{14 Days of Valentines} Day Thirteen: Valentine's Family Style Part II

You might have noticed Day Twelve is MIA! Scribd was not working yesterday and Tyler couldn't load the printables for her post.   You might see days twelve and thirteen both posted today if it starts working, but for now, here's part two of the family style Valentine's dinner.

  Today focuses on the adult table.

This setting was so easy and is loaded with inexpensive ideas for setting an elegant table for any special occasion.  Valentine's Day can be celebrated with anyone, so why not make it a fun  dinner party with some girlfriends or your family?  Or, you might have a special someone to share it with and make it for two! 

I have a current love of dots, and this gold polka-dotted wrapping paper made the perfect table runner.   I love the pink accents paired with the gold.

 Pulling out the china is usually not an option because, as my best half asked, "Then hand wash it all?  No thanks, let's just use paper plates!"  Love my man. So here's a way to pull out our much loved but never used china from my great grandmother.  Use the plates as chargers and top with a clear glass dinner plate.  Once the meal is over, the plates can go right to the dishwasher and the china is still clean!

For this dinner, I wanted to make it special, so each family member got a Valentine as their place card.

Since our theme this month is about being loved, I wrote a scripture verse for each one, reminding us how much God loves us.

 Valentines were from the Dollar Spot at Target.

After the Valentines are opened, nestled underneath the clear plate is another message:

I have decided to do a whole post in the next week on these plate-mats and the possibilities to make any occasion more special.  This one is three layers- a doily, a circle of wrapping paper, and the you are loved free printable.

Another way to dress up the table was to glitter the bases of Dollar Tree wine glasses.  I just taped off the stem and sprayed the bottom.

I love entertaining, and this was a fun table to put together for our family.  It was a special way to let them know how much I love them, but most importantly to remind them how much they are loved by God.

Remember you are loved.

He makes beautiful things!

Y.

 

{14 Days of Valentines} Day Eleven: Valentines, Family Style

Having our family all in the same town is something we don't take for granted.  It's a blessing to be able to get together often and I thought it would be fun to plan a family dinner for Valentine's Day... until I realized I will be out of town helping at a women's retreat!  Oh, well, here's hoping they will all still get together and enjoy the pretty table settings!  

Today's post is part one of two.  This one focuses on the kid's table.   This was an easy and inexpensive way to make the table for the little ones pretty, but indestructible.  It has a fun activity for them to do while the adults enjoy dinner as well.  The adult table will be part two.

This cute table and chairs belongs to an adorable little boy named Preston. His mommy said we could borrow it back after purchasing it at one of our barn sales to show you how cute it could be set for Valentine's dinner.

The table runner is wrapping paper from the Dollar Spot at Target.  The milk glasses were also $1 and I coated the rim with edible gold sugar glitter.

The napkins are actually cotton dish towels.  Anyone besides me use dish towels for napkins?  They came as a set and only ended up being $1 each.  Striped plates also from Target, $1.99.

Now for a little surprise when you lift the napkin.  Ready?

I like to call these "plate mats."  The free printable from Tyler is coming!  You can use any plate as a charger and use clear dinner plates on top.  The plate mat personalizes it for any occasion. More on this in the part two post.

Now for some fun for those kiddos.

These printables will be free as well.  They are speech bubbles for the kids to write on with colored chalk. Great photo opportunity!  I printed them on flat, smooth card stock in conversation heart colors and the chalk works really well on them.

Depending on the age of the children, they can make up their own sayings, or copy them off of conversation hearts. And a little teacher tip- if you
sharpen the chalk with a pencil sharpener it's easier to write with.  Tape a skewer to the back and they're ready to go!

Hopefully you can use some of these ideas to make the kid's table just as festive as the one for the grown-ups.

More ideas to come tomorrow!

Remember you are loved.

He makes beautiful things!

Y.

{14 Days of Valentines} Day Ten: A new pair of shoes? Why yes, please!

Hi there! The "buy yourself a new pair of shoes day" that Tyler mentioned in her previous post actually came about because of me! We aren't big fans of Valentine's Day, mostly because it can make single people feel incredibly unloved. I have been there! One year while I was in college I had a major break down on Valentine's Day. I saw all of the gifts that friends had received from family or boyfriends and it just made me feel incredibly left out. I called my Mom crying and blamed it on her because she didn't send me anything. Yes, I understand that was incredibly pitiful and selfish.

I knew that I didn't need the gifts or to feel loved by a boyfriend, but sometimes just knowing isn't enough. What I really needed to do was draw close to Jesus and take comfort in the fact that He had a much greater plan for me than to have a boyfriend on Valentine's Day! Needless to say the next year and from then on my sweet Mom sent me something for Valentine's Day. She found a card that said to celebrate buy yourself a new pair of shoes day and she put money inside (even better!). From that day forward, I went shopping for a new pair of shoes on Valentine's Day. I may or may not have a sick addiction to shoes so this holiday is perfect for me! If you shop frugally, you can get two pair of shoes for what you would have spent on a boyfriend or husband! Now, I'm not saying that shopping for a new pair of shoes solves the loneliness that some people feel, but I am saying that you should own who you are and be kind to yourself every so often!

So here is a photo documentary of our shoe finding adventure in Target:

Of course we had to try on lots of shoes before we decided.

Mom really loves shopping with us aka holding our stuff.

 I found these at Target and I am obsessed so naturally I chose them as my Valentine's shoes.

 All of our final selections. Can you tell we have incredibly different styles?!

And there we are! So excited about our new shoes and loving spending such great (loud) family time in Target!

And as always, I want to remind you that you are beautiful and you are LOVED.

-Jessica

{14 Days of Valentines} Day Nine: Chalkboard Trays

I have long been a fan of trays, and making these involves several of my favorite things- paint, chalkboard, and cheap!
The red, pink and vanilla white makes them perfect for serving treats or leaving notes for those you love throughout the month of February.  Better yet, throughout the year!

Here's the easy way to make your own:

I hit Goodwill and garage sales whenever possible to find great sturdy picture frames in all sizes.  Some become chalkboards, and some become chalkboard trays. 

  They usually come with lovely art, which needs to be removed, and my best half has decided it makes a nice addition to his work area in the barn.

 Here's an assortment, art removed and lightly sanded.

 Next, I choose one of my paint colors to paint the empty wood frame.

I usually distress with sandpaper and wax to seal it.

 I find cute handles and my best half screws them on for me.

The frame then needs some of this wood-stuff, cut to fit where the lovely art once lived.  Best half to the rescue again, because this is out of my league.

 He tells me it's called Masonite.  You can buy sheets inexpensively at the big home improvement centers and if you take your measurements with you, they'll cut the sheet into the pieces you need at little or no charge.

Once they are cut, they need chalkboard paint.  It comes in brush on and spray!

I find that the brush (or roll) on is better for larger chalkboards, and the spray is fine for smaller trays.  The spray gets splotchy when used in large areas.  Paint the slick side with at least 2 coats, letting it dry well between.  Don't be worried if you see light brush strokes, they lay down as the paint dries.

Time to assemble the tray.  Here comes help from the best half again!

He attaches the chalkboard into the frame with small nails all around.  I have used a staple gun, but the nails look neater.

 So, when I said it was easy, I guess my part was.  Without my sweet husband, it wouldn't get finished!

This amazing man came into my life over 30 years ago, and I am grateful that God gave us the gift of each other.  

 

 Remember you are loved.

He makes beautiful things!
Y.

{14 Days of Valentines} Day 7: Happy Singles Awareness!

With all this talk about Valentines Day, it's a constant reminder to all the single people that we are.. well.. single! When I was in school, my parents sent me a lovely care package for Valentines Day. It was filled with candy, a sweet card, a little cash, and at the very bottom there was this...

thanks mom and dad.

When you are single, the hardest thing to remember is that you loved. If you have been reading through our posts lately, knowing that you are loved has been a common theme. Obviously, this is not the easiest concept to grasp. Trust me.. I have been single for a while and will continue to be single for at least another 2.5 years. I have had friends get engaged and married and some starting their family. I am over here all single and leaving the country. Not at all to say that I don't love my life.. because I do. But this contentment of being single did not come overnight. Being single has been a blessing. That's right... I just said that being single is a blessing. If I were not single, would I really be moving to Madagascar?  God has great plans for our lives even if we can't see them just yet.  

I wish there was an easy step by step instruction book on how to be single, but sadly there isn't. It is a daily battle to be joyful and content where you are in life. All throughout the bible, there are displays of God's love for his children. The verse that everyone knows, John 3:16, "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." If this isn't the greatest display of love from God, I don't know what is. Romans 8:37-39 says that nothing can separate us from God's love. There are too many verses to list about how much God loves us!

And now for a little single humor...

Remember you are loved!
blessings.
Tori




   

{14 Days of Valentines} Day 6: Kissable Lips.

Who doesn't love soft lips? I have a small obsession with chapstick, so when Jessica and I started selling Rodan+Fields I couldn't wait to try out all of the fun things for your lips! I wanted to share my favorites with you. Whether you have someone to kiss on Valentine's Day or not, who doesn't love some super soft lips?!

First up, my VERY favorite product: Lip Micro-Dermabrasion. This stuff is phenomenal. Think: super exfoliator for your lips. You just rub a little bit onto your lips and rinse it off. Your lips will feel like a baby's bottom. Seriously.

 Next up is this SPF Lip Shield. Best "chapstick" I've ever put on my lips. And I'm telling you, I've tried it all. And as an added bonus, it has SPF 25 in it.

 Last, but most certainly not least, is what I love to put on my lips right before bedtime: Lip Renewing Serum. It has made a huge difference in my lips!

Now, go enjoy some super soft Valentine's Day lips! Do it for YOU!

{14 Days of Valentines} Day Five: Love in Unexpected Places

I have been wanting to post about this little guy for some time, and with our 14 Days of Valentines, tonight just seemed to be the right time.  This is E.  He was my student last year, and over the summer, he became more a part of the family.  We get the blessing of him spending most weekends with us, and he tugs at our hearts as we do life together.  Now, take into account, I'm a G.G. to an amazing little man who is 13 mos old.  So E coming into our lives is not exactly what we would see ourselves doing at our age.  We live in a 50+ community, for Pete's sake!  Our neighbors are very kind to welcome our weekend "stowaway", though.

He and I were talking about the blog {actually, he was playing games on the computer, I was thinking aloud about posts, and he looked at me and said, "Are you talking to me?"}  So I showed him what we have posted already, and talked about what else we might need. I told him the theme was God  loves us.  He decided that he needed to make a card and cookies for his teacher who is having a baby, to let her know that God loves her baby.  Ok, so I could just end here.  Message delivered!  But he's just too cute not to share more.  When we started talking about making Valentine's cookies, he remembered his teacher can't have sweets.  I asked what we might do instead and he replied, "I don't know, maybe a protein bar?"

So there you have it.  A ten year old's version of sharing God's love:
  Telling a baby that God made her and loves her.  And a protein bar for her mommy.

E faces challenges in life that most of us cannot even fathom.  But in the midst of chaos and crisis, this precious child simply wants to be loved and share love. 

Jesus tells us in Matthew 22: 37-40 that the two most important things we can do are to love God and love others.  Simple enough for a child, surely simple enough for us!

Remember you are loved.

He makes beautiful things!

Y.

Change Your Life. Yes, YOU!

Have you seen our blogs and our Facebook posts about Rodan+Fields? Maybe you've received a message from one of us about joining our team and it sparked your interest. I want to take a minute to tell you why NOW is the time to join. Keep reading. I promise this isn't a sales pitch.