The little birds...

If you watch little birds you will see they are busy and happy! Using whatever they can find they create the most gorgeous little nest.
I would be the little bird with some glittery thread in her nest!
We can be like this. Happily working away with the things that are available to us to create a beautiful and happy home.
All the while with a little song in our heart.

Banner by Free Pretty Things for You.

Sunday 8 February 2015

Show a little extra love.

I really think Valentine's Day is beautiful. It is a good celebration and can be sweet and romantic not just for couples but for anyone! I know we don't need Valentiens Day to celebrate love but anything that is an extra dose of love and affection, well, I am happy about!


You do not need to blow the budget. Like everything else you can celebrate and make it special without spending anything at all or very much at all!

If it prompts us to think of a new way to say thank you, I appreciate you, I love you, then its a good thing. A really useful tool is understanding the Five Languages of Love. This is just the best thing! And it expalins a lot. If you haven't read this book take a look online as there is a great website and even a little survey you can take. This could be a huge help to you as it was to me.
Different people express love and recieve love in different ways. It might be to do with their up bringing or their personality or both. And as soon as we see it we can understand people better.

Have you every given a gift or tried to helps someone and it fell flat? Or you feel someone doesn't seem satisfied with your efforts? Or maybe your husband gives you beauiful gifts but they leave you still not really feeling loved? Well, once we understand a persons love language this expalins it.

It applies to children as welll. You can hear someone say they give their children everything but they are still not happy. This is a classic. Maybe the child's love language is they want time spent with them and presents don't mean much? 

The love languages are
Acts of servie. This person really appreciates acts of servie as signs of love. If that is your husband he might see a clean house and nice cooked meals as love. Or you might feel that way yourself. A man who is like this might naturally wash your car as an act of love rather than buy you flowers.

Physical affection. This person doesn't want gifts or words they want physical affection. That is what makes them feel loved.

Words of affirmation. This person feels loved and appreciated when they are told how much you value all they do for you and their good points etc. When they hear you speak of them hightly. They value words above things. 

Quality time. This is spending time together, doing stuff together. This person would rather a date than a gift. A picnic rahter than a card. 

You can be a combination of these. So think about it. What ways really do you prefer to be loved? And think about what you think it might be that your husband really appreciates? 
Unwittingly we often express love in the way we like to recieve it. And it can miss the mark. My husband is a combination of two of these categories and I am a combination of another two. Luckily I figured out the ways he likes to be loved the most and basically I spelled it out to him what I like :)! I think men like this. Rather than scratching their heads trying to figure it out why don't we just tell them? So much easier! Mostly they are so grateful!

Andy listened to a guy on the radio who shared his secret. He says to his wife "I guess you can't figure out what I got your for your birthday?' and she will say "oooh is it that bracelet I saw" and he will say no it's not that. Then she says"did you get me that dress in the window?" and he will say no. Then she will say "did you get me that book I was talking about" and he says no. This goes on for five or six times. And he hasn't bought anything but now he has six ideas from her answers! The man is a genius!


I try to do something different and surprising. One year I set a table out in our front courtyard and make it look gorgeous. So when Andy came home he saw this lovely setting as he came in. And I baked a brie with walnuts in pastry and a lovely salad and special desert and so on and we ate outisde and had a lovely evening. 

On a day that he would be working I made his whole packed lunch in heart shapes. This is the thingwith men. They are tough on the outside but gooey insdie and he thought that was really sweet. AND if another guy saw this it means they give you a hard time but are secretly jealous, apparently.

Another time I wrote a letter that said how much I appreciate how hard he works and all he does for us and all of the things that he does that I notice and am grateful for.  So many men work really hard and long hours and are never thanked. So many women do too. Thanking someone for all of this can mean the world!

Cooking a favourite meal or planning a picnic can be beautiful ways to celebrate. Planning something romantic or some sort of surprise. Do you know what, I think anything that shows you have thought about it and gone to some kind of trouble is going to mean something.

I am big on heart shaped food. Really,  you can make anything in a heart shape from scones, pancakes, biscuits etc and I always sent them to school with the girls. 
But pizza, pies, and really anything as so sweet as hearts. And they make you smile. They are lovely.





This year I made a heart shaped pavlova. It looked beautiful!  And was just a little bit different so it was special. Baking a favourite food is always going to be a hit.

It is just a little bit of extra fun and sweetness. The world needs more sweetness.

I hope you have a wonderful week. Helen will be posting her pantry progress on Wednesday and my Feather your Nest Friday is already shaping up as over the weekend I had a heap of good things happen and did some fruit cooking.

Mondays are a great day to do a little extra and get the ball rolling. A good start helps the week go well! xxx







18 comments:

  1. Hmmm, lovely food there, Annabel. Unfortunately I am in the process of giving up sugar so can't partake. Little notes in lunchboxes for spouses or children are always a hit.

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    1. Nanna Chel little notes are the cutest thing. Anytime!
      I am just making a heart shaped zucchini pie... so you can do savoury too.
      Have a lovely week. Not too warm I hope...xxxx

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    1. Thank you Kat! I also have made individual sized ones and they look lovely serves with strawberry's. Or tinted pink... xx

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  3. My husband and daughter would adore the heart shaped pizza and pavlova, Annabel. That is so cute! I agree that these celebrations don't have to cost much. We make each other cards (including my daughter), have a candlelight dinner at home, and curl up with a Romantic comedy. So much nicer than going out, sitting in uncomfortable chairs, surrounded by strangers, and putting on a happy face whilst being served a set menu of stuff we don't normally eat! What a gorgeous post from you as always....x

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    1. Thank you Mimi. I think teenage girls often love Valentines Day. We did cute things and tinted things pink and so on!
      Have a lovely week.xxx

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  4. Great ideas! You are so right that it doesn't have to cost a fortune. Hubby and I like to do a special meal and sit and visit afterwards. They are always trying to get you to hurry along in a restaurant so we stay home and give the kitties fresh fish as well - everyone deserves a treat!

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  5. A beautiful post Annabel, I have one of the 5 love languages books, it's so good and got me thinking about what my daughter's love languages would be. Just in the process of making hubby an icecream cake for his birthday, I should have made it in the shape of a heart! Thanks again for the inspiring post :) Jasmine

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    1. Thank you Jasmine! It is the most helpful thing, understanding what "speaks" to someone the most.
      An ice cream cake sounds just beautiful. I havent made one in years! I should while we still have hot weather. Thank you for the idea! I hope it turns out beautifully! xxx

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  6. Another wonderful post Annabel Thank you.

    I am planning some decorations hand made to decorate our dining room for the girls. I downloaded a heart template which makes it quick and easy to cut out some coloured hearts and sprinkle them around. It is a shame that we cannot post pictures in the comment section or we could share our decorating.

    I am thinking I might make a nice heart shaped cake for us to share here with some strawberries to brighten it up or we have been talking about making Red Velvet Cake for a while so now could be the time to take a leap of faith and try it.

    Thank you for the inspiration and encouragement xxx
    God Bless

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  7. Dearest Annabel and friends, what a truly beautiful feast for the senses this post was! I think anyone would love to be served the pavlova as well as the other goodies. Mimi I agree with you....home is the place to be for a truly wonderful evening. An idea I read about a few years ago was a lady put a trail of tea lights through the house. It cost just a couple of dollars, but with a lovely meal, her husband was really touched by the effort she made.
    On a completely different note I was in Coles today and on the milk powder they had a sign that for each customer there was a limit of 6. I have never seen it before. See you on Wednesday lovely ladies! Helen x

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  8. Lovely ideas to show how much I care. Great stuff, Annabel. I especially liked the story Andy heard on the radio. Excellent idea!

    Hugs and happy Valentine's Day week,
    Kelley~

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  9. Dear Annabel, You are very correct. The world needs more sweetness. What a beautiful post. I love your ideas, I love that you shared the love languages here. I am set to do chocolate chip cookies again for my kids this year but thanks to your post they will be heart shaped :) Last year my husband made me a delicious dinner for Valentine's Day, and this year he asked me if I would like another homemade meal. Of course, I said "YESSSS"!! I have no idea what it will be, and he is a wonderful cook so I am excited for that meal. We dog-sat for some very special friends last weekend, and they told Bill because of that they are taking our kids on Valentine's Day so we can have a date at home, just the two of us! Of course we have one college-aged, but we have 5 kids. At any given time, there are a minimum of two to five here so what a treat to have a "date at home"!

    Everything you posted is just a little extra effort but so thoughtful which makes it hugely meaningful. So special. Thank you for sharing!!! xxx Thank you to everyone else as well :)

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  10. All of the fruit on the cake looks yummy! Thanks for sharing with the Thursday Blog Hop! Hope you can visit me http://www.over50feeling40.com. Have a great weekend!

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  11. I love all of your food made into a heart! Happy Valentine's Day! Visiting from a tray of bliss party!

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    1. Thank you Julie! Happy Valentines Day to you too and thanks for visiting!x

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  12. So sweet & lovely!! I found you via the Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop and so glad I did!! Happy Valentine's Day!!

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  13. I so agree with you about Valentines day, I think anything that encourages people
    to be loving and good to others is a very good thing. Also know about the love
    languages and it is so true. Typically the way others loves us is usually the way
    they spell love for themselves, unless they have gotten this teaching about the
    5 love languarges! lol
    Hope you have a Lovely Valentines Day hon,
    Blessings, Nellie

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