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My husband and I got married just two days before Valentine’s Day.  The timing wasn’t exactly deliberate, but a convenient time for our schedules and the family we had traveling from out of town.  It’s made the whole week surrounding Valentine’s Day a fun celebration!

Knowing that our wedding was falling when others would typically be out celebrating with their own valentines, we added as many personal elements as we could.  We created a playlist of our guests’ love songs, used their lyrics as part of the decor, and honored their relationships’ longevity through an anniversary dance.

With another anniversary and Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, I’m on the hunt for festive ways to celebrate.

This easy recipe for red velvet cookies starts with cake mix.  It’s an easy hack to make your baked goods come together in a snap.  They’re rolled in sugar to make them sparkle and topped with creamy white chocolate chips.  Another fun way to mix up your baking is to reserve your chocolate chips.  Don’t mix them in the batter but instead top your cookies with them mid-way through your baking.

Get the easy Red Velvet Valentine’s Day Cookie recipe to share with the people you love!

Red Velvet Valentine’s Day Cookies Recipe

Celebrating holidays with a sweet treat is one of my favorite ways to share my love with my family!

Disneyland Date Night Ideas

Promoting love has always been part of our celebration as a couple.  Another of our favorite traditions is visiting the Napa Rose at the Disney Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.  With farm to table flavors, an incredible wine list, and upscale California atmosphere, it’s our favorite place to celebrate special occasions like anniversaries.

Check out even more Disneyland Date Night Ideas here. 

Now that we have three little valentines of our own, finding fun Valentine’s Day activities and recipes makes for even more fun.  Our daughters are great bakers love helping in the kitchen.  If you’ve got bakers at home, this recipe is a fun one to make with kids.  Otherwise, share it with your love this Valentine’s Day!

Red Velvet isn’t just for Valentine’s Day!

Try this recipe for a Minnie Mouse party

or any day that needs a little extra sweetness.

Do you have any special Valentine’s Day traditions?  Share them in the comments!

We received a complimentary meal to facilitate this review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The new year is upon us, and like so many we are trying to make some changes to our eating habits.  In my family of five, we have two meat-eaters and three vegetarians.  You’d think that having vegetarian kids might mean that they willingly eat healthy.  Vegetables are a struggle, and the list of foods that make the kid-approved list is terribly narrow.  Add in that the kids all inherited my sweet tooth, and there’s a lot of room for improvement.

Souplantation Winter Delite Menu

So part of our 2019 plan is focusing on presenting better options, both in nutritional value and also just varied offerings.   When we were invited to visit our local Souplantation to sample the Winter Delights menu, I jumped at the chance.

My kids love Souplantation, and visiting as we dived down the path towards better choices was so perfect.

Souplanation is a salad bar and buffet, filled with farm-fresh, made-from-scratch recipes, that’s perfect for families.  Matt and I made ourselves custom salads; the kids skipped traditional salads and instead filled their plates with assorted foods like broccoli florets, raisins, and rotini rainbow pasta.

Being able to select their own food, mainly the quantity on their plate, makes my picky eaters a little more brazen in their choices. Plus, Souplantation offers vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-friendly foods to suit our diverse dietary restrictions.

My kids tried some new foods and cheered that there were also some of their favorites available, too.  Hello, pizza, garlic bread, and mac and cheese.  My kids adore you.  Want to know what’s best about those traditional kid favs? The sizes!

As we try to do better, reminding the kids that having their favorites is okay.  Have the pizza, but make it a small slice.  Eat the muffins, but make them mini muffins.

Sweet Orange & Cranberry Muffin Recipe

We filled up without feeling bogged down at Souplantation thanks filling up our salad plates and sampling other yummy foods.  To keep the good food vibes we were enjoying going, I decided to make a Souplantation seasonal recipe at home.  These Sweet Orange & Cranberry muffins are a sweet way to celebrate the freshest flavors.  I opted to make mini muffins, just like at Souplantation.

Trying new flavors in sizes that make sense is part of the reason we adore Souplantation.  Nibbling on our yummy Sweet Orange & Cranberry Muffins at home  makes me so excited to go back to try more from the seasonal menu!

Save the recipe for later

Ready to sample the fresh flavors of Souplantation with your family?  Find your nearest location here.