Well, Valentine’s Day has come and gone. I took a bunch of photos, but my lighting was Very Poor due to the persistent clouds/snow so you will have to take my word for it that things were less gloomy than they seem in the pictures.

In preparation for Valentine’s Day, Carla and I did indeed make the adorable stripey sugar cookies. (I also made some polka dot ones just to see if I could.)

They were very cute but… cuter than they were tasty, I’d say. This could well have been user error; perhaps if I had pulled them out of the oven a minute or two earlier, they would be chewier than they were. But I think that the exuberant use of cornstarch in the recipe contributed to their rather… delicate flavor. 

I bought myself red and white tulips, because flowers of all kinds but especially tulips make me feel cheery, and I painted my nails red. And then painted my ring finger nails pink with a red diagonal. (I did this Thursday and the polish was gone by Valentine’s Day. Also, I recognize that the photo of my nails is particularly hard to see.)

I bought myself some Reese’s peanut butter hearts (the too-small ones, not that I knew that when I bought them; I thought they would be the size of the Reese’s peanut butter eggs you get in individual packages for Eastertime), and I went a bit overboard with buying things for Carla, including a book of stickers, a drawing book, some stick-on earrings, and a giant, solid milk chocolate Hershey’s kiss.

A new bakery opened near us, so I also got us each two beautiful macarons. And, because I have been wanting to get her one since at least Thanksgiving but haven’t had an opportunity, I got a hot cocoa bomb for Carla.

We had a sugar free-for-all yesterday, and so all the treats are gone.  Well, except for the cookies, of which there are still many, even though we packaged some of them up and delivered them to the kind neighbors who always allow Carla to pet their dogs.

On Valentine’s Day, I drank tea in a festive red and white cup. I made Carla a heart-shaped (frozen) waffle. I cut up some berries for both of us and covered them in whipped cream. (I added heart sprinkles to Carla’s breakfast, you know, in case she wasn’t about to get enough sugar.) (My husband slept in, so he missed the festive breakfasting, but Carla made him coffee.)

I did some reading. I took a very long and leisurely walk on the treadmill and watched an episode of The Office. And I snacked on candy and cookies whenever I felt like it. My husband and I ordered pizza for dinner and then watched an episode of The Queen’s Gambit. A perfectly adequate day. 

I struggle with days like Valentine’s Day, where it seems like there are Certain Expectations (mine, society’s, the universe’s) which are never met. And yet complaining feels taboo, because a) someone always has it worse, and one should be (and is!!!) grateful for what one has and b) it IS a pretty silly holiday and c) complaining feels hurtful to the person who is not meeting said expectations, and who has, after all, been very clear all along about thinking Valentine’s Day is ridiculous. If *I* am the one who likes the holiday, and *I* am the one who finds it pleasing to have a day in the drear midwinter dedicated to something frivolous and fun, and *I* am the one who enjoys making A Big Deal out of it, then it makes sense that *I* should also be the one who orchestrates it the way I want. It does help, to have that attitude. To go in knowing, I WILL have flowers and I WILL have candy and I WILL cut out a bunch of paper hearts and stick them on the walls simply because it brings me joy, and I don’t have to worry about any expectations because I am meeting them myself. It helps. But it doesn’t eliminate the sensation of hurt. (Especially when my husband and daughter, who already each got several treats and gifties from me, also got gifts from my in-laws, and I didn’t. His parents assured us it was a mail delay, and of course it’s not like I NEED or even WANT anything, but I did feel a little self-pitying and near-tears about the whole day for a while.)

Well. No use sobbing over spilled conversation hearts, is there? I hope that at least YOUR Valentine’s Day exceeded expectations. 

The best part about the day was FaceTiming with my parents. My mom had made a necklace of paper hearts for her dog to wear, as well as a huge handmade paper card from the dog to Carla, and it was just so sweet and adorable I can’t stop smiling about it. My mom always had a knack for making holidays joyful when I was a kid – maybe that’s why I feel so driven to make them special for Carla. 

I did regret not getting myself a silly heart-shaped box of chocolates, though. I will know better for next year. 

Okay, now that the sugar rush is behind us, and we are facing down a week of winter storms, let’s turn to some hearty, chill-banishing meals, shall we?

Dinners for the Week of February 16-22

• Broiled Ginger Soy Salmon with Steamed Broccoli: This sounds like a close cousin to my tried-and-true favorite, Thai Chili Salmon. 
• Crispy Shredded Chinese Chicken: This recipe seems to lend itself well to leftovers. Maybe a stir fry one day and lettuce wraps another?
• Lentil Soup: My husband has been jonesing for some lentil soup and I agree that it sounds IDEAL for the weather we’re having. I’m guessing miracle no-knead bread would make for a perfect pairing.
• Lime Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas: These sound so flavorful and simple to make.

What’s on your menu for this week?