lots of love around here

For the first time ever, I have decorated for Valentine's Day.
I think my new-found love for the mushy holiday comes from having a little girl around. A little girl that is usually dressed in pink (because, you know, that is all they sell for toddler girls).


I whipped up a simple felt and ric-rac garland for the fireplace and filled a few old glass jars with red and pink fabric scraps. Ta-da!


Kya even got into the spirit.
She says, "who me?"
and I say, "yes, your shirt says: LOVE"


and then she giggles.
(no, she isn't jaundiced, Kya had just finished a super-sized helping of spaghetti that stained her face)


And of course, our February dishtowel is proudly displayed on the stove handle.

Kya has decided that all hanging dishtowels are hers to tear down, so this dishtowel is usually only in a hanging position during nap time.

Happy Valentine's Day!
xoxo

Lots of green

My little green plumbs are getting larger. I think I have four. Doesn't seem like much but compared to not having any in the past years, I'm very excited about them.

The hydrangea is blooming and has the prettiest dark green leaves (and wow, such beautiful purple and blue flowers).

Last night my mom treated us to "taco truck" tacos. Complete with homemade guacamole. Here are the toppings.

Here is a ready-to-eat "taco truck" taco. If you're not familiar with them, a "taco truck" taco is something that is served in my hometown (and many cities) out of the side of a truck. They are an open-face corn tortilla, topped with meat (beef, pork of chicken), sauteed green onions, cilantro, fresh lime juice, radish, and salsa. Delicious.

We decided we needed a bit more green ... so my mom and I painted a wall in our living room.

Here it is completed. I am still amazed at what a difference a gallon of paint makes. We also did some minor furniture moving, but didn't purchase anything new. Sorry for the crooked photo, it was the only way I could include my favorites in the room.

Decking the halls

Maria was a huge help with decorating the house and getting out all our Christmas boxes. I couldn't believe how efficient we were – she and I set up the nativity set and decorated the Christmas tree in just a few hours. And it was so fun! We were still a bit loopy from getting up at 4 am to shop the Black Friday sales ... but that just made it all the more fun.

Our tree has primarily "tropical" ornaments, plus some other special ones mixed in. We have a little tradition of buying ornaments when we go on vacation.

Also over the weekend, we played a couple highly competitive games of Monopoly (one of my personal favorites!). It was a blast.