A Green Valentine's Day

Because we are trying to conserve money so that we can add a three-season porch to our house we decided not to spend any money on Valentine’s gifts.  That doesn’t mean that we didn’t make it special.  We (or should I say “I”) got creative.   I actually enjoyed the challenge of using what I had, plus there was not pressure to buy for the sake of buying!!

We up-cycled old crayons for Roo to give to her friends. Printable courtesy of The Long Thread.  Another one of her friends also made a very similar up-cycled heart crayon Valentine after both moms saw the idea on Pinterest, but didn’t re-pin (to keep the Valentine a surprise!) 

This was Roo's first actual cooking project.  She loved it!!!!  We made real chocolate chip cookies as requested by the hubs, who doesn’t always appreciate our healthier eating J  After "helping" I gave her the spatula and a bowl of flour....I used to use flour as a sensory experience when I was a teacher.  Roo stuck the spatula in the flour and licked it off...ha!!

I made pink play-dough for Roo.  Next time I will use natural dyes as suggested by Sun Hats and Wellies.  She is still getting used to the idea of play-dough...her favorite thing to do with it is have someone roll it into balls, which she dumps and fills into the plastic storage container

Cooked Playdough Recipe

3 cups flour

1.5 cups salt

6 tsp cream of tartar

3 tbls oil

3 cups water

Dissove the salt in the water

Pour all ingredients into a large pot

Stil constantly over medium heat until dough just begins to form and pull away from the sides (don’t over cook!)

Remove the dough onto a flour surface and let cool

Knead cooled dough until dough is desired texture (add more flour if it is too sticky)

Store in plastic container, up to three months.

I made Curried Couscous and homemade Focaccia for dinner.

 I was able to type in the lyrics from “All I Ask of You” from the Phantom of the Opera at this website  Festisite and turn them into a heart shape, which is on the card that I made out of scrap booking supplies!  It was a special day for my husband and I as it marked nine years since our first "not a date!"....lunch at the Collins Dining Hall.

Roo and I had a busy day, grabbing coffee in the morning with a friend, prepping dinner and cleaning the house, then a play date with lots of little ones in the afternoon.  The ending to our lovely day was having dinner with daddy!

The hubs contribution to saving money…buying me Dove chocolates when they were half-off the day after, his defense, “I didn’t spend money on Valentine’s Day!”  If you know him, you know I am not joking!!!

I hope everyone had a day filled with love and laughter!