Matt and I were never ones to do anything too crazy on Valentine's Day. It usually falls on a weeknight and the idea of fighting crowds in a restaurant only to get a really early or really late reservation didn't appeal to either of us. We celebrated at home on the actual holiday and made reservations at someplace special a couple days after.
Now that we've got a little guy with us, finding a sitter for Valentine's Day itself is almost as impossible as getting a 7:00pm dinner reservation. Planning something at home feels more like a continuation of our pre-baby tradition.
Since finding one on one time is a little more challenging with our plus one always under foot, I do find that I've been taking this holiday a little more to heart (ahem). Thank goodness for early bedtimes!
Our still efforts aren't anything overly grand, but we love to celebrate with a few of our favorite things: a bottle of bubbles, flowers (ok my favorite thing) and a favorite recipe for dinner. We take the time to share hearfelt words that the busyness of daily life can sometimes prevent us from saying.
It's also been fun to find new ways for Sterling to share in the holiday as well. Last year he sent out "Palentines" to all our friends' kiddos and I dressed him up as a cupid for his monthly photos.
This year we set up a "love" tee pee for bedtime stories and stuffed animal snuggling. Our home decor remained within the theme of all our decorating these days, "child proof"
and simple: Felt doilies, Valentine's candy, and re-using some red and white elements from Christmas time.
For some Galentine's fun, I took a new spin on one of my favorite cocktails, the French 75. This one is made with sparkling rose and rose water infused simple syrup. I'm calling it the Rose 75. I paired it with an easy to make "charTREATerie" board. (Seriously, it took five minutes to put together. Choosing the treats at the store took me longer!)
I'll share more from our actual Valentine's night in the next post. I've got some fun ideas up my sleeve this year for date night dinner with Matt.
"Rose 75"
1 ounce Gin
1/2 ounce freshly squeeze lemon juice
1 teaspoon rose water simple syrup (recipe follows)
5 ounces sparkling rose
Sugar and dried rose buds for garnish
Using a lemon wedge, trace the rim of your glass. Dip into sugar to create the sugared rim. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
Add gin, lemon juice, and Simple Syrup.
Cover and shake until mixed and chilled, about 10-15 shakes, or until shaker becomes cold. Strain into a chilled champagne glass (I love using a coup for these!)
Top with sparkling rose and garnish with an edible dried rose bud.
Rose Water Simple Syrup Equal parts white sugar and water (I like to use 1 cup of each)
1 teaspoon of rose water. I used this brand
Mix together in saucepan over medium heat until sugar is completely dissolved.
Allow to cool before use
You can store the leftover simple syrup in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a month
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