Happy Valentine's Day!

It's Valentine's Day <3 A day that I used to absolutely hate! Watching all these other people be all lovey and stuff....I think it made me more sad that I DIDN'T have someone to spend it with. Now a days, I wouldn't say I go over the top with the holiday, but it's definitely nice now to have Nicholas to spend it with.

I read an article a few days ago that said on average, people spend $130 on Valentine's Day. That's INSANE!!!! I have never felt like you should have to shell out that much cash just to show someone you love them. Shouldn't you be doing that on a daily basis? Showing them that you love them? I think it's ok to put a little more effort into Valentine's Day.

That's why Nicholas and I don't go as all out as most. I always tell him not to even think about spending his money buying me roses that prices are jacked up for the holiday. We get each other cards and stuff, but to me, I love just being able to spend the day with him. That's why on Valentine's Day, we make it an effort to stay in together and cook and watch movies and cuddle. Every year, we switch off who's going to cook. It was my turn this year! :D

I was so excited too! I have probably looked at Pintrest for ideas for over a month now! I got a little obsessed trying to decide the route I wanted to go. Plus, I had received a muffin/cupcake pan for Christmas that I could finally use to try some baking. I watch cooking shows ALL the time! I love them! I will say, I'm a pretty picky eater, but I love watching people cook on those shows! It inspires me to cook and bake! So I looked and pinned recipes and finally decided on a meal.

I wanted to try chicken. I've messed up chicken a couple of times because I didn't ever really know when it was fully cooked and other things. I found this recipe for called Italian Chicken Cordon Bleu. It's basically chicken cordon bleu except instead of ham, I used pepperoni. Then, for dessert, I wanted to make cupcakes. Now, I'm a vanilla cupcake person myself, however, Nicholas only likes chocolate or marble. Since I wasn't sure I could do marble on my first try, I decided to try chocolate cupcakes. I found a basic recipe and a chocolate buttercream frosting and gave it a try. Oh my lord, they turned out so great! I was so proud of myself! I couldn't believe it! For my personal touch, I added some chocolate chips as garnish. So it was like a chocolate overload cupcake. 

Nicholas LOVED them! I was so happy he did! He loved the whole meal! I didn't allow him to step foot in the kitchen all day or know what I was cooking. I wanted it to be a surprise! And it was! There's been times where I cook something and I know he didn't like it, so I'm so happy he liked this! It made it a successful Valentine's Day dinner! 

I've always believed that you don't have to go out and do something for Valentine's Day. For me, we can go out to dinner and a movie any night of the week. And since this is the busiest night of the year for that, I think we have a good plan at just staying home and having a special day to ourselves. It's just as romantic as anything else, plus we don't have to worry about spending all this money. I love just these precious moments we get to ourselves! I'm also happy that I got to try out some new recipes and building my confidence in my cooking skills! :) Happy Valentine's Day everyone! <3 I posted a few pictures below of the meal I cooked! It was yummy!!!!