enjoy!

Valentine’s Day Cookies from Family Fresh Meals

Valentine’s Day Candy Popcorn from A Helicopter Mom

Strawberry Brownie Kabobs from Erica’s Sweet Tooth

Ice Cream Cupcakes from Bubbly Nature Creations

Hershey Kiss Cookies from Life Is Sweets

Valentine’s Day Patties from Mom on Timeout

Linzer Cookies from Cooking Classy

Pink Snowball Puffs from Pamela’s Heavenly Treats

Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Meringue Roses from U Try It

Cherry Cordial Cupcakes from Lemon-Sugar

Filed Under: Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Slider Tagged With: , ,

Chocolate Lovebug Cupcakes {Recipe}

January 15, 2015 by 1 Comment

Valentine’s Day is coming up and what better way to celebrate than with these adorable Chocolate ‘Lovebug’ Cupcakes! Enjoy!

active 15 min  total 25 min (plus decorating)

makes 24 mini cupcakes

cost per cupcake 27￠

Ingredients:

  • Mini paper liners
  • ⅔ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 Tbsp unsweetened dark cocoa (not Dutch-processed)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp kosher salt
  • 4 large egg whites
  • 2 Tbsp canola oil
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 2 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • Icing and decorations

Directions:

  • Heat oven to 400°F. Line a 24-cup mini muffin pan with paper liners. 
  • In a large bowl, sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy, then whisk in the oil and vanilla. Add the egg white mixture to the flour mixture, stirring just until moistened. Fold in the chocolate.
  • Divide the batter among the lined muffin cups and bake until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean, 7 to 9 minutes. Remove from pans and let cool on wire racks. Decorate as desired.

Per cupcake 99 cal, 2 g fat (0 g sat fat), 0 mg chol, 51 mg sod, 1 g pro, 18 g car, 0 g fiber

Thanks to Woman’s Day for sharing the recipe with me. You can find this recipe and more delicious Valentine’s Day treats at WomansDay.com and in their magazine. (Image courtesy of: Kat Teutsch)

Filed Under: Recipes, Valentine's Day Tagged With: ,

10 Heart Shaped Crafts

January 11, 2015 by 1 Comment

With Valentine’s Day coming up I thought a roundup of heart shaped crafts would be fun to share. Not only do they make beautiful things to keep for years, they can be used to make your home festive during the February holiday.

The first one I wanted to share is one Lucas made in school a couple of years ago and it’s still one of my most meaningful pieces of art I have. It’s super easy to make. Find the directions for it here.

Here are some of my favorites from the amazing bloggers in the Kid Blogger Network.

Valentine’s Heart Fizzy Painting from Gift of Curiosity

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Tissue Paper Heart Wreath from Happy Hooligans

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Heart Sensory Collage from Crayon Box Chronicles

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String Heart Art from How We Learn

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Heart Suncatcher from Fun at Home with Kids

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Stamping Glitter Hearts from Buggy and Buddy

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Pipe cleaner heart

This is super easy and requires two supplies- pipe cleaners and beads. Add the beads on the pipe cleaner and form it into a heart. Jacob made this one a few years ago and decided just to use a small amount of beads but your child can decorate the whole heart with them!

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Salt Dough & Perler Beads Valentine Ornaments from Meaningful Mama

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Tissue Bleed Valentine Heart from Powerful Mothering

Which craft will you be trying first?

Filed Under: Arts and Crafts, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Slider Tagged With: ,

My New Favorite Love Song

February 14, 2014 by 2 Comments

Happy Valentine’s Day! I couldn’t let this day of love go by without sharing my new favorite love song. A friend posted a version of it earlier this week and since then I’ve had it on repeat! It’s John Legend’s ‘All of Me’ and it is especially touching since his wife is the woman featured in the video <3

This version with Lindsey Stirling is beautiful as well: http://youtu.be/xwsYvBYZcx4

See a list of my other favorite love songs here.

Filed Under: music, Valentine's Day Tagged With: , ,

Love You To Pieces Craft

February 13, 2014 by Leave a Comment

love you to pieces craft

Looking for a last minute Valentine’s Day craft? Check out this adorable heart that Lucas brought home from preschool! It has added meaning to the parents of all the children in his classroom since puzzle pieces are symbolic to parents of children who are on the Autism spectrum.

Making this craft is super simple. Draw a heart on a piece of paper, glue some puzzle pieces on to the heart, and then paint it any color your child would like. What a special craft to make and give to loved ones!

Filed Under: Arts and Crafts, Autism, Valentine's Day Tagged With: , , ,

Sweet Treats For Little Valentines

February 13, 2014 by 1 Comment

Make your child’s Valentine’s Day lunch or snack special this year by giving them a delicious treat. Cheryl’s sent me a beautiful tin full of cookies and other goodies to share with my boys.

The sugar cookies were really good and had a hint of lemon flavoring to them. I also thought the little bird cookie was adorable. The boys liked the frosted heart shaped cookies and the pretzels that were covered with sprinkles.

Looking on Cheryl’s website I saw a bunch of cute gifts for Valentine’s Day. The cookie bouquets were nice as was the “tweetheart” box. If you are looking to have cookies delivered for your valentine then make sure to place your order by 3pm EST today!

 

They also have $5 cookie cards that are perfect for every occasion from happy birthdays to get well wishes.

Filed Under: Gift Ideas, Valentine's Day Tagged With: ,

Preparing For A Long Awaited Date Night

February 12, 2014 by 1 Comment

This post is part of the HEALTHY ESSENTIALS® 2014 program by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. and The Motherhood, who sent me a box of products and compensated me for my time. Opinions, experiences and photos shared here are all my own, and I hope you enjoy them.

Sinisa and I on a date in 2007 <3

I am so excited to be going on a special date night this week! My mom is watching the boys and Sinisa and I are going on our first date night in a long time. It’s been at least a year, if not more, since we have gone out sans kids for more than the hour and a half that they are at Awana.

Sinisa is planning the whole date and made us reservations for a nice Italian restaurant. {He says it’s where we went for our first Valentine’s Day but my memory is so bad that I don’t remember that long ago.} I think we will be going out for drinks or a movie as well so it should be a fun night.

Since this is a special occasion I’m going to have to spend longer than 5 minutes getting ready. I plan to run to the store and get a nice top to wear for our date. I also am going to make myself up by doing my hair and makeup. He will be quite surprised seeing me transform from my sweats and ponytail!

I don’t normally wear more makeup than some mineral powder and lip gloss but I have some new Neutrogena makeup I’m going to use. I like Neutrogena makeup because it doesn’t irritate my skin and it looks natural.

I recently tried their MoistureSmooth color stick and was very impressed with it. It looks like a big lip pencil, has a texture like lipstick or balm but goes on smooth and feels like a lip gloss. This stick adds color I don’t normally get with lip gloss but doesn’t feel thick like I am wearing a lot on my lips. I also love that it isn’t sticky because I hate that feeling. The smell of this color stick was fruity which I liked as well. I was sent  the Sweet Watermelon color to review but will be going out and getting a few more colors since I really like it.

The mascara I was sent is their Healthy Volume Mascara. It has Olive in it which the package says helps plump the core of each and every lash. I don’t wear mascara often but thought this was a nice product. I liked that my eyelashes didn’t clump together like some mascaras make them do.

With both makeup products on and a nice, new shirt I think Sinisa will be surprised to see me when I come down the steps for our date night! If you want to treat yourself to some new makeup for your next date night, you can get a printable coupon for $1 off any NEUTROGENA® Cosmetics product at HealthyEssentials.com.

Filed Under: Beauty, Valentine's Day Tagged With: , , ,

Chocolate Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas

February 11, 2014 by 1 Comment

Valentine’s Day is this Friday! If you are still looking for gift ideas I have a few to share from Fannie May and appreciate them sending me a box of chocolates to review. I shared around the Holidays how chocolates were my go-to gift to give and the same is true for gift giving around Valentine’s Day. Since most people love chocolate as much as I do it’s an easy gift to give.

When I received the box of chocolates last week, Jacob was excited to see all of the candy. Every day he has been picking out one to try and we take guesses as to what is inside the chocolate coating. It’s a special moment between the two of us and something we both look forward to each day.

Along with the typical box of chocolate, Fannie May has an assortment of special Valentine’s Day gifts. Here are some of my favorite:

Champagne Celebration Strawberries

Giant, hand-picked strawberries are generously dipped in creamy white and pink champagne-infused real chocolate and decoratively sprinkled with gold, platinum and clear sugar.

Assorted Chocolates – Heart Box, 2 lb.

Milk chocolate, dark chocolate or a combination of both, this essential assortment has something for everyone, from buttercreams and rich nougats, to buttery caramels. This is the box of chocolates that we received from Fannie May. I love the caramels and Jacob’s favorites are the wrapped chocolate hearts. They are housed in a beautiful box that makes this the perfect gift to give!

Loving Favorite Gifts Tower

A selection of favorite confections for your Valentine, each Loving Favorite Gifts Tower weighs 2 lbs, 9 oz and comes filled with: 4 oz Valentine Pixies, 1 lb Delights Individually Wrapped Chocolates, 5 oz Milk Truffle Hearts, 4 Milk Grahams, 4 Milk Cookies, 4 Milk Pretzels, and 4 White Pretzels. Yum! If you have multiple people on your gift list you could even split this one up and give the boxes in the tower out to separate people.

Which gift is your favorite?

Shipping Note: The website says if you order by today (2/11 at 3pm EST) you can use ground shipping and get the gift to your Valentine in time. Waited until the last minute? You can still order and choose overnight delivery on 2/13 for delivery on 2/14 or visit one of their Chicago area stores.

Filed Under: Gift Ideas, Valentine's Day Tagged With: , , , ,

Valentine’s Day Hands-On Play Ideas {HOP}

February 11, 2014 by 2 Comments

I’m really excited to be joining in as a host of the Hands-On Play Party with some fabulous bloggers. This linky will be posted each Tuesday. I will be sharing some of my own activities for kids plus sharing some other great ideas from bloggers that link up each week.

This week I’m sharing some fun Valentine’s Day ideas. My boys loved playing in this Valentine’s Day sensory table.

How about a chocolate scented activity? Happy Hooligans shares a Play Dough Chocolate Shop that I think would keep Lucas, my four year old, busy for a whole afternoon!

Little Bins For Little Hands shares some great Valentine’s Day math activities. I’m planning to do some of these with Jake.

And check out this painting activity from Gift of Curiosity….this isn’t just normal paint- it’s fizzy paint! So fun :)

 

 Visit my co-hosts!

Construction Sensory Play from P is for Preschooler

My Name Quiet Book Page from Stir the Wonder

What Is Hands On Play? from Little Bins for Little Hands

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 Now it’s your turn! What fun hands-on play activities have you been creating at home? If you are a blogger you can link up your blog posts (no more than 3 please) or, if you don’t have a blog, share your activities on Facebook and leave a link in the comments below. Just looking for activity ideas? You can do that as well by clicking through to the linky at the bottom of this post.

(Please note: If you are linking up below you give the hosts permission to use an image with a link back if you are featured in a future HOP post.)



Filed Under: Arts and Crafts, Hands-On Play Party {HOP}, Kid's Activities, Valentine's Day Tagged With: ,

Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas From The Fruit Company

February 10, 2014 by 1 Comment

I love chocolate on Valentine’s Day but it’s also nice to give {and get} healthier options as well so that is why I wanted to share about The Fruit Company’s gift ideas for Valentine’s Day. You can give those you love some sweet, delicious fruit along with other goodies. We received the Red Pear Valentine Tower for review and it was great because it had something for everyone in it.

This gift tower is packed with four Red D’Anjou pears, chocolate covered cherries, zebra chocolate popcorn, strawberry yogurt pretzels and two Fuji apples. Sinisa loved the pears and the boys gobbled up the apples. Jacob thought the pretzels tasted just like his favorite drink, strawberry milk. My favorites were the chocolate covered cherries. They were really juicy and I thought it was a great mix of fruit and chocolate.

Some other gift ideas from The Fruit Company include:

Valentine Berries

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Organic Pink Fruit Basket

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 Chocolate Truffle Lava Cakes

If you are shopping last minute make sure to check out their website for special Valentine’s Day shipping. Choose Valentine’s Day delivery, and receive upgraded shipping at no extra cost as long as your order is placed by noon, PST, February 13, 2014.

Filed Under: Gift Ideas, Valentine's Day Tagged With: , , ,

Showing Love With Baked Goods {Gift Card Giveaways}

February 9, 2014 by 99 Comments

(Disclosure: This is a sponsored post as part of Rich Products #bakerybecause program but all thoughts are my own.)

My boys love their sweets so for Valentine’s Day I wanted to give them some gifts they could enjoy for a special dessert. I’d love to bake but don’t really have much time to do so, so I head to my local grocery store to pickup their favorite cookies and cakes. Instead of just picking up items from the store and giving them in the bakery boxes I decided to get a little creative and figure out some special ways to share them.

I had some chocolate brownies and I decided to make the large brownies into bite sized pieces so they were easier for my kids to eat and not as messy. Once cut I packaged them in a couple different ways.

I used a gift card box and took out the insert inside where the card was supposed to go. I added Valentine’s themed mini muffin wrappers and then put a piece of brownie in each wrapper. Put the lid on, add a couple pieces of tape to the sides, and voila….a little box of yumminess!

For the second half of the brownies I decided to put them in these cute baking wrappers I found. You could even add some mini marshmallows in with them! Once in the wrappers they can be enclosed in clear cellophane.

I found a lot of fun ways to give the cookies. Some I put in little dollar value boxes I found. Some I put into treat bags decorated with curly ribbons at the top. I found a mug with some candies in it and took the candies out and refilled it with cookies which I think would be a great gift paired with a package of coffee beans or a gift card to a coffee shop. I also found little Valentine’s take out boxes with heart cut outs that I thought would be a hit with Sinisa as a special dessert after a Chinese dinner.

I also found a box of mini chocolate cakes adorned with frosting hearts. They were adorable so I wanted to display them. These will be given in a heart shaped tray wrapped in the heart cellophane that the white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies are wrapped in.

What is your favorite way to gift baked goods and who would you give a delicious gift to? Check out the giveaway below!

GIVEAWAY

Three people will win $25 gift cards

HOW TO ENTER

{Do any or all of the following, leave a separate comment for each you do}

1) Leave a comment telling me who makes your life special

2) Share this giveaway on a social network

3) Leave a comment telling me what special way you’d gift a baked good

4) Subscribe to this blog via email

Giveaway ends February 20, 2014 at 11:59pm CST. Must be 18 or older and a US resident to win.

Filed Under: Food, Gift Ideas, Giveaways, Valentine's Day Tagged With: , , , ,

Cute As A Button DIY Valentines

January 29, 2014 by 1 Comment

Looking for a cute idea for Valentine’s Day cards? Country Woman magazine shared these adorable ones with me. They are easy to make and I think they are a charming way to let a friend or family member know how much you care.

Simply print and cut out a design of your choice and glue it to a larger square cut from colored card stock. Using a needle and thread stitch a few pretty buttons on to the valentine.

For a full list of instructions and materials, please visit: http://www.countrywomanmagazine.com/project/cute-as-a-button-valentines-card/

Filed Under: Arts and Crafts, crafts, Valentine's Day Tagged With: , , ,

5 DIY Valentine’s Day Decorations Kids Can Help Make

January 11, 2014 by 2 Comments

Can you believe that Valentine’s Day is going to be here in just a little over a month!? I thought I’d gather some DIY Valentine’s Day decorations that kids can help make. There is nothing more precious than homemade hearts and other crafts made with love.

Heart Garland from Buggy and Buddy

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Cardboard Roll Heart from Kitchen Counter Chronicles

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Heart Suncatcher from Happiness Is Homemade

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Heart Ornaments & Valentine’s Tree from PlayDrMom

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Love Canvas from The Inspired Treehouse

Aren’t those all adorable? If you are a blogger and have a kid’s Valentine’s Day decoration post feel free to share a link in the comments :)

Filed Under: Arts and Crafts, Valentine's Day Tagged With: , , ,

Send A Virtual Valentine To Newtown

February 14, 2013 by 1 Comment

Valentine’s Day marks the two month anniversary of the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. As we celebrate those we love, Sandy Hook Promise is asking all Americans to keep the community of Newtown in their hearts.

Send your love and support to the community today. SHARE a valentine, make the Sandy Hook Promise, and help send #1MillionHearts to Newtown.

Filed Under: Causes/ Charities, Valentine's Day Tagged With: , , ,

VeggieTales Gifts Of Service Coupons {Printable}

February 12, 2013 by 2 Comments

Here’s another great printable from VeggieTales in honor of the Lettuce Love One Another DVD. Today’s theme is serving others. You can talk as a family about what nice things you can do for others and then fill out these cards. I’m thinking about doing them with Jacob and then having him give them to daddy for Valentine’s Day :)

{PDF will load below. You can then download to your computer and print}

(Disclosure: I received a copy of the movie but am not being compensated for posting this printable.)

Filed Under: Freebies, Movies, Printables, Valentine's Day Tagged With: , , ,

My Valentine’s Day Playlist

February 12, 2013 by 2 Comments

Some Of My Favorite Romantic Songs

Tank- Next Breath
Savage Garden- Truly Madly Deeply
NeYo- Let Me Love You
Sixpence None The Richer- Kiss Me
98 Degrees- I Do
Brian McKnight- Back at One
K-Ci and JoJo- All My Life
Rascal Flatts- Bless The Broken Road
Bryan Adams- Everything I Do, I Do It For You
Steven Curtis Chapman- I Will Be Here
Luther Vandross- Here and Now
Whitney Houston- I Will Always Love You
Edwin McCain- I’ll Be

What are your favorite romantic songs?

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I’ve been enjoying using my Windows Phone 8X by HTC to play music. It has Beats Audio. Here’s a little more about what makes it amazing according to HTC:

The 8X has a dedicated amp built right into the phone, so it pumps more power to your headphones than ever. Plus, Beats Audio is coming to Windows phones for the first time ever. Take that combination and transform your listening pleasure with deeper bass, crisper vocals and detailed high notes for music, games, movies and videos.

 (Disclosure: I am a member of HTC’s Troop 8X and received this phone to review. All thoughts are my own.)

Filed Under: Brand Ambassador, music, Smartphone applications, Technology, Valentine's Day Tagged With: , , , , , ,

DIY: Heart Hair Braid

February 4, 2013 by 4 Comments

If you have a little girl with some hair, and know how to do a french braid, you have to try your hand at this heart hair braid! How cute would this be for Valentine’s Day? Cozy Friedman, author of Cozy’s Complete Guide to Girls’ Hair, shares how to do the heart shaped braid with us!

What You’ll Need:

Wide-tooth comb, fine-tooth comb, decorative hair clip, ponytail holders

Directions:

Step 1: Starting with damp hair (either towel-dried or misted), use a wide-tooth comb to detangle the hair.  Then, using a fine-tooth comb, part the hair down the middle of the head.  Clip one side up right above the ear.

Step 2: On the other side of the part, use the fine comb to gather a thin section of hair from the crown.  This section should measure about 2 inches from the hairline to the top of the head.

Step 3: Divide this section into three, and begin a French braid starting at the crown and curving toward the temple, then toward the back of the head, like the top lobe of a heart.  You will be lifting hair into the braid only from this side of the part.  Leave no loose hair in front of the ears.

Step 4: When you reach the center part at the back of the head, secure the braid with a ponytail holder.  If the hair is very long, end the braid about mid-ear; the ends will hang down the back.

Step 5: Unclip the hair on the other side of the part and repeat the process.  Secure with a ponytail holder.

Step 6: Join the ends of the braids together in the back

(Disclosure: This content was sent to me to share but I was not compensated.)

 

Filed Under: Beauty, Valentine's Day Tagged With: ,

Love Notes {Printable}

February 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment

{image via Paper Coterie}

Paper Coterie has another great printable out! This one is perfect for Valentine’s Day and with over 15 designs to choose from there is something for everyone. Find the printable here.

(Disclosure: This is not a compensated post.)

Filed Under: Printables, Valentine's Day Tagged With: , , ,

Send A Valentine To The Kids Of Hurricane Sandy

February 1, 2013 by 1 Comment

The Postal Service wants to surprise 650 students at the John C. Thompson School (PS-52) of Staten Island and you can help.

Following Hurricane Sandy, the school was closed from Oct. 31 to Nov. 19. Many children and their families lost everything. Today, the children (grades pre-K to 5) are working hard.Things are getting back to normal but will never be the same.

Operation Bear Hug hopes to make February 14th extra special by providing Valentines to every child in the school. Send your Valentine wishes to:

Operation Bear Hug

PO Box 10213

Staten Island NY 10301

 

Cards will be delivered to each child by the Postal Service’s “I Love You” Bear mascot on Valentine’s Day along with as many hugs as they can bear.

(Disclosure: This isn’t a compensated post. I just love the cause and wanted to share a fun way to give back for Valentine’s Day.)

Filed Under: Causes/ Charities, Valentine's Day Tagged With: , , ,

Preschool Sweetheart Event {Wordless Wednesday}

February 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Lucas

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My family

Filed Under: family, Valentine's Day Tagged With: , ,

Jacob’s Valentines This Year

February 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment

This is Jacob’s first year of school which means it’s his first time exchanging valentines with classmates. He is in Preschool so I wanted to make something fun that the children in his class could enjoy. He wanted to do Valentines with candy but edible items aren’t allowed. I had a bunch of ideas I had found when putting together my 10 DIY Valentines post so I chose to make the heart shaped crayons. I wanted to do something a little different so I got little notepads at the store and Jacob decorated each one with stickers. We got all of the stickers out and he decided what each of his classmates would like the most so each little notebook was personalized. I then printed out handwriting sheets and had him practice writing his name 15 times and used those for the “from”. I think they turned out really cute.

Making Heart Shaped Crayons

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Jacob's Mailbox To Receive Valentines

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Ready for the Valentines Exchange

Filed Under: Arts and Crafts, Preschool, Valentine's Day Tagged With: , ,

Valentine’s Day Sensory Table

February 5, 2012 by 1 Comment

My children have sensory processing issues that make sensory table a must have item in our home but I think sensory activities are a great activity for all young children. I like to create themed ones around Holidays or certain things that interest my children. Our latest table is Valentine’s themed.

 

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A close up of the items that are in the table

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Items in the table:

-mini themed erasers

-mini spiked balls

-clear decorative stones

-red heart shaped stones

-white feathers

-white pom poms

-red,white, pink shaped heart beads

-white yarn tied in bows

-pieces of white ball garland cut into smaller strands

-small heart shaped containers with lids

-heart shaped bowls

-Valentine’s themed cups

Filed Under: Early Childhood, Preschool, Sensory Processing Disorder, Toddler, Valentine's Day Tagged With: , , ,

10 Valentine’s Day Themed Lunches

February 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment

{Click on the pictures to be taken to the posts they come from}

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Filed Under: Top Ten Tuesday, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Slider Tagged With: , , ,

10 Valentine’s Day Themed Breakfasts

February 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment

{Click the pictures to be taken to the posts they come from}

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Filed Under: Top Ten Tuesday, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Slider Tagged With: , ,

7 Valentine’s Day Decorations

February 2, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Love these DIY Valentine’s Decorations {click on links to be taken to the posts they come from}:

Valentine’s Day Tree

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Yarn Love Letters

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Framed Prints

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Valentine’s Mobile

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Ribbon Tree

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Valentines Centerpieces

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Twig Heart

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Looking for more ideas?

Check out these 8 DIY Valentine’s wreaths :)

Filed Under: Valentine's Day Tagged With: , ,

10 Valentine’s Day Treats

January 31, 2012 by 2 Comments

{Click on the pictures to be taken to the posts they come from}

{Update 2/2015: See the bottom of this post for 10 more Valentine’s Day dessert ideas!}

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Click on the below image for 10 more desserts!

Filed Under: Top Ten Tuesday, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Slider Tagged With: , ,

DIY Valentines {10 Ideas}

January 21, 2012 by 10 Comments

Want to make Valentines this year instead of buying them? Check out these ideas found around the web!

{Click on pictures for directions}

Crayon Valentines

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Pirate Valentines

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Fishy Valentines

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Lollipop Valentines

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“I Dig You” Valentines

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Rockin’ Valentines

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Magnifying Glass Valentines

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Mustaches!

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“Make Your Own Paper” Valentines

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Glow Stick Valentines

Filed Under: Arts and Crafts, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Slider Tagged With: , ,

8 Wreaths For Valentine’s Day

January 8, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Time to start thinking about Valentine’s Day :) Enjoy this roundup of fabulous Valentine’s themed wreaths and click on the pictures to visit the sites they came from!

XO Wreath

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Heart Wreath

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Paper Heart Wreath

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Cockscomb Wreath

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Red, White, and Pink Wreath

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Button Wreath

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Valentine Book Wreath

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Double Heart Wreath

Filed Under: Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Slider Tagged With: , , ,

{Bloggers} Sign Up For The “Giveaway Love Is In The Air” Blog Event

November 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I’m joining in on another Valentine’s giveaway hop! This one is called “Giveaway Love Is In The Air” and is hosted by Matter of Cents and The Maven of Social Media. It runs from February 1-7th. All the prizes will be love/romance/relationship themed. You can find more information and how to join in here.

Filed Under: Giveaway Hop, Valentine's Day Tagged With: ,

{Bloggers} Sign Up For The All For Love Valentine’s Event

November 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I just signed up for the All For Love Valentine’s Event which is a giveaway hop event being hosted by Real Mom Reviews and Mama Chocolate. I love these types of events because they introduce our readers to new blogs and they can enter to win lots of amazing prizes. This hop runs from February 1-7, 2012 and all giveaways must have a value of $25 or more.

If you are a blogger and are interested in signing up for this giveaway hop you can visit Real Mom Reviews to learn more and sign up!

(Disclosure: I am posting to participate in this giveaway hop and want to spread the word so more blogs join in. All thoughts are my own.)

Filed Under: Giveaway Hop, Valentine's Day Tagged With: , ,