Happy Valentine's Day, my dear friends! I hope you find time today to express your love — through your words, thoughts and actions. Treat yourself to something special. Delight your friend, kiss your sweetie, surprise a stranger. Take time to reflect on all the love in your life. Nosh on chocolates, eat nothing but veggies...

Hello lovelies! I hope the past few weeks have been kind to you. Although my break from blogging was unscheduled, it was exactly what I needed. The Mister and I had a chilly, but very fun trip to Ohio for Christmas, and a quiet party of two at home for New Year's. It was truly the perfect ending to 2011. My heart is filled with love and gratitude...

I love Christmas music. As soon as we were finished with our Thanksgiving leftovers, I started pulling together mixes and new stations on Pandora. There's something about holiday tunes that gets me in the spirit and lifts my mood. I'll have this list playing in the background while finishing up our Christmas cards, wrapping gifts and baking cookies...

Happy 27th birthday, Mister! This past year was an eventful journey. You encountered happiness and sorrow. You experienced joy and anger. You kept your sense of humor and displayed remarkable courage. I watched as you pursued your goals, slayed evil dragons, and unpacked boxes...

I have rather elaborate plans for Thanksgiving considering it will only be my mister and me. With our families scattered across the country, it made sense to stay put again. Last year we cooked our first turkey together. It came out perfectly, despite our trepidation. Because it's his favorite holiday, I spared no expense to make it special...