Sasha's Top 10: Valentine's Day Roundup

Valentine's Day is less than a week away, and boy I've been surfing Pinterest like I have a room full of baby furniture that I don't want to assemble!  Or something.

Anyway, I'll be the first to admit, there's a lot about Valentine's Day that makes me gag.  I don't go in for artificial sugar, y'know?  Food coloring, heart vomit and sparkly, glittery, "LOOKIT HOW IN LURVE WE ARE, SHNOOPY SHNOOPY!" are really not my thing.  That said, it can be a fun excuse to show a certain someone or someones in your life how much they mean to you - said someones to include significant others, children, good friends, cats or even thy sweet self.  Also chocolate.  There is SO MUCH CHOCOLATE lying around this time of year, and that can only be a good thing.

So I've compiled a collection of Valentine's Day ideas that I actually quite enjoy.  I think there's something for everyone here, so I hope that no matter who you are or who you're with, you'll find something you can enjoy here.

Cherry Cordial Cupcakes, by Lemon Sugar

These decadent cupcakes are perfect for you, your sweetie or your best friend.  They're impressive to look at, easy to make, and Lemon Sugar lays out the whole recipe for you.

Chocolate Raspberry Cups, by The Frugal Girls

Step-by-step instructions on how to create your own edible chocolate cups, to fill with whatever kind of berries or deliciousness you want, really.  Or you could spend lots of money for the same thing at Godiva.  I vote handmade, of course!

Chocolate-Dipped Clementine Hearts, from Premeditated Leftovers

If, like me, you're actually capable of getting sick of all the ooey-gooey sugary crap you have to wade through this time of year, this simple technique will be just the thing!  Easy, and healthy and bite-sized!  The darker the chocolate you use, the more anti-oxidants you get, you know.

DIY Fingerprint Heart Print, by Restoration Beauty

An easy, personalized gift - perfect if you have kids, or are in a polyamorous group relationship.

Hot Chocolate Bar, by Clean and Scentsible

Oh man, I would TOTALLY have my husband, who shall remain nameless, wake up to this on Valentine's Day!  If Valentine's Day weren't on a workday this year.  Instead, I think I shall blunder around trying to put clothes on right-side-out before the sun rises and save this for another year (and the idea for another holiday!)

Pretty much the best Valentine's Day cards ever, by Castle McQuaid

No really, you have GOT to check out this guy's Etsy shop.  There are many more cards where these came from, each one as geeky and great as the last!  I don't care what you think of Valentine's Day, if Yoda Cupid and Heart-Throb Lando don't make you smile, then man...I can't help you.

Shakespeare Chalkboard Printables, by Mad in Crafts

I love these printables.  Lovelovelove them!  They're cute without being cutsey, they're literary and they really mean something.  If you don't know how to express your love, you can't go wrong letting the bard do it for you, with these free printables.

Dried Strawberries, by The Worldwide Gourmet

Another quick, healthy snack that still gets the "look, we're going for pink things that are vaguely heart shaped and sweet" thing across.

Burlap Valentine Wreath, by The September Tree

I love this wreath, because it fits the theme with a nod to the lingering winter.  

More Unusually Awesome Valentine's Day Cards, by Landeelu

These free printable cards say things like "You are pretty much my favorite husband," and "You're the one I want to be next to when you're on your computer and I'm on mine."  They're awesome cuz they're true!

Busy Weekend

Of course, I'm sitting here blogging on my laptop at the dining room table, so you'd never know it's been a fairly busy weekend, BUT IT HAS BEEN!!! Not as busy as it needed to be...but still. I've gotten plenty done, and there's plenty more to do.

Probably of most interest to you will be the progress I've made on Bluebonnets! I really like how it's turning out. I feel the need to throw in the typical "This will look much nicer when it's blocked" disclaimer, but I like how the open rib at the top mimics the fluffy, round column of blossoms you get on a bluebonnet. I'm using a slipped-stitch cable to create the stem and leaves, and I love how leafy it's turning out! I'm knitting this hairband from the center out, and I now have one side done and the provisionally cast on stitches picked up. Pattern's set, chart is drafted, all I need now is to knit the other half and pretty up the directions, and it's off to be tested!

Did my taxes. Wooooooo. Unfortunately, my former job wasn't so good with the withholding, so I owed a painful chunk of change. Turns out, though, that after finishing up my taxes today, I only owe slightly over half of what I thought I owed. That's still over a month's worth of rent, but still. I'd planned for much, much worse.

And other than that, I have a boat-load of school work to do. I've been plowing through a Dostoevsky novel, reading up on a presentation I'm giving on Tuesday about Dostoevsky's less-than-sympathetic attitude toward Jews in Russia and Europe and doing some editing and follow-up emailing for a professor. Oh, and articles on cognitive linguistics and Russian morphology. Let's not forget those.

Oh right! It's Easter! Happy Easter, everyone. It's easy to forget about this particular holiday, being childless and not really religious. But it's blatantly springtime outside, and all of my friends are posting to their respective blogs about family and food and coloring eggs with children, so it's definitely Easter. I'd been planning to make a big roast chicken dinner tonight, actually forgetting that it was Easter. My boyfriend, who shall remain nameless, is at his place, my roommates are with family, so...big dinner by myself? Woo. I'll try to focus more on the amazingly tasty food I'm able to prepare, and less on the fact that I'll be enjoying a big, Easter dinner with my cats.