Valentine's Day Goodies (and some promo codes!)

Linking up with Five on Friday with a list of five Valentine's Day goodies! 

We're not huge valentine's celebrators around here. We don't do gifts, just spend some fun quality time together and stay away from the packed restaurants. This year we'll be cooking dinner at home and splitting a bottle of wine, and nothing beats that in my book. 

But I do love any chance to look at pretty gifts (especially when it means sharing them with you and being able to give you a promo code for a few of them!!) 

1. Ashley Brooke Designs Coffee Mug: In general, I am a huge fan of ABD and these mugs have completely won me over! She has a ton with cute sayings, but this "dream big darling, really big" one seems like the perfect way to start your day! 

2. The Cozy Project Natural Coffee Cup Cozy: That cozy little cup holder looks just so... cozy! I think it's the perfect thing to add to your Valentine's Day wish list. 

3. Cup of Love Latte Mug: You guessed it, I love this a latte! The big chunkyness of the mug looks like the perfect mug to curl up by the fireplace with, with a cup of hot chocolate. Use ECLECTICALLYE for 10% off your order! 

4. Emily Ley Simplified Planner: I just received my Simplified Planner last weekend and I'm already in love! I can't keep this secret to myself, you need one too. Go order it and let it's perfect self keep your 2014 organized.

5. Small Knot Ring from Sweet Olive Jewelry: I ordered this ring for my Maid of Honor and one of my Bridesmaids after they busted their butts on an incredible bachelorette party for me. My MOH wears it all of the time and gets constant compliments on it! It's such a precious ring, I wish I could buy one for everyone. Plus, Amy was a dream to work with! And she's giving you 20% off with code ECLECTIC20!

If I don't stop talking about this list, I'm going to end up with something off this list for myself before next Friday. What's on your Valentine's Day list? Hope you have a great weekend!

Easy DIY Art

Any fans of Bower Power out there? 

Of course there are. If you haven't read her blog before, read two posts and she'll quickly make it to your daily reads list. This specific post is about a DIY art that I tried, that she calls knife art.

Pretty much anything DIY related scares me away. I always love the idea of it, but just don't have the confidence. And if it doesn't scare me away, I normally am bored with whatever I'm trying to create 30 minutes in. But this little project? I executed from beginning to end (it was took just the right amount of commitment to keep me entertained) and am very pleased with the result. 

Focus your little eyes to the colorfulness on top of the bookcase. 

In love? Me too. 

This is our den area (read, the room that I hang out in to blog and stay out of my husband's way when he has to work from home) It might not be the perfect home for them, it took a while to even find that place for them. But they sure added a pop of color to what was a rather boring white space, so I'll let them stay. 

Katie Bower has a great tutorial on how to make this here. 

Did mine turn out as well as hers? Well, no. But they still put a little pep in my step when I see all of those beautiful shades of blue and green staring at me. 

My favorite part about it is how the colors blend so perfectly imperfect. There's no math to how to do it, which is probably why it was so enjoyable. You really just can't mess it up. 

(again her tutorial gives the play by play). 

If blue and green isn't your thing, it would really with any color scheme. I just happened to have the same colors she used on hand. She also has hers on one longer canvas, and mine is broken up on two shorter ones. Again, just happened to have those canvases. Which means this project happened with out a trip to Michael's!

This might be just the perfect project for those of you stuck at home with more snow days! Or for those of you that are like me and like a good, easy to complete DIY art project.

Snow > Atlanta

I'm sure you've heard, Atlanta is faaaareaking right now over this snow storm that hit us. I'm talking, it took people 12 some hours to get home (a commute that would normally be 20 minutes), a baby was born on the interstate, and there are STILL people stuck out there. In this big city sometimes, it's easy to forget that there's a lot of heart here. People were offering strangers shelter last night, handing out free hot chocolate. Atlanta, I like you and I'm happy to call you home (even if we don't know how to handle winter weather). 

Home Depot, Target, Whole Foods and Kroger stayed open last night offering stranded people a place to stay. It really is just a complete shock what ended up happening last night.

I left my office at 1:25 yesterday... at 2:05, I had gone 3 feet. That wasn't even beyond my office building, so I pulled back into the parking deck, put on my Hunter boots and on my way I went walking through Atlanta to get home. It was about a 30 minute walk - which beat my husbands 2 hour commute home (again, that normally takes us 10-15 minutes). I was so happy to see home. 

                       

My walk also meant that I deserved a little stop at Whole Foods for some snow day necessities. It was a wise, wise decision.

I love snow. As in I was giddy with excitement all morning waiting for it, as in I was practically skipping through Atlanta as I walked home yesterday, but I hate it so much for the people stuck on the roads still. There were even kids stuck in school last night! A slumber party at school? Honestly, those kids probably think it's the coolest thing ever.

Of course The Weather Channel has been running constantly since I got home from my trek down the road. And we filled our stomachs last night with Taco Soup and Mexican Cornbread. What else does a person eat when there is snow on the ground?

Atlanta is completely shut down today.  It is so quiet, but the sun is out and the snow is still beautiful. We're on the couch and getting a little work done from home.

                            

Thankful for this adult snowday, but praying that everyone finds their way home soon. I've waited 3 years to see it snow in Atlanta... and boy, did this storm deliver. Stay warm and safe, friends!