queen of hearts

valentine's day at our house was kind of out of control.  i don't know what came over me exactly, but i was most definitely feeling the spirit of what most people scoff at and call a "hallmark holiday."  honestly, i don't get the haters.  what's not to love about a day about love?  i find it annoying when people go out of their way to dump on others for enjoying the day.  but hey, to each her own, eh?

anyway, i'd picked up some fun themed fabric to make a little something for the bean to wear to her class party.  they usually let the dress code slide a bit on holidays, and i liked having a reason to sit at the sewing machine again.  after perusing my pinterest board, i went with this dress tutorial, using one of the bean's t-shirts to make a pattern.  i considering using some ready-made bias tape for the sleeves and hem, but sucked it up and made some of my own with the dress fabric instead.

that morning, i busted out some tools:

and made the bean a special meal (she saved half of it for her sister, who came home for breakfast).

as she munched, i got her dressed and ready for a day of fun.  following another tutorial i found online, i somehow managed to get her hair looking like this:

i was really pleased with how the dress turned out.

let's not forget the valentine's day mani.

in the car, she decided to take a bunch of selfies.  this is just one of...many.

at school, i confess to being tickled pink at overhearing her conversation with her friend.  "do you love the dress my mommy made for me?"

after the bell had rung and i watched her disappear into the building with her class, i scurried off to get started on my to-do list for the day before returning to school at noon for the party.  first, balloons.  two dozen of 'em, which made driving home a little challenging.

a pile of felt hearts in all different sizes.

i took the biggest ones and shoved 'em into my sewing machine to create a quick little garland, using a little leftover bias tape to make hooks for hanging it up.

the rest i sprinkled on the floor from the door to the garage to the doorway to the rest of the house.

the teen took charge of hanging the other heart garlands in the doorways and distributing the balloons throughout the house.

because i'd forgotten to put the conversation heart candy into the bean's classroom goody bags, i used them to decorate.

with just enough time to shower and get ready, i decorated myself too.

on my way out, mollydog got her valentine's treat.

the school party was cute and lots of fun, and the bean proudly presented me with the project they'd been working on.

watching her face as she walked in the house made all the work totally worth it.

what did i do for dinner, you ask?  well, it started with this:

and then i got really crazy and added a little food dye to the mashed potatoes, which i may have poured into a decorating bag to pipe out pink hearts on the plates.  there's a bbq-glazed pork chop nestled between it and one of those bacon hearts.

as for dessert, i followed this recipe and created some little heart-shaped chocolate cream cheese hand pies.

told you it was out of control.