We’re reaching the end of our party-every-week season. The holidays for us start in mid-October with Chris’s birthday, then our Halloween party, then our anniversary at the beginning of November, Thanksgiving and my birthday at the end. And then Christmas, Christmas, Christmas. Then it is the New Year (I rarely see midnight by the time we reach this holiday) and finally, Greta’s birthday and Valentine’s day bringing up the festivities’ rear in February one day apart.
There have been some years, where Chris and I try to get away for a night to celebrate Valentine’s day, but this year it’s just not in the cards. I recently signed on to be a contributor over at Houzz (woot!), where I’ll be curating all different kinds of collections, monthly. This month, I decided to dedicate my search to making the most of a Valentine’s night in.
You can see the full article, sources, and 17 more of my picks (spoiler: I finally found the perfect tablecloth) to make celebrating at home feel really special right here. Also, Chris has promised to share the recipes for the V-day 4 course meal he’s conjuring up starting next week. Anyone else opting to spend that special night in the comfort of your own home?
Our wood grain Shaker cabinet fronts were designed for busy, high-traffic homes like ours. Clad with durable textured thermofoils, this line is compatible with Sektion, Akurum, Godmorgon, and Besta cabinets from IKEA. It's the perfect, practical way to add the warmth of wood to all the rooms of your home.
We have teamed up with Loloi to create a line of rugs that are as affordable as they are beautiful. This collection houses a great mix of traditional and modern rugs, in cottage-y colorways, as well as vintage-inspired beauties that you’ll want to roll out in every room.
We partnered with Stuga on a line of hardwood floors — The Ingrid is really livable, and the color is very neutral. It doesn’t lean warm or cool, it’s that just right in-between. We have really loved putting it everywhere in our house. It’s the best jumping-off point for design, no matter your interior style. In addition to being beautiful, Ingrid is really durable — we have three kids, and we always have a home construction project going on. Ingrid stands up to it all.
SHop all
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Get Around
Make yourself right at home
Portfolio
Design
Casual Friday
Projects
Lifestyle
Gift Guides
All Posts
Shop
RivrLinks
p.s. too bad you don’t live around here,you could’ve. made the closet(s) real nice!
Hi Julia and Chris,
First of all you both know just how to make a home beautiful.
I’m a mother of 4 grown kids now,3 moved out,and 1 came back,she just is an obsessive spender on things like clothes,shoes etc.(which is one of the reasons she’s back home.)
I Love what you do with the closets,making shelves,putting baskets around to keep shoes and etc. in),I want to do the same now! I really need to act fast espeachially with Michelle home now!
Also Michelle takes some of my clothes,beacause I think she thinks I will not remember,because my room is the smallest now,and I have to find room for my clothes,my bureau is full now, -I believe if I design my closet like you do,I will be able to see and remember if Michelle takes anything,there fore thanks for the steps on how to design my closet,measuring,shelving etc. I can’t wait too long,and I think it will not cost too much to do either? Thanks,
Millie A.
Absolutely we spend the night in. Too hard to find both a babysitter and a restaurant that isn’t packed to the gills. The last time we tried, it was not romantic, it was stressful. Now our tradition is to grill sandwich rib eyes and eat with our boys. MUCH better. We can go out another night.
How sweet [and tiring]! I always prefer to stay inside anyways. No need to put on a bra or pants. No sucking it in and wondering if you have something in your teeth.
Happy birthday little aquarian! I’m the 8th and my bff was v-day. Her birthday was always heart/red/pink themed and I always managed to share with her due to blizzards on my birthday weekend! Enjoy yourselves and congrats on Houzz
Congrats, Julia! Can’t wait to see what Chris cooks up. I love his special meal plans.
It seems like the years that we decide on doing v-day dinner at home, something ALWAYS comes up and the kids are absolute terrors. V-day dinner then feels rushed, not romantic, and we are just ready to go to bed. But, I’m excited to see Chris’s dinner menu!
We aren’t at the point where we can leave Greta just yet, so we’re crossing our fingers she’ll go to bed as usual and we can have a nice night in. We’ll see! hahaha
Our Valentine’s Days are incredibly low key. They’re just us, our daughter, some candy hearts, and a whole lot of love.
We’re blessed with being together and we know what life was like before we met and married.
Our lives now are filled with love, working from home, creativity, health, and laughter. Each day together is a gift, so we take Valentine’s Day in stride and celebrate our love each day.
Sounds wonderful, Wendy. Growing up, my parents always made Valentine’s day extra special for us. My dad bought all of us girls a box of chocolates. My mom made us a special V-day breakfast. It was truly a day of love.