cheers to the v-day weekend
Hiiiii 🙂 How’s the day going? Hope that those of you who are off work today are enjoying the holiday! I taught BODYPUMP this am, Liv had her gymnastic class, and I’m hoping we can make a little beach stop. We can never stay away for too long.
Valentine’s weekend was filled with the good stuff.
I made a quick stop at Whole Foods and meandered around the roses,
and dessert case.
(Heart macarons were very necessary)
Friday night we had a date night with friends at Juniper & Ivy, Richard Blais’ restaurant outside of Little Italy. We loved the atmosphere -modern/warehouse vibe with massive wood tables and a wraparound bar, which serves the full menu- and the food was fantastic. For my entree, I rolled with the chicken.
Dessert was the best part: we shared a chocolate mousse which was served with a perfectly salty caramel sauce and crispy meringues, and it was our first encounter with a yodel (chefs everywhere will die when I say this, but it’s kind of like a fancypants Swiss Miss roll? haha). This particular one included freeze-dried berries, a cake and chocolate shell, and they poured a hot chocolate liquid on top, which melted said shell. Just think about melted chocolate, warm cake, and crispy berries. That is all.
On V-day, Livi and I each woke up to bouquets of flowers and cards,
(mine was a tropical arrangement with birds of paradise. loveeeee)
and we took her to Build-A-Bear for the first time since she’d been asking to go and I thought it would be a fun Valentine’s Day treat. I had the same ideas as about 16253 other parents, and teenagers creating stuffed animals for their boyfriends and girlfriends. It was kind of a madhouse! We had a good strategy, though: Liv and I stood in line to create her animal, while the Pilot waited in line to pay. After she’d finished her bear, the Pilot was just getting to the front of the line. Teamwork FTW.
She loves her Elsa bear wearing a Sofia dress 🙂
Saturday evening we kept it low-key around the house. I made some dinner based off of a recipe in this old beloved cookbook. It’s a shrimp pasta dish, which is delightfully easy and perfect for company, since it’s quick to put together. Ours had turkey bacon and shallot sautéed in olive oil (I just wrote “love oil.” What?), garlic, wild shrimp, salt and pepper. When the quinoa noodles were done cooking, I added them to the shrimp pan with butter, grated manchego, fresh basil and chopped tomatoes.
Vino, chokes:
It was a lovely day with our little family. <3
And now, MADRE IS HERE!
We’re off to enjoy some adventures. 🙂
Hope you have a great night!
xoxo
Gina
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So cute! Looked like a great time and that pasta dish looks awesome!
What a fun Valentine’s Day! How sweet you both got flowers! And I love Livi’s build a bear! I loved making mine as a kid!
I love the heart shaped macaroons! That’s so cute!
right?! it had to happen 🙂
Birds of Paradise is such a pretty color! It sounds like you guys had a pretty great weekend.
thank you! hope you had a great one, too 🙂
Looks like a wonderful weekend! My husband and I went on a picnic and hike on Valentine’s Day, then made steaks at home. We go out to dinner all the time, so it was nice to switch it up for a weekend night in to celebrate. Happy Monday! Have fun with your special visitor! 🙂
that sounds so wonderful! i agree, it was nice to cook at home and avoid the crowds 🙂
xoxo
Your Valentine’s Day looked so special and so sweet ! Thanks so much for sharing <3
and I LOVE the tropical flower arrangement! So stunning!
thank you, friend! <3
I’ve never had quinoa noodles before. Do you taste like regular noodles?
they’re a little nuttier in flavor, but still very light. prob my favorite gf noodle 🙂
I went to the mall Saturday and it was SO CROWDED. I never would’ve guessed V-day to be a busy shopping day. The Build-A-Bear in our mall was a madhouse too!
right?! i never would have guessed, too! it was crazy
Ah, Livi looks so cute with her Elsa bear. I got to try Juniper and Ivy on my last trip out to San Diego – loved it! Happy V-Day!
did you get dessert?? 🙂
hope you had a lovely weekend!
We did! We got a brown butter ice cream concoction with little soft but crunchy bits of popcorn all over it. The server explained (at our request) that he freeze dries the popcorn and then smashes it, but it was only the nice white pieces – none of the hulls. So fantastic!
What a lovely day! I can’t believe how grown up Liv is looking. Adorable!
right?! how is she so big already?? hope you’re enjoying the week so far!
What a great day! I am sure Liv LOVED Build a Bear.
she did! so fun 🙂 xo
Your skin looks so good! Any new secrets/tips?
wow, thank you! i’ve been using my clarisonic since xmas, and i think it’s helped a little 🙂
That pasta dish looks amazing. I love shrimp!
i hadn’t had it in a while! it was nice to bring it back 🙂
That Yodel looks heavenly. Oh my! So does the shrimp pasta you prepared! Looks like you had a great weekend! Enjoy the time with your mom!!
thank you, stacy! hope you’re enjoying the week!
Love Livi’s build a bear, so cute! It is often a mad house so I can only imagine how crazy it must have been on a holiday. Heart shape macaroons and yodels sound amazing! And that pasta looks like the bomb!
chocolate mousse + salty caramel sounds divine!!
On Friday night (Galentine’s Day!), my sister and I drove out to Build-a-Bear, because she wanted to get the new Toothless, and I decided to finally get my Captain America “Bear.” Well, I was going to make him a bear, but Cap is actually more like a puppy, so I got the Caramel Dog, along with the Captain America costume. I came thisclose to buying the voice box to put inside him, but I didn’t need it. But DEAR GOD! Was it busy on Friday! I felt bad for the guy behind us. He had about six kids with him, one who wouldn’t stop screaming. Luckily, the line moved at a decent clip, and we didn’t have to wait long, once we got them filled with fluff. Yes. We’re 29 and 30 years old, and we play at Build-a-Bear. 😉
those <3 shaped macarons! i didn't see them at our whole foods…
What a fun day! So cute that the pilot had bouquets for each of you! My kids have been enjoying all the chocolate I gave them 🙂
Have a nice visit with your madre!
Checking in for this week’s giveaway, Did workout # 4 today.