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the perfect valentines

But not for the romantic reasons.

I always love a good handwritten & homemade note, especially on Valentine's Day. (I'd be lying if I said I don't love celebrating the pink and red, love-inspired holiday.) This year, I celebrated with two pretty special cards from two of my sweetest friends, and an even more special gift from my dear friend, Jenny: an advance copy of her book, Dancing Through It, that is set to be released this coming Thursday. I couldn't even wait until I got home last night to start reading; I opened it the moment I reached the subway platform to wait for the next train.

And now I'm not feeling so bad about the piled-up 10+ inches of snow outside after all. You'll know where to find me on this long holiday weekend—curled up & reading!

my valentine photo outing

I don't know what it is about Valentine's Day, but I love the colors, the sentiment, the candy...the everything. And, I may have gotten a little out of hand this year with my Valentine's cards. (Although, I've been known to get out of hand before with Valentine's Day...like the time I made a life-size cutout of myself with a sign reading "Hug Me.")

But boy did I have fun with this project. I spent the whole snowed-in weekend planning this out. I had Brendan agree (before telling him what my plan was) to be my photographer; I went nuts on the glitter paper at Michael's for these cutouts; and then I spent the better part of an hour trying to decide exactly where I should take these pictures, while even trying out a few different backgrounds and landscapes. In 20 degree weather.

It was pretty much a blast and I couldn't wait to share these cards with my family and friends. Since it's 2013, I decided to settle for an e-version instead of snail mail and send the cards via email. I also decided to share some of my outtakes here...gulp.

First trial with background. No good.

Second background trial. Much better!

More difficult than it looks to hold all of these in place.

City-scene. This was my photographer's recommendation!

Last shot of the day.