Now that Valentine’s Day is a week away, I’m going to continue with the Valentine’s Day theme and share a few finds that I have been loving lately. All of these would make fun and unique Valentine’s Day gifts that are not your typical chocolate this and candy that (though there are a couple of chocolate recipes). I don’t usually do these types of posts, but it seemed like a good way to round up everything that has been going on this month.
One ♥
The first thing we have been enjoying lately are these chocolate zucchini mini muffins:
I used this recipe for chocolate zucchini bread to make the muffins. Although the recipe is for bread, you can make 48 mini muffins by putting the batter in two mini muffin pans and baking them for 12-15 minutes. With all of the butter and brown sugar in them, the muffins are not “healthy” by any means. But they’re delicious, the kids eat them, and they’re probably better for you than a donut. Highly recommend!
Two ♥
This berry box from Target is the next item on my favorites list:
I’m typically not a fan of single-use kitchen gadgets, but the Type A person in me really likes this produce bin. We have been buying fresh blueberries, strawberries and grapes every weekend, and I stick them in this box for the rest of the week.
I prep the strawberries by cutting off the tops. But I do not rinse any of the fruit ahead of time. The berry box has a built-in strainer with a divider that you can move around, so you can rinse and strain the berries as needed. I also feel like the strainer provides good air circulation while the berries are being stored in the refrigerator. I’ve used mine every week for about two months now and have been happy with the convenience factor and the freshness of the berries.
It would make a really cute Valentine’s Day gift for a friend or teacher if you fill it with berries ahead of time. Or make a little gift “basket” by filling the bin with colorful shredded paper filler and the berries in their original packaging. And then tie everything up with a red bow.
Three ♥
More on point for Valentine’s Day, Target has the cutest Valentine’s outfits for girls right now.
I bought this dress for The Dot and also this shirt and cream pants. I’ve have my eye on this dress too but feel I may have too many red outfits for a purple-loving girl.
Four ♥
And my third love brings me to my new obsession: printable clothes patterns from Etsy and online. I made these scalloped shorts for The Dot last weekend and added rick rack trimmed pockets to the back:
I love the red for Valentine’s Day, but she’s insisting I made her a purple pair of shorts.
In addition to the shorts, I made these cute little pants and bow headbands for the new baby on the way:
Homemade Valentine’s Day themed clothes would be such a fun and special gift to a mother or expecting mother. I am not an experienced sewer by any means, and this was my first attempt making pants and shorts. The patterns and instructions are incredibly easy to follow. Plus the best part about modern day patterns is that the creator usually has a YouTube video instructional to go along with them.
It’s a good thing my project time is limited because I could get slightly out of control buying fabric and making clothes. I may need a Hobby Lobby intervention.
Five ♥
Going back to chocolate real quick, the kids and I had a ton of fun making these simple cake pops out of oreo cookies.
We made the cake pop base and then coated them with a homemade chocolate coating (my kids aren’t a fan of candy melts). To make the chocolate coating, I poured boiling water into a large metal bowl and then set a smaller bowl on top of it. I added 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips plus 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon of shortening to the smaller bowl and mixed the two ingredients together until the chocolate was smooth.
Then we spooned the melted chocolate over the cake pops and decorated them with heart-shaped sprinkles. We let our cake pops dry on a sheet of parchment paper, but you can also invert the lollipops on a thick piece of foam to maintain the sphere shape.
The best thing about this recipe is that it saves us TONS of money at Starbucks. Mr. L and I don’t have a Starbucks “habit,” but the kids do! Every time they see a Starbucks they ask for cake pops. Now when we go on walks around our favorite outdoor park/shopping center, I can bring our homemade cake pops instead. I freeze them in ziplock freezer bags and pull them the night before so they can warm up to room temperature. I’m pretty sure Starbucks does the same thing too.
Six ♥
These fun hanging heart swirl decorations from Amazon (linked here).
My aunt sent them to us as a gift, and they add so much cheer to our home. The kids helped put them together and love walking down the hallway and looking up at them. As my aunt said, all of the streamers look like a forest of hearts. I couldn’t agree more!
Seven ♥
And finally: these heart stamps from the post office.
I mentioned the stamps in my post last week about our Valentine’s Card decorating party. The stamps are so stinking cute on the envelope and are actually a great gift idea for a friend or family member.
When I was in high school and college, my mom would give my sister and me stamps as little presents. Not only were they pretty, but they encouraged us to write thank you notes for the rest of the year.
Eight ♥
This isn’t really an official Valentine’s Day “find,” but I wanted to say how much I appreciate everyone who has been reading my blog. It really does mean a lot to me. Whether it’s an email, a “like,” or a comment, thank you so much for the support.
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