On Friday I threw an old-fashioned Valentines-making party for a group of my girlfriends.  I'm not sure if women used to get together and craft Valentines in the olden days, but in the age of evite and sexting, it certainly felt old-fashioned to spend the evening with glitter and glue.

My good friend Cyndi owns Artworks, a studio and art school, and among other things you can rent the place for a night or afternoon and have crafting parties.  Adults or kids!  Last year Cyndi threw a Valentines-making party there and I swore that this year I was going to do one myself. 

I invited a handful of girlfriends and told everyone to bring a bottle of wine to share.  Artworks provided the snacks and all the art supplies, so we poured ourselves a glass of bubbly and I used a glue stick for the first time since kindergarten. 

It was so therapuetic to get creative and messy and tipsy with friends.

Some of us were overly chatty (me) and some of us hunkered down and really cranked out some seriously beautiful valentines (not me).  But the method didn't really matter.

It was all about the process. 

And the process led to some darn great handmade Valentines.

Such a fun night.  It makes me want to do a crafty night with friends for any occasion, not just Valentines.  You should try it yourself. 

Good conversation flows when you're looking down at your own glue-stained fingers.

Happy Valentines Day!!

In the space of 24 hours, one fell over and one shattered glass.  Uur big, beautiful plant that we've had for years just couldn't take it anymore.  We've propped and placed him and re-potted and propped and finally the pressure just got to be too much.  And the other one, well, speaking of pressure...that thing just spontaneously fell through the glass.  I kid you not, I walked into the room and it looked just like the picture on the right.  Eerie.

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My week, in a nutshell.

Actually, my life, in a nutshell.

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For your weekend reading pleasure:

Do you know One Crafty Ellie?  We had the pleasure of meeting in New York in 2010 when we were both on the panel for the Responsibility Project.  Ellie is battling cancer and her posts during this journey are just breathtaking.  Make sure you check them out if you have a moment.  But, on the other side of it, she has the most amazing and creative friends I've ever witnessed.  They made her this video to cheer her spirits and I tell you that (it's good! and funny!) I had tears dripping onto the keyboard.  Friendship is such a precious, blessed gift.  (One Crafty Mother)

Have you read this three part series written by Anonymous on Erin Margolin's blog?  Fascinating.  And well done.  Shattering the Clay.  (Erin Margolin) 

My brother sent me this video, saying that we should try this behind our family's houseboat.  Yeah, right.  If I had been a part of this world record, I assure you that I would have been the one who fell, ruining it for everyone. 

And my husband couldn't wait to show me this video (get the theme here? I would almost never find videos on my own on the internet because I don't like to watch them), but the jokes on him because I came out with a crush on this guy who sings his order at Sonic. 

Wait, I just realized I've linked to THREE videos in this post.  How odd.  Let's get back to normal, please.  Like this post about park etiquette and picking up mommy friends.  (the 818)

And the best thing I've read this week, because it made me nostalgic: The College Me. The College You. (Ivy League Insecurities)

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Elsewhere on the web, I guest posted for Yes/No Films about what it's like being married to a director. 

Which brings me to a very important point: If I promised you a guest post, I swear it's still coming.  These are taking WAY WAY longer than I anticipated.  Don't give up on me! 

If you were an HH facebook fan, you would have enjoyed a lively discussion about the book I just finished and different things to serve for the Super Bowl. 

Also, if you're in the LA area, my friends Rachel and Alex are having a trunk show in Hollywood on Saturday afternoon and I know it will be filled with things you want for Valentines Day.  I fully support it.  Stop by Artworks studio to see Rachel's jewelry (I featured it here), Alex's stationary (I featured it here) and La Mer watches (featured in the gift bags at my Blushington event).  Plus others!  You'll want to be there. 

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We have a huge weekend planned, what about you?  Are you celebrating Valentines Day early to avoid the crowds and prix fixe menus?  We are.  I can't wait to tell you about it!

Happy weekend, HH readers!

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On Monday night I hosted an LA bloggers meetup at the new makeup bar Blushington in West Hollywood. 

Blushington offers full makeup services for $35.  So unlike hitting up a department store makeup counter, there's no pressure to buy anything.  You're there to get your makeup done, you look fabulous, you leave.  A simple concept brilliantly executed! 

Michelle from Opinions For Nothing

You can get extra stuff like waxing or eyelash application, but honestly there are so many times that I simply want my makeup done for an event, but it's such a pain or so expensive.  This solves it.  Plus it's next door to the Dry Bar, so you get your hair done, pop next door and get your makeup done, and you're on your way for less than $100 WITH TIP. 

getting my makeup done, madison & grasie, jj from the blah blah blahger, andrea from savvy sassy moms, me, romy from romy raves, & yvonne from yvonne in LA.

It was the perfect place to bring together some of my favorite local online friends, many of whom I had never actually met in real life. 

teresa and emily from the stylemap

alex from alexandra wrote and Summer from le musings of moi

kristyn from red carpet closet and her friend emily

romy from romy raves, andrea from savvy sassy moms, and krista from a note on design

caryn from rockin mama and kalyn from bucket list nation

alex, nicole, morgan from the 818, and me.  nicole, amy from eat something sexy.

deniz from le fashion monster and her friend, jenny from the swede records and rachel from my right brain

It was such a fun night and guests took home goodie bags filled with shoes from Sanuk and a beautiful watch from the La Mer collection.  (Don't worry HH readers, I gotcha covered.  There's a certain pretty giveaway in your future.)

You can read more about the event here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Not pictured (why?!  I'm not quick enough with my camera): Chanelle from Penelope's Vintage, Shandi, Vanessa from Turquoise, Carlee from Sweet B, Liz from Traded My BMW for a Minivan, and Kiara from ToBruck Avenue.

Thanks Blushington!

I've been working on adding some color and interest to my home office mantel.  I've held onto this Blood Is The New Black t-shirt for years, long after I've stopped wearing it, because I love the design of a little boy wheeling a heart in a barrel.  But it wasn't doing much good folded in a drawer for months on end, so I decided to display it more promimently. 

I cut it to the same size as a large frame I bought from Aaron Brothers, leaving tons of margin for error.  I stretched it tight around the frame backing, then I meticulously taped it up.  You can see how very precise my work is. 

I've also been looking for a couple of good ways to display my Instagram photos, since some of them are my very favorites.  I framed one in my boldly wallpapered powder room, but I had been seeing some larger displays of polaroid shots in magazines, so I wanted to try something like that.

I bought a large poster frame from Ikea, and sorted through my favorite Instagram shots that I'd already printed using Postal Pix.  I laid them out in a general way, then totally eye-balled it.  I didn't want it to look absolutely perfect, I even let the corners stand up a little because I used double-sticky tape in the middle of each picture.

It turned out exactly how I wanted: fun, colorful, a little bit 3D.  It's perfect for my office!

Each of these project took me about a half hour total.  It's funny how sometimes these little things make me just as excited as much larger projects. 

Are you working on anything fun?

This week on Instagram I posted a picture of our date night sushi.  My friend Bethany asked, "What did you guys talk about?  I'm always curious what other couples talk about on their date nights."

And I thought this was such an interesting question and something I wonder about with other couples, too. 

The Gorilla and I never lack for something to talk about.  We have an easy silence and a comfortable conversation style, and it has always been that way.  But when we have to discuss difficult things, it's harder for The Gorilla to articulate his thoughts.  While I've never had any problem putting my every emotion into words, my sweet husband is more of the strong, silent type.  Over the years we've had to learn to argue effectively, and express affection verbally in a way that works for both of us.  Our communcation skills are light years away from where they were eight years ago, but I guess that's something you never stop working on.

On our date Friday night, we talked about our favorite trips we've ever taken together, and we talked about friendships.  Both of these are topics we come back to again and again.  It's bonding for us to reminisce and analyze and wonder about the future.  Sometimes we tell each other stories about our lives before we shared one.  In many ways it feels like The Gorilla lived a whole lifetime before he met me, and I like to hear about it.  And he's very patient with my endless analysis of relationships and how they shift and change over time.  We try not to talk too much about work or the kids, the things that we discuss daily.   

My favorite date night lately has been getting a massage, then getting a good meal afterwards.  We wear our spa clothes to eat, no makeup and sweat pants, and it's nice to be so relaxed and physically comfortable on date night.  Not that getting dressed up isn't fun, too, but our best times together seem to be when we aren't forcing it.  The Gorilla would probably say his favorite date night is going to a Lakers game.  We eat nachos and garlic-y french fries and Staples Center is great for people watching.  Plus the game, of course.  

With two little ones, we can't be spontaneous about date nights anymore.  They require some planning ahead, and generally dinner reservations.  It would be too much pressure to expect every date night to be the best night ever, but it's always worth the effort.  It seems impossible that you could ever feel disconnected from someone you see every day, but a busy schedule and distracted minds means that sometimes we have to remember to reconnect.  

What's your favorite date night?  And what do you talk about?