Yesterday I participated in a blog hop with a bunch of blogger friends and we shared a lot of fun Valentine’s inspiration from decor to DIY’s.  I shared our Family Valentine’s Bar Cart and they had a fun treat that I promised to share with you today in a separate post.  So, as promised, I’m going to teach you how to make the most delicious heart-shaped macarons and they are just adorable!

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Click here to read my full disclosure policy.  All opinions are my own.

Even if you’ve failed at macarons, and believe me I’ve done it a time or two, this recipe is one that always works for us so make sure to follow it EXACTLY and you’ll succeed at making macarons too.  I love this little french cookie.

And first, I’d like to clarify something because even MANY American bakers and recipe book publishers get it wrong and it drives me insane…..

photo from lovelylittledetails.com

One is a french delicate cookie and one is an american coconut cluster cookie.  Okay, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s move on…ha!

PREP TIME
40 mins
COOK TIME
20 mins
TOTAL TIME
1 hour
Yields: approx 36 macarons

For heart-shape macarons, use this heart silicone mat.

INGREDIENTS
3 Egg Whites (at room temperature)
¼ cup white sugar
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 cup almond flour 
pinch of salt
¼ tsp cream of tartar

STRAWBERRY BUTTER CREAM
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 stick butter
2 heaping spoonfuls of seedless strawberry jam
1 tsp vanilla extract (I like using Mexican vanilla)

INSTRUCTIONS

•Preheat oven to 300F degrees
•Beat egg whites until foamy, then add salt, cream of tartar and white sugar for 5 mins. TIP: egg whites should be room temp.
•Whip until they form a peak that stands upright.
•Then add the food coloring. TIP: Color does fade as it cooks, so do a shade or two darker than you want them to be.
•Sift almond flour, and powdered sugar.  You want a really fine powder mixture to create a smooth cookie.

•Fold flour/sugar mixture into the egg white mixture. TIP: This is where all your hard work can really go wrong. Under mix and your macarons will be lumpy and cracked when the bake with no feet, over mix and your macarons will be flat and won’t have feet, the mark of a well-made macaron. In my experience, 65-75 turns of your spatula when folding is about the right amount of time. 
•Transfer batter to a pastry bag.

•Pipe out on to silicone heart macaron mat and try to shape with frosting tip.

OR pipe out 1 inch rounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, if you don’t want to make a heart-shaped macaron.

•Tap the pan hard against the counter, at least 2-3 times to release the air bubbles. This will prevent the tops of your macarons from cracking.
•Let them sit out for 30 mins, or up to an hour if you want. This will allow them time to dry out a bit before hitting the hot oven. They should be “tacky” to the touch, but not stick to your fingertips. This is another important step to assuring your macarons develop feet! When they dry out they can’t spread out in the oven, and are forced to rise up. That’s what creates the feet.

•Bake for 16 mins. DO NOT UNDER BAKE, even if they look done! Otherwise they will stick to your tray.
•Meanwhile mix the buttercream. Whip room-temperature butter with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Slowly add sugar. Then add jam and vanilla.
•Transfer to a pastry bag, fitted with a small tip (about ¼ ” in diameter)
•Reverse cookie shells on their backs, and pipe a small mound of filling on one of them. Top with the other shell, holding the sides to do it.  Don’t smash them on the top or they will crack.

•If not eating right away, keep refrigerated.

And that’s it!  Brooklyn and I made a bunch of heart-shaped macarons and also traditional round macarons last weekend.  They are so light and fluffy and chewy and sweet…oh my goodness!  They are truly divine!  Macarons, creme brûlée, and my mom’s fudge cake might be my favorite desserts ever!

If you’d like to see more on my kitchen, please read this post!

I would love it if you subscribed at the top of the page in order to receive my weekly emails of all my latest blog posts and hear about digital printables & freebies, as well as sales or new items in My Online Shoppe.  You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to see what I’m up to in creating a home and lifestyle of inspiration!

xoxo,

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The post How To Make The Most Delicious Heart-Shaped Macarons appeared first on Summer Adams.

Have I mentioned how much I love Valentine’s Day?  Ok, so I have….in all my recent posts.  I’m a hopeless romantic and I love L-O-V-E!  And when I became a mom, Valentine’s wasn’t just about romantic love anymore because it was just about love in general and showing that love to the most important people in your life.  Sure, we do this everyday, or should.  But I love a holiday that encourages us celebrate it and to show it and say it more often.  I make a big deal out of this holiday, like with the 14 Days of Valentine’s tradition that I do for our kids.  I also love putting together a fun Valentine’s bar cart with sweet treats for the entire family as well.  So that’s what I’m sharing with you today!

This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience.
Click here to read my full disclosure policy.  All opinions are my own.

Our Family Theme Song

This little family of mine LOVES music!  We dance and sing in the kitchen at nights around dinner time, we sing in the car, and we have a family “theme song”.  Our favorite for years now has gone something like this….

“I belong with you, you belong with me….”

“…you’re my sweetHEART!”

The Lumineers put out this song in 2012 and we’ve loved it ever since!  You can watch the music video HERE if you’re not familiar with it!

One day, while browsing Instagram, I stumbled upon the feed of the cutest little shop called Paris312.  I saw this “Ur My Sweetheart” balloon set and knew I had to have it for my family’s bar cart this year.  It includes all the balloons that you see in this space.
(You can see last year’s cart here.)
I reached out to them and they were kind enough to send me this set and guess what?  My family went NUTS over it!!!  Seriously, their faces and squeals (even the boys) made it even more fun!  It was the best surprise and it was meaningful, so it made it that much more special.

Paris312 has so many ADORABLE balloon sets and lots of party decorations that are to die for!  Make sure to check them out for your next event!  You can still order TODAY for Valentine’s.

I grabbed my favorite vintage cart and started loading it up with sweets to surprise them.

I grabbed some pretty glasses and made “Sweetheart Floats”.  To make a Sweetheart Float, you simply add a big scoop of vanilla ice cream to your glass and then top it off with strawberry soda (I used Crush brand).  I might love it more than a rootbeer float!

Beautiful fresh flowers were essential!

I grabbed a few apothecary jars and filled them with gumballs…

…white rock candy, and blush-wrapped candies.  I was thrilled to find those last ones!  Ghirardelli came out with a creme brûlée white chocolate that came wrapped in blush AND they were on sale so I grabbed all 6 bags that were left.  Aren’t they so pretty?! They’re delicious too!

I keep pretty napkins for all occasions so I pulled out these adorable blush heart ones I found at HomeGoods last year.

I grabbed these vintage gold-rimmed milk glass plates that I recently purchased from an estate sale.  I just adore them.

So that’s the top shelf.  For the bottom shelf….

I made vanilla cupcakes with vanilla bean buttercream frosting and put them on a gold cake stand.  It used to be silver but I sprayed it last year. Don’t be afraid to do that.  I also found these adorable blush and silver glittery scalloped cupcake wrappers at HomeGoods so I grabbed every package.  They’ll last me for several celebrations, I’m so glad!  They’re just too cute!

More fresh flowers on the bottom shelf.

Now these babies…these were really fun!  If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen my IG stories the other night and that Brooklyn and I were baking something fun.  We tried these heart macarons and they were sooooo fun!  We’ve baked macarons, like these, and many others before but we’ve never baked heart macarons.

They’re not only adorable but they are sooooooooo delicious!  The filling was my favorite yet and I can’t wait to share the recipe with you!  I’ll be posting it tomorrow so please make sure to check back!  There’s an easy secret to it and you’re going to love it.

Doesn’t that all look delicious?!  It was a really fun surprise for my family. So, make sure to check back tomorrow for the Heart Macaron Recipe and keep coming back because I have some fabulous Galentine’s Ideas AND another fun family idea to share.  If you haven’t already read my Valentine’s Apparel, Gifts & Decor post, it’s a must!  Soooo many fun and fabulous ideas for you and for your home and friends and it’s not too late to order for Valentine’s Day.

Click on arrows to scroll right and left.  Click on item picture to shop.

Welcome To Our Monthly Blog Hop

Kim & Lacey | Styled With Lace

Summer | Summer Adams

Janine | Happy Happy Nester

Amie | Meme Hill

Joan | 2 Ladies & A Chair

Sheila | Maison de Cinq

Jackie | Finding Lovely

Jodie & Julie | The Design Twins

Ashley | Modern Glam

Judy | Life Is Better At Home

Rhonda | Hallstrom Home

Martha | Simple Cozy Charm

Gloribell | Know How She Does It

Please make sure to visit my talented friends above and see what they’re sharing today!

I would love it if you subscribed at the top of the page in order to receive my weekly emails of all my latest blog posts and hear about digital printables & freebies, as well as sales or new items in My Online Shoppe.  You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to see what I’m up to in creating a home and lifestyle of inspiration!

xoxo,

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The post Fun Valentine’s Bar Cart For The Entire Family appeared first on Summer Adams.

Every year I’ve been so good to get my kids’ Valentines ready to pass out during their classroom parties.  However, this year I put it off until the last minute so I was on Pinterest and Instagram looking for fun ideas.  One mom posted the cutest flamingo Valentines that she made her daughter.  But when I went to her website, on February 13 (I’m cringing of embarrassment here), she had ordered them through another company.  Well, I was out of luck and didn’t have that kind of time.  So I opened up Photoshop and tried to create something similar.  And now I’m sharing this “I’m Tickled Pink That We’re Friends” Flamingo Valentines free printable with all of you!

I know what you’re thinking….’um, isn’t she sharing this a little late, on Valentine’s Day?’  Yes, I am and yes, you’re right.  BUT….if you love it, save it to Pinterest so that you have it for next year!

Just grab your some cute suckers (You can buy them HERE or HERE) and some red twine or pink twine. Make sure to print it on white card stock.

Just click HERE and save this pdf file to your computer.  **Please note that this is FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY!**  You may not save this and share it as your own in your blog or sell it. (Yes, I have to say that…I wish I didn’t.) 

And in case you’re wondering what I did for Beckham’s Valentine, here is what we did.

He is OBSESSED (understatement) with Star Wars and so I found this cute free printable HERE by Paper & Pastiche.

Now, I’m off to deliver them to the school and help out with class parties.  Later, we’ll be having a big family dinner, a fun tradition of ours each year, here at home.  I shared by table HERE the other day and I can’t wait for them to walk in the door after school so we can start our fun afternoon/evening.

HAPPIEST Valentine’s to YOU and your loved ones!
I’m so glad you stopped by! I would love it if you subscribed at the top of the page in order to receive my weekly emails of all my latest posts.  You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to see what I’m up to in creating a home and lifestyle of inspiration!  See you soon!

xoxo,

The post I’m Tickled Pink – Flamingo Valentine appeared first on Summer Adams.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again….I LOVE “love”!  Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holidays because I get to show an extra amount of love, being extra conscious of telling and showing my family and friends what they mean to me.  I’m sure the commercial side of any holiday is profitable and loves holidays and encourages us to make a bigger deal of them for their sake, but I truly don’t care because after all….it’s the true meaning of the holiday that really counts.  So let’s celebrate L-O-V-E!  (cue song by Nat King Cole)

Some fabulous blogger friends of mine often get together on a monthly basis and share with all of you, whatever it is we are doing or celebrating.  Today we are giving you a tour of our homes all decked out with Valentine’s Day Decor.  We all have different styles and loves for certain colors and textures so I really love seeing what everyone shares.  There’s so much inspiration! So, WELCOME if you’re coming from Kim & Lacey’s blog Styled With Lace.  Aren’t their homes soooo dreamy?! I love everything they do!  Welcome to all my regular readers and I’m so grateful you keep coming back for more fun and inspiration! Come with me into my living room!

I kept my living room pretty bright and white, as usual, and kept the blush tones.  I also kept all my gold and silver mercury glass candle holders and sparkly candles out from Christmas, to keep that ambience of romance and glam.

I removed my large piece of art with warm tones and replaced it with a lighter piece.  I also removed the leopard pillows that I love and put them somewhere else.  I wanted to keep this room light and soft.

I wish I could find this wooden heart wreath for you somewhere!  I always get asked about it.  I found it at Target a few years ago and still love it.  It has a touch of gold glitter (I should have gotten a close-up).  You can find the Vintage Letter Banner (I also used HERE recently) in my online shoppe and spell out any word or phrase.

It’s always a nice, pretty spot to sit and relax and write “love notes” or watch an old romance movie.

Shop this room below:

In the kitchen nook, I decided to keep my vintage tea cart here in the corner after our Soda Shoppe Valentine’s Family Night that we threw for our kids one night.  I like it here!  It’s fun to decorate and since I always keep a candy bar or sweets out this time of year, it’s the perfect place to display it all.

This “rose gold” or blush love mylar balloon I bought last year is the cutest addition for this little corner.  My friend Tanya at A Darling Daydream has the same balloon and when I saw her use it above her cute cart, it inspired me to use it the same way. Her entire party she threw for her family was out-of-control gorgeous and you need to go see it!!!  Then, Amy at Pearl & Jane sent me THE CUTEST garlands!  Here’s how I used one of them.  This mini gold sequin XO garland is the perfect thing to hang right below this fun love balloon.

It’s still cold some days here in Dallas (in between all the fabulous warm ones) so I keep the hot chocolate and mugs out to make a cup whenever anyone desires.  Gumballs, heart biscuits, rock candy, vanilla meringues…

…and some mini angel food bundt cakes make this the perfect place to take care of that sweet tooth.  Sweets for my sweets!

Of course, I had to add lots of pretty rose sprays!  Roses make everything prettier!

Shop this room below:

Let’s head on over to my Dining Room!

This is such a bright space with the bay windows and I like it staying that way instead of getting too busy.  So, all I added was the simple glitter “love” garland and miniature faux rose wreath on my china cabinet.

That being said, I love to set a really fun table for Valentine’s Day for my family!  It changes every year but it’s always fun and festive.  We celebrate together on Valentine’s Day and have a really great night together.  It usually involves a heart-shaped pizza, a chocolate fountain with all sorts of delicious dippers, and other yummy things!  Oh, and presents!  I love to wrap and give them fun gifts.  I feel like it’s a mini Christmas.

This year’s table was inspired by those adorable garlands by Pearl & Jane.

My dear friends Ashley and Susan shared them in their Valentine’s posts and I had to have them.

The little pink felt lips, gold sequin hearts, felt ball and heart garland, and rose gold sequin XO garland were just all so so cute together.  It added that fun element I wanted since this is our dinner with the kids.  And of course…it sparkles.  Win win!  I love that I can use these banner throughout the year for occasions other than just Valentine’s Day.  I’ll use them for baby or bridal showers, birthdays, our anniversary, or even in Brooklyn’s room.

More fresh roses and these ones smelled OH SO GOOD!  This gold vase was a fun DIY.  It was a clear glass vase from Home Goods that had some faux flowers in them with that clear resin that looks like water.  Well, I needed the faux floral in them for something else so instead of getting rid of this and tossing it, I just sprayed it gold.  I needed a gold vase so it was the perfect solution.

I used my blush chargers with gold flatware, or “goldieware” as I like to call it.  I grabbed my blush sequin runner and gold mercury glass candleholders too and do you see those leopard pillows in the background? I told you I moved them from my living room and into here for a fun accent.

But these blush sequin dinner napkins, from my friend Nicky Sinclair and her adorable online shop called Composition Lane, were the icing on the cake!  They are to die for and they compliment the garlands and chargers and runner and everything so perfectly.  My kids walked in the door from school and started saying how “awesome” and “fun” and “cute” this table was and their friends’ jaws were on the floor.  It was cute.  And let me just say…..yes there’s sequins and sparkle and shiny mercury glass here.  But this was so so simple to put together.  I love buying pieces throughout the year that I know I’ll use often and then mix and match linens and serve ware and home accents to create totally different looks.

Ok, one of my favorite things for this simple but FUN Valentine’s table are these keys. Last summer I went to my friends’ barn sale and bought a ton of fun vintage treasures, including a handful of brass skeleton keys.  They were so cute and I knew I could use them so many different ways.  But, being the hopeless romantic that I am, I immediately thought of using them with this “You hold the key to my heart because…” saying for Josh and the kids at each place setting.  On the back of each heart, I’ve written what they do that just melts my heart.  For example, Beckham just turned 9 years old but he still grabs my hand in the parking lot as we walk into the store.  I die.  EVERY.SINGLE.TIME.  I hope he does that for a while longer.  I think they’ll like the sweet expressions of love I wrote down for them and hope they understand how much it means to me.

It’s the simple things we can do that make such sweet memories and unforgettable experiences.  My mom had 6 of us kids and, while I know it was very hard to do and she couldn’t do everything she would have liked to do for us, she was brilliant at making holidays magical and special. Best mom ever!  I remember walking into the house each Valentine’s Day after school and seeing red and pink balloons, flowers, the table set with china and everything looked so fancy!  Some of our dishes were in a heart shape and we each had the cutest wrapped gifts on each of our plates.  We absolutely LOVED Valentine’s Day each year!  Mom was too cute.  I hope my kids look back on these days with fondness and a smile as I do.  I enjoy it all so much!  Especially our “14 Days of Valentine’s Tradition” that I do for them.

Shop this room below:

Do you have any special traditions or things that you do for Valentine’s Day?  Do you do a lot of decorating or just something simple?  I’d love to hear!  And for more inspiration, please head on over to my friend Joan at 2 Ladies & a Chair next.  She’s so talented and I always love to see what she’s up to!

Make sure to visit all of my other friends joining me today also:

I Don’t Know How She Does It
Maison de Cinq
Crazy Chic Design
Lindsay-Hill Interiors
Happy Happy Nester
Home & Fabulous
Meme Hill
Styled With Lace

Thanks so much for joining me today!  I would love it if you subscribed at the top of the page in order to receive my weekly emails of all my latest posts.  You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to see what I’m up to in creating a home and lifestyle of inspiration!  Hope to see you soon!

Wishing you the happiest and sweetest and most memorable Valentine’s Day ever!

xoxo,

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The post Simple Valentine’s Decor appeared first on Summer Adams.

As soon as I take down Christmas each year, I always enjoy the clean slate of my home and a fresh start to a new year.  But then I get the itch to start decorating and planning for Valentine’s Day.  It’s my second favorite holiday because I love LOVE!  There’s nothing better than celebrating the ones that mean the most to me and making an extra effort to tell them just that.  Josh and I love celebrating Valentine’s Day as a family with our children each year.  Just like my mother did, I make a big deal about this special holiday and try to make it extra special with a big dinner, tons of decorations, and gifts.  Last week, I shared a fun Soda Shoppe Valentine’s Family Night that we did with our kids.  But today, I’ve gathered a few of my talented blogger friends to bring you “5 Ways To Wine & Dine Your Valentine.”  I decided that since I have the family celebration planned, I would also plan a romantic Valentine’s table for two and surprise my sweet husband with a very special dinner.  We did this a couple of weeks ago and was also a 2nd dinner and continued celebration for our 13th anniversary!

I’m so excited to have those of you who are here for the first time and coming from Courtney’s at French Country Cottage.  Can you believe how talented she is?  Everything she does is magical and she leaves me wanting more and more.  Such an inspiration!  To my regular readers, I love you for coming back over and over!  I love having you here and LOVE your comments and feedback.  It means so much to me, so thank you!

We moved back to Texas this last year and so we take advantage of those warm winter days in the 60’s or 70’s between January and February and sit out in the sun to enjoy the fresh air.  So that’s exactly where I wanted to create my romantic table for two.  We live just blocks from a beautiful nature preserve with so many trails and ponds and even a zipline course.  It was easy and accessible and had lots of private, cozy areas to set up in.  I grabbed a girlfriend and my kids and had their help to set everything up.  It good to have a partner-in-crime to help you pull this off if you’re making it a surprise for your Valentine.

Over the years, Josh has become soooo good at surprising me and sweeping me off my feet. I was really wanting to surprise him so I told him to meet me at this one spot at the beginning of the nature preserve on his way home from the office.  It’s right where you turn to come down our street so it really is just couple of blocks away and I love being this close to it. This is what he saw!

A surprise, remote, candle-lit dinner was not what he expected. He was so shocked and just loved it!  The sun was starting to set so it was perfect and romantic.  I grabbed a small patio table for 2 people and added my linen table cloth. This was a small table so I used my basic white beaded salad plates and a fun polka dot plate for dessert later.  It wasn’t a five-course meal or anything so it was just the right size.

Being such a small table, I didn’t have much room for anything else but some pretty flutes and a small lantern.  These flutes are so pretty and dainty that I used some small pretty blush heart napkins I found in the checkout line of Home Goods a few weeks ago (that’s where they always put those little irresistible pretties that I have to throw into my cart last minute).  I served a fruit platter (not shown as it hadn’t arrived yet) and made us mini heart chicken pot pies.  That’s one of Josh’s favorites, being a Texan boy and loving those hearty home-cooked dishes. We toasted with Sparkling Cider, another one of his favorites.

Since our table for two was so small, I also brought our smaller folding table to set other things on. I kept the color scheme very neutral with linens and white roses but I couldn’t help myself and added a couple of hints of blush.

I found these blush mercury glass vases last fall and they were the perfect choice to hold these gorgeous white roses.  I kept dessert simple and light, as we are trying to make healthier choices, and went to Whole Foods Market for some rose and vanilla macarons.  I love them and they’re so pretty.  I won’t tell you how much I wish they were big slices of chocolate shake though, haha!

On the other end of the table, I placed a picture of one of our church’s temples (in Salt Lake City) because this is where we first saw each other back in 2001.  We still remember that exact moment our eyes met from across the room.  I’m so glad it was in this lovely place because if it had been in a McDonald’s or somewhere less beautiful, we would probably have that framed here instead ha!  We are silly and sentimental like that.

To the left of the table, I decided to bring an A-frame chalkboard that I embellished with some faux blush roses and green branches, blush and white striped ribbon, and this beautiful quote written.

We have loved this quote because, for those that know our love story, we knew for a long time we wanted to get together but waited a couple of years (as I was in Portugal and he was in Guatemala as missionaries) until we were both back in the USA.  Also, after being married for some years and hearing friends say that they “weren’t sure they picked the right one” or weren’t sure if they “married their soulmate” we felt completely opposite.  We have always known that we were meant for each other AND that we made the right choice.  It’s like that saying, “Forever, for always, and no matter what!”  There’s just no doubting for either of us.  Ok….enough sappiness (for now).  Moving on…..

When I went to light the candles just as he was arriving, I stopped to admire the perfect backdrop that was just behind us.  That sun peeking through the trees was just icing on the cake.  The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

To the right of our table, I set up a little cozy spot for us to sit and snuggle together after dinner.

I used the Vintage Glitter Letter Banner from my online shoppe to spell out “ALWAYS”.  I like it more than “forever”.  We know we are forever, but we want to like each other always, love each other always, be best friends always, be united and connected etcetera always!  So that’s more about the significance of that word for us.

I threw down some faux fur throw blankets, a pretty blush throw blanket, and a lantern next to this lovely box.  A present for Josh?  Nope.  Inside was a stack of just some of our letter we wrote back and forth to each other, from Portugal to Guatemala, for 2 years.  There were soooo many experiences we shared in those letters.  Hard times, the best times, really funny times…..and it’s through those letters that we got to know each other and become best friends and start to fall in love.  If our house ever caught on fire, I’m grabbing my kids and those letters!!!  They are priceless.  We laughed and rolled our eyes at some of the memories and even had some very tender moments. This was the most PERFECT way to celebrate 13 years of marriage AND have an early Valentine’s date.  This is also where we ate those delicious macarons.

The night couldn’t have gone better or been more romantic.  This is such a fun idea and really so easy.  Besides baking the Chicken Pot Pie and making my fruit platter, the only other thing I made was the floral arrangement.  The extra bodies to help set-up were very helpful but if you don’t have help, you can still do this so I encourage you to plan this surprise outdoors table for two!

These blush sequin pillows are new to my shoppe!  They are matte sequins on one side.  And if you use your finger to “draw on the pillow” and flip the sequins up, they are shiny on the other side.

That is how I made the heart on one pillow and the “S+J” on the other pillow.  So fun right?  You can also leave the all down for the matte look or switch to the all shiny side.

I’m providing the links of what I used (or something similar if not available) to create this special evening just below, for your shopping convenience.

I can’t WAIT for you to hop on over to Kelley’s blog at Kelley Nan and see what she is doing to Wine & Dine her sweet Valentine!  Kelley always has the best ideas and quite the hostess with the mostest so you’re in for a real treat!  Please make sure to also visit my 3 other talented friends listed below.  These ladies are a constant source of inspiration!  Make sure you’re saving all these fabulous ideas to Pinterest!  You could even text these links to your Valentine if you think he might appreciate the ideas.

SheLeavesALittleSparkle |  KelleyNan  |  BoxwoodAvenue

RandiGarrettDesign  |  FrenchCountryCottage

Thanks so much for joining me today!  I would love it if you subscribed at the top of the page in order to receive my weekly emails of all my latest posts.  You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to see what I’m up to in creating a home and lifestyle of inspiration!  Hope to see you soon!

xoxo,

*Post contains affiliate links.

The post 5 Ways To Wine & Dine Your Valentine: Table For Two appeared first on Summer Adams.

It’s almost February which means my next favorite holiday will arrive soon after…Valentine’s Day! I’ve said it for years….I love LOVE! I love celebrating those that I love and mean so much to me. Josh and I are really good about going out on dates regularly, meeting for lunch, and taking vacations alone (in between family vacations with our children). But on Valentine’s Day, we make sure to spend it with our children and celebrate as a family. So many parents I’ve talked to say that it sounds like a fun idea but are not sure how to make it a fun family tradition. Well, today I’m solving that problem and bringing together some of my favorite Interior & Lifestyle Bloggers, that also happen to be some of the sweetest and most talented mothers, to share with you 11 Kids Valentine’s Party Ideas to do at home. What a FUN tour, right?! Make sure to get your fingers ready to tap and pin each of these posts to Pinterest.

Welcome to my friends who regularly visit AND big welcome to those of you visiting for the first time and are coming from Erin at Sunny Side Up. Didn’t you just love Erin’s ideas? She is darling and always so creative and talented. I love the warmth and love that oozes out of each blog post of hers.

Today I’m sharing a fun idea we had to go a little retro and have a “Soda Shoppe Valentine’s Family Night”. I had something completely different to share with all of you and THEN my son, Beckham, said something about Mommy growing up in the old-fashioned days and wondered if we had colored TV’s. You should have seen the look on my face! I was born in the late 70’s so….yes, we had colored television. I told him that he was referring to the 50’s and since he clearly didn’t know much about the 50’s, one of my favorite eras ever, it was a no-brainer what this Valentine family night’s theme needed to be. You bet your bottom dollar that I turned on Grease and played the soundtrack as quickly as I could. It was swell! ;-p

I wanted to use everything we had and not spend much. I only purchased a few little fun things. We had poodle skirts (I’ve got them ready to go at all times ha ha), we had a vintage tea cart and soda glasses, and we had some vinyl records from another project I did. So we just needed food and music and games and we were set! And instead of using our Dining Room, I decided to keep it quaint and stay in our kitchen nook, on our little round white table. It seemed more fitting somehow.

Oh, I should point out that even though all 4 of us were present, my husband passed on the photo ops for this party and stayed with me behind the camera and, while I had my poodle skirt on, I opted out of being photographed because I’ve got a horrible cold and it shows. You’d thank me, if you could only see me ha!

I grabbed some old vinyl records that I’d purchased at The Salvation Army a while ago for $1 each and used them as chargers. I’ve had red and heart plates that I’ve collected over the years and heart napkins as well. I kept this party simple and ran to Whataburger because I thought that the whataburger menu was better than most of the other fast food places around (it’s a Texas favorite but you can also choose In-N-Out). I grabbed some burgers and fries, just the way we like ’em.

I used a small cake stand from the Target Dollar Spot for the middle of my table to act as a pedestal for my retro diner menu and salt & pepper shakers.

I’m sharing this FREE PRINTABLE I created on Photoshop for this retro diner menu with you (for personal use only, copyright laws apply). I found the sign for less than $2 at IKEA and they always carry them.

One of the things I had to order (because they added so much and were just sooooo cute) were these Classic Pink Cadillac Party Food Boxes and placed a box of chocolates in them for each member of our family. You could also add cookies or popcorn or candy, etc. They are so fun, aren’t they?! Included is the cute checkered tissue paper.

No 50’s diner would be complete without Coca Cola bottles and milkshakes. While I had intended to make strawberry milkshakes, we had some strawberry Fanta soda and vanilla ice cream so I just made these yummy Strawberry Soda Floats. Easy peasy and sooooo yummy!

As far as milkshakes go, I grabbed some yummy cupcakes from my grocery bakery and added chocolate syrup, maraschino cherries, and cut off part of a red-striped paper straw to look like a milkshake. Milkshake cupcakes….that’s what we’re calling them and they were terrific.

This vintage tea cart has made an appearance over and over in our family parties and we use it often to entertain or to hold our hot cocoa bar (search hot cocoa bar or tea cart on my blog to see all the ways I’ve used it).

Iam so glad I had it for my Soda Shoppe Valentine’s Family Night. After dinner, we grabbed those chocolate graham crackers off the bottom shelf of the cart and all the fun candies and we made…..

….LOVE SHACKS!! (cue music) Oh, and of course our “jukebox” (a.k.a. Alexa, our Amazon Echo) was playing all of our my favorite 50’s music that I created on a playlist. Mixing a little water with powdered sugar until it’s really thick makes the perfect “cement” to put together your Love Shack.

While Brooklyn was trying for a more traditional look, Beckham had had enough and went for a more adobe-looking Love Shack….like something we’ve driven past on our drives through New Mexico. Ha! Let’s face it…all they care about is finishing it so that they can pick off the candy or eat the leftover candy. But it was so fun.

While the game Twister may have not been invented until the 60’s, it was a retro game that I know my kids love and laugh hysterically over, as they try to cheat and knock over the other person. We had to bring it out. Please tell me if this sounds familiar!

Of course, NO party is a successful party in The Adams’ Home without a dance party. The sun was setting too so it was the perfect time for a sock hop!

Aaaaaaand….they are gonna kill me one day for sharing this, I’m sure, but I can’t help myself.

Our playlist for the night included the soundtrack from Grease and also many songs from this list I found online. Oh! And “Love Shack” of course! These 50’s tunes are PERFECT for a retro Valentine’s Party!

Here are the items or similar items used that I’ve linked below for your shopping convenience and to help re-create this Soda Shoppe Valentine’s Family Night.

Thanks so much for joining me today! I would love it if you subscribed at the top of the page in order to receive my weekly emails of all my latest posts. You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to see what I’m up to in creating a home and lifestyle of inspiration! Hope to see you soon!

NEXT PARTY —> Head on over to see what my amazing friend Annie at Zevy Joy has in store for you! Every post of hers just melts my heart and I always look forward to the next!

Make sure not to miss a single party! Here are all of the hosts below:

Summer Adams (me) | Zevy Joy | A Thoughtful Place
Kindred Vintage Co. | Eleven Gables | Pink Peppermint Design | Ella Claire
House Of Five | Elliven Studio | Craftberry Bush | Sunny Side Up

Wishing you the Happiest Valentine’s Day, celebrated with the one(s) you love most!

xoxo,

The post Soda Shoppe Valentine’s Family Night appeared first on Summer Adams.

Whether you’re single or not, Valentine’s Day has become a popular holiday to also celebrate friendships.  Women all over the world are celebrating “GALentine’s Day” with fun luncheons, brunches, girls’ nite outs, parties or just swinging by to say, “I love you and I’m so glad we are friends.”  I love it!  There’s nothing like having a good group of women that support you and love you and always have your back.  So of course, it makes perfect sense to acknowledge them as well.  I’ve rounded up a bunch of affordable gifts (mostly from $10-$50) from beauty and apparel to home decor and sweets in this GALentine Gift Guide to help give you some ideas.  Click on any image and it will take you to the store!

I absolutely love this new necklace called “You’re Making Me Blush”.

Our Large Rhinestone Bow Bangle is always a favorite and such a pretty gift to give a friend.

This gorgeous Pink & Khaki Plaid Blanket Scarf is a gorgeous gift and much more affordable than the Burberry original.

If you’re not getting anything for your Galentines, maybe you could make them a plate of cookies or send them a nice card?  I like to do this every year.

Excuse the iPhone picture from 2015, but you get how cute they are right?!

I ordered these ones and they came in these cute little boxes (I purchased a dozen).  I put on my soft lips sweater and spent a day delivering them to my girlfriends with a big hug and told them how much I adored them.  You should try it!  It is the most fun and it means so much to your girlfriends!

Here are some great cookie sources you can order from (scroll right to see more):

And some cute tops with lips or hearts too!

I hope this motivates you to do something fun this year.  If it’s not your thing, well then show yourself a little love and grab some of these cute things above for YOU!  Or you can even send this link to your significant other for some gift ideas…ha!

I would love it if you subscribed at the top of the page in order to receive my weekly emails of all my latest posts.  You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to see what I’m up to in creating a home and lifestyle of inspiration!  Hope to see you soon!
Wishing you a very Happy GALentine’s Day and hope this gift guide was helpful!

xoxo,

The post GALentine Gift Guide 2017 appeared first on Summer Adams.

It’s mid-January!!!  Can you believe it??  Valentine’s Day is just a month away.  As soon as Christmas is over and I have all my decor put away, it feels empty and plain and sad.  It makes me excited to bring in Valentine’s Decor.

On that note, we start baking everything in heart shapes around here.  I absolutely ADORE these italian sandwich cookies with raspberry preserves.  I used my little heart cookie cutter to cut out the middle of one side to make them more of a valentines cookie.  These are simple and soooo delicious!

Easy Italian Raspberry Preserves Sandwich Cookies:

Ingredients
3/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I like to use vanilla bean paste)
3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup good raspberry (or preferred fruit jam) preserves
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350˚ degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough 1/4-inch thick and cut 2 3/4-inch rounds with a plain or fluted cutter. With 1/2 of the rounds, cut a hole from the middle of each round with a heart-shaped cutter (optional). Place all the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and chill for 15 minutes.  It’s important to chill them to keep their pretty shape (I may have learned this the hard way, wink wink

Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Now, my gas oven cookies super fast so I only did 10 minutes.  You may want to try that first and possibly do less, depending on your elevation.  Allow to cool to room temperature. Spread raspberry preserves on the flat side of each solid cookie. Sprinkle the cut-out piece of the cookies with confectioners’ sugar and press the flat sides together, with the raspberry preserves in the middle and the confectioners’ sugar on the top.

And how cute are those golden arrow measuring spoons?! You can find them here below by clicking on the picture:

Search through all my other Valentine’s here on my blog!  I have other fun recipes and gift ideas!  I sure LOVE this time of year!  Happy Baking!

xoxo, Summer

The post Italian Raspberry Preserves Sandwich Cookies appeared first on Summer Adams.

As our 14 Days of Valentines comes to an end, this one is the most simple yet MOST IMPORANT!  Love notes to our children…

While I feel it’s sooo important to SHOW our love to our children and those we love, it’s equally important that we TELL them as well.  My kids were literally blushing and smiling as they read them.  And they both went “awwwwww thanks Mommy and Daddy!” after reading them.  They both said out loud that they were gonna save them in a special place.  I still have a little note that my mom gave me when I was 8 years-old that told me how much she loved me and what a good job I did preparing Family Home Evening lesson that night.  It meant a lot to me to hear that.  29 years later, it is in a special memory box.

So here’s were I printed off this free love letter —–> HERE  or you can certainly grab some stationary and write your own.  Do it.  It matters.  I promise they will appreciate it….if not now, someday!

The post Day #14: Love Notes appeared first on Summer Adams.

Of course, my kids did not get this pop-culture reference but I had to do it!  Too funny right?!  This would be a great one for your “Galentines” and hand them out to all your girlfriends on your night out!  Also a fun one for couples.

I found the Hershey’s kisses tubes at Walmart and then made the free printable.  Right click and save or download the pdf here —–>   “Will You Accept This Rose”

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