Every Valentine's Day So Far

In the early days, we would decorate brown paper bags with cut out hearts. Mine were never symmetrical. I still can't draw a perfect heart, but I've learned to find beauty in imperfection. Then we'd spend an hour on Heart Day passing around store-bought cardboard cards with cartoon characters, terrible puns, and a bite sized Snickers bar. So no one was left out, we each brought enough for the whole class.

A little older, I would obsess over those chalky candy hearts with the sayings. I'd dump out each box I had received and use the phrases to write silly songs and poems, such as this instant classic:
Be mine/ All mine
Kiss me/ So fine
Be mine/ So true
Love me/ Miss you
Be mine/ So fine
Why not/ Cutie pie

In middle school, the days of cards for every classmate had ended. Instead, secret notes were tucked inside lockers, taped on top of desks, and passed down through a series of giggling girlfriends until they made their way into the hands of the crush of the week. We'd dress up in ruffles and kitten heels and hit the school gym. Friends of her arranged with friends of him the next slow dance. At the end of the night, more hearts were broken than hung from the ceiling.

One year, I hand made cards for each member of my family. I painstakingly cut (slightly better, but still crooked) hearts from construction paper and came up with my own witty phrases. I was the only one to deliver Valentine's that year. The next year, I made none, and each of my parents and siblings gave me a card instead - surprise! Love's not only romantic, especially when you're a preteen.

Flowergrams were the big thing in our teens. We'd buy them for friends, donating the funds to heart disease foundations. Yellow meant friendship. Pink meant crush. Red meant forever. On one, I quoted a mutual favorite song and never signed it. I never should have pursued that boy anyway. The dances still happened, but the dancing was closer. So were the chaperones. We left in groups, girls heading home for sleepovers and all-night gossip sessions about the boys they danced with.

College nights meant fancy meals at the dining hall, with pink, heart-shaped pancakes one year. A later year, the night was Chinese take-out and watching the Olympics on a tiny tv in the corner. Sometimes, I'd see people in movies get dressed up to go on elaborate dates. I wasn't sure anyone did that in real life. I'm still not totally convinced.

Last year, I got a puppy. She cured my lonely mind and curled up in my lap. This year, I spend the evening with her in my arms again. The Boy is working late, but it's okay. There's no need to send a photo of the pup that says "Life is Ruff," because he'll see her when he's home in a few hours. We'll all hug, and eat homemade ice cream on the couch. We'll get up together and make breakfast.

I'm pretty sure I've perfected Valentine's Day, finally.

Dress Up Tess: My Chihuahua Valentine

The Boy is working late on Valentine's Day, but that's okay. It means there's literally no pressure to make a reservation and get dressed up and go out to eat a prix fixe dinner that is far too overpriced. It also means that I get to spend the evening instead cuddled up with my little Muffin.

This dog has so many nicknames, but Muffin is one I probably use the most (other than her actual name, Tessa) if you include all of its various incarnations. Muffin became Puffin - a combination of puppy + muffin, which became Puff.

Her full name, which honors her Arizonian heritage is Teresita Cascabel. It means Tiny pepper of the earth, which is pretty appropriate for an itty bitty Chihuahua. I like portmanteaus when coming up with nicknames for Tess, so I often call her Tessabel. Occasionally she's Fluffkin, a matchup of fluffy and pumpkin.

The dress she's wearing in these pictures was a Christmas gift from Aunt A, my best friend in the entire world. I thought the soft red skirt was perfect for my little Valentine. You may recognize the heart pillow from my Disney-themed living room. Enjoy the photo shoot, hopefully more than Tess did!

Because the dress was a gift, I don't know where you can find this exact one. However, I found one that's similar. Note: that is an affiliate link. If you click on it and make a purchase, I can earn a little money at no extra cost to you!

Bedroom + Repurposed Dinette Set

When I moved in with my boyfriend, we tried to have very few redundancies. I wouldn't let him buy a bed, because I knew that once I got there we'd be using mine (because it's amazing, and nearly brand new). He was totally fine with sleeping on a futon mattress on the floor for three months, but he wouldn't budge on a dining set.

I didn't fight too hard, my tiny table and two chairs weren't exactly a major purchase for me. I got them at Target for just over $100. My mother and I built them in my old living room. However, when I got here, that meant we had an extra table and two chairs and no real use for them.

The place is too small for multiple eating areas. It's a tiny two-bedroom apartment, after all. So a breakfast nook, while adorable, was out of the question. For awhile, the table sat as a placeholder for the boy's desk in the spare bedroom/office, but as encouragement for him to actually get a desk, I wanted to get it out of there.

So here are what I came up with:

In the bedroom, we had a little extra space. One thing we needed was a place to throw extra pillows and blankets from the bed while sleeping. In the warm evening hours, the boy doesn't like having the heavy comforter on the bed, but I need it once the temperature drops. The floor wasn't working. So I took the two chairs, and placed them sideways beside the bed, covered them with an old curtain, and some throws and we had a bench. It's now a perfect place to pull on socks, helps the pup hop off our extremely tall bed, and serves as a resting spot for the comforter.

The table was still a little trouble. Back in Arizona, though, I was spoiled with an overabundance of bathroom storage. Here, we have a tiny linen closet, almost no counter space next to the sink, and no medicine cabinet at all. So, I decided to turn the table into a makeshift vanity. It's missing a mirror, but works really well as a place for me to store my make-up, necklaces, and hair ribbons. My little ottoman (an impulse purchase back when I got my couch) makes a perfect stool, especially trimmed with an otherwise underused pashmina scarf.

Steal my look with similar pieces: Custom photo to canvas print | Teal and brown floral bedspread | Teal patterned blackout curtains | Turtle candle holder | Wreck This Journal

Dress Up Tess: Yoda T-Shirt

My Chihuahua, Tessa, has huge ears.

Seriously, we talk about her "wingspan" and joke that she is about to fly away. Sometimes, when she's relaxing her ears stick straight out to the sides and she looks a bit like Yoda.

When I put a blanket over her head, it looks like a hood, and I call her my little Jedi master.

But this shirt doesn't just celebrate my Chi's ears. It also makes a solid point about how people perceive my pup. Tessa may be a Chihuahua, but that doesn't make her any less sweet and loving than any bigger dog.

She still goes nuts when I walk in the door, jumps up and licks my face, plays tug-o-war with her rope toys, and begs at the dinner table.

Judge her by her size, do you? Don't.

Love this shirt that Tessa is modeling? Get it here.

My Disney Decorated Living Room

Well, Christmas is super over. Last weekend we took down the tree and then today I finally took down the stockings hanging over the fireplace. Without the little festive details all over the living room, there was room to decorate with some of the gifts I received for Christmas.

On the mantle, I've put some of my new commemorative Adventureland dishware on display, including an Enchanted Tiki Room plate and glass, and cloth napkins from both the Tiki Room and Jungle Cruise. The line on the chalkboard is part of an old Neil Gaiman new year sentiment. Here's the full quote:

I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you'll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you'll make something that didn't exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be,  be wise, and that you will always be kind. -- Neil Gaiman

Mickey also sits atop the mantle in his cute Mickey mug, which is currently housing the last sign of December - some candy canes we took off the tree. I see a lot of peppermint hot cocoa in the future.

My last Adventureland piece is draped over the couch - a gorgeous woven throw from The Boy. This is the centerpiece of the couch, but it's surrounded by other things I love: my Sleeping Beauty and Chip 'n Dale pillows, and of course, my Chihuahua, Tessa, snuggled up and cozy.

My favorite part of the room, however, is The Boy's comfy recliner, which I turned into a castle corner. I absolutely love the castle line of merchandise, and couldn't help but display the gorgeous scarf and matching mugs on the end table. Draped over the chair is a Cinderella Castle throw, accented by a Sleeping Beauty's Castle pillow. The final detail is a Disney picture book, of course open to the castle page.

I love the whole room, even though The Boy isn't a huge fan of his chair having been taken over by my girly castle comforts. It makes me feel like I'm home at Old Key West on a Disney vacation every day.

I'd love to see your living room: does it have a theme, or just pieces you've collected? Post in the comments.

Steal my style with similar products: Chalkboard | Disney Tapestry Throw | Disney Castle Fleece | Adventureland Decor | Walt Disney World: Then, Now, and Forever book