But then Mum and Dad decided to come up for a visit this past Saturday. And since it was close to Valentine's Day I decided it'd be fun to turn an ordinary meal together into a little V-Day lunch/celebration. Of course we’d eat something together, so why not make it into something a little extra special, since we don’t often see each other anyways? I love having my parents in my home and treating them like special guests, because they are! And it was a good excuse to use some dishes and things that I don't often use. 
So it all spiraled from there…a few days beforehand I had taken little baby outside for some fresh air, to watch the Chickadees at the feeder. And I plucked off some tiny pinecones from a nearby tree. Suddenly some “Pining for you, Valentine” place cards popped into my head. Perfect for our special Valentine lunch. (Doesn’t all inspiration happen randomly like that? At least it does for me!) Then sometime soon after a butterfly mobile hanging from the light fixture popped into my head as well and I just had to make it...even if it meant staying up late the night before.
Then, somewhere in the midst of sleep the night before, I had the idea for us to write down one thing we love about our spouse on a heart doily, so I had to go dig those out from my craft stuff...
...but as I announced this little plan during our lunch, someone else came up with an even more brilliant idea to write our little love note inside the "Pining for You, Valentine" place cards. This made far more sense as we had much more room to write and we all easily came up with more than just one thing we love about our spouse. We read them aloud after our meal and it all ended on a very love-y, Valentine-y note...which made me so pleased indeed...and I do think did all of our hearts just a bit of good!
Some decorating done around the house this past Saturday evening, after little baby was in bed. I didn't think I'd have the time or energy to do very much this year. Honestly I can barely just do the essential things as of late...but Hub encouraged me and we really did have fun doing this together like little elves while little Bub was fast asleep in his crib. We put up villages and elves and hung some of my favorite vintage ornaments (and a few other nature-y ones too) on tree branches I had spray-painted white, placed in a big vase on the mantel. We took out our smokers and our pyramids. And we finally both agreed a real Christmas tree was impractical and therefore out of question this year again, since little Bub has just started rolling like crazy all over the house. He doesn't crawl yet but he can roll himself across a room in no time flat, especially when no one is looking. Which is pretty exciting, even more exciting than getting a real Christmas tree so I'm okay with that!
Oh my, where did the week go? I can't believe it is Friday already. This week has been a bit of whirlwind beginning with the weekend prior spent in the Cities for a baby shower and a gorgeous Easter day with my family...then Hub was briefly in Boston, later Mum came up for a quick visit, and oh yes...it was my birthday too. This week also brought snow, rain, wind, and finally today...sunshine! Phew! I'm ready for a quiet, Spring-like weekend at home with my hub now! 
I spent my birthday with Mum, enjoying a great lunch out and lots of shopping together. Above was a birthday dessert they surprised me with at the Norwegian cafe we ate at...complete with singing me a sweet Norwegian song. In the evening, Hub took me out to our favorite Thai place for dinner. The great thing about birthdays AND being pregnant at the same time? He let me get 2 appetizers!!! ;)
I also bought myself a few little birthday presents while out...a pretty floral vintage oil painting (snippet of it above) that I've had my eye on for quite some time...and a cute vintage doe & fawn planter (first photo) that I just couldn't resist. How sweet would that be coralling some things in the baby's room on a shelf or perhaps planted with a sweet, dainty Baby Tears plant?
Happy Valentine's Day! I didn't do very much in the way of "valentine-ing" this year. Not like last year. Or even the year before now that I look back on it. But Mum came up for a little visit late last week and brought along the sweetest heart punch...ever! This scalloped heart with all sorts of holes & details that punch out of it. So cute! So I borrowed her punch and punched out a variety of colored hearts. There're so many possibilities for this punch beyond just making cards with it... 
And I stuck one under the tiniest little belljar I acquired while Mum and I were out thrifting. The only real "valentine-ing" I will do now today will involve a bit of baking & cooking for my Valentine, Mr. Hub...you know what they say...the way to a man's heart is through his stomach!
...for my Sweet.
It was my birthday the other day and I spent a good portion of it playing in my garden, planting new things from Mum, and re-arranging my pathway and walls with new rocks I'd found. Its definitely a work-in-progress garden right now. Although it was a pretty low-key birthday, it was a delightful way to spend part of the sunny afternoon, in my opinion.
Oh how I love my little garden...and I make Hub look at it with me about every 5 minutes, almost. He teases me that if he laid down in it, end to end, he would cover it up. But really, its not quite that little. ;)
As I mentioned in my previous post, last week I went to a pretty backyard birthday lunch, hosted by my Mum. She, of course, had many sweet touches that I just had to share!
First off, the weather was just gorgeous, which is always a prerequisite for a delightful backyard party. It was such a quaint setting, being in the backyard of my parent's new home...surrounded by Mum's garden, the woods, chipper bird songs, and her cute old potting shed in the background. 
She strung up a pretty birthday garland in the old oak tree above.
And at each place setting was a tiny little Viola planted in a darling, handpainted pot.
Handpainted by who, you say? Why Mum of course!
And what backyard garden party would be complete without delicious food as well...here, some delicious and refreshing frozen fruit cups...one of Mum's specialties. (See recipe below!)
An empty birdbath was repurposed as a clever, cute spot to hold a
Finally, Mum's homemade cake...which really is another garden party prerequisite, no?