Wink, Wink

Somebody payed a little surprise(ish) visit to Columbus this past weekend! Spoiler Alert: It was me. I had an amazing time, and now that I finally have this handy, dandy iPhone, I am about to resume blogging in full force. Thank you, Instagram! So, a full post about my weekend will be forthcoming, but for now, here's a little tease... BAM! ...Yeah, I did that.

Magnetic Valentine by Laura Sanders and Cate Humpage

Be my BrightLine Valentine!

My new office was filled to the brim with Valentine spirit today! Actually, the entire city was... Everytime I stepped outside, I nearly got run down by five frantic delivery boys, heading towards their various recipients carrying flowers. Getting V-day gifts at work is clearly a thing here. Did you guys get any special deliveries today? My delivery must have just gotten lost in the city shuffle... Hah! Not likely. But the most delicious part of the day was when our office provided a whole table of heart-shaped cookies and all the decorating tools you could imagine; sprinkles, frosting, decorative tips, nonpareils, you name it! So of course we happily dove in and whipped up some of these spiffy creations for each other!

Top Front
A lovely honorable-mention-award-winning cookie by Kate
Left (Row 2)
A cookie I decorated for my desk-mate Amber
Right (Row 2)
"Love Bites." Another cookie by the Martha Stewart of BrightLine, Kate!
Right (Row 3)
A cookie I painstakingly decorated for Galina. But since I used "edible" spray paint, it ended up tasting a little toxic... Oops.
Bottom
The whole collection! Check out that Jenna Sais Quois inspired chevron masterpiece! Galina made that one for me, and I actually ate it, since it was sans spray paint. The middle cookie was one I made for Matt. He told me I single-handedly gave him diabetes. Um, can you say rude? Eh, he secretly loved every bite of it. And finally, the illustrative one on the bottom was depicting a wakeboarder for Jackie, who graduated with me from OSU design school, and put in a good word for me here at the new job! I'm happy to be here and eat cookies with my lovely new coworkers anyday, but especially on Valentine's day!

Good Old-Fashioned Romance

I never considered myself a hopeless romantic, but I watch way too many old movies to be anything else. It never occurred to me that this was completely skewing my mind to what modern romance was like. I realized yesterday, on Valentine's Day, that no matter how and when I find the man of my dreams, he won't be able to dance like Gene Kelly or sing like Frank Sinatra. He won't chase after me on a train, or kiss me in the Times Square wearing a sailor's uniform, or strike up the band to play our song. And our song will most definitely not be Time After Time, or You Belong To Me, or any of those wonderful songs my grandparents danced to.

Nobody ever threw rocks at my window, because they could just call my cellphone. Nobody ever wrote me a love letter, because they could just send me an e-mail. But, as God is my witness, when I really do fall in love, it may not look quite like this to everyone else, but these photos are how it will look to me. And we will still get to dance like crazy to this, so modern life does have it's perks...

Boy and Girl // photo

Falling in Love // photo

Men with Moves // photo

Now That's a Major Kiss // photo

Cut the Cake // photo

One Big Happy Family // Photo

Happily Ever After // photo

Valentine Love

Well, darlings, Valentine's Day has arrived! Today, I want to celebrate by showing you some of my favorite Valentine "pins" from Pinterest. You can follow me on Pinterest by clicking here! I already celebrated Saturday night, in "single gal about town" fashion, by putting on some bright red lipstick and systematically planting big cheek kisses on all of my friends throughout the night. Just a Jenna Sais Quois way of spreading the love...How are you planning on celebrating V-day?

Photo by emilycm

Photo from Seesaw

Photo from Green Wedding Shoes

Photo from Twig & Thistle

Photo from Snippet & Ink

Cocktail Hour: Berry Kiss

In honor of Valentine's Day I bring you a cocktail that is both romantic and sweet; The Berry Kiss. This is a recipe adapted from a popular UK cocktail called the Bramble. It's a delicious, light blend of Acai flavored vodka and simple syrup, mixed with some sparkling wine, blackberry jam and lemon juice for a fruity, fresh flavor you won't soon forget. Make this for your special someone this V-day and be sure to let me know how it turns out!

Be Mine, Valentine

What kind of Valentine's Day Reacter are you?

Do you like to wear red and pink? Or send funny valentines to people? Does your special somebody or other do something nice like bring you flowers? Do you go out with your girlfriends and get margaritas and just laugh and have a great time? Do you at least use it as an excuse to eat candy? I really hope so. Valentine's day has never been a holiday I really get into, but people who vehemently protest it just kind of bug me! Why not take a day, in the middle of the dreary winter, to just spread the love?

Everyone get's into the Christmas spirit by doing nice things for people, but nobody really thinks of V-day that way. That's why this year I am going to spend my Valentine's day smiling at strangers who look like their having a really terrible day, or holding the door for people, or letting a car or two pull out in front of me when I'm waiting to get out of the parking garage after work. I realize that it's a small step toward spreading the love, but that's why if those things aren't enough, I will still make sure to bring some candy.

Photo via Ruffled

The Smiths Valentines

I am giving you a sneak peak at a current project of mine...valentines with a touch of irony. As someone who has loved The Smiths since I was about fourteen years old, I know that nobody says "I love you" better than Morrissey. And there is definitely nobody who can say it in the most gloomy, sullen way possible. Thus bringing you, my new series of The Smiths-inspired valentines...with some song information on the back in case people haven't heard it before.

Note: These are probably for your single friends...Or your awesome friends...

Flower Power

After reading a very interesting Marie Claire article about what the flowers men give women really mean, I am left incredibly perplexed...The author, Rich Santos, lists different floral options and their alleged meanings followed by quippy or sarcastic descriptions of what your man is really thinking about you. Great idea in theory, but I really just don't think Rich Santos knows anything about it!

There is definitely some truth behind his theory that gifting red roses is both romantic and generic all in one neat package. I honestly think men (no offense, boys) have retained only a few theories about flowers in their lives, and the #1 is that red roses are always appropriate, if not preferred, on Valentine's Day. Every woman I know has gotten a dozen at some point in her life. They don't exactly tell you this guy really knows you, but he definitely knows enough about women to pick up a bouquet...so that's a step in the right direction, right? Maybe?

This brings me to the very first ever, and probably never to be repeated, Jenna Sais Quois Valentine's Day Flower Guide!

Peonies are my personal favorite flower, because they are pink, pretty, and big so you need less of them to make an impact.

Hydrangeas are another winner because they are a slightly more upscale, complex, and beautiful choice that says you know more about buying flowers than your girlfriend/wife/whoever ever thought.

Ranunculus are another exquisite flower because they are gorgeous, eccentric, and have many layers...probably like your girlfriend?

Dahlias are a flower that is so perfect, they almost can't be real. I don't know any other way to explain it other than if you show up with these flowers, she'll know that you did your research.

Peach Roses: Red ones have been done to death. Yellow might send the wrong message, if you buy into that sort of thing. But peach roses are soft, romantic, and subtle. They are the unsung hero of the Rose world, and my personal favorite type.

Finally, Daisies are a flower for a special kind of girl. She's unique, she's kind of hip, and she's probably someone who told you she didn't want flowers on Valentine's Day...But the secret is, nobody really opposes getting flowers in general. They just oppose getting cliched red roses, and/or the last minute grabs from the grocery store florist.


The expression "It's the thought that counts" means exactly as it reads. It's the thought. And yes, showing up with flowers in tow is always thoughtful, but a little extra thinking will go a long way this V-day. I promise.

My Foxy Valentines!

I know it's a day late, but I wish I could make all of you these treat bags and fill them with lovely goodies. Just wanted to say thanks for reading this little blog of mine, and whether you are single or coupled, I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day filled with many different kinds of love!

{Image from Paper Source}

For a how-to for this project, check out Paper Source! It will get you inspired for NEXT February!

Valentines for Kids

I am twenty-four, and ages away from being a mother, but this idea was so cute that I absolutely had to post it. It comes from Gabrielle Blair over at Design Mom, and she found it here. All you need is a bag of dumdums and a photo of your child making a fist, and you get these! The best part is that they are fairly easy to mass produce, since each class likely has over twenty children in it.

{Photos from Gabrielle Blair, Design Mom}

Salmon

I am really not in the Valentine spirit this year, but if I were, I thought these were cute! And eco-friendly as well.