*Away for the weekend*

Thank you all for your lovely comments on my last post. I did get wonderful gifts and my lovely husband was even so kind that a few days after Valentine's day he bought me the *Desperate Housewives Season 1-3 boxset* so that I had something lovely to watch whilst I was poorly!!!
I really know I am the luckiest girl in the world!

We are off to York for the weekend tomorrow staying at *The Hilton* right in the heart of the city so we will be having a wonderful weekend away ~ we love York!

Hope you all have a fab weekend, and hope all you mothers out there have a beautiful mothers day filled with lots of love.
x

*Gifts galore for a lucky girl*

Hallo everyone, sorry I have been gone so long, but I had a pesky chest infection & cold and felt just absolutely rotten for over a week! I am now feeling much better and I just want to thank everyone who left me get well messages, thank you so much, you are all just too lovely!

Anyhoo I thought I would share with you my wonderful Valentine gifts that I received from my lovely husband! See the photo above, yep that's right I got me one of these. I have been wanting one for ages & ages and with the price tag of over £30 in the shops I had never dared treat myself! So what a lovely surprise it was as I certainly wasn't expecting it!



I also received this huge heart box of chocolates, mmmmmmm just want I wanted, and look can you see it, yes that's right Hart to Hart complete first series on DVD! Now some of you may remember my absolute love of Hart to Hart from a previous post, so I just loved this gift and how cute to receive it on Valentines day!



And look!!!! My wonderful James also got these too, our initials!!! Too cute!
(I also got a new yoga dvd & a dance workout dvd too, that I had my eye on!)

All my gifts were presented so beautifully all piled up like a gift basket in the housekeepers box, it was just too cute!

I also got a lovely 3 course meal made for me too, we had the roasted red pepper roulade from a few posts ago and it was just scrummy!

So really am I just the luckiest girl in the world? I think so!
Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's day too.
x

*Happy Valentine's Day*

*Happy Valentine's Day*

***

I was lucky enough to receive lots of wonderful gifts from my husband today, but unfortunately I am poorly today too so our various plans for today have had to be postponed for another day but I just wanted to pop by here and wish you all a lovely day!

Hope you are all having a beautiful day filled with lots of love & happiness!
*Kisses*

*Valentine Cookies*

Eeek, are you all excited for Valentine's Day? I know I am!

The naughty but nice Martha Stewart has dropped another delight in my mail box, (tempting me again), a recipe for Valentine Cookies ~ and really just how sweet do they look?

Ok, so the recipe ~ here goes ...

***

Ingredients

Makes several dozen, depending on cookie size

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
4 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup pale-pink or white sanding sugar (optional)
Petal dust in pink, orange, and violet tones (optional)
2/3 cup apricot or strawberry jam, slightly warmed (optional)


Directions

In bowl of electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into large bowl. On low speed, gradually add flour mixture to mixer bowl, alternating with buttermilk, until combined. Wrap dough in plastic; chill until firm, 1 hour or overnight.

To color white sanding sugar, if using: Place a few tablespoons in a small bowl. Mix in petal dust with a toothpick, a bit at a time, until desired shade is reached. Colored sanding sugar will last indefinitely.

Heat oven with two racks centered to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. On lightly floured surface, roll chilled dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut out hearts using any 1- to 3 1/2-inch heart cookie cutters. If desired, cut centers out of some hearts. Transfer with spatula to baking sheets. Chill for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, if using. Bake until just golden but not too brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to rack. Continue with dough; reroll scraps.

To make sandwich hearts: Brush bottom heart lightly with jam; cover with a second heart with center cut out; jam will adhere hearts. Fill cut-out area with more jam. Cookies will keep, in an airtight container, at room temperature for 1 week.

***

I'm getting all in a fluster for Valentine's Day, hope you are too!
I like to have lots of Valentine's decorations around the home, so I think I will start tonight so it is all lovely for when we wake up tomorrow!

I go a little love crazy this time of year with red & love heart themed clothing, underwear, pj's & accessories!!!! I think I should live in the Kissing Town from *The 10th Kingdom*
(Does anyone else absolutely love The 10th Kingdom? Ooohh and Wolf!!!!! If you know The 10th Kingdom, you will know what I mean I'm sure!!!! *Giggle*)

Anyhoo hope you have a deliciously wonderful day filled with lots of love & kisses.
x

*Red Pepper Roulade*

Here is another recipe my sister found for me and thought I would like, so I thought of course of passing it on to all you lovelies.

It serves 4 and the ingredients needed are

3 red peppers
1 courgette
100g light soft cheese
1 garlic clove
ground black pepper
green salad

Method
Preheat oven to 200°C, 400°F, gas mark 6. Halve, core and deseed three red peppers, place on a baking sheet and cook for approximately 20 minutes until softened. Remove the skins.
Lay out a piece of cling film. Lay the peppers as close together as possible in a single layer.
Using a vegetable peeler, cut strips from a courgette. Heat a griddle pan and brush with a little oil. Cook the courgette until softened. Layer over the pepper. Cool.

Mix together 100g (31⁄2oz) light soft cheese with crushed garlic and freshly ground black pepper. Spread in a thin layer over the courgette. Roll up like a Swiss roll. Wrap tightly in cling film. Place in the fridge for an hour or overnight to firm up. Serve cut into slices with a green salad.

***

Doesn't it just sound yummy? I will definately be trying this one. Wouldn't it be lovely for Valentine's Day too, with all that lovely red colour and in the photo they look a little heart shaped too don't they? Mmmmmm!