February was filled with so many good things and memories that if I shared them all, this post might go on for days. I’ll keep it short and sweet and choose some highlights from the month of things I was loving lately! It was my 28th birthday month which means I said my goodbyes to my golden birthday year! The temps were starting to warm up and melt all of the snow that we got DUMPED on in January! I discovered a new coffee shop that has literally been under my nose for over a year and I didn’t even know it existed! Lot’s of good things and I’m excited to share more with you my favorite memories and things from February!
BAKING - Heart Cookies & Ombre Cakes
I mentioned in my 2020 recap blog post that I think I’ve used my KitchenAid mixer more in 2020 than I have the entire time I’ve own this thing (which has been like 6 or so years)! February is a very festive month with Valentine’s Day and also my birthday and I had an urge to bake something again! Back in December I had on my holiday bucket list to make gingerbread cookies from scratch and they turned out SO CUTE! After I realized I had a heart cookie cutter, I knew it had to happen! It was such a sweet Saturday afternoon making these and I made little Valentine deliveries the next day which was so fun to spread a little edible love to our family that live close to us!
The other baking adventure that was had in February was I made my own birthday cake! I received a card in the mail from Brian’s Aunt and Uncle that inspired me to make it! It was too pretty not to try an attempt it! **see photo below** Last year while I was on a baking spree, I made both my mom and my brother two layer birthday cakes that were different colors and it was so fun to make! The card I got had 4 layers and it was basically a mint ombre dream! It turned out SO COOL and I wish we still had some left! Haha!
To get the different shades of mint for each layer, I used this Wilton icing coloring and each bowl I added more and more to get darker colors. This gel coloring is WAY different than the dropper food coloring I’m used to and is a lot more pigmented. You only need to use a toothpick, dip it in the container and drag the toothpick in the batter. It’s crazy how little you need and how saturated the color gets!
Trader Joe’s Flowers & Tulip Season is HERE!
Something I look forward to every year as the edge of winter dies down and spring slowly approaches is TULIP SEASON! I have many, many favorite flowers but I think tulips are high up on the list! A few days before my birthday weekend I wanted to treat myself to some good ole’ Trader Joe’s flowers because they always have the best selection! I chose an orange and pink color palette and they brightened up our kitchen so much! Having fresh flowers in our house is definitely one of my favorite little luxuries! :) Standing at our kitchen counter with the windows open cutting stems of flowers and sipping on a yummy latte…. ohhh spring I just love you!
‘The Map of Tiny Perfect Things’ on Prime Video
I’m pretty sure it was Valentine’s Day night when we were trying to find a movie to watch and being in the holiday spirit, I wanted to watch a cute-sie one! I landed on this one because I loved the title of it. (palm to face, I know haha) It just sounded RIGHT up my alley! It was SUCH a great movie that makes you think about how you spend your time and what tiny, perfect things you could be missing in your life while you aren’t paying attention. (cough, cough- scrolling away on your phone) Here is a short description of it :
The film tells the story of quick-witted teen Mark, contentedly living the same day in an endless loop whose world is turned upside-down when he meets mysterious Margaret also stuck in the time loop. Mark and Margaret form a magnetic partnership, setting out to find all the tiny things that make that one day perfect.
Turkey Run State Park
My 28th birthday was coming up and this year it finally landed on a Saturday! Birthday weekend, YAY! I had to figure out what we should do to celebrate and once I saw how BEAUTIFUL the weather was going to be, I knew I wanted to spend the day outside! I did some research (and had some recommendations from my good friend Jill) and we decided on Turkey Run State Park and it did NOT disappoint! It was about a 2 hour drive from home so it felt like a mini road trip (which was a fun plus!) and we packed the truck with snacks, lunch and my mint ombre birthday cake ^^ haha! It was at first going to just be Brian and I with Zoey but then my brother and best friend tagged along and it was the PERFECT day spent with my absolute favorite people!
This was the end of February and the crowds were very small which was so nice! We basically had the trails all to ourselves but I’m sure that will change as we enter the warmer months ahead. We only covered like 3 out of the 11 trails while we were there which was crazy to realize that because we were there ALL DAY! We will definitely be back to explore the rest of the trails!
Here is a fun recap Reel I made from this fun day over on Instagram!
ON REPEAT! - Hollow Coves
I discovered this band a few days before my birthday and this was the perfect playlist for hitting the trails on our hiking day! It’s a very relaxing, chill vibe and makes you feel like you’re in a different world exploring new places! Love love love them!
Zoom Birthday Singing
It has been a tradition in Brian’s family that we get together and have a “February Birthdays Party” every year because there are SO MANY of us that celebrate our birthdays in February! Because of the pandemic we obviously weren’t able to gather like we usually would, so we instead made Zoom calls to every single person ON their birthday to sing to them! It was such a special thing and was a lot of fun! For my birthday we were still on our 2 hour drive home from Turkey Run State Park so we had to tune in to the singing from my phone. It’s times like these that I’m so thankful for technology to stay connected to our family!
Cornerstone Coffee House
I am ALWAYS on the hunt for fun coffee shops to explore and when I heard that there was a new one the next town over in Peotone that I had no idea existed, I couldn’t get there fast enough! Two sides of the building are made of floor to ceiling windows which I LOVE and brightens up the space so much! Gimme allll the natural light! They also have a map up showcasing where they get all of their coffee from and I think that is so cool! I also own a push pin map of all our travels so that totally caught my eye! The coffee is delicious, the location is perfect and I’ve already been there a handful of times with my laptop getting some work done while I have Hollow Coves playing in my headphones! Mmmmm what a perfect afternoon if you ask me! :)
Cornerstone Coffee House - 124 W. Main St. Peotone, IL 60468
Check out what I was loving in January HERE !
