Last week the girls (and a few little brothers) from our small group got together for a little informal party on Valentine's Day. Our small group happens to be made up of other homeschooling families, so they are who we usually get together with for our "class" parties. It was an afternoon party so we didn’t need a lot of food. The day before, Country Girl and I spent some time in the kitchen making a few treats to serve. Let’s just go ahead and start with the most important. CHOCOLATE! These brownie pops are a recipe from the Pioneer Woman. They are easy to put together, requiring no baking, and are so decadent! Candy hearts, of course, are a must on Valentine’s Day. My girl cut ... Read more

Around here, Friday is the day to "fluff the nest", which is just a much cuter way of saying "clean the house". Am I right? So my Friday posts are all about tidying up and getting the house fresh and in order for the weekend. Some weeks my nest-fluffing comes more easily than others. I need motivation each Friday. ***** Good Friday morning, friends! Well, yesterday we hosted our GALentine's Day party which means we moved our Friday cleaning up a day so the house would be clean for company. This makes me pretty happy today because the bulk of the weekly cleaning is already done! It was so nice to sit and enjoy a clean and decorated house after the party, and I'm hoping to keep it that way ... Read more

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and I'm so excited! Country Girl and I will be wrapping up our schooling early today to get in the kitchen and prepare for a *GALentine's* party we're hosting for the girls in our small group. I'm popping in this morning just to share a super quick idea for a fun hot chocolate corner we'll be putting together for the party! Once February gets here, we've been sipping hot coffee, tea, and cocoa for several months and are ready for some new flavors after all those fall spices and Christmas peppermints. So for Valentine's Day, I change it up a bit with strawberry syrup, candy hearts, white chocolate chips, red and pink sprinkles, marshmallows, and whipped cream ... Read more