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Valentine's Day, A Family Affair



This year, Valentine's Day was extra special to us because we had Bruce's twin sister from Great Falls, Montana visiting for the first time since we moved back to Seattle. I made a special Valentine's Day dinner and Lauren also came over. 


We had everyone's favorite Teriyaki Flank Steak, rice, red and golden beets and
Show the Love Salad.


For dessert, I made the gluten-free chocolate cake that I made for Lauren's birthday here only I made them in little heart-shape cake tins.  These are always fun to make and decorate for Valentine's Day.   I used some of Nick and Lauren's childhood handmade Valentine's for table decorations.


And, of course, I made our traditional Valentine cookies.


Our dinner table looked quite festive with party favors at each place setting with colorful confetti inside. Lauren enjoyed popping her's open and dotting the table with more colorful glitter.  



Our Valentine's dinner was the highlight of the activities that we shared with our guest during her visit. We were so happy that it stopped snowing just in time for her arrival. We were able to start venturing out after the city of Seattle was basically shut down after we received 14 inches of snow the past seven days.


Seattle doesn't have that many snow plows since it rarely snows here and with all the hills that makes up the city, it's nearly impossible to drive when it snows. It does make for a lot of sledding opportunities, though. 


It was fun walking around the neighborhood watching the neighborhood come alive with snow activity.


When Bruce's sister first got here, we immediately went for a walk to explore the snowy landscape. We loved seeing our neighborhood transform into a snowy wonderland. 
 

The next day, we walked down at Alki beach where all the snow had already melted. But it was windy so we still had to bundle up that made for a brisk walk.


We stopped in at Top Pot Doughnuts to warm up for some coffee and a Valentine's donut that we split three-ways. We had to pace ourselves with the Valentine treats since we also had so much at home. I always love looking at all their beautiful doughnuts. 



I've always loved Valentine's Day, one of my favorite holidays. I love making special heart-shaped foods and decorating with pink and red colors. Bruce and I haven't really gotten into going out for a fancy dinner for Valentine's Day because I always love to make special treats myself at home and Bruce is happy to enjoy the comforts of home. When we can share the fun with other family members...well, it makes it even more special. There is nothing better than celebrating Valentine's Day with family and turning it into a family affair. And that's just what we did. 


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