I think the first year we did this my husband was working and I wanted something fun to do with the girls.  I thought of the idea for a fun tea party.  My mom joined us and we also wore Valentine’s pj’s.  The tradition has just kind of stuck through the years, whether my husband is home or not,…but we are not always in pj’s.

Lots of whites with a few pops of pink complete the space!

The three heart plates that are in the middle of the table I have had for years, but the cute little hearts at every place setting were a fun find this year!

What are your favorite Valentine’s Day traditions??

XOXO

JEN

Affiliate links (Amazon) are included for some of the items below for your convenience.  If you click on a link and make a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my disclosure here.

shop this look…..

White plates

small heart plates

table runner

white pitcher

VALENTINE’S DAY TABLE

for our yearly fondue party!

Do you like decorating for Valentine’s Day?  I always love changing up my decor…it keeps things fresh with every holiday or season change.  I find that it definitely keeps time from dragging on because I constantly have something fresh to look forward to even if it’s just moving things around!

I found these adorable signs from Ebenezer Market and I thought they would be perfect to complete the look on my mantel!

I added a simple heart garland from the Target dollar spot to complete the look.  The garland is actually sold as gift tags for $1.  Can’t beat that!

Here are a few more shots of the room.

I’m so excited to have teamed up with Ebenezer Market and she is offering all my readers 10% off your purchase at check out with code Jen10!!  She not only has the cutest Valentine’s Day signs but other really cute signs as well!

I think this Valentine Rosette Wreath turned out super cute but I have to say that it definitely was time-consuming!  I thought it would move a little faster than it did but once I started I realized that might not be the case.  I just slowly worked on it for about 3 weeks and I kept going until my felt ran out!! 

If you have a show you are binge watching on Netflix or something, or someone to help you, then it might be something you wouldn’t mind taking on!  For me it definitely wasn’t a weekend craft though!  I got the idea from Our Best Bites and you can find all the details there!  

My next Valentine craft was these cute little heart pillows that I sewed together from Target dollar section place mats!  This was much simpler and if you have a sewing machine it would be even faster!

I actually have a sewing machine that I don’t know how to use, totally motivated to learn now, so I just did mine by hand.  I pinned them together and then sewed all the way around on top of the other seam already on the place mat, leaving enough space open to stuff it.  

I filled it with poly-fil that I bought at Hobby Lobby. 

Once your pillow is stuffed just sew up your opening. 

And then you have cute little heart pillows for super cheap!  You might even be able to find some of these place mats still hanging around the dollar section!

That was it for my Valentine crafts but here are a few more pictures of my Valentine decorated home!  

Here are a few more Valentine posts you might enjoy! Have a wonderful weekend!

Heart Shaped Breakfast Sandwiches

Valentine’s Day Tea and Fondue Party

Valentine’s Day Snack Mix

You’ve Got Mail…

A few years back I bought them, 1. because my kids wanted them so bad, and 2. because I thought it would be fun to encourage them to leave each other cute little notes or treats.  Spreading the love right?!?!  We made a cute little craft project out of it too.  We bought a bunch of fun Valentine’s Day stickers for them to use to decorate and make their box their own, and then I wrote each of their names on the sides of the boxes with a black Sharpie.  

Next to the boxes I like to leave a little stack of heart shaped paper and a pencil for them to use for their “notes”.  The littles will just scribble or leave a random toy in there but that is okay!  They all just love when they see the little “you’ve got mail” flag up on their box.  Sometimes mom or dad will leave an M & M in there too and that is always a big hit!  

This is so simple and easy but something my kids look forward to every year!  I purchased the mailboxes at Target in the dollar section but I saw them at Walmart last weekend too!  

I would love if you would join my Friday Link-Up Party!

I thought this would be fun to have out on Valentine’s Day.  There is still time to grab what you need at the store.  It is super simple to make!  Here is what you need: 

Here is a closer look at the Kashi Heart to Heart Oat Cereal.  Like I said I found it at Target.  I’m sure they sell it at other stores too.  

In a large bowl measure out your Rice Chex Cereal.  In a small microwavable bowl add the white chocolate chips, peanut butter, butter, and vanilla.  Microwave it for 1-1 1/2 minutes stirring every 30 seconds until melted.

Pour the chocolate peanut butter mixture over the Rice Chex and stir until evenly coated.  

Place the Rice Chex mixture in a 1-gallon food storage plastic bag.  Add the powdered sugar, seal the bag, and then shake until well coated.  Let that sit aside for a few minutes.  Next, in another large bowl, or clean out the one you were using, add your Kashi Heart to Heart Oat Cereal, Valentine M&M’s, and Valentine sprinkles.  

The Valentine M&M’s mix is perfect for this!  I also found these at Target.

Add your Rice Chex mixture back into the bowl and stir it all up.  

I thought it would be fun to put some of this in little treat bags for friends and neighbors.  I found these cute treat bag toppers at Echoes of Laughter.  They worked great right over the little snack size baggies I already had.  I just printed them out on card stock and then used my paper-cutter to quickly cut them out.  

I then folded in the sides of the bag to make them fit and stapled the topper on.

So yummy!  The kids, and me, gobbled it up!  I hope you all have a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Valentine's Day Snack Mix

 

Save Print

Prep time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

Author: A Fireman's Wife

Recipe type: Snack Mix

Ingredients

• 4½ cups Rice Chex Cereal
• ½ cup white chocolate chips
• ¼ cup peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons butter
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ⅔ cup powdered sugar
• 2 cups Kashi Heart to Heart Oat Cereal
• ½ cup (or more) M&M's Valentine mix
• 2 tablespoons Valentine's Day sprinkles

Instructions

1. In a large bowl measure out your Rice Chex Cereal.
2. In a small microwavable bowl add the white chocolate chips, peanut butter, butter, and vanilla. Microwave it for 1-1½ minutes stirring every 30 seconds until melted.
3. Pour the chocolate peanut butter mixture over the Rice Chex and stir until evenly coated.
4. Place the Rice Chex mixture in a 1-gallon food storage plastic bag. Add the powdered sugar, seal the bag, and then shake until well coated. Let that sit aside for a few minutes.
5. Next, in another large bowl, or clean out the one you were using, add your Kashi Heart to Heart Oat Cereal, Valentine M&M's, and Valentine sprinkles.
6. Add your Rice Chex mixture back into the bowl and stir it all up.

3.5.3226

This is a fun tradition I started several years back when I just had my two girls.  The Valentine’s Day I started this my Fireman was working so I wanted something to do with the girls that we could make into a fun tradition!  So the Valentine’s Day Tea and Fondue Party began!

I knew being a fireman’s wife that many years it would fall where my husband was working on Valentine’s Day.  I wanted to start something that we could do whether my husband was home or not.  Now all the kids look forward to this so much that we do this as a family even if my husband is home!  My fireman and I still like to go out, we just plan it for another night.  We like that better anyway not having the extra crowds or expense that comes from some restaurants when you try to go out on Valentine’s Day.

The first year I did this I wanted to include my mom and sister so I sent this cute invitation:

We did wear Valentine’s PJ’s that year and it was so fun!  Some years we still do that and some we don’t.  We did a cute little craft where the girls made little frames.  I put their little pictures in them from that night, and still put them out every year to remember how cute and little they were…sigh.  The years go way too fast!  We don’t always do a craft but wanted to suggest it as a fun idea.  When I have a new baby a craft doesn’t usually happen but if time permits the kids love it and it was super simple.  I think I picked the craft up from Target or JoAnn. 

Now to make this a “tea party”,  you must have the tea….and pink tea at that because it is Valentine’s Day!  I say “tea” loosely because we actually use pink lemonade as our pink tea!  My kids aren’t actually big on tea so this works perfect for us.  Then I searched around for a cute heart tea-pot so we could be “fancy” and pour our tea.  I found this tea-pot on eBay.  

For the fondue I usually just melt semi-sweet chocolate chips.  For the first several years I had a small white fondue pot that was just kept warm with a tea light.  Last year we had an electric fondue pot that worked great!  My daughter had wanted a fondue birthday party the month before so I had bought a good one for the party.  It melted the chocolate so fast and I definitely recommend that one!  You do have to be able to plug it in so that could be the only downfall.  I always put out strawberries, bananas, pound cake, marshmallows, and sometimes pineapple to dip in the chocolate.  The fun heart shaped bowls were from Crate & Barrel.  

For the food I like to keep it simple, because to be honest we mainly want to pig out on the fondue!  I have done heart shaped grilled cheese or heart shaped sandwiches, heart shaped cucumbers, heart shaped pizza, lavash, or just a cheese and cracker tray for a busy baby year!  Awhile back I invested in a pack of multi size heart cookie cutters and they have come in handy several times.  These are not the exact cookie cutters I have but very similar in the look and sizes.

I hope this gives you some fun ideas if you want to have a stay at home Valentine’s Day with your family!  After the tea party it’s fun to end it with family game night!

Happy February!  Wow, it seems like I just packed up Christmas stuff and now we are already here!  Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching so I thought it would be fun on this outfit post to feature my new Rose Heart Valentine’s leggings I got from LulaRoe.  I don’t sell LulaRoe, but I had fun looking at all the cute Valentine’s styles they offer.  This is my first pair of LulaRoe leggings and they are so soft and comfortable.

I happened to have this shirt in my closet that matched the leggings perfectly!  I wore a tank top underneath to bring up the neck line.  I love wearing a tank top under most shirts because 1.) It can make the shirt more modest, and 2.) I love the pop of color it can add to the top and bottom of my shirts, especially when wearing jean or denim on the bottom.  For my shoes I literally pulled these out of the way back of my closet.  I honestly can’t even remember where I got them!  I usually tend to wear a higher boot with a knee length denim skirt, but that would have covered up my leggings too much…and that just wouldn’t do!

I love this denim skirt from Kosher Casual.  It can be so hard to find a great denim skirt but I have really liked this one.  I love how it is knee length, with no slit in the back, and it has a soft stretchy waistband.

The Rose bobby pin is from Lilla Rose.  I thought it would go perfect with my Rose Heart Leggings.  These are the only bobby pins I use because they are so sturdy and don’t slip out of my hair.

What I Wore

Shirt: Limited

Tank Top: ThredUp (sign up as a new customer under me and get $10 off your first order)

Skirt: Kosher Casual

Leggings: LulaRoe

Boots:  Sorry can’t remember, but here are some just like it on ThredUp!

Sunglasses: T.J. Maxx

Bobby Pin: Lilla Rose

For these sandwiches I used breakfast sausage, eggs, cheese, and for the dough I used Pillsbury Crescent Dough Sheets.

For the amount of egg and sausage mixture I used I bought 8 rolls of the Crescent Dough Sheets.  I know that sounds like a lot but each pack only makes about 3 sandwiches with the size of heart cookie cutter I was using.  My cookie cutter was about 4 inches across.  Of course you could try to re-roll your excess dough to possibly get more sandwiches out of each dough sheet but I am not sure how well that would work.

So first you will want to cook up your breakfast sausage.

Then whisk up your eggs and pour them into a separate skillet over medium to medium low heat.  Then using a rubber spatula constantly scrape the sides of your pan until they are nice and fluffy.

Turn off the heat and add your sausage to the eggs and stir it all up.

Next grate your cheese and preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Now it is time to prepare your dough.  Open up the first can of crescent rolls and then roll it out on a cookie sheet.  I just used my hands to spread it out all even into a nice rectangle and pinch together any holes that were in the dough.  Next take your heart shaped cookie cutter and cut out six heart shapes.

Then remove your excess dough from around the hearts.  Use a small knife if needed to help separate the outside dough from the hearts.

Then I actually transferred 3 of the hearts to another cookie sheet that I was going to bake them on before I added the filling, this way I could save the first cookie sheet for the next batch of dough.  Then fill the 3 hearts that your moved with about 1/4 cup of your sausage/egg mixture.

Top with about a tablespoon or two of cheese.

Next cover those hearts with your other 3 remaining hearts to make the top of your sandwich.

Pull it around as best you can over the filling and then crimp the sides all around with a fork so it will stay together.

After those three hearts are done roll out another dough sheet on your first cookie sheet and continue the steps of cutting out your hearts and adding the filling.  When your cookie sheet with the completed hearts is filled up put them in the oven for 10 minutes and then turn them over and cook for about 4 more minutes to make sure they are all done on the bottom.  Continue this process until all your hearts are made!

You could probably even make these up a day or two before and then reheat them on Valentine’s Day morning!  I hope you enjoy.  Here is the printable recipe!

Love,

A Fireman’s Wife

Heart Shaped Breakfast Sandwiches

 

Save Print

Prep time

1 hour

Cook time

14 mins

Total time

1 hour 14 mins

 

These will make a fun addition to your Valentine's Day breakfast!

Author: A Fireman's Wife

Recipe type: Breakfast Sandwiches

Serves: 24

Ingredients

• 1 pound regular breakfast sausage
• 12 eggs
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 8 rolls of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
• Approximately 4 inch heart cookie cutter

Instructions

1. In a skillet cook up your breakfast sausage and set aside.
2. In a large bowl whisk up your eggs and then pour them into another skillet over medium to medium low heat.
3. Using a rubber spatula constantly scrape the sides of your pan until the eggs are nice and fluffy.
4. Turn off your heat and then add your sausage to the eggs and stir them all up.
5. Grate your cheese.
6. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
7. To prepare your dough open up the first can of crescent rolls and then roll it out on a cookie sheet. I just used my hands to spread it out all even into a nice rectangle and pinch together any holes that were in the dough.
8. Next take your heart shaped cookie cutter and cut out six heart shapes.
9. Remove your excess dough from around the hearts. Use a small knife if needed to help separate the outside dough from the hearts.
10. Then I actually transferred 3 of the hearts to another cookie sheet that I was going to bake them on before I added the filling, this way I could save the first cookie sheet for the next batch of dough. Then fill the 3 hearts that your moved with about ¼ cup of your sausage/egg mixture.
11. Top with 1-2 tablespoons cheese.
12. Cover those hearts with your other 3 remaining hearts to make the tops of your sandwiches.
13. Pull the top dough around as best you can over the filling and then crimp the sides all around with a fork so it will stay together.
14. After those three hearts are done roll out another dough sheet on your first cookie sheet and continue the steps of cutting out your hearts and adding the filling.
15. When your cookie sheet with the completed hearts is filled up, put them in the oven for 10 minutes and then turn them over and cook for about 4 more minutes to make sure they are all done on the bottom.
16. Continue this process until all your hearts are made!

3.5.3226