this time last week

(favorite valentine from ward, ever)

and all the paper heart garlands are still up. probably will be for a while. I have been known to let holiday decorations ride for months on end, until I am forced by societal conventions to take them down. the fact that christmas came down before the end of january is nothing short of miraculous. though there are still white paper snowflakes taped to the windows. those will stay up until the very last day of winter. I will not budge on that one.

in other news, ava received her first valentine from a boy, her first heart-shaped box of chocolates. I know, I know. I KNOW.

pink and red

because today is a day for pink and red. happy valentines day, kids.

it's all that pink and red

I really sort of love valentines day. and not because I need a special day to wallow in love and sweetness, but because I need a day where pink and red reign supreme. pink paper chains and red construction paper hearts. pink frosting and bright red cherry juice. pink roses and red tulips. I am a sucker for such things. and I'm not ashamed to say it.

ezra still says valentimes

and I really sort of love it.

happy valentimes day, friends.

xo

photobooth friday

posted in honor of the recent Day of Love. a favorite one of mine and the memory of that day ain't half bad either. (but that's another story).

why can't everyday be The Day of Love?


ah, photobooth friday is for lov-errrrrrrrs:

jesC
scrumdillydilly
acumamakiki
anatomist

time for valens

happy valentimes day, all you lovely peoples.

photobooth friday

inspired by the fabulous liplocking action going on over at my house is cuter than yours last week and of course, lovey-dovey smoochy-woochy valenTIMES day, I decided on a kiss. photobooth kissing, so good. what I wrote on the back of this strip:

photobooth. forest fair mall. cincinnati, ohio. january 1st, 1991 (approx. 10:15 p.m.) k-i-s-s-i-n-g. ward and andrea. the RED curtain.

and I do believe there were lots of swirlies and hearts scribbled on the back too. we'd only been dating for seven months and so we couldn't keep our hands off of each other. I can't believe that was fifteen years ago. folks, I think I might be old. I'm old. or, thinking about how long ago this was makes me feel old. because it feels like it was only a couple of years ago that we were slipping behind that short polyester curtain. all the mall-going people walking by with their shopping bags, on the way to the dollar theatre or the food court. gawking at the lower halves of our bodies and wondering what we were up to in there. that's right, NO GOOD.

feast your eyes:

ticky tacky
my house is cuter than yours
I'm channeling doris day
poppytalk
jesC
cult of degan
a_bird (sewn with gold threads)
meegan blue
lovegreendog
slim whitman
aj fabulous
acumamakiki
mati rose (and also this one, which was the lovely mati rose's SPT this week, but I heart it and thus I share it)
photographic tendencies (another one originally meant for SPT but I had to post it up, too good not to)

it's VALENTIMES day

I say valentimes because that's the way I always said it as a kid. valentimes-- as in, it's time for VALENS. bring on the valens. where are my valens? I love the valens.

and I know it's all just a big commercial racket but I have never been one to say no to all the pink and redness. hearts cut from construction paper and flimsy doilies, glitter in your hair and paste all over your hands. the promise of fresh flowers and exotic chocolates wrapped in crinkly fuschia foil, I'll not say no to all that.

it's not so valentimey for me today though. I have slipped in cat puke, picked up the same crayons like, 78 times and am swimming in a sea of laundry. the clothes are all dirty so I am facing this day in sweat pants the color of mud and the size of a small midwestern town. it's either the sweats or a prom dress. this is what's clean. but don't cry for me, argentina. yesterday, I had a ball helping ava make valentines for her classmates and now we both have glitter in our hair. which is always cool. then we carefully laid out her outfit for the day (red shirt with sequined heart on the front, pink skirt with tiny red hearts, corresponding heart jewelry and barrettes and of course-- red sparkly shoes). we even had the time to put together a little valentine tree (a last minute, somewhat feeble attempt, nothing like this one or this one, all hail the masters... thanks for the inspiration, girls). so I got my VALENTIMES fix and I'm okay to slip in the cat puke and go on with my life. and maybe I'll have a little more time for the valens later on.

happy valentimes day, all my people. hope you get some valens. or give some valens. or both. always make time for the valens.

(p.s. happy birthday, valentimes-girl carlene... my mother-in-law, who is just one of the most fabulous women in the world.)