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| craig & me on our wedding day - taken by m2 photography |
i give you my heart, fully open.
no strings attached -
unfettered and unencumbered,
vulnerable and fully surrendering.
i give you my heart, willingly.
no expectations –
free of walls or rigidity,
boundless and endless.
i give you my heart, my love.
nothing held back –
all things for you,
all thoughts of you.
my heart is yours.
(one guess who i wrote that for. happy valentine's day, baby!)
happy <3 day, mavens!
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| picture credit {here} |
"my ideal vday would be with the boy that i like...so middle school! but i've always had fun valentine's days with my friends. we cook fun meals together and write love notes. what could be better?"
-brenna
"for valentine's day this year we're planning on museum-hopping in philly and then grabbing a pint at an irish pub that just opened up in my hometown. to say i cannot WAIT would be a vast understatement."
-melissa
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| pizza & wine <3 |
"i love dates with my husband. we have a tandem bicycle and my favorite is our standing year round saturday date (rainy days excepted) where we head south along the coast and after about 15 miles or so stop for brunch and then head back home. so important to still date your spouse!"
-jermaine
"i think i'm going to make fondue for my valentine's day date this year : )"
-megan
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| melted chocolate...yum! |
"i think my favourite would be a day date if you have somewhere nice to wander around. i live in saudi arabia as an expat and it's quite restrictive here, so when my hubs and i manage to get out of here, it's quite a treat to have a wander around somewhere new and just take our time, taking it all in."
-robyn
"an ideal date for us is a nice dinner out, with tropical cocktails then a movie and some cuddles on the couch!"
-stylish
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| homemade pizza |
what did i do?
“valentine’s was spent in our pjs, lounging on the couch with olive, watching jeopardy & the bachelor. for our meal, craig and i enjoyed homemade (heart-shaped) pizza & red wine and for dessert, hand-dipped chocolate covered strawberries…and chocolate covered oreos.”
-cailen, for the recipes click {here}
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| dessert! |
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| isn't olive the cutest?!! |
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| picture credit {here} |
ever since we started dating, our “date-night-in” default has been pizza & wine. it’s become such a tradition that craig and i have developed pizza & wine telepathy. we can just glance in each other’s direction, and we’ll simultaneously blurt out “pizza and wine tonight?”. we sometimes go for gourmet, homemade pies…sometimes for papa john’s. either way, it’s the perfect date-night-in menu. so when it came to our february 14th meal, i couldn’t think of anything more us. i mean really, what could be better than a homemade (possibly heart-shaped) pizza and a bottle of red, white, rosé or bubbly (whatever your preference) to make it extra special?!
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| picture credit {here} |
preheat oven to 425
place dough on oiled (and “cornmealed”, optional) baking sheet or pizza stone and spread to desired thickness/shape
arrange toppings (the more, the better : )
drizzle with olive oil. sprinkle with salt and pepper.
bake for 20 or minutes until golden brown and bubbly
sprinkle with fresh herbs
allow to cool for a few minutes before cutting (or eating!)
dessert – chocolate-covered strawberries
melt chocolate over double-boiler (i.e. a glass or ceramic bowl over a pot ½ full of slow boiling water)
dip fresh strawberries (cover generously : ) you can also dip banana chucks, apples, pineapple, marshmallows, graham crackers, cookies, brownies, rice krispies treats, spoons, fingers
place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper
allow to cool in fridge for an hour or so (make no more than 2-3 days in advance)
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| picture credit {here} |
drink – red wine
buy
chill for just 20 min prior to drinking to bring down temp slightly
uncork
drink
and remember, don’t worry if your pizza’s not perfect. ugly pizza tastes just as good : ) happy {heart} day!
so, are you red, white, rosé or bubbly?
and congratulations to karina cifuentes!!! the winner of the raymer’s gourmet chocolate giveaway! <3
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| picture credit {here} |
question of the month: what's your ideal valentine's day? romantic dinner for two? homecooked meal? boy-bashing with your girls?.....