Valentine’s Weekend plus a little TriStyle & Co.

Happy belated Valentine’s Day, everyone! I hope that whether single, attached, married, or it’s complicated, you had a wonderful holiday weekend. Speaking of, some of you probably have President’s Day off, and I am insanely jealous but also thankful that you stopped by on your day off!

Just to give a little recap from the most romance-oriented day of the year, Spencer and I celebrated in our usual way with a super low key day and some fantastic food to end the evening. Let’s start at the beginning, which actually begins on Wednesday of last week. In case you weren’t aware, Amazon Prime will text you now about your orders, something that I don’t remember opting into. So you can imagine that I was extremely surprised to learn that my order from Rayban would arrive at the apartment on Thursday, especially since I hadn’t ordered anything from Amazon, and we had agreed not to exchange gifts this year.

I felt terrible. Not only had I inadvertently learned what Spencer had gotten me for Valentine’s Day, but I hadn’t ordered anything for him! Luckily for me, Spencer is a very proud shareholder of the Green Bay Packers football team, so I have no doubts that he’ll love the shareholder button-down that I ordered for him… even if it won’t be here for another week or so.

The one big thing that we did on Valentine’s Day was visit My Furry Valentine, the largest annual pet adoption event in Cincinnati. Spencer and I aren’t in the market for a new furry friend because Zoey would either 1) run away, or 2) be the big sister from hell, but we still wanted to support the event, and I never pass up an opportunity to love on some animals. I cannot say enough about how important it is to adopt animals from local shelters and Humane Societies. There was a poster at the event that said “Anyone who says money can’t buy love has never paid a pet adoption fee,” and it’s so true! Zoey was a rescue, and they’re the most loving pets. I truly believe that they understand the impact that you’ve had on their lives. Adopt, donate, and volunteer at your local shelters; you can make such a difference!

Once we’d had our fill of scratching behind ears and getting our faces licked, we came home and got busy in the kitchen. (Double entendre not intended!) I made a great Pinterest find for my valentine who could drink Jack and Coke every day for the rest of his life – fantastic Jack + Coke cupcakes from Stress Baking! They were moist, the ganache had just a hint of whiskey, and the frosting had a little more than a hint! I would definitely recommend them for anyone because I’m not the biggest whiskey fan, and I still managed to scarf down two. Alright, three!

Since I’m not the most skilled baker, it came as no surprise to me when I looked down after frosting the final cupcake and found ganache on the front of my nice, white shirt. Instead of getting upset about it, I decided it would be the perfect excuse to slap on a scarf and complete this month’s style challenge with TriStyle & Co.

I’ve never been a huge scarf-wearer, but the Ohio winter and windy morning waits for the bus have quickly convinced me of their importance for both style and warmth. First of all, I must admit that I planned for this photo to be taken outside (like Elizabeth’s, Meg’s, and Samantha’s) in Cincinnati’s current winter wonderland, but with snow comes crazy winds, and it just wasn’t an option. Fingers crossed for next month! I chose this lovely scarf from Bass because it coordinated well with my Valentine’s Day outfit—dark skinnies from Old Navy, a lace Gap blouse, a Polo Ralph Lauren wool cardigan, and oxfords from Target.

I also just had to share a story about my adorably style-challenged husband. I love this Burberry-esque pattern because it’s so classic, and it matches a ton of my winter staples. I don’t know if it’s because I wear it so often or if he actually doesn’t have a clue what Burberry is, but every time he sees anyone wearing the pattern, which could be football players, movie stars, or just random people walking down the street, he always points them out and says they’re wearing “your scarf.” It always makes me smile and wish I were getting a cut of Burberry’s profits! I need to rectify this quickly, though, otherwise he’ll be completely clueless later in life when the big wedding anniversaries start taking place.

There’s gotta be a coat anniversary, right? Here’s hoping!