A Day of Love

If you follow Delightfully Chic on Pinterest you know that I love pinning balloons and fun Valentine’s images to my “Day of Love” board.  They just make me happy and are always sooo pretty on the eyes!  This is just what I need today as I pull together the husband's Valentine's gift.

 

(all images via)

Get Prepared for Valentine's

We are less than a month away from Valentine's Day and all I can see is red! 

This year why not dress up the standard chocolates, flowers, and cards?! 

One thing I adore is when Scott surprises me with gorgeous bouquets that are out of the norm.  Skip the standard roses this year and give her an unexpected flower and even better, deliver them to her wrapped in paper instead of a vase.  

Walk away from the chocolate this year and give her the always gorgeous and yummy macaron. 

Last, but certainty not least, don't forget the card. Sometimes it's not the gift that means the most, it's the words written in the card that steals our heart!

 

cards via 

 And if cupids arrow hasn't gotten you just yet, why not treat yourself! I can remember many days that I bought flowers and macrons for myself because yes, while life as a single girl in her 20's and 30's can be a total blast, it can also be hard a times.  So go ahead...you deserve them!

***

 Do you have your look ready for the special day?  Here are just a few items we are currently swooning over for vday!

An Ashley Family Tradition

In just a few short hours I will be unplugging and cherishing Christmas moments with my favorite loved ones.  But, before I go, I want to share one of our family traditions that I hope you can adopt for your family.

Every Christmas morning my brother and I would rush downstairs to see what Santa had brought us that year. We would rip through the wrapping paper, screaming with excitement, tossing one gift to hurry and discover the next gift and before you knew it the living room looked like a bomb went off and gifts were everywhere.  My Sweet Mama really felt like we weren't truly appreciating our gifts or taking time to really enjoy each gift.  So she and "Santa" decided it was time to come up with a new plan for the kiddos.  When I was about 5 years old and my brother 9 we came downstairs one Christmas morning to find a sign in front of all of gifts that said STOP! "First, put on your new pajamas and your mama will explain the rest." So we did just that.  Then mama began to read "the rules"...

Each of your gifts has been numbered.  Now the trick here if you have more than one kid, especially ones who LOVE gifts from Santa (like me), make sure both or all kids have the same number of gifts!  Then Mama would randomly pull a number from her bowl of numbers that she had made.  "Number 7" OK,  now Brent and I would shuffle through our pile of gifts to find the present marked #7!  We would both open ours then wait for the next number to be called.  There is ALWAYS a present in the stack (usually the biggest box) that we were dying to open!  BUT, you had to wait till that number was called.  It was so intense!!  This process of opening Santa's gifts fills more time and also makes you really take in each gift.  Another added bonus, your parents get to see the excitement on your face with each present!  Dad's, your main job is to film the kids opening the gifts!  Oh and try to keep the camera steady!  I swear you need a Dramamine pill before watching our old home videos.

Sharing this tradition with you all brings a bittersweet feeling to me.  Now most kids stop believing in Santa and for me...I am almost 34 and I STILL believe in the magic of Christmas.  For almost 30 years now I have opened my presents alongside my brother with Mama calling numbers. It's just a tradition you never seem to grow out of.  This year will be our last year that we open gifts this way.  As of next year, I will be "Mama" and I will take on the role of helping Santa by calling numbers to our sweet "Baby G" on Christmas morning. It's a moment I can hardly stand waiting for.  A moment I have dreamed of and a tradition I have longed to pass down to my very own family.
 

May you all have a Blessed and Merry Christmas!  May you also remember that Christmas is about something way more important that opening gifts.  

I wonder what God wants for Christmas…Maybe peace on Earth, no more empty seats in church
I wonder what God wants for Christmas…What might put a smile on HIS face, Every Bible with no dust, the devil giving up
I wonder what God wants for Christmas…More sister, more brother, more lovin' one another
What if we believe in HIM…Like HE believes in us...

Merry Christmas! 

(all images via pinterest)

 

Quote of the Week {Weekend Wrap Up}

I’m back!  Today has been “Just another manic Monday”!  

 I guess that serves me right for taking a long weekend to relax and celebrate our 

country’s birthday!  America wasn’t the only birthday we celebrated this weekend.   

My daddy, or as I like to call him, “the man who hung the moon” 

also shares his birthday with our country and celebrated his 73^rd on Saturday! 

I always tell him, how cool is it that you get fireworks for your special day every year?! 

We kicked things off early Friday morning doing what daddy loves most!

Fishing!

 

Scott was the only one who had any luck!

Me, I stretched out across the back of the boat and snoozed! I have way too much

ADD going on to be that patient when the fish aren't biting.   

Friday night we had Greg and Rebecca (the bestie) and my two lovebugs, 

Carley Grace and Raylee over for a little QT and holiday baking. 

The girls had a total blast!

 

Scott per usual gave the girls a little salt water aquarium 101! 

So sweet!

And then, Happy Birthday DADDY and God Bless America! 

The family was all together to celebrate the special day!

 

Sunday, I was a woman on a mission!

It was time to take on my next DIY!

This beaut is now white! Stay tuned to see the finished

product.  I still have a little work to do.

How was your weekend?

Did you celebrate the stars and stripes?!

***

 I have a busy week ahead with lots of exciting things up my sleeve!

I can't wait to share with you all!!

This quote just seemed right for the week!

Happy Week!

On Vacation {See Y'all Monday}

Ladies and Gents this lil' lady is officially in

vacation mode. To be completely honest I didn't have time

to pull today's post together so I decided to leave y'all with a few

of my favorite images of this fun and festive holiday weekend from 

everyone's favorite, Pinterest .

We can always use a little inspiration, right?!

 

 

See you all back here on Monday for a full weekend wrap up and 

quote of the week!

Have a safe and Happy 4th of July weekend!

 

The Color of Love {Red}

In honor of Valentines and in keeping with my theme of love this week,

I figured today we could use a little motivation to get us pumped up 

for the big day with pops of red!

The color of love, passion, energy, and power! 

Here are few spaces that inspire and excite me!

 How could you not grab a cocktail, kickback with a devlish grin while saying

cheers darling and feeling like a complete diva in this room?

 Give me tufted any day!

 

For all my Fixer Upper fans out there, 

you will recognize this gorgeous kitchen space!

Are we all dying to take a trip to Round Top after this episode?!

 This bedroom makes me think of my sweet mama, the only thing

I believe she would say is missing is a rooster! 

 

Is that Kelly Wearstler trellis I spy?!

Never goes out of style in these eyes!

Claw foot tub always a win, claw foot tub in red...Perfection!