Happy Valentine's Day!

Funny thing about this pandemic. Every week seems so like the last week that you find yourself celebrating things that you never considered celebrating before. The continuous state of Groundhog's Day needs a little breaking up. So, Happy Valentine's Day!

I don't think I even shared our very first adult Christmas tree. It was necessary to get some cheer since traveling was completely out of the question this December. I never expected to celebrate in my own house on my own terms. 

We kept it up from November 28 until last weekend, February 6. The tree brought so much joy to all, including the cat! I definitely missed family, but the tree and celebrating at home was phenomenal in its own right. 

 

A friend sent me a sweet note, reminding me that I should also write more cards with lovely messages to lift up my friends. 

I made these little hearts with THIS pattern and some scraps from a recent project. One heart took about an hour. making these on a assembly line would make the process even faster.

Valentine's Day is not complete without special food. In this case I made quasi-heart-shaped pretzels for lunch. Fresh out of the oven, they were well-received!

The recipe is from the Smitten Kitchen blog, appropriately enough. I used the easy baking soda bath before baking. Caution: the baking soda REALLY bubbles up when you add it to the boiling water. Most of it was on the burner before I could get to the pastry boiled. Plenty left to get the job done, so it worked out fine!

I'll leave you with Bernie meme: still not old! Haha! Although I would have written "I'm s'MITTEN with you!" Hope your days get more lively soon!