Valentine's Day Table

I mentioned on Monday that Lee always cooks a special meal at home each Valentine's day. This year I decided to do a V-day table setting for our meal. I just used things we had laying around.

Sorry for the bad pictures. I am not sure why they look so weird. What do you think of the table? Do you guys have any Valentine's day traditions or special plans?

Sweet Treat

I made some Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies this weekend and they were so good I wanted to share the recipe with all of you! I am not a baker but these cookies were so easy. I put some cream cheese frosting on the top of the cookies...yum! Their red color would make them the perfect Valentine's day treat. Enjoy!

Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 box red velvet cake mix

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup chocolate chips

cream cheese frosting (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With an electric mixer, combine cake mix, oil, eggs and vanilla. Mix until a dough forms. Fold in chocolate chips. Roll into balls and bake for 8 minutes.

Valentine's Day at Target

Today kicks off Valentine's week so I thought I would do Valentine related posts this week. Have you noticed all the cute V-day items that are at Target? Every Valentine's day since my hubby and I have been together, Lee has always made a special Valentine's day dinner. He is an awesome cook and it's nice to have a cozy night at home instead of dealing with crazy busy restaurants. If you guys stay in like us, Target has lots of Valentine dish wear to make your meal a little more special.

The heart ramekins, cookie cutters and heart shaped silicone tray are perfect to bake your sweetie a special Valentine day treat.

Aren't these glasses, plates and bowls so cute? And you can't beat the price! Do any of you stay in and cook dinner like we do?

Fashion Friday: Red Carpet

There have been 3 major award shows recently. I like to watch these shows to see all the pretty dresses. I love to dress up...what girl doesn't?! I thought I would share with you some of my favorites that I would consider "best dressed".

SAG Awards

Kate Hudson

Christina Applegate

Golden Globe Awards

Kate Hudson

Penelope Cruz

Grammy Awards

Carrie Underwood

Lea Michelle

Aren't all these dresses stunning? Which were your favorite?

Super Bowl Food

Is anyone hosting a Super Bowl party on Sunday? I will share with you the recipe that I will be making for the friends we have coming over. This soup is so good, it will become one of your favorites. Of course there will be lots of yummy dips/snacks/appetizers but it's always nice to have a main course kind of food.

Cheeseburger Soup

1 lb hamburger
3/4 chopped onion
3/4 carrot (we substitue green pepper for this since I don't like carrots)

3/4 celery

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried parsley

4 tablespoons butter

3 cups chicken broth

4 cups potatoes (we use hashbrowns...so much easier!)

1/4 cup flour

2 cups velveta

1 1/2 cups milk

1/4 cup sour cream

salt and pepper

In a 3 qt sauce pan, ground beef, drain and set aside. In same sauce pan, sauté onion, carrots, celery, basil and parsley in 1 tablespoon of butter until tender (10 minutes). Add broth, potatoes and beef and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until potaotes are tender. In another small skillet melt rest of butter, add flour, cook and stir for 3-5 minutes or until bubbly (make a rue). Add it to the soup and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes, reduce heat to low and add cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat and blend in sour cream. Enjoy!

Easy Updates: Kitchen

We have recently done a few things to spruce up our kitchen decor. Come take a look around.....

First up we have the ever changing corner of the counter. I took a few of the cookbooks out of our cupboard and sat them in the corner. I used our flour/sugar/etc. containers as bookends.

The wall above our kitchen sink was looking a little bare.

So I took a shelf that we had laying around and put it up (okay, really Lee put the shelf up, he is good at hanging things on the wall). I made some DIY art (look for a future post about all our DIY art coming soon!) and grabbed a few accessories we weren't using and this is how it turned out....

The last two things are a couple updates that we did. We were using a cheap stainless steal container to hold our utensils by the stove. It looked dirty all the time (I am not a big fan of stainless steal) and was not holding up very well. I asked for a new white crock for Christmas and got one from my in-laws. It looks much better!

I recently purchased this awesome white plate from Marshall's for only $4.99. I thought it would be a much prettier way to hold our fruit/veggies on the counter than the mixing bowl we were using. Such a simple upgrade. Have you guys done any easy upgrades to your kitchens recently?

Window Shopping: Target

Target has 2 very cute decor lines out right now that I wanted to share with you. If you haven't picked this up by now, my favorite colors/color combo are black and white. I was in heaven when I discovered Target's Regency Collection. If you are a black and white lover like me, take a look at some of the highlights of the collection.....

So many things to love....

Aren't these lamps awesome? I love the black detail on the shade also.

3 great pillows to choose from.

Aren't these mirrored accessories great? They would definitely add some glam to any space.

If black and white isn't your thing, maybe the Nantucket collection is more your style. I have a deep love of the beach. The colors, sounds, smells....I can't get enough! I want to bring more of the coastal vibe into our home. But you have to be careful with beachy decorating, if you use the wrong items or too many items it can look very tacky. This is where the Target collection comes in. Here are some great items to give your house a beachy feel....

These accessories would add a subtle beachy feel to your space. I especially love the sea fan and coral pictures.

Glass base lamps are very popular right now. This lamp is very classic and would look great in any room. These types of lamps are very versitle and can be filled with many things (like the sand and shells beside it).

I love the coral pillow. The perfect sea inspired pillow. The red pillow looks like a certain burlap pillow that is sitting on my couch right now...love the color. What do you guys think of the two collections? Which is your favorite item?