"Fancy" Valentine's Day Cookies

If you've been around me in the last two weeks, you've probably heard about my obsession with "fancy cookies." I've long loved these sweet treats, but decided I would attempt making some of my own for Valentine's Day treats for work and for my loves. I went and purchased all the supplies this past week {P.S. Kroger has meringue powder wayyy cheaper than Wal-Mart!}, and got started Friday evening making my dough.

The first batch of dough I used was yummy, but really challenging to work with. I ended up making two batches of this Wilton roll out cookie recipe without any almond extract because that's not my favorite. I made about seven dozen cookies, and this royal icing recipe made more than enough for me to ice them all with with enough for probably another dozen left over! My first batch of dough was from that same recipe link, but I felt like the Wilton recipe was less material to work with, and cut better.

I used three different heart shaped cutters, and found that the wider hearts ended up looking better with the icing on them. I made four colors with gel dye: pink, red, purple and white. I used a variety of techniques and sprinkles to just try to get comfortable with this whole thing! I made only one consistency of icing, and would line the cookies and let it set for a few minutes before flooding it with color.

It does take a while for the icing to dry for stacking, but it's also been raining and will be raining for a lot of this week, so the humidity in the air may have affected the drying time! I'm definitely going to make these again...shamrocks, anyone? I think it will go a lot faster/smoother now that I've done it once and know what to expect. I'll also try to do a couple of different consistencies for decorating and texture.

If you have any royal icing tips or ideas, leave me a comment!

His & Hers Sweet Treats {V-Day Gift Guide}

Empress 1908 Gin | Man Crates | Jord Wood Watch | Lilly Pulitzer Tie

Monogrammed Tie Clip | Monogrammed Wine Tumbler | S is for Southern
Mint Julep Candle | Kendra Scott Bracelet | Hobo Wallet | Charleston Rice Beads Necklace 

I’ve actually already done my Valentine’s Day shopping for the hubs thanks to a fab couples massage last weekend when we were out of town. But don’t think I wasn’t worried about it before I concocted that fun experience! CJM had never had a massage before, so I thought a weekend away would be the perfect time to splurge a little and do something fun together.

Anyways, I was perusing some of these “Valentine’s Day Gifts for Him” lists, just felt that the items weren’t practical or lacked a cool and/or unique factor. One of the cool things I wanted to get my hubs for Christmas {but nowhere in town sold it} is this cool, indigo gin. It even changes colors from a light purple, to blue, to pink depending on the mixers and add-ins! The wood watches are super trendy guy gifts, but this one with the dark green face was really beautiful. There are a couple of different patterns of this fun Lilly Pulitzer tie that would be perfect for Easter as well as Vday Date Night, and the Emily McCarthy monogrammed tie clip really pulls the whole look together.

And probably my most random gift suggestion is the Man Crate, something I heard about on a podcast. They have a bunch of different themes of gift boxes varying in prices from $40-$150+, but the cool part is that it’s shipped in a wooden crate with a laser engraved steel bar to open it with! How fun!

Always jewelry for the ladies! I have a Kendra Scott “bolo” bracelet myself, and I love how easy it is to put on and adjust the sizing. I really like this bar design, and it comes in three colors. Speaking of colors, the newest color in the Charleston Rice Beads collection is called Rainbow Row and is so fun. Kind of similar to the unicorn coloring that was popular in 2017, these metallic beads look great on with a variety of colors and add some real personality to any outfit.

Another colorful item is this Hobo “Rachel” wallet in the mosaic paisley print. I saw this in a local Dublin boutique called Mint, and fell in love. It has a ton of room for cards, cash, and maybe even your phone. I like a brightly colored wallet to help me find it in the bottom of my bag along with a million other random things.

Two other things from the fab Emily McCarthy Shoppe that I love are these monogrammable wine tumbler. They come in a bunch of colors with a handful of unique monogram designs so your cup really stands out from the rest. Also available are large tumblers and canteens. The store also carries this yummy Mint Julep candle collection that smells wonderful, and doubles as décor once the candle melts away.

And finally, for a gift that could really go either way is the “S is for Southern” Garden & Gun book, perfect for any love of all things southern. What’s on your Valentine’s day gift list?

Valentine's Home Decor

Valentines Day has become one of my favorite holidays as an adult. I don't remember much fondness of it growing up, but since I met Mr. Right, it's always been a special day for us. At home I'm working on growing my collection of V-day décor. While we have a lot of great florists and other places to shop for wonderful items to fill your home, I have to say that I really miss having a Target/HobLob/Michael's/etc. during the "off season" holidays. And maybe it's just me but I feel like the only Valentine's décor I do see is "galentines" focused which is great, but I kind of love the traditional xoxo, be mine, and sweetheart pieces personally!

I stopped into Classic Florist here in town, and saw this precious garden flag. It really kicked off this next round of holidays for me. I missed decorating for Valentine's last year because we moved that same week, but I intentionally began pulling my pieces as I was putting away Christmas a few weeks ago. Transitioning straight into another season of celebration has definitely helped with the post-Christmas blues.

A lot of my pieces are from my very first bridal shower which you can check out here. And if you'd like to see how I styled them in my last house, read this post. 

What do you love most about Valentine's Day? Do you have any fun traditions or memories? 

Love to you all!