You are here: Home / Archives for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day, Plan Breakfast and a Full Course Meal #HormelFamily

February 5, 2013 By 1 Comment

This year, we challenge you to conquer your home-cooking fear and encourage you to bring your Valentine’s Day celebration home. A home cooked meal can be more personal and thoughtful than going out to eat. Hormel Foods has worked to put together several tips and delicious recipes to add some flavor and make your entire Valentine’s Day experience stress-free. Start by picking a setting. Will you be serving breakfast in bed? A romantic meal at the dining table? A series of small dishes or one main course? Here are a few ideas from Hormel Foods for each option.

Asian Lettuce rapsBreakfast: Don’t sacrifice precious sleeping time by creating a time-consuming breakfast dish. Try topping off toasted frozen waffles with Hormel® Cure 81® ham, strawberries and maple syrup. Or, spread toast with cream cheese, create a heart in the center of the toast with blueberries and spoon strawberry jam in the center.

Appetizer: Asian Lettuce Wraps are simple to prepare yet have a sophisticated look and taste. Heat a combination of chicken, water chestnuts and a House of Tsang® stir-fry sauce of your choosing in a wok or skillet. Arrange the mixture in the center of each lettuce wrap, top with your favorite veggies and enjoy!

Main course: Impress your guests with a tasty Sausage and Pepper Pasta. Customize the simple dish that combines rigatoni pasta and Hormel® Natural Choice® spinach asiago chicken sausages with your loved one’s favorite jarred pasta sauce.

Don’t forget dessert! Valentine’s Day is known as a “sweet” holiday and no home-cooked meal on this day would be complete without a delectable dessert dish. If you’re already exhausted from your cooking efforts, heat up Hormel™ Country Crock® cinnamon apples and spoon over ice cream for a quick and mouth-watering ending to your meal.

 

 

I received this information from Hormel, as part of my membership of the Hormel Family Blogger Program.



Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

Guylian Belgian Chocolates Valentine’s Day gift boxes

February 3, 2013 By 1 Comment

Chocolate is one of the most popular gifts for Valentine’s day. I love to receive chocolate, I love to eat chocolate and there are so many different types of chocolate. Belgian chocolate is different in that it usually has some hazelnut flavor or praline like the Guylian.  When it comes to gourmet chocolate, Belgian chocolate delivers the world’s best chocolate experience. It is the meticulous attention to detail and old world traditions used by Belgian Master Chocolatiers that creates the superior gourmet chocolates Belgium is known for. Belgium has more than 2,000 chocolate shops throughout the country. That’s one chocolate shop every 6 square miles!

IMG_3489

As you know, Guylian “ultra-indulgent” luxurious chocolate seashells are 100% pure, silky smooth, dark and white Belgian Chocolate and are filled with rich, decadent creamy chocolate praline truffle.  The Guylian brand dates back to the late 1950’s when Guy Foubert, a passionate Belgian Chocolataire married his love, Liliane who then joined names creating Chocolaterie Guylian.–The perfect love story!

IMG_3491

What makes Belgian Chocolate the Best?
  • Only the finest ingredients are used to make Belgian chocolate
  • Belgian chocolate uses 100% pure cocoa butter with a melt-point that allows the chocolate to melt perfectly in your mouth
  • Belgian chocolate is processed, known as conching, to a maximum fineness resulting in a heavenly creamy chocolate texture
  • Belgian chocolate always has a well-balanced set of flavours, gradually developing and then enduring for a full sensory experience
  • Belgian Chocolatiers strict adherence to true old world artisanal craftsmanship and time-honored Belgian chocolate-making techniques

IMG_3490

We received Guylian Belgian Chocolates Valentine’s Day gift boxes for Valentine’s day and my husband is actually keeping them. He saw the chocolate and just kept saying, yum, mmmm, that looks good. So I’m happy to share it with him. They did after all give us a lot. They have a few different versions of the Belgian chocolate. You can even find some sugar free chocolate bars.

 

SAVE:

Get 20% off and it ends on February 28: VALDAY20.  Here is a direct link to their online store: http://shop.guylianbelgianchocolate.com/.

 

We received a sample



Filed Under: review Tagged With:

Valentine’s Day Shopping: Proflowers Is More Than Flowers

February 1, 2013 By 3 Comments

When I was looking at Proflowers.com all I expected to see was different flower arrangements. Maybe a few chocolate packages just because women love chocolate so much, but I was really surprised to see that they even had picture frames. Flowers are a wonderful way to brighten up a room and cheer someone up. Chocolate is my favorite food group, so I love seeing it. And then the cupcakes, I had to try the cupcakes. They were delicious too!

image

Try all three of our delicious cupcakes in one sampler. Each cupcake is distinct and equally mouth-watering. The decadent chocolate on chocolate cupcakes feature dark chocolate cake topped with deep chocolate frosting. Oh how I loved eating them. They were gooey in the middle and it was delicious. Our vanilla bean cupcakes start with moist, buttery vanilla cake filled with a vanilla bean cream and finished with a crave-able buttery vanilla icing; one of the best cupcakes every. Red Velvet cupcakes are made with an all natural deep red cake with a creamy chocolate truffle center and cream cheese-buttermilk fluff frosting. Wow, the truffles in the center were so very good.

We received:

  • 4 Chocolate on Chocolate Cupcakes
  • 4 Vanilla Bean Cupcakes
  • image4 Red Velvet Cupcakes
  • and 4 more Chocolate on Chocolate Cupcakes

Be sure to use Proflowers to uplift someone’s day. Send valentine’s flowers; it’s one of the most meaningful things you can do for the cherished lovers’ day. All flower bouquets and arrangements are not only beautiful, they’re also guaranteed fresh for seven days or you get your money back. Whether it is an old flame or a new love, you can be certain that flowers for Valentines Day will be appreciated for their beauty and grace. Flowers are the perfect surprise for the feted February holiday this year. If you’re looking for Valentine flower specials, ProFlowers offers amazing deals for your special Valentine’s Day. You won’t believe the selection! Top quality bouquets for Valentines Day delivery start at only $19.99 and there’s so many to choose from!

We received a sample.



Filed Under: review Tagged With: , ,

Looks What’s New At Baskin Robins: Valentine’s Day Conversation Heart Ice Cream Cakes Giveaway

January 25, 2013 By 210 Comments

It’s getting close to the end of January and into the month of love. One place you might not think about celebrating Valentine’s Day at is Baskin Robbins. You can order these Valentine’s Day Conversation Heart Ice Cream Cakes and have them your way.

Feb Heart Hero_low res

These bright and colorful cakes made with a small heart-shaped cutter will make a great addition to any stories on sweets and treats you may be working on around Valentine’s Day. Adorned with rainbow sprinkles on the bottom, each cake features one of three Valentine’s Day messages: “Love You,” “Kiss Me,” or “Be Mine,” and serves 2-4 people with a suggested retail price of $14.29. Guests can customize their cakes with their favorite ice cream flavors and a personalized message, which invites unique options like “Marry Me” and “Secret Crush.”

 

Enter to Win:

$31 Baskin-Robbins gift card

To Enter:

Tell me what your favorite flavor of ice cream is at Baskin Robbins

Extra Entries:

Use the rafflecopter and leave us a way to verify it

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

This giveaway ends February 12th. Please see our giveaway rules. You won’t receive the card in time for V-day.



Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: , , , ,

How to Make Your Wife Feel Special on Valentine’s Day

January 23, 2013 By 2 Comments

How to Make Your Wife Feel Special on Valentine’s Day

Guest Post

Making your wife feel special on the Valentine’s Day can be fun instead of challenging. Being a loving husband, you don’t need a reason to make her feel out of this world, but Valentine’s Day just makes things more special. Here are a few things you can give your wife on Valentine’s to make her day memorable…

image
1. Chocolates
Chocolate is one of those amazing gifts that will never fail you when it comes to impressing your wife. However, when you’re buying chocolate for Valentine’s, do not ignore quality. Don’t get trapped in the regular chocolate choices, and rather go for chocolate that offers taste and quality that match the highest standards. Besides the obvious taste factor, you also should ensure that the packaging is “set” for this special day.
2. Perfume
Buying a perfume as a gift for your wife is definitely a touching gift, given that know you know what her preference is. Even if you don’t, you can still choose a perfume that you would want her to smell like – your choice of fragrance. There are a ton of options available out there that will appeal to her no matter what her taste is like. However, don’t go cheap when it comes to getting a perfume because quality does matter here. You want to give her the best of the best, so go for a recognized brand.
3. Gift Basket
Valentine’s day gift baskets are really popular and make for an amazing gift that your wife will cherish. From “mild to wild”, Valentine’s gift baskets are a great way to let your better half know that you love her and how much she means to you. Right from a “Country Breakfast Basket” to a “Gourmet Bouquet Gift Basket” – you have got many good options. However, if you want to send out the perfect romantic gift in the form of a gift basket, you need to act early so that the good ones don’t get sold out.
4. Flowers
When we’re talking about making the Valentine’s Day special for your wife, how can flowers stay behind? Even though flowers are pretty common on this lover’s day, it’s still a safe choice. Why? Because women love flowers and hence, they will make your partner will special! While there are many different flowers that you can give her, the classic long stemmed red roses work out the best. If not that, you can also go for orchids that are delicate and beautiful. In the end, it’s your gesture that counts more – so make sure you add a loving note or card along with the flowers you send her.
5. Spa Gear
A lot of husbands give their wives the relaxing gift of a ‘spa certificate’ that they can en-cash at the nearest spa. But what if you went a step further than that and helped your wife turn her own bathroom into an nice, relaxing spa experience? You can definitely do that by gifting her everything and anything that will make it easy for her to pamper herself. Right from nice fragrances to body products – anything soothing and relaxing will make a great addition to your big gift. And yes, don’t forget to add those candles along with the “essential” oil burner.
There you go! The above ideas may seem simple, but they really work when it comes to making your wife feel loved and cared for this Valentine’s.



Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

T-Shirt Craft: Make Your Own Valentine’s Day Clothing

February 13, 2012 By 8 Comments

By: Ashley

I’ve been on the look out for simple, fun, and easy crafts that anyone can do… and that anyone can do last minute. I know that I always have these daydreams of getting my Martha Stewart on and having cute, homemade décor for whatever holiday happens to be just around the corner. It never happens though. I’m a procrastinator. I’m also a planner. Odd combination, right? Nevertheless, I’ve been lucky enough to stumble across yet another awesome craft that anyone can do for Valentine’s Day… and that you can do at the last minute.

Stamping With Paint

How to Make a Valentine’s T-Shirt

You will need:

You Will Need

- One pre-washed t-shirt
- Fabric paint in a contrasting color
- Paper doilies (heart-shaped)
- Sponge paint dabbers
- Piece of poster or cardboard

Directions:

1. Lay the shirt out flat. Put the cardboard in between the layers of the shirt so that the paint will not bleed through.

2. Place the heart-shaped doily on the center of the shirt (or use this chance to express some artistic freedom if you’re brave).

3. Dip the sponge into the paint, dab off the excess, and begin stamping the dabber all around the doily. Use the doily as a stencil.

4. Once you have covered the entire doily area with paint, carefully remove the doily. Allow the paint to dry. Remove the cardboard and VOILA! You have a cute Valentine’s Day shirt to wear every year!

Finished ShirtThis was really easy to do and you could make shirts for you, your kids, even your dog if you wanted! If you decide to try it out, leave a comment (better yet a picture) and let us know!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

About Ashley:

Ashley has a background in teaching Kindergarten and working with children K through 8th grade. She is now a SAHM and active with our local MOMS Club chapter. She writes her own blog at Momicles.



Filed Under: Ashley, crafts Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Jewelry Craft: Ring Around the Kisses for Valentine’s Day!

February 10, 2012 By 13 Comments

By: Ashley

I have to say that one of my favorite things to do when I was a kindergarten teacher was allow students to decorate bags to hold their little Valentine cards. To be honest, I’m not that big on the store-bought chocolates, comic book character overpriced pieces of cheap cardstock, or the dozen roses that seem to be SUPER expensive during the month of February. What I DO like though, is celebrating love, friendship, and how much you value relationships. A day to tell someone “I love you” just because? YES! I’m in. You don’t need to buy a $5 greeting card or $50 bouquet of roses. In fact, all you need is 2 pipe cleaners and a chocolate kiss! Here is a super easy craft idea that you and your kids can have fun with. I saw this in Family Fun and had to give it a try!

You will need:

- Regular craft pipe cleaners (color of your choice)

- Chocolate drop candies (I used Hershey Kisses)

Instructions:

1. Cross the pipe cleaners and twist them in the center.

2. Bring the pipe cleaners around the tip of the candy and twist to secure them around the Hershey Kiss.

3. Mold the pipe cleaners into a ring. Wrap the excess around the base of the Hershey Kiss or snip off the ends.

4. If you want, you can add a little note to your ring and use them in a class Valentine exchange.

Let us know if you try this out. Feel free to leave a picture of your own “Ring Around the Kisses” experiments in the comments.

About Ashley:

Ashley has a background in teaching Kindergarten and working with children K through 8th grade. She is now a SAHM and active with our local MOMS Club chapter. She writes her own blog at Momicles.



Filed Under: Ashley, crafts Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Unique Home Made Chocolate & “Cutie” Valentine’s

February 8, 2012 By 5 Comments

By Summer:

Since there is a lot of Valentine’s stuff circling blogs and the internet and all other technological mediums, here is what is happening at our house……..

There are a lot of different Valentine’s cards out there. My husband and I have always thought it’s all commercial anyways; we’ve never done anything “special” for Valentine’s Day … and really, if he didn’t do it any time before now, why do it on February 14 over any other day? March 2 is a nice enough day too.

So when Valentine’s Day comes, I hit our printer. My preschool-aged son gets to make Valentine’s cards for each of his friends. This year he loved coloring a picture on each one and I got to make cute little saying for our “gift”. Since a card isn’t enough anymore, we give “Cutie” brand clementine oranges; they’re eco and dental-medical professional friendly.

clip_image002

For the teachers I purchased chocolate (which I know they might get a lot of) but I didn’t buy the cheap stuff rather a bar I’d want to eat myself and is “good” chocolate.

clip_image004

 

Remember your footprint when you can. Happy Valentine’s Day from me and my family! ~Summer

About Summer:

Summer is very active in our Local MOMS Club chapter, she is the mother of two adorable active boys, and is always thinking of ways to help others. She is a friend, a wife, and always busy as all mommies are. She is very active on Facebook, addicted to Geocaching and very interested in organic and green living while cooking up a storm.



Filed Under: Summer Tagged With: , , ,

Angie’s Kettle Corn Valentine’s Snack Pack: What’s Not to Love?

January 21, 2012 By 3 Comments

Review By Orshi:

All-natural treat makes classroom parties sweet

I hate to admit it, but I still have candies from last Valentine ’s Day. Having 3 children and 18 students, we were way overstocked after this especially sweet holiday. And then came Halloween and Christmas and that basket that usually has only a few pieces in it is overflowing now. I am not a big fan of candy and I certainly don’t feed it to my children. Eating candy is a special treat in our house and it is hard to control the little sugar loving minds when they know it is around (so as far as I know they are unaware of the location of that basket). I also have a son who is highly allergic to dairy, soy, and nuts – pretty much three ingredients that are in most common candies. You know, the feeling of grabbing a piece of candy out of your child’s hand to possibly save his life … hmm, not a good one. Needless to say, I am very happy to find a healthy and safe alternative to the Valentine sugar rush that will please all three of my children and their little Valentines. Angie’s Kettle Corn Valentine’s Snack Packs are a sweetheart of an all-natural treat, packaged in portable and convenient packs for classmate and friend treat exchange.

clip_image002

Angie’s Kettle Corn is created by Angie Bastian and her husband Dan. At 70 calories per .5-ounce snack-sized bag, Angie’s is a cholesterol-free treat made with whole grain and four simple—and simply irresistible—sweet-and-salty ingredients: popcorn, corn oil, sea salt and sugar. Now how simple is that? My children will love it, I already know.

Exclusively available at Target, the whimsically Valentine-themed snacks pack retails for $5.99 and includes 20 treat-sized bags and customizable message stickers for easy and fun gifting. “With no trans-fats, artificial flavors, preservatives or cholesterol, our snack packs are a naturally delicious treat that Cupids of all ages will love from the inside—out,” said Bastian.

By purchasing Angie’s Kettle Corn you can also be part of a great cause since the growing company’s packaging waste is now being donated to Misfit Acres Inc. in Amboy, Minn., a horse rescue and sanctuary. Misfit Acres sends the waste to Michigan where TerraCycle Inc. “upcycles” it by using every aspect of the waste for a variety of products such as notebook covers, pencil boxes, carry bags, and fencing. Recycling proceeds come back to Misfit Acres and help to defray the expense of caring for the formerly neglected horses.

Visit Angie’s Kettle Corn on Facebook at  or Twitter @AngiesKettle.

About Orshi:

Orshi is a teacher at UCIC where she works daily with children. She shows a great love for children as she has three of her own. She also loves Facebook, gardening and baking. She was born and grew up in Hungary and now lives across the street.



Filed Under: orshi, review Tagged With: , , , , ,

Valentine’s Day Gifts at the Disney Store Giveaway

February 13, 2011 By 277 Comments

Last week, I really needed to get out of the house so I took Miles to the mall. The first store I saw had dresses on sale for 7.99 and lower and I wanted to go in and they them on, well Miles had another idea. He wanted nothing to do with the dress store so we went walking in the mall. We walked past the Teddy Bear store (aka Build-a-Bear) and he had to go in. So, we went in there and I was ready to go. He didn’t want to leave, so I enticed him with words like Mickey Mouse, Buzz Lightyear and Cars 2. He said, ummm The Mickey Store?

Yes let’s go to the Disney Store…..

He jumped up so fast and said, let’s go mommy, come on!

We can’t have a family trip to the mall without visiting the Disney Store and what did we find, LOTS of cute stuff for Valentine’s Day.

Miles of course loved all of the Cars toys he found along with the new Woody, Jessie and Buzz Lightyear plush. Can a kid have too many versions of Buzz and Jessie?

Valentine's Day Mickey and Minnie Mouse

Mickey and Minnie Mouse are as cute as can be with these soft pie-eyes gazing out at  you while holding a Valentine pouch that your loved one can put a special love note in for you to find. Valentine’s Day Mickey and Minnie Plush retail for 14.50. Dumbo can also be found in the Valentine’s Day plush set holding his own Valentine’s day pouch.

 IMG_8490

I love to drink coffee and I’m always looking at coffee mugs. So I was excited to see this pair of mugs for Mom and Dad with these Valentine’s Day Minnie and Mickey Mouse Mugs. By placing them side by side they create a picture with Mickey taking aim with Cupid’s arrow on one and Minnie is love-struck on the other. These are ceramic mugs that retail for 14.50.

Also merchandised for Valentine’s Day are Sweetheart Minnie and Mickey Mouse PJ Pal sets for girls and toddler girls. Each PJ set retails for 14.50. They are all-cotton and Disney authentic as they feature a pretty scallop-edged neckline accented with a satin bow. The contrasting cuffs and heart print pants make for pretty cute little girls PJ sets.

To keep up with all things relating to the Disney store and fun new Disney products sold in Disney Store check out The Buzz, the Disney Store’s blog.

 

Enter to Win:

A Disney Store Goody Bag filled with: Mickey and Minnie Valentine’s Day plush, a mug set, a reusable tote bag and a Valentine’s PJ set for the little loved one in their life.

VD Mickey Mouse BagTo Enter:

Leave a comment telling me what your favorite product is at The Disney Store.

Extra Entries:

 

Tweet or RT this post and include the link to the post

Follow @DisneyStore & @Momstart for a Valentine’s Day Goody Bag #Giveaway  http://bit.ly/gtgP71 PL RT ends 2/15

Tweet:

Valentine’s Day Gifts at The Disney Store #Giveaway @MomStart http://bit.ly/gtgP71

Subscribe to my blog
List this giveaway on any giveaway site, dig or stumble (or any of the share options listed below)
Blog About this Giveaway (10 extra entries, linking to the giveaway)
Comment on any other non-giveaway post 
Follow/Like Mom Start on Facebook
Follow me on twitter tell me your twitter ID
Follow me on Google Friend Connect

 

This giveaway ends February 15th. The Disney Store provided me with a few samples to use in this post, My family does frequently enter and make purchases from the Disney store, all opinions are our own. All rules can be found under giveaway rules.



Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
« Older Posts