Happy 100th Birthday Arizona

Besides today being Valentine's Day, it was also my home state's 100th birthday. So in honor of Arizona, I wore my I heart Mesa shirt and made homemade Mexican food. Here's to a 100 years of dry heat- I miss the warmth everyday.

I even found someone else on campus from Mesa. Great people travel in pairs. 

I love Valentine's Day

I'm not afraid to admit it...I love Valentine's Day. I feel bad for the ladies who have the need to have a man on this day because with or without a boyfriend, Valentine's Day is so special. It's actually my fourth favorite holiday. It's an excuse to bake a giant amount of sweets and wear the best red dress in my closet. This year I got my Valentines dress on sale for $12 when it was originally $64. If that isn't a lovely sale, I don't know what is. As usual, I went a little overboard with the photos. Enjoy the most lovely day of the year! 

Photo Booth Fun

For my Valentine's party, I made a photo booth for all my guests to enjoy. With some pink wrapping paper as a back drop and use of fun props, it seemed to be a hit. Just a few simple steps enhanced the party activities. Aren't the girls I live with so cute?! 

The little touches

It's the small touches that stand out the most in parties. With that, I made sure my Valentine's party this year had plenty of little additions. I believe this year tea party was one of my best. 

Here are a few examples:

 Just a few of the romantic movie quotes used for the game

 My DIY Valentine's bookmarks for each of the girls

 All the Valentines bags I customized for each guest

 My sweet chalk menu board from Target. 

 The table placement is key. Pinterest was a big inspiration for my DIY banner and puff balls. 

 "How I love thee, let me count the ways." I had each girl write about they love about God on a doillie and clothespin it to a string of lights. 

 My dessert table had featured an giant clothespin with a picture of all the girls in our building attached and small tea cups with heart shaped confetti inside.

 All it took to make my photo booth was to hang wrapping paper, fun pops, and my camera on a tri-pod.

I've been obsessed with pinwheels this season and these pink ones really topped off the party. 

Hostess with the Mostess

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays because every year, no matter where I am living, I throw a Valentine's Day tea party. This year I hosted it for all the girls in my building and it was the most amount of work I've ever put into a party. I started planning a little over a month ago (thank you Pinterst) and all my work paid off. The party was flawless and I believe everyone had a lot of fun. As usual, I followed a few steps to make sure the party was done in a classy way. First, the special touches I had this year were endless. From my chalk menu board to hidden decorations, I made sure the party was decorated in all areas. Also, I had several DIY decorations that made the party feel special. Along with that, I made Valentine bags for each girl decorated to their personality. The food was extraordinary. The girls in my building did a great job with making all sorts of treats-especially the cupcakes. Next, the games this year ranged from "Say So"' - a game where a girl picked a card and had to tell a story prompted by the subject, i.e. first crush or worst kiss to romantic movie catch phase. It was so cute the girls picked Mr. Darcy and Mr. Knightely as team names. Finally, I had pin the lips on Tim Tebow (it's a Colorado thing) and a photo booth with several fun props. The party was fabulous with continual love songs playing in the background while a slideshow I made of some our best photos as a building was on loop on the television. We ended the party by watching Valentine's Day and now I have several yummy treats in my kitchen. Happy early Valentine's Day!

Lamentations 3:22-24 The unfailing love of the LORD never ends! By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day. I say to myself, "The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!