Yummy, SWEET Valentine's Treats That You Can Make in a Hurry!

Happy Hearts Day!!!!!

Need some last minute ideas for your sweethearts?

 (big and small ones alike:)

well I've got you covered.......and I can vouch for them all! 

(and i'm starting to look like it;)

Let's get to it.........

Oreo Cookie Balls (or Oreo Truffles)   

 So good and SO easy!

What you need:

1 pkg.  (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

40  OREO Cookies, finely crushed, divided

4 pkg.  (4 oz. each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, broken into pieces, melted

MIX cream cheese and 3 cups cookie crumbs until blended.

SHAPE into 48 (1-inch) balls. Freeze 10 min. Dip balls in melted chocolate; place in single layer in shallow waxed paper-lined pan.  (Tip: use a toothpick to dip)

Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.

REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm.

(Substitute white chocolate if desired)

We have a tradition of making pink or red foods on Valentine's day.

This next drink is on the menu:)

Maybe I should stop here and get to dinner rather than dessert:)

No complicated dish here.........

Pizza with heart pepperoni!

Or take it a step further and shape your own dough in a heart:)

Me?  I'm lazy.  It's the heart shaped pepperoni for this girl:)

Okay, okay........you want something healthier, right?

How about fruit kabobs?

(Well, there IS fruit!  And marshmallows too!)

Don't you just love vintage Valentines?

The good old days:)

Sweet and Salty Valentine Popcorn

1/2 cup unpopped popcorn

1 bag Colorburst Pastels Candy Melts 

(Wiltons............or use any white chocolate to melt)

1 bag Valentine M&Ms

Sea Salt to taste

Lastly, I share you cookies made by my own little Valentine:)

Love, Love, Love on Valentine's Day!

XOXOXO

Suzanne

Michael Kors is Pretty in Pink, Tan and White, just in time for Valentine's Day...and SPRING!

Can you believe it's already Valentine's Day?
Me either!!!
Today, I thought I'd share my favorite picks for a truly
SWEET Treat........for yourself or for your Valentine to give you,
straight from Michael Kors.
(HINT: just send him this blog post and direct him to the
nearest MK lifestyle store;)

Michael Kors Pretty in Pink

I suppose I should say that my daughter works for
 Michael Kors in Naples, Fl.
In fact, she just got a promotion!!!!
Happy, Happy, HAPPY!
She even had a few other offers at the time but when
she got the offer from MK, that sealed it.
She loves working there and she loves the product. (Me too:)

Actually, I liked MK well before she started working there.

She just helps feed my habit;)

Funny thing is, I'm not a "designer" person.

I will shop at MK and then stop at a thrift shop on the way home.

Walmart carries my favorite leggings.

I really like the sundresses at the beach store.

And I'm a regular at Target.
See.....I spread the love and help out a variety of stores!

But I do LOVE Michael Kors.

With Valentine's Day fast approaching, (YIKES..........need cards!)

I thought I'd share my favorite goodies from the new line.

According to Taylorina, they are flying out of the store so act fast.

And if you're near Naples Waterside Shops, 

pop in and see Taylor.

Check out this GORGEOUS line of "Pink".
Complimented by the camel color, it's so fresh!

Are you a fan of Rose Gold?

It's my absolute favorite.

Well before I knew about MK, just sayin:)

In fact, back in the day, I had a ROSE GOLD fingernail on my pinky.

For real.

No kidding.

(although maybe I wish I were;)

And nobody does it better.....see for yourself..........

I just feel that unless you have the skin that is made for silver,

rose gold is such a warm, attractive metal.

Maybe now I should mention two of the things I love about the MK line.

1.  Michael uses a lot of Rose Gold, which I love. (as we already know, right:)

2.  He believes in mixing metal.  Layer it on.  

You don't have to have ALL silver or all gold or rose gold. 

 Thank you!  (This is especially great for us indecisive types:)

Fun fact...........Michael Kors calls his camel color "luggage". 

 It's a best seller, goes with everything and is his own personal favorite color.

And if you don't have anything in that shade, get it:)

And with spring coming, mix it with WHITE!

I also included my first ever, favorite grown up perfume.........

Michael Kors Signature.

It has scents of gardenia, vanilla and more but he had me at gardenia.

Seriously, I wore my daughters perfumes...sweet, surfer girl perfumes:)

Now we all love this.

It's pretty and light enough for life in Florida.......or wherever.

Well, see anything you like?

I know you did;)

Like I said, find a store or shop online at Michael Kors.

If not, I have one more tip!

Someone sent us Shari's Berries for Christmas.

I'd seen and heard the ads but thought.........ewww!

They''ll be rotten before they get to Florida.

Was I WRONG!

We fought over these berries and devoured them in record time.

And these are some seriously big berries!

I just sent some to my Mom for hearts day and her reaction was the same as mine.

Oh My Heck these are good!!! :)

They ship quick so if you need em, there's still time.

Although shipping may be $$$ at this point.)

But keep Shari's Berries in mind!

See ya!

Suzanne

Made With Love....Simple Ideas for Valentine's Day Gifts and Decorating

When my girls were younger,

we had barely put Christmas decorations away

before we started decorating for Valentine's Day.  

Hearts were everywhere, and we were already thinking of

what Valentines to make and what would be on our 

Pink and Red Menu for Valentine's Day.

The past few years we've kinda let it go.

Life just got more busy, you know?

Until a few days ago, when my 12 year old niece Macy

wrote to show us pictures of how she had decorated her room.

I think she did an AMAZING job!

She finished by asking how we were decorating this year.

Ummmmm..........well,  I wasn't sure if we were.

UNTIL that email from her.

Until I was inspired by a young girl's festive spirit.

So I went online and I walked around the house,

 looking for ideas.

I found a few things I had made and tweaked them a bit

to make them work for Valentine's Day, either as a

decoration or as a small gift.

See what you think........

1.  Candy hearts look adorable in a Mason Jar pedestal.  At least I think so.......
but then, I love these candies so I would think they look great in ANYTHING!
And these are really easy to make, using a mason jar, candlestick and E6000 glue.

2.  Painted Mason Jars and Milk Bottles hold anything you can think of,

and would be a beautiful way to hold flowers, candy or special messages.

3.  Bejeweled Mini Mason Jars.......Strips of lace or burlap glued around a jar, embellished with a jewel and/or flower.  These look cute gathered on a table top and make

AWESOME gift containers!  No wrapping necessary:)

4.  Heart Garland.......dollar store craft!  

5.  Heart Pencil Toppers........Again, the wire and pencils were bought at the dollar store.

Simply twist a piece of the wire into a heart shape and wrap on the pencil tops.

 

These heart toppers are also fabulous on a longer stick and used as bubble blowers!  

Thank you Macy!

Without the inspiration from you, we might've been lazy and let this Holiday slip by:)

A few other decorations I found were these:

A heart wreath.......paper hearts glued on a wreath or any round form.

 Pom Pom Monsters!

How cute are these?  Pretty dang cute if you ask me:)

Heart Rag Wreath!  Super cute and EASY!

Yarn wrapped letters or hearts.  This is such a simple project that

will be a real eye catcher!

Well, why NOT a heart tree?  

You could write little messages on them or leave as is.........

cute either way!

  Remember the heart garland I mentioned above?

You could tie them on branches outside.  Awesome!

Alrighty then, I think that's about it.

Check back soon.......I have other ideas to pass on but didn't want

 to bombard anyone:)

XOXO

Suzanne

cookies, cake and cocoa...more happy heart stuff!

there's still time to do something special for Valentine's Day,

so here are a few last minute thoughts.

you don't even have to leave the house for this one...

write a love note!

i feel sorry for kids these days.

they are introduced to texting and all that crap WAY too early.

which means most of them will skip THIS stage...

passing love notes:)

remember those days?

better yet was when you had a friend pass one for you...

even the notes that weren't so loving are priceless...

even still...they are love notes.

so for Valentine's Day, maybe we simply need to write a note 

and say "I Love You"...

like the good ol' days!

and if you're creative...a mason jar with a pretty tag to hold those

love letters:)

for my personal, favorite kids valentine idea of 2012,

one i would have done in a heartbeat...

is that cute or what?

and one of the easiest kids projects in the world is fingerprint art.

we made vases, cake plates...even decorated a wagon

for gardening.  

simply use your kiddies fingerprints.

 i especially like this artwork...

here's one more love note for the lunch box...

i say why not?

it isn't like they eat the skins.

i'm going to try this:)

and now a few more ideas to get you your sugar fix this hearts day...

Heart Cookie Roll.

this is SOOOO easy, no recipe needed.

just 2 rolls of sugar cookie dough, one tinted red.

plenty of SPRINKLES...

and bake.  That's it!

or...red velvet cake roll from "lickthebowlgood".

(click on the link for the recipe)

Red Velvet Cake Roll 

Strawberry Sweethearts Cocoa

photo...twopeasandtheirpod

Strawberry Sweethearts Cocoa

Make your sweetheart feel like a newlywed this year with this simple melted ice cream cocoa, served in chocolate-dipped mugs for an extra-special treat.

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 pint strawberry ice cream
• 4 cups water
• Whipped cream
• 1 cup Mini chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon chocolate sprinkles

In a medium-sized bowl, melt the chocolate chips and dip the top of four mugs into the chocolate. Set aside, allowing chocolate to harden.

In a medium pot, whisk together the butter, sugar, and ice cream over medium high heat until melted.  Whisk in the water, one cup at a time until your favorite texture/flavor is achieved.  Heat just until steaming.  Pour into chocolate-rimmed mugs.  Garnish with a dollop of whipping cream and a sprinkling of chocolate sprinkles.  Serve with your favorite bite-sized cookies for dipping. 

ENJOY!!!!

hearts and hugs...keepin it simple

so Tuesday is Valentine's Day.

are you ready?

or is that what this weekend is for?

now don't get mad at what i say next...

you COULD go out and BUY a box of valentine's.

your kids will LOVE it.

mine always wanted the little Barbie valentine's...

or Blue's Clue...or Scooby Doo!

but NOOOOOOOOOOOO...

their mama didn't get the nickname "Martha" or "Suzanne Stewart" for nothing.

oh...and by the way, us OLD moms didn't have pinterest or
"tutorials" to help us.

you young mamas have it SO easy:)

 heeheehee!

OKAY...

there are so many amazing ideas out there, right?

and with Pinterest, you get to see TONS of ideas.

i know i'm hooked on it!

but...it's kind of overwhelming sometimes.

and i've learned, sometimes easy and SIMPLE is best.

YES...that is coming from me:)

so today, here are a few ideas that are all about EASY!

we've done a few, pinterest helped alot...

 the main ingredient is simple...and sweet!

later this weekend, we'll turn it up a notch...maybe:)

our traditions in a nutshell...

plenty of decorating, homemade valentines...

 breakfast: heart shaped pancakes (pink), 

strawberries, heart shaped toast...

pink milk...stuff like that.

lunch:  heart shaped sandwiches, 

fruit punch, heart cookies, strawberries...again.

dinner:  PINK, red or heart shaped foods only...

pink mashed potatoes and gravy, red jello, heart shaped chicken tenders...

thank GOODNESS for cookie cutters!

 here are a few pics and ideas...hope you find something new:)

DECORATING:

this one is so cool...kind of like those ornaments you make at christmas.

no instructions needed, really.

just cut strips of paper in three lengths of choice (5", 6", 7"...or so)

and staple:)  EASY!

valentine meals...

Bubbly Love Potion

 (mix pink lemonade, sprite, raspberry sherbet)

 cute lunch tray.

 heart shaped pepperoni...wish i'd thought of that!

twinkie strawberry shortcake...GENIUS!

class party...

 peanut butter or sugar cookies with hershey hugs (and tinted red)

or DOVE heart chocolates.

easy, right?

okay, are you still with me?

now for the fun part...Valentines!

maybe for a teacher?

 bear hugs...cute:)

 "OWL" be your valentine if you'll be mine.

awwww...

 a bit more traditional...

 okay...this is our choice for 2012...

pretzels, white chocolate and sprinkles.

easy, cheap and YUMMY...

and I should know, i've eaten enough:)

 fortune cookies dipped in chocolate...SWEET.

 i think i'd leave the lollipop wrapped...

but this is just heart shapes folded, then opened and layered...

with a lollipop poked through the center.

print out a little saying...i don't know, maybe 

"valentine, you make my heart blossom" or something like that...

 tie it on the stick.

VOILA!

 my personal favorite, most likely for a teacher...

buy a candy box, place one candy/truffle/cake ball in it,

and a little gift of earrings in the other side.

pretty AND sweet:)

that's it for today.  

if you have no ideas...and don't have time to search online or through magazines,

than this is for you:)

sending you hugs and piggies on this beautiful Friday...

piggies, get it? :)

XOXOXOX

Suzanne