Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Spreading the love

Happy Valentines Day everyone!  Or if you're a V-day hater...screw that stupid Hallmark holiday!  (I like to cover my bases.)  We're never really set in how we celebrate, if we choose to celebrate.  Given how much I've run the Mr. ragged over the past 6 weeks, I think the best Valentines gift I can give him is the gift of rest.  Nothing planned, nothing that needs painted or done after a long day of work, just a dinner of chicken cordon bleu burgers, rent a few flicks (Dream House and In Time...no chick flicks) and have our traditional treat...old school homeroom cupcakes.



There is something about the light white cake dyed pink with vanilla buttercream and of course imperial cinnamon candies just like you'd have for elementary school parties while waiting with baited breath to see if that boy you have a crush on put a valentine in your shoebox valentine caddy.  You could always tell if they liked you as a friend if you got the one that said "you're tops" over "be mine."

Plus I like the idea that a bunch of grown manly men are going to be walking around the Mr's work today carrying pink cupcakes.


The recipe was simple.  But first I must point out what is on the back of the box...


I mean really, I'm not going to pour it down my gullet but telling me to not eat raw cake batter that's like telling a drowning man to ignore the buoy to his left. Anyhoo...

The Duncan Hines white cake mix required 3 egg whites which was a plus but it called for 1/3 cup of oil and I of course subbed out unsweetened applesauce for the oil.  I added a few drops of red food coloring for the pretty pink hue and added 1/4 cup of white chocolate chips.  I baked 12 cupcakes at a time for 19 minutes.  I've got the nutritional info for the cupcake base alone for a total of 24 cupcakes so that you can add whatever icing or topping you want.

Nutritional information for cupcake only (sans frosting):  Calories  105  Total Fat 2g  Sat Fat 1g  Mono Fat .5g  Poly Fat .5g  Sodium 134mg  Carbs 20g  Sugars 11g  Protein 2g

I make it pretty clear to the Mr that it's the other gestures during the year that count, not the ones made today.  You shouldn't have to have a day to tell others you love them and it shouldn't only be one day.  So I asked if he would do one romantic thing for me per month and I wasn't going to tell him what so he'd have to use the noggin.  I love that last thing he got me.


In the beginning of my DIY shenanigans, I commented one morning that I couldn't go to sleep for 3 hours because my mind was racing with all of the projects I wanted to do.  I said I wished I'd had a notebook next to the bed so I could've written them down and gotten some sleep.  Two days later, I got this mini notebook and pen for me to write down my projects.


It meant a lot he remembered that and I love checking things off the list when I finish them!  I look forward to the next romantic gesture.

We don't usually decorate for the holiday but this year our house looks quite festive thanks to Layla at The Lettered Cottage.  I won a giveaway for some Valentines Day banners and they arrived today (sadly after my cupcake shoot) so I put them up along the patio valance and fireplace.




Aren't they adorable?!  I only had the point and shoot so it's a little dark but you can go to the post I commented on to see them in their properly lit glory.

So all in all, it's going to be a good day full of love, exercise, yummy food and movies.  Just another Tuesday night in the SATW household!

Do you celebrate Valentines Day or is it just another day?

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9 comments:

  1. Hubby likes to celebrate. If I gave him the option he'd go all out. Like seriously - all out. I hate the "holiday" and if he gave me the option I'd ignore it completely. We generally meet somewhere in the middle with small gifts and maybe dinner out if he's not working.

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  2. Aww I like your Valentine's Day decorations. I've always liked the holiday. You don't NEED to do something crazy over the top, but I don't see anything wrong with taking a day to appreciate all your loved ones and making sure they know - even if it's just a phone call. :-)

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  3. Valentine's Day isn't, never has been, much one way or the other for me. A couple of years ago I learned that DH thinks it's for kids. Now, you'd think that in 33 years of marriage, I would have figured that out earlier, lol. Today I asked if I was his Valentine, and he said 'Oh, is it Valentine's Day? You know I'm romantic that way.' Yes, Honey, I know, lol. That's why I mentioned it...maybe now I'll get some flowers, and I do love me some flowers no matter what day it is. I'm going to bake US some brownies, or maybe I'll just go get some strawberries and dip them in some of that leftover dipping chocolate from the Christmas baking...

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  4. We celebrate Valentines Day every day! But, yes, on Feb. 14, I usually get flowers and all throughout the year on any holiday, we have always hidden cards and notes to each other all over the house, car, etc. It's fun to find them all. My man can always be pleased with my cooking so today I plan to make a recipe he cut out and wanted to try and a few of his favorite sweet goodies.

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  5. Every Day is Valentine's Day at our house, LOL! Neither of us are stereotypical romantics, but like you and your Mr. we continue to grow in ways to dance 'I Love YOU' daily. Now the day is about teachng our little girl the meaning of the day, marriage, and how to value herself in a relationship (daddy is actively teaching her what to look for in man)... and she's ALL about the celebration (had to tie her to the bed last night so she'd sleep, LOL), so we'll have a special family dinner, Mr/Daddy will bring us both flowers, and in the midst of a flurry of cards and cuddles we'll count ourselves richly blessed!

    My kid would seriously die for those cupcakes... maybe I should get busy this afternoon, LOL!

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  6. I enjoy doing (and getting) something a little extra for my Mr. on Valentine's Day, though it doesn't need to be all schmaltzy or anything. Cute cupcakes; one should at least have something special for dessert on V-Day. We went to a Sweetheart Dance on Friday and I had to make a dessert, so I did cookies out of red velvet cake mix, added chocolate chips, and made them in heart shapes--two balls of dough side by side pinched together at the bottom. Huge hit at the dance and at home, had one guy stop everyone and ask who made the cookies, then he came over and I thought he was gonna kiss me. Even without moding the standard recipe they were about 80 calories each; I'm going to experiment more on to see if I can make it better.

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  7. hehehe, I would totally want to eat the cake batter too! They are practically suggesting it by forbidding it!

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  8. I love your cupcakes--those cinnamon candies are my favorite thing evah. :) And I totally eat cake batter. If body builders can drink raw eggs, I can have a wee bit of batter. I'm sure I won't be saying that when I get salmonella, but anyway.

    I hope you had a good Valentine's Day! We did nothing!

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  9. I treated myself to a chocolate chip cookie. Does that count as celebrating? :)

    No Mr. here so it was the cookie or nothing.

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