I’m taking a quick little break from packing to wish you all a beautiful and very Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you get something sweet!

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When I was little, my dad would leave a little treat for my sister and me at the breakfast table every Valentine’s Day morning. We were always so excited to see what was waiting for us!

Here are two super cute ideas for your own little Valentine surprises:  A pretty straw tutorial from A Field Journal. Perfect for serving with your sweetie’s favorite drink! I would vote for a blood orange italian soda.

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I think Valentine’s Day is such a nice time to send a little love and even a little treat to the special people in our lives. Here are two little gift guides I put together, one for him and one for her:

pretty things for her

marshmallow hearts by whimsy and spice, necklace by corrie berry pie, bobby pin by lara lewis, garland by kristina marie, and cute fox by sleepy king

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February is here at last!  It’s so chilly out and even snowy still, the prefect time for curling up with a favorite book and sipping hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows. I think it’s going to be a beautiful month!

pretty photo via dayataglance

I hope your February is full of treats and pretty things!

My goodness, it’s been so quiet around here!  I think I’m slowly emerging from the holiday fog of cookies and long “catch up” conversations with family and friends. A few days ago we drove up to Big Bear Lake (I worked at a camp there one summer).  It’s the most adorable mountain town and I was so excited to see it with a little snow. I mostly shot with our Holga before switching to our Nikon D80.

the partially frozen lake

The lake was just a bit frozen and so lovely!

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I loved seeing all my Twitter friends posting photos of their favorite Christmas gifts. I kept checking in Christmas day to see who was rejoicing over what. This year my hands-down-best-gift-ever was the adorable Fuji Instax mini (and tons of film!) that Joel gave me.  It’s so cute!

love

What was your favorite gift?  Did you get a photo of it?  Post a link in the comments if you want to play along!

We’ve been having the most wonderful, relaxing holiday.  Reading by the fire and laughing with family and friends over hot cocoa. There’s nothing quite like knitting by the tree and watching a Christmas movie!

deck the halls

(carol garland) (yarn tree tutorial)

Congratulations to Vanessa, the winner of The Cupcake Mint giveaway!

Only three days ’til Christmas! I hope you’re having lovely days filled with family and cookies and maybe some Christmas movie watching!  I’m working on a small pile of presents waiting to be wrapped and ribboned. And we’re watching White Christmas, one of my favorites! How are your preparations going?

pretty photo by paperNstitch

Congratulations to Courtney, the winner of the katevw giveaway! If you didn’t win, don’t worry you still have a few days to enter The Cupcake Mint giveaway!

Today we’re leaving snowy Illinois to spend Christmas on the west coast with Joel’s family. It’s going to be lovely and sunny so here’s one last look at some wintery Christmastime magic:

a white christmas

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Is it snowing where you are?

Warning this post might make you dream of sugarplums! Because The Cupcake Mint is probably one of the most delicious shop on Etsy. I especially love all the Christmasy sweets that Shannon has in the shop right now!

Shannon and her sweet creations

Q. Could you tell us a little about yourself?
Oh hello there, my name is Shannon. I’m a cute happy vegan full of energy and love for all things beautiful and delicious. I’m continuously curious about the world around me and consider myself an explorer of the world, the mind, your backyard, you name it, just about anything fascinates me. I work non stop, I might even work in my sleep! Now only if I could bake in my sleep.. wait that might be dangerous.. nevermind!

beautiful winter treats

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