Pink & Red Ombre Waffles Recipe for Valentine’s Day

I am about to drop the easiest waffle recipe you will ever see. And, considering it feels all fancy being ombre and all, it will seem even easier. Enter: box cake mix waffles!

Yep, today, I’m going to teach you how to make box cake mix waffles. I’m not even really teaching you, I’m just showing you that it works. And the result is some super cute pink and red waffles for your Valentine’s and Galentine’s Day celebrations!

Strawberry Vanilla Granola Recipe for Yogurt Parfaits

Don’t you just love granola? Such a good snack, or over yogurt for breakfast, or even with some really cold almond milk over it. Granola and me, we’ve got a thing going. This granola has been one of my favorites recently – totally have this one on repeat and have made it so often I’ve found the need to give jars of it away. This gal does not need to be eating granola at every meal, ya know?

I love a fruity, bright flavor this time of year, especially after such brutally cold weather last week! If I turned my back to the windows, stood in front of the heater, and took a bite of this granola with a little (almond) milk, I almost felt like it was spring. Almost.

For the yogurt parfaits, I added a little bit of strawberry jam between the layers, which I felt really pulled the whole parfait experience together. The sweetness of the jam complimented the plain greek yogurt and elevated the granola with just a bit more sugar. I also used a combination of plain greek yogurt and strawberry greek yogurt, which honestly just looked pretty! Sometimes you just have to do it because it looks prettier, right?!

How to Make Caramel Chocolate Covered Pretzel Sticks

You know how right after Thanksgiving you feel like you are ready to kick of the Christmas season? After Thanksgiving dinner, we always watch Christmas Vacation, which feels like a real transition to the second part of the holiday season. That’s kind of how I feel about the Super Bowl. Now that the game is behind us, I’m ready to officially shift in to Valentine’s Day. And I expect everyone to transition with me, since for dessert at our Super Bowl party everyone had these Valentine’s Day caramel chocolate covered pretzels.

Admittedly, I’ve been avoiding the whole chocolate covered pretzel thing for quite literally no reason. I think because I couldn’t wrap my head around the combination of sprinkles that would be pretty? So ridiculous to not make them for such an easy problem to solve – and it really was easy to solve! I just went to Michael’s, picked one set of sprinkles I loved and then used those to pick 4 more variations that I thought all looked cute together.

Nutella Croissant Bake Recipe

Happy World Nutella Day! This week, we’re talking allBlackberry Croissant Bake about recipes for Galentine’s Day and what Galentine’s Day celebration would be complete without Nutella?! And hot damn do I have a good recipe for you. This one is a little riff off the from a few months ago and is just as to-die-for as the OG. But I might love this one more, especially in this season of chocolate.

I love the way the savory nature of the croissants plays off the nutella custard in this – it balances the sweetness of the Nutella. Once this came out of the oven and was dusted with powdered sugar, I couldn’t believe I even considered adding banana or strawberries to this dish. It really is perfect just the way it is!

I also have to tell you – it’s really great hot out of the oven, and good at warm temp, and surprisingly still delicious cold. I may or may not have had this for dinner last night. I’ll never tell.

Valentine’s Day Gifts for Foodies & a GIVEAWAY!

So are you team “Yay V-Day” or are you team “Hallmark Holiday move on?” I feel like in our house we’re kind of somewhere in between, but I do love a holiday that gives you an excuse to acknowledge people you love, whether with a little sweet treat or a little gift.

And for you, dear, sweet readers, I have a little treat for you!

gifting a little love

with valentine’s day right around the corner, it’s time to wrap up a little dose of love for that someone special. i wanted to give you all a few ideas, some inexpensive and some a total splurge, to gift to the man in your life before the holiday goes into full swing – and before i get covered in pink and red glitter and icing bringing you lovelies some valentine’s day ideas (more to come).

so here we go:

valentine's day gifts for him

if you are early on in a relationship or you agree to not spend much, making his favorite dish and a book of love coupons can be great. think of this as the year one option. if you want to make a small gesture, i love the mini NFL helmets and a book (about the same team, or league). this is a great two year option (as in, you’ve been dating for two years)

going a little further is a humidor – great on its own and i’ve had a positive experience gifting one to my boyfriend. if you want to spend a little extra, include a cigar sampler. ask one of his friends what he likes or go to the cigar shop and ask for a suggestion. i would recommend something in the middle range – not too heavy, not too light and not too long – my boyfriend likes nicaraguan blends. this is again a great two year option, but also, three, or four, or five, and so on. if he likes cigars he will love this.

finally, the splurge. someday, i will splurge. today, not so much. but if you want to splurge, an extra special watch will do it. i know my boyfriend prefers the breitlings, and i love the ones with the blue face. these watches all have sapphire crystal, so it has a nice blue glaze in the glass on top of the blue face. it’s also a timeless, classic purchase that will last forever. plus all your love. because, i mean really – what more could you give beyond a watch like that?! this for me would be like a year 10 gift. as in 10 years of marriage, not even 10 years of dating 😉

there’s also the classics, like a tie, a bottle of scotch, sporting event tickets, concert tickets, etc. An experience or consumable is always a nice gift, too – never forget that!

well i hope this little guide helps you or at least sparks an idea for you. i would love to hear your ideas, too!

valentine’s day beauty

i totally love makeup – i’m a little bit of a makeup whore. i don’t go crazy and use wild colors, but i like to change my beauty look with my moods, the same way i like to change my clothes. sometimes i like a little cat eye, sometimes i like that smoldering smokey eye. sometimes i like au naturale.

for valentine’s day i like to do something a little more. you definitely want to go for a look that makes you feel a little sexier than your everyday and gives you the ability to give him “that look.” check out my picks for a valentine’s day-perfect look as well as a tutorial from my most favorite beauty blogger, kandee johnson.

valentine's day beauty
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pretty in pink

with just under two weeks to go until v-day, i thought it would be an appropriate time to start getting in the mood for some pink!

despite its correlation to love and hallmark holidays i really do love pink this time of year. it’s gloomy outside, cold, wet. it’s hard to get out of bed. but a pop of color can really brighten up your day and your mood. they say to wear red to improve your mood, but i think pink is great too, especially hot pink.

what will you be wearing this winter to kick the winter blues?

pretty in pink valentine's day inspired set