Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day.  It's been pretty good.  I survived a pretty intense Bootcamp....you know, if I feel like throwing up afterwards it means it was intense.  I went to lunch with several women I work with at church to plan a training brunch we are hosting.  Picked up a Valentine's present for my husband.  Sent a text to my oldest son wishing he and his wife Happy Valentine's Day and made sure they received their little treats.  Put the flowers that my husband gave me in a vase.  Went to dinner tonight with Doug and my daughter to celebrate.  My daughter was delightful.  Friday's are hard for her.  She's pretty wiped out by the end of the week.  She was quiet and grumpy this afternoon, but tonight, we laughed, talked, planned and listened.  What a treat she is. 

You know, Valentine's Day has changed over the years for sure.  Gone are the days of buying the Spiderman, Star Wars, or Hello Kitty Valentines.  No more shoeboxes to cover for the Valentine party at school.  No more sweet hand made valentines with misspelled words. No more hectic days running in between two school Valentine parties so one child doesn't feel slighted.  Gone are the pity parties I put myself through because whatever my husband did wasn't good enough.  I'm not going to be one of those bloggers that paints a rosey-perfect picture of my ideal Valentine's Day.  But I gotta say, it was pretty darn great.

Today's Sweet Fringe Benefit is just being comfortable with today.  I think I got tired of expectations and disappointments, both of myself and others.  And by doing so, I've been able to appreciate the smallest of gestures of kindness.  What a relief...seriously...maybe younger gals today don't put themselves through what I did to myself...but if you do...let go.  See that even a card on Valentine's Day, or Anniversary, or Birthday, takes effort.  The message does mean something.  If the flowers came in the house in the grocery store wrapper and laid on your table for a few hours...that's ok.  Because you probably wanted to arrange them yourself anyway.  See how much easier it is to let go?

Outfit of the Day:  Ann Taylor Black/White houndstooth jacket, Joe Fresh hot pink ruffle blouse, Denizen (Target) Skinny jeans, Red snakeskin pumps, Emaack Designs pink pearl/crystal multi-strand necklace and bracelets.  The red and pink overload were definitely a Valentine's holiday dressing. The jacket has a very slight peplum, with waist defining lines.  I left the blouse untucked but the jacket over the top gave the outfit definition.

I know I'm beating this to death...don't forget to share your favorite blog post tomorrow and Sunday!  Sunday night I will draw a winner of the beautiful multi-strand statement necklace from Emaack Designs.  Click here to read more about the GIVEAWAY.

Hope your Valentine's Day brought a smile to your face and you celebrated all the loves in your life...

GIVEAWAY necklace!

Nanette