Happy Valentine's Day

For Valentine's Day, Wyatt made me a charcuterie board! He researched what cheeses and meats that I could have and made a trip to Indy to pick up the goods from a local place, Smoking Goose. We did heat up my meat prior to me eating but this was nitrate and nitrite free unlike most of the meats we'd typically pick up from the grocery store for these. 

I gave Wyatt a Newcastle United themed gift with some pretty cute things for little miss to start learning all about the Premier League with her dad. It was so cute. I can't wait to see her in it and watch the two of them bond over it someday. 

Valentine's Day Charcuterie & Cheese Board

We decided to stay in for Valentine's Day again this year. We had some big purchases already this year and decided we'd just cook dinner and have a charcuterie and cheese board at home for a relaxing night at home.  I also made a little sweets board for us too.

I started by picking out a few cheeses to include on it.  Our favorite is Port Salut so I started with that and then grabbed an herb goat cheese that looked good and rounded it out by using some mini babybel cheese because they come in a fun red wax.  I had intended on creating an 'X' and 'O' in the wax but decided to just stick with 'X's as time was an issue for me. Once I had a few cheeses selected, I needed a couple of types of meat for the board. I kept it simple and bought prosciutto and some pre-sliced hard salami.  I added some berries, pickles, mustard, and crackers.  Wyatt was at a local bread shop that day for lunch and picked up a couple of their soft pretzels to add to the board too. It was the perfect little combination of food.

For the sweets, I wanted to stay on theme with Valentine's Day as much as possible.  I knew I wanted strawberry wafers because not only do I like them, they are pink and perfect for the theme.  It was actually difficult to find pink strawberry wafers but I snagged a small package at the gas station when I got gas that week. I also knew I had to get conversation hearts to add to it.  I found some heart shaped chocolate truffles and some salted caramel bites at Aldi that I snagged just for this.  I completed the sweets by added some strawberry fruit leathers and Reese's hearts!  Wyatt also bought me some cherry cordials from a local candy shop for Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope everyone has a wonderful day filled with love.  Wyatt is whisking me off on another Valentine's Day/Birthday vacation (last year we went to Cleveland and Buffalo!) so I planned a special night for him last weekend.  Unfortunately, I was feeling a bit under the weather so we took a rain check on the takeout from one of our favorite ethnic restaurants in town.  My plan for the night used some of the tips from my post last week on Valentine's that were not your standard flowers, candy, and dinner out.  I created an itinerary for the evening using the graphics I created a couple of years ago. There were 4 stages to what I had planned for us but due to not feeling the best, we ended up not really completing much.    I did however make us those strawberry moscow mules that I shared the link to last week complete with heart strawberries! It seems like every few years I am sick on or around Valentine's Day/my birthday.  I've learned I have to go with the flow (even if I do apologize profusely at the time). We'll have to have a post-valentine's day date in sometime in the near future and follow the itinerary completely.

ACD Freebie: Valentine's Day

With Valentine's Day next week, I'm linking up to my Valentine's Day freebie from two years ago! Because who doesn't love donuts!?  Enjoy.

Not Your Standard Valentine's Day Date Ideas

Valentin'es Day is just around the corner.  I wanted to share a couple of ideas for things to do with your special someone.  This is a holiday that is largely commercialized and some don't see the point in spending hundreds of dollars just to say I love you.  With my birthday being two days after Valentine's I've never been one to make a huge fuss over it.  I tend to be more of a homebody and would rather stay in than fight the masses when it comes to Valentine's Day.  With that being said, I am sharing some ideas of how to make the day special and let your loved ones know how loved they are without breaking the bank and going to extravagant measures.

Date Night In

Instead of fighting for a table on Valentine's Day, why not make dinner together and recreate your favorite foods from your go-to date night restaurants?  You can search for recipes, grocery shop together, and cook together.  Or you can put one of you in charge or the main course and one in charge of sides or desserts.  We've enjoyed cooking for and with each other in the past for Valentine's Day.  

Another take on date night in can be cocktails and dancing in your living room.  Be sure to make a playlist and stock up on your favorite drinks. Here's a strawberry Moscow mule recipe that would be perfect.

You can always rent a movie or cue up the Netflix after dinner and snuggle up with some popcorn and candy to round out your night in with your loved one.

Activity Date

Instead of going out to some fancy dinner and gifting each other with expensive gifts, why not change it up a little bit and go to a wine and canvas class or a cooking class.  Just get out there and do something together.  You could be bowling or making pottery.  Each of you could pick out one activity you enjoy doing or have always wanted to try and you can sign up for a class of each.

Get Creative

Instead of stressing about what the perfect gift is for your loved one, why not agree to exchange handmade gifts.  These gifts can be anything from letters to cookies to artwork to furniture if you're so inclined.  The bottom line is to use your creativity to express your love for someone.  Think outside of the box.  The time and effort put into making something already conveys your love, but creating something that is meaningful to your loved one shows your thoughtfulness.  

And in the end maybe you'd prefer the traditional flowers, candy, and a nice date out.  That is always fun too.  Just remember to celebrate your love for one another and plan ahead! 

Valentine's/Birthday Getaway

A couple weeks ago Wyatt asked if I could take off a day before or after Valentine's weekend so we could go on a little trip for Valentine's Day and my birthday.  I cleared my vacation time with my work but Wyatt wouldn't tell me anything about what he had planned.  He did tell me that I should pack my boots and lots of layers.  I can't believe that he even actually told me to over pack!  Thursday he texted me while at work and told me to pick one and follow the directions when I got home on my lunch break.  When I arrived home, I found this waiting on me. 

  

I punched my ticket to go east.  Much to my dismay, Wyatt still didn't tell me where we were going.  We already had plans to go to breakfast with Wyatt's Pa for his birthday on Friday morning.  After breakfast, Wyatt finally told me where we would be heading for the weekend.  I had assumed we'd be going to Bloomington or somewhere close, but I found out he was taking me to Cleveland and Buffalo.  For the girl with constant wanderlust, he found the perfect gift.  He gave me a letter that outlined all of our plans including our dinner reservations in each city about 20 minutes before we hit the road.  We made our way to Cleveland and had dinner at the Greenhouse Tavern.  We ordered the crispy chicken wings confit with roasted jalapeno, lemon juice, scallion, and garlic.  They were amazing!  I got a burger and Wyatt had fish.  It was a cute little place with excellent food. 

The next day we got up and went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I had a blast there and could easily go back and spend several more hours there.  My favorite part of the museum was the Herb Ritts photography exhibit.  We had lunch at the cafe there and then made out way further east to Buffalo, NY that afternoon.

Artsy has a page dedicated to Herb Ritts.  If you are interested in finding more out about him or to find other similar artists go have a look.  You won't be disappointed.

For dinner in Buffalo, Wyatt made us reservations at Coco Bistro.  It was so cute and we felt like the menu was similar to our favorite place here in Lafayette (the Black Sparrow).  I got the penne arrabbiata and Wyatt the Italian pizza.  Both were delicious.  We both also got a Montmartre drink which a play on an Old Fashioned with pear.

After dinner we drove up to Niagra Falls.  I wasn't dressed appropriately to get out for any length of time, but Wyatt did venture from the parking to catch a glimpse of the Falls at night.  We spent the night in a B &B in Buffalo.  After having breakfast the next day, we drove back up to Niagra Falls.  This time I was prepared with plenty of layers to keep me warm.  After Niagra Falls, we hit the long road back to Lafayette.  It was a long day in the car with mostly good weather until we were almost back to Indiana.  Even with snow, the roads were luckily not too bad.  It was a fun and unexpected weekend trip.  Wyatt did such a good job at surprising me, planning the trip, and driving!

#ootd for a weekend getaway.  I loved all my outfits!
Ps. The outfit on the right was my layered outfit. I had on so many layers!