Monday Musings No.14 and Happy Valentine’s Day

Happy Valentine’s Day and a weekend recap on Monday morning musings.

Good Monday morning to you and a Happy Valentine’s Day! How was your weekend? Did you watch the Super Bowl? Did you go to a party or just enjoy the game at home? We watched the game at home but we scraped our original menu and my husband made pulled pork, coleslaw and French fries. I contributed chocolate chip cookies using a new to me recipe from my favorite magazine, Cooks Illustrated. I will share the recipe later this week.

Did you have a favorite commercial? I liked the Kia commercial with the electric dog, the Larry David commercial and the Dorito commercial with the animals in the first half. Some of the others were so strange that it is hard to believe that someone paid 2 million dollars to advertise them and I can only imagine how much to make them.

We had a great weekend, a sleepover on Friday with my niece to celebrate an early Valentine’s Day with her. Then a beautiful sunny Saturday, which started on the porch with a hot chocolate watching the dogs play and then continued with a long walk, more time in the sun and just relaxing.  Super Bowl Sunday dawned gray and cold, the perfect day to stay in and get ready for the game or just to read.

Today is the start of  Phase 1 of our landscaping project. Phase 1 consists of  the front beds, 6 6-8 ft. tall trees along the drive and a fencing project attached to an existing vine covered arch to hide our garbage and recycling cans. I believe today they are removing the existing plantings, digging up and replanting a Japanese maple, assessing the irrigation and checking the outdoor lights. I will keep you posted on the progress.

It is also Valentine’s Day. I know that this one of those holidays that people either love or hate. Honestly, I think that it is holiday to celebrate ALL LOVE, the love you have for your partner or significant other, friends, family and yourself. I have celebrated many Valentine’s days in my life all by myself, either because I did not have a significant other or because my husband was traveling. Guess what, I celebrated anyway, with a special dinner, a sweet treat, and a gift that I gave to myself.

If you waited until the last minute to get your Valentine a gift why not skip the grocery store roses and give a gift from the heart. Make them a handmade card, run don’t walk to the kitchen and whip up a sweet treat, perhaps a batch of Baked NY brownies or some Fleur de Sel Truffles? Or even a No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake. Order some take out, get some champagne or try your hand at making a signature cocktail. Or try one of the “outside the box” ways to celebrate I mentioned on last week’s Saturday meanderings.

Remember this, you do not need to make over the top, extravagant gestures or spend tons of money on gifts to show the people in your life that you love them, just be with them, spend time with them and love them.

Have a great day friends and a Happy Valentine’s Day. I hope that you are surround by love today.

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