A Valentine Just for You

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all! Trying to be more eco-friendly and going digital with my greetings whenever I can, despite the fact that I sell paper!

Had an low-key, uneventful Valentine's Day with my kids and hubby. It feels kind of strange on a Sunday! Dylan built new shelves for our kitchen pantry today--the best Valentine's gift ever! I requested them just a week ago! Excellent storage for my ever-growing stash of cake decorating supplies.

Another gift from our friends Genevieve and Robert--the girls are gone tonight through tomorrow afternoon at a sleepover at their house! They wanted to give me time to rest and relax. So thoughtful!

I hope everyone had a bit of peace and relaxation today and lots of love!

LAYOUT CREDITS:Scraplift of 'A Day to Remember' by Lea L. on Two Peas in a Bucket; All papers: Creative Memories ''Sending Love' and 'Delight Fashion Diva' kits; Embellishments (some recolored): Creative Memories 'Freebies', DSP 'Angel Whispers 2' page kit by Nicole Young, C Smith, Scrap Girls 'With Love' by Brandy Murry, Scrap Girls 'Calendar Year Brush Set 2010' by Brandie Valenzuela; Fonts: 1942 Report by Johan Holmdahl, 2 Peas Billboard by Melissa Baxter for Two Peas in a Bucket

Valentine {Retail} Love

And just like that, another week or so goes by without any blogging! But I really have a good excuse this time--hospital stay and recovery time! I had my surgery (appendectomy and hysteroscopy) on Monday, was released on Tuesday and now slowly getting back to my regular self. Prior to the surgery, I had a few days of annoying, required pre-op tests and "prep." Thus, these procedures have consumed my life for several weeks already!

So now I am confined to bed/couch this week with no heavy lifting or driving allowed per doctor's orders. Ha! Just moving from room to room is a monumental effort, forget doing anything else. Here's the thing about recovering from abdominal-area surgery: bending, walking and sitting, which usually require no thought whatsoever, must be done very, very carefully. Even breathing is a bit more labored, post-surgery. I also have a fancy breathing tube to practice deep breathing again. In any case, it's nice to be back in my own home again and surrounded by my favorite people and things.



Today is my book review day, but not having finished any good books since last week (although I did bring them to the hospital), I will just pick up blogging with some retail love in honor of upcoming Valentine's Day. Have you seen the Paperchase line of paper and gifts at Borders? Paperchase is a UK company, but you can find their stuff stateside at Borders book store, sometimes on sale. On Saturday, Dylan treated me to an early Valentine's Day date night, and after dinner we browsed Borders. They had a whole display of Paperchase Valentine products for 40% off! Although my favorite find was a set of pink and red heart-shaped plastic chopsticks (no pic available), here are some other too-cute things they had:

Vintage LOVE design tealight holder

Heart key caps

Vintage LOVE design mug

If you're lucky enough to be over the pond, you can buy their stuff from Amazon.uk too. Otherwise, a stroll through Borders can turn up some of their adorable designs. I also scored some whimsical plastic heart-shaped champagne flutes (sorry no pics yet) for my kids; they'll be charmed, I'm sure!

A Rotic Invitation

Happy Valentine's Day, 3 days late! I never thought I'd say this, but I am heartily sick of chocolate, candy, cookies, and other sweets from this past holiday. Ugh.

Last Thursday I picked up a flyer at Nordstrom's shoe department, where I treated myself to some cute pre-spring shoes in honor of Valentine's day (yes, any excuse will do). The flyer was an invitation to a shopping event at Nordstrom on Valentine's Day:

Join us for a "Rotic" Evening
What's Rotic? It's Romantic without the man!! Do you have plans? If not join the gals for a night of shopping!! Enjoy treats & a movie while shopping the latest trends!!

At first glance, I thought I was reading the word "erotic"! But instead "Romantic without the man"! I love it! As it turns out, I've had a standing "date" on Valentine's Day now for over 17 years, but if I didn't, I would have been at the Rotic event in a heartbeat. A shopping party! Seriously, who needs a man when there's shopping to be done?!

Valentine's Day is a fun holiday for kids--valentines and treats for everyone, no one gets their feelings hurt anymore. But no so for grown-ups, especially those who are still looking for their one and onlies. I'd be lying if I said I'd never been disappointed on a Valentine's Day. But then again, it's just a day.

In fact, I may be the first one in line at the next Rotic Valentine event.