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Fashion Survivor: avoid falling victim to these spring trends

I don’t usually talk much about fashion in my writing, but this upcoming season of clothing has me worried. I feel like, as a classically educated image consultant, it’s my moral obligation to stop a lot of women from making themselves look terrible in an effort to

Ralph Lauren 2012...or Golden Girls 1985

conform to the fashion world’s newest obsessions. Let’s see if I can help you avoid some pitfalls this spring.

PASTELS ARE THE DEVIL’S PLAYTHING.

Everything in the stores lately seems to be a shade of beige with some pink or taupe mixed in. More recently, looks like we may be seeing some minty greens and yellows, too. Pastels are uber feminine—and remember, there are lots of ways to be feminine, but pastels are the fashion equivalent of a giant mammary gland. They are not sexy, they are girly and sometimes aging, which is fine if that’s what you want. They also tend to be less slimming than their rich-pigmented colour cousins. If you choose to play with pastels, be cautious. Throw in a pinch of it with some other crisp tones: a soft pink top with a bright white cardigan and blue jeans.

THE ‘IN’ COLOUR IS A LOT OF COLOURS.

Usually every season, there is one or two popular colours. Last year, Kelly green was in—not for long enough, in my opinion. But if you didn’t like green, there were still other colours around to choose from. What’s dangerous this season is that the fashion industry has fallen in love with an entire pallet—faded pastels, as mentioned above—and this means it’s hard to get away from the trendy clothes, and find yourself something that flatters you. A couple seasons back when chartreuse was in, I managed to creep around the periphery of the stores and find some other colours choices…but I worry that this spring

Reitmans. Adding ten pounds instantly.

won’t allow for that. We’ll have to see. A good trick: if you try on the current colour trends and (like me) hate them on you, spend this season shopping second-hand. Last year’s spring clothes will be out at the consignment stores and you can find some items in the right colours for you.

BATWING IS DRIVING ME BATTY.

Everywhere I look, shirts seems to be batwing or simply square-cut. Even sweaters! These styles of tops immediately add ten pounds to most women. I’m sorry, you may like them, but you must be very careful and very critical when you try these on. I have bought one wide-sleeved shirt this spring for myself, and it was because the body was still completely fitted—meaning that you could still see my small waist and well-bra’d bust. If you really want to try this style out, look for the same thing: shape somewhere in the garment to help the eye recognize your curves. Or, if you just can’t resist, compensate for the bagginess with very fitted pants.

JEANS.

I think we’ve all learned by now that leggings are only pants if you’ve covered your bum with a top or tunic. Good. But skinny jeans continue to be worn around by girls with luscious backsides. If you’ve got meat on your butt or thighs—this is most of us, girls—skinny jeans should be worn cautiously. You can end up making yourself look like Miss Piggy, with all your mass at the top of your pants, and little piggy hoofs…especially if you’re wearing a slender shoe. If you really want

Suzy Shier. Elastic: ruining a good hourglass.

the skinny jeans but are a normal woman who isn’t ‘H’ framed with perfect thighs, throw a long shirt or tunic over. Think of the jeans as leggings.

WASTED WAISTS.

Elastic waists and belted waists are in. I’m sad for anyone who isn’t a stick insect, including myself. I am an hourglass-shaped gal myself, leaning towards an ‘H’ frame, and when I try to wear these waistlines, I often end up looking like I have a bun in my oven because of where the waistline visually divides my body. If you’re anywhere over 108lbs, you will likely have this trouble, too. I know it seems like a tiny belt or elastic at your waist, around your belly button, is going to show off your waist, but it doesn’t. Your clothes should visually lengthen your torso (where most of us feel the most square or round), not divide it in two awkward pieces. If you insist on wearing these little belts, wear them low on the low part of your

Suzy Shier. Most of us should wear this belt 8" down.

hips; they will at least draw the eye past your belly. If you insist on wearing the elastic waistlines, I don’t think I can help you.

GENERAL ADVICE.

Put on the clothes you’re consider, then back up. Look at yourself from a distance in the mirror, and squint or unfocus your eyes. Do you look square/wide/round/shortened? If so, it may not be the right outfit for you. Don’t feel pressured to buy styles that are thrust upon you by the fashionnati; they’re typically designing for scrawny 16 year-olds—the models they spend their time with and think are ‘real’ women. If you happen to be a human giraffe, more power to you…enjoy all the clothes the rest of us can’t wear. But for the rest of us: hold your breath and pray for better selections next season.

Valentine’s is all about those three special words. . . Breakfast in Bed!

Okay moms…picture this: you wake up on the morning of February 12th (Valentine’s is unfortunately on a Tuesday this year, so Sunday morning makes a heck of a lot more sense) to the smell of freshly brewed coffee instead of freshly brewed diapers!  The loud sounds are strangely coming from the kitchen rather than the kids’ room.  Suddenly your partner bursts into the bedroom with the most amazing breakfast you have ever seen, served to you on a platter with love.

You’re thinking, “Boy, that sounds like such a nice dream,” but NO, this is not a dream!  This CAN be your reality this year with a few subtle hints e.g., emailing your partner this post or maybe printing it off and subtley leaving it on his pillow the day before. Okay, so it’s not very subtle, but do you want the romantic breakfast in bed or not?

Plus, I found the most amazing recipe that is an absolute a no-brainer. Trust me, your partner can easily prepare this breakfast even if he’s the kind of guy that only cooks when it involves using the BBQ. I actually think I saw God when I took my first bite of this…probably the best breakfast I have ever eaten. And again, soooooo easy to make, but it looks and tastes like you actually drove to a restaurant, purchased it and tried to pawn it off as your own.

Baked Banana French Toast (Courtesy of bakerella.com. Thank you!!!)

Ingredients
1 small loaf french bread
4 eggs
3/4 cup whipped cream
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large banana
6 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter
Powdered sugar
Maple syrup

This is really all you need to make the perfect breakfast!

 Here’s how to make it:

Cut the french bread into 1/2 inch slices

 Whisk together the milk, cream, eggs, sugar, cinnomen and vanilla

 Dip the pieces of bread in the egg mixture and place in a greased ovenproof dish

Cut up the banana into slices, dip the slices in the egg mixture and then coat them with 2 tbsps of brown sugar

Place 2 banana slices between each slice of bread. Then combine 4 tbsps of brown sugar and 1 tbsp of melted butter and sprinkle over entire dish. Place in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut up some fresh strawberries and place in a small dish

Fresh squeeze some orange juice and pour into a champagne flute and you’re all done!

Once the french bread is done, pour syrup or maple sugar over it and lightly dust it with powdered sugar. Finally, combine everything you’ve made plus a fresh cup of coffee onto a serving plate and serve it to the one you love! And I’m an equal opportunist so if you ladies feel like your man deserves this treat, why not surprise him this Sunday! Just remember to also make yourself a plate as you really don’t want to miss out on this dish. I seriously now know what heaven tastes like!  Actually, I’m planning on making it again for dinner tonight just to give myself an early Valentine’s Day gift!

***

Coupon tip of the week:  I’ve mentioned before that flowers are atrociously expensive right before Valentine’s Day which is why I never ask my husband to buy them for me for Valentine’s Day.  So why not give a different kind of bouquet this year….like a chocolate bar bouquet.  Simply go to the dollar store and get 8 chocolate bars, a small vase, a bag of glass marbles and some wooden skewers.  Tape a skewer to the back of the chocolate bars and then arrange them like flowers in the vase (the glass marbles help hold the bars in place in the vase).  This will cost you less than $10 and tastes much better than roses!

Eight things to do with stray socks

During the infamous basement purge (which is still under way) I got rid of a large basket of stray socks. It felt good, REALLY GOOD, to shove them into the trash bin.  The vast majority of them were not only sad socks without partners, but various other socks in varying degrees of breakdown. Many were also socks the girls had outgrown. It was a mess.

Sidebar: I’ve learned to buy kiddie socks in larger quantities (i.e packages of 6 identical pairs). This means that if one gets lost it doesn’t matter as much because they’ll always be a match. If you have two children of the same gender with sizes that are fairly close, I recommend colour coding each kid. For example, the eldest girl can have mostly pink, purple and red socks. The youngest can have mostly orange, green, and blue socks. It takes the guesswork out of sock sorting!

Anyway, the aforementioned basket ‘o singles was an idea I had some time ago. Instead of putting the strays back into the drawer hoping for a miraculous reunion, I just weeded them out, making room for happy pairs. Smart eh?

But I digress.

Now that I’ve tossed out our old singles I’ve realized there are a bunch of things I could have used them for.

1 – The thing that had me recently rooting for a stray sock is the sock bun. It’s an easy way to create a swank updo. (And yes, you need a sock for this!) If I can just make a recommendation, don’t use a white sport sock (um, like I did, because that’s all I had)… it might peek through your hair. Use a darker sock, or better yet, one closer to your hair colour.

Here is the YouTube video that inspired me to try it (and it totally works by the way).

2 - Dust rags. Yes. Boring. But stick a sock over your preschooler’s hand to introduce them to Dusting 101. (I believe in startin’ them young!)

3 - How about a classic hand puppets? Here is an excellent sock puppet monster tutorial

4 - Sock dogs. Once upon a time I made some gifts. They are surprisingly easy to make, even for someone like myself. Photos and instructions over here.

5 - No sew sock snowmen! I think this is a really cute idea.

6 - Sock bunnies! (Easter is coming, so get started!)

7 –  Baby legwarmers. Cut off the toe off a couple of fun socks, and voila, baby knees are protected from wear and tear.

8 –  A budget friendly iPod protector, to keep your tech toys safe and warm.

Can you think of any other ways to use those old stray socks? Please share!

Adventures in Consignment

I visited my first maternity consignment shop today and overall, I was impressed.  I’m not a huge fan of shopping in general. I’ve always wished we could all just wear uniforms (clearly, I don’t have much appreciation for fashion). Luckily, I work from home so I can spend a lot of time in ‘comfy things’.

While I considered shopping online for used maternity clothes, we don’t have a car and given I like to try things on- that didn’t seem like a viable option. So, a-consignment shopping we went.

Consignment Store

Here are my tips for how to have a successful consignment experience:

Don’t settle. If you don’t love something, put it back. Don’t buy it just because it’s a good deal. I almost did that with several items (it’s only $9!). Without a little discipline, I would have ended up spending way more money and not liking half the things that I bought.

Give yourself lots of time. I spent an hour shopping when normally I’m in and out of a store in 20 minutes. It takes time to sift through the racks looking for deals, so make sure you allow yourself enough time.

Dig. I found all the items I bought where they shouldn’t have been (in the wrong size sections, tucked away in a pile on the shelf etc.).

Have a plan. Ideally, it would be good to know what you are looking for. Then if you’re dealing with a large store you can just stick to the sections you’re interested in.

If it smells, put it back.  I tried on a few things that smelled a little ‘funky’. That didn’t lend itself to a positive shopping experience, so back on the rack they went.

Do a search online.  A lot of consignment stores have Facebook groups where they advertise new items, sales or other information. The store I visited allows people to put a hold on things that they see and like on Facebook.

Visit often. People are bringing new items in daily so try to make regular trips for the best finds. Just while I was in the store, two women dropped off clothes.

I managed to get a great pair of jeans, a long shirt and a brand new t-shirt all for $36! And, I must say, it was a much more enjoyable experience compared to my first mall maternity store trip. That day, I bought one pair of jeans for $70 and I left because I couldn’t find a shirt I liked for under $30. Yikes.

Consignment Finds!

Happy Hunting! I’d love to hear about your consignment experiences and any stores you love or ideas.

Homecoming

We moved this week. Hold me.

The chaos. The dust bunnies. The boxes. The sheer volume of miscellaneous garbage nobody recognizes. The “holy sweet meatballs why do I have no underwear??” The BOXES. Mercy.

I have come to the realization, my friends, that moving – no matter how many times one has done it – is not a whole lot like riding a bike.

Rather, it’s like labour. It’s a world unto itself, a time bracketed off. It’s extraordinarily painful, but the endorphins of the result block your memory of the exact details until the next time you find yourself in the throes. And by then, it’s too late to back out.

While my recall is still plenty gory, let me state clearly that I plan on never ever moving again. In this life. You can pry this house from my cold, dead hands. But I’d rather you just unpacked it for me.
***

In the midst of the madness of sorting and packing and carting and trying to reorganize, though, there is incredible sweetness.

This house we bought, this lovely Arts & Crafts bungalow that I plan to die in, many decades from now, was my grandmother’s newlywed home. She was born across the street, and lived there again all through my childhood. But for a period in the late ’30s through the ’40s, she and husband – who died before I was born – lived here. Where I sit right now, roasting my tootsies at the fireplace.

I am the only child of an only child. When my grandmother died, well into her nineties, I was the inheritor of many of her treasures, including and especially her wedding presents. I wear her rings on my left hand. I have her black-paper wedding album.

And this week, I got to bring her things – the fancy and the mundane – back home.

Her Art Deco dishes, cream and silver:

Her glass citrus juicer, which can slaughter even a grapefruit:

A handy jar – alas now empty – for dealing with colic. The horse kind, not the baby kind. Apparently also good for flesh wounds, and spavins, whatever those are. Too bad it’s empty. All this moving is probably bad for spavins.

Her pansy bowl – my grandmother loved pansies. I’ve never seen another of these: does anyone know if they were common at one time? You fill it with water and place a small purple flower in each hole: beautiful.

Her flour jar, which I plan to finally fill with flour and start using myself.

But THIS is the crowning glory. She was given this as a wedding present by the parents of the man who built this house. It had apparently been given to THEM as a wedding present, years before. Regifting? Not new, people. But seldom this daringly fabulous.

Here it is, atop an old speaker cabinet her husband made by hand. In what was once their living room.

I love these old things. I love their elegant lines and their quirkiness and the solidity of their materials.

But most? I love that they are stories, tangible family history. That when I hold them in my hands, or catch sight of them in my kitchen, I hear – for a second – the sound of my grandmother’s voice, speaking my name.

And here, in this house that was once hers, I love that the ending to these things’ stories is that they’ve come home.

Well, perhaps not the ENDing. But I swear, once I get this house unpacked, I’m not going anywhere for YEARS.

Return of the (semi) sports nut

On a sports nut scale of 1 to 10, with this guy being a 10, I give myself a 7.5

It’s Super Bowl time! This is the first time since I was 16 that I have been excited about it. It’s actually the first time in a long time I’ve gotten excited about sports in general. And I have two things to thank for it (or blame, depending who you ask). The first is the Jets returning to Winnipeg. I spent my formative years in Winnipeg and was there when they left for Phoenix, so their return automatically got me back into hockey. And with my teams being the Jets and the Maple Leafs, I’m sure to be disappointed for years to come.

The second and most important thing that got me back into sports was Sports Illustrated. All my life I wanted a subscription to Sports Illustrated. As a kid I asked for it every year for Christmas – and not just for the swimsuit edition or the football phone. I loved sports and while I didn’t have the athletic prowess to match my passion, I still loved to read and talk about it – stats, trades, games, you name it. Unfortunately my parents had a deeply rooted mistrust of offering their credit card number over the phone (perhaps based on some W5 story on credit card scams) so it was never meant to be. My dream of weekly sports news at my doorstep died with my other childhood dreams of playing pro basketball and driving Kit from Knight Rider. That was until the sports gods gave me another chance.

That chance came in the form of a magazine subscription fundraiser at my son’s school. My wife and I looked over the catalogue and when I saw that familiar “S I” all my childhood excitement came pouring back. My heart raced as I tried to casually say, “Maybe I’ll get Sports Illustrated.”

The four week wait to get my first issue was torture. I felt like Ralphie from A Christmas Story, checking the mail every day for his Little Orphan Annie Decoder Ring. When the day finally did come I read the book from over to cover – college football, hockey, tennis, golf – it didn’t matter, I sucked it up hungrily. And I did the same thing with every issue after that. I rediscovered my love for the NFL and NBA and started following teams again. I’ve started watching Sports Centre and reading sports stories online. I’ve followed the NFL playoffs with an interest that would make the 15-year-old me proud. I almost went as far as to buy an NBA jersey on a recent trip to the States. I was becoming a sports nut again. But more sports nut light. I don’t approach it with the same focused obsession that I did as a teenage male. I can’t. There are too many other things that deserve my attention – family, work, friends. And I wouldn’t want to take away anything from them. But it still felt great to recapture a little piece of the teenage me – without having to shell out bucketloads of cash to recreate my own Kit car or some other crazy attempt to relive my childhood. As a pre-midlife crisis goes, a subscription at 42% of the cover price seems pretty tame.

So I am getting ready to watch Super Sunday and cheer on my  Giants (who became my default team by beating my Niners). But my Super Sunday will most likely be Super Sunday Night, after the kids have gone to bed. I’ll tape the game and enjoy the day with my family. Just don’t tell me the score if you see me. In return I offer you this delicious Super Bowl snack.

Game Day Recipe

Seafood Dip

This tangy, cheesy and addictive delight will keep a smile on your face, no matter who’s winning. Make sure to have enough crackers and a spoon to scoop.

 Ingredients

8 oz. softened cream cheese

½ cup sour cream

¼ cup mayonnaise

1 cup seafood sauce

3 – 4 oz. canned shrimp – optional, I never use ‘em

2 cups shredded mozzarella

1 green pepper, diced

3 green onions, chopped

1 tomato, diced and seeded

1. Mix cream cheese, sour cream and mayo and spread in a pie plate.

2. Scatter the following ingredients in order:

• shrimp
• seafood sauce
• shredded mozzarella
• diced green pepper
• chopped green onions
• seeded and diced tomato

3. Refrigerate for at least two hours.

An Austin Atlantic fit for a Queen

After I had my tea and crumpets this morning (I joke), I stumbled upon this gem: a 1949 Austin Atlantic with Vanden Plas trim. This car was created by the designers at Austin to largely appeal to the North American market, and had stylings similar to the Pontiac or Mercury designs at the time. The reason this was aimed at our market, was because of the British Government decree to “export or die,” in efforts to beef up their economy following WWII. Enough history, what the heck does Vanden Plas mean? Vanden Plas was a company responsible for creating luxury bodies for high-end automobile brands, and its brand quickly became associated with producing top-end luxury vehicles.

This particular model is a hard top 2 door coupe, complete with power windows (this was a HUGE deal in 1949). The car is a 3 speed manual (with overdrive) with a top speed of 91 mph, and able to go from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 16.6 seconds. A pretty cool little toy more than half a century old!

1949 Austin Atlantic with Vanden Plas Trim

Today’s car inspired the following ‘Brit picks’ from our sites across Canada. Pictured above, left to right:  five gallon can from British America Oil Company ltd. via UsedOttawa, 1977 Commemoration Jug for Elizabeth II via UsedVictoria, rare photo of the Queen with only daughter Anne via UsedRegina, Wedgewood Wyndham Bone China 22 piece tea set via UsedPei

Steampunk: Dirigibles and sprockets and bustles, oh my!

It’s an exciting week at UsedEverywhere, because we’ve just launched a verycool new category on all the Canadian and UK sites: steampunk.

source: buysteampunk.com

What is steampunk? Ohhhh, I’m so glad you’ve asked. Steampunk is a cool term for the genre of science fiction that has a Victorian feel or setting, and can now be recognized in pop culture from movies like Sherlock Holmes I and II (and even Wild Wild West though the movie itself was horrid). If you see a woman in evening gloves, a long velvet frock, and a fascinator made of brass cogs and LED lights, you’re looking at steampunk. The movement has also invaded design, showing up in everything from scrapbooking stickers to furniture pieces.

I recently met the maven of Canadian steampunk, Lee Ann Farruga, and asked her to walk us through it in detail. You’re going to love this category on the site, both for hunting treasures and for posting treasures…and coolest part of all, there’s a major upcycling component to this movement. But on with the interview!

Q. What is your name and your steampunk affilitations?

A. My name is Lee Ann Farruga, aka Countessa Lenora, aka the Canadian Queen of Steampunk. (And mistress of Steampunk Canada, as well as Steampunk Ottawa.)

Q. How long have you been into steampunk?

A. I have been into steampunk in its current incarnation since 2008

source: datamancer.net

Q. Steampunk is a broad term, but how would you define it in a nutshell?

A. In a nutshell I would say it’s based on Victorian science fiction. It’s a love of the Victorian and Edwardian aesthetic combined with new and futuristic technology.

Q. How did you first connect with steampunk?

A. I first connected with steampunk when I was quite young and it was simply Victorian science fiction.  I have always had a love for literature of that period and grew up reading Verne, Wells, Conan Doyle and others, and watching films that included 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, The Time Machine, First Men on the Moon, and so on.

Q.What are a couple of the coolest steampunk creations you’ve seen?

A.  That’s an incredibly hard question to answer. There are a huge number of great creations out there.  Let’s just say two of my favourites are the beholder by Daniel Proulx and Neverwas Haul (steampunk moving house).

Q. How does reusing and recycling factor into steampunk?

A. Reusing and recycling are a huge part of steampunk.  Tinkers and inventors search second hand stores, junkyards and even their neighbour’s refuse for parts and pieces for their creations.  Recycling was also a huge part of Victorian everyday life.

Q.Tell us about Steampunk Canada:

A. Steampunk Canada is a national organization created to bring together all steampunks across Canada. It is a place for steampunks to find their local groups, local events, artisans, and steampunk news.

source: The Steampunk Home

We are working to promote steampunk in a variety of venues including a number of blogs and websites, social media, local events and conventions, large and small. We have brought steampunk to the attention of publishers and major media companies an

d we are campaigning to bring this community and genre to the attention of all Canadians through more conventional exhibits.

Q. Do you have to be a hardcore dress-up steampunk to go to events?

A. Absolutely not!  We encourage everyone to join in, dressed up or not.  We want all those who love the genre/community to get involved and have fun.

Q. For people looking to post in the steampunk categories, what kinds of things might the average person post in there that would be useful? (ie. victorian furniture, medicine bottles…????)

A.One could post just about anything that is made of brass, copper, bronze; is Victorian or Edwardian in age or style; also anything electrical and/or mechanical; and definitely any antiques, furniture, old bottles, old scientific equipment, expedition equipment, Victorian or Edwardian clothing or accessories, picnic baskets…. I could go on and on.

source: Steampunk Invention blog; piece by Aranwen

Check out the steampunk category on your local UsedEverywhere site. Remember, steampunk’s aesthetic is essentially ‘Victoriana meets time machine’, so there’s potential for a lot of gems to be posted in the category! We hope to have some of Steampunk Canada’s members share photos of the treasures they create with their UsedEverywhere scavenges.

Even if you, yourself are not a steampunk fanatic, it’s going to be an intriguing movement to watch. I can tell you that steampunk has invaded our house slowly over the last two years, and Brian is now in love with the fashion side. I won’t be surprised if I eventually end up in a bustle, corset, and copper cog-and-wheel jetpack.

And be sure to check out Steampunk Canada…if you’re a sci-fi nerd like Brian, I guarantee you’ll have found your mothership. (Okay, me too…shhhh.)

Cheap Chevron Wall Art

So I moved into this room back in September… I know, it’s embarrassing how bare it is. The sad thing is I have about 10 posters that I could put up, but all of them are from my university days, and a little part of me wants to believe that I am now more mature than that (ha!). Enter my cheap trendy wall art attempt, which was originally from Jess at Makeundermylife. In magazines, this type of wall art is usually placed on white walls, but I’m using some of my own personal preference for neon colors, that will hopefully jazz up my ‘butterscotch pudding walls’.

my bare walls

And begin. Materials you will need:

- Easel able to withstand acrylic paint (Choose your size)

- Painters tape, any width you desire

- Scissors

- Design (here is the Chevron design)

- Your color choice of spray paint or regular acrylic paint (make sure to get one not meant for rust or the outdoors)

Step 1: Print out your Chevron stencil, or any stencil of your choice

Step 2:  Use pins and poke holes around the points of the Chevron. *Note use the painters tape that you have, and tape it onto the design first, as different widths make things tricky!

taping & pinning the Chevron design

Step 3: Cut and tear the tape so it fits into the design. Continue all the way down the canvas, be patient, it’s harder than you think!

Step 4: Go out side and spray paint over the taped canvas. Hold the spray paint 20 cm from the canvas, and go in slow even strokes. Otherwise you’ll end up with big paint spots.

all spray painted & ready to dry

Step 5: Take off tape and admire!

DIY Fancy and Frugal Valentine's Dinner for under $25 (including wine!)

All of these ingredients cost less than $25! Thanks to RCSS

Pre-child, my husband and I would use Valentine’s Day as an excuse to make ourselves a gluttonous and fancy dinner. We’d have filet mignon, king crab legs dipped in melted garlic butter and for dessert, some yummy, gooey chocolately goodness from the bakery. All this topped off with a fancy bottle of champagne (and then we’d end up the rest of the night curled up on the couch, slowly dozing off as our rich dinner digested and lulled us to sleep…not exactly romantic but still worth it!)

Well, now that we have an 8 month-old-son and I am currently on maternity leave, our champagne wishes and crab leg dreams are all but dashed this year. But I didn’t want to give up on the dream of a delicious and romantic Valentine’s Day dinner without dipping into Grayson’s college fund.

I began scouring the internet and managed to put together a wonderful, easy three course Valentine’s Day dinner, complete with an entire bottle of wine for under $25. See, proof!!

It was actually only $21.24 as I bought an extra beef broth just in case

I know….I couldn’t believe it either. Plus I have to say it’s pretty healthy as well (minus the wine…it’s healthy if you have ONE glass of wine a day but a whole bottle…unfortunately that doesn’t make it four times as healthy by drinking it all in one day….darn!)

Here is the menu I have prepared and already test drived last night for February 14th.  I was so happy that nothing was burned or hurt in the making of this dinner:

Valentine’s Day 2012 Fancy and Frugal Menu
French Onion Soup
Roasted Stuffed Chicken Breast with Goat Cheese and Basil
Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Using all the ingredients I purchased, here’s how to make it all:

First Course: French Onion Soup

This is seriously one of the best French Onion Soups I've ever had. Not just braggin!

Ingredients
1 box of low-sodium beef broth
1 cup caramelized onion (click on link to see how to do this…can be done the day before)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
Thick-sliced french bread (for topping)
Swiss cheese (for topping…it’s cheaper than gruyere but tastes almost the same)

Directions
Heat broiler. Bring low-sodium beef broth and caramelized onions to a simmer over medium heat; season with coarse salt and ground pepper. Top thick-sliced country bread with swiss cheese and season with pepper; broil until toasted. Serve soup with cheese toasts.

Second Course: Roasted Stuffed Chicken Breast with Goat Cheese and Basil

Try not to cut into it to see if it's done like I did....you lose all the yummy juices.

Ingredients
2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
1 small package of goat cheese
4 large basil leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
3/4 teaspoon of black pepper

Directions
1.Preheat the oven to 375° F.
2. Wash each chicken breast and pat dry with a paper towel. Place in a pyrex or ceramic baking dish.
3. With your fingers, loosen the skin from the meat on each breast, leaving one side attached.
4. Slice the goat cheese into rounds and place half of it under the skin on each breast. Place two basil leaves under the skin of each breast.
5. Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil over each breast and evenly sprinkle breasts with salt and pepper.
6. Bake chicken breasts for 40 to 45 minutes, until cooked through. Serve with rice.

Third Course: Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Ingredients

One pint of strawberries
One bar of semi-sweet chocolate or chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Wash and pat dry strawberries making sure they are completely dry
2. Break up chocolate into smaller pieces and place in a microwavable bowl. Microwave for 1 minute on power 5 and then stir. Repeat until chocolate is almost melted with a few small pieces.  Take out and stir till chocolate is smooth
3. Grab strawberry by the stem and twirl in chocolate in a circular motion.
4. Place onto a baking sheet covered with either parchment or wax paper.
5. Refridgerate for at least 30 minutes before serving

Voila….a romantic yummy meal that won’t break the bank. Oh, but I’m guessing you’re still wondering how I can fit in a bottle of wine with this meal for under $25. Well, we bottle our own wine so it only costs us $3 to make a wonderful bottle of shiraz…I simply went down to the basement and grabbed a bottle.

I actually bottled this when I was 9 months pregnant! That was a sight!

Now you’re thinking “but I don’t make my own wine!” Well, I’m sure you know someone who does, so before Feb.14th, call this friend up and see if they’re willing to sell you one of their bottles at cost and there you go…an entire three-course meal complete with a bottle of wine for under $25.  Bon Appetit!

Coupon tip of the week:  Pass the coupon karma around…next time you’re shopping at the grocery store and you have your coupon binder with you, keep your eyes peeled for people with items in their cart that you have coupons for and offer some to them. Same goes for great deals you are aware of…I was the grocery store last week and this woman was buying 3 boxes of granola bars and didn’t even notice that only some of them had coupons for free juice!  I pointed this out to her and she was so happy I did and switched the boxes to the ones with free juice coupons! I promise these good deeds won’t go unnoticed and the next day, you’ll suddenly find more coupons that normal while hunting…don’t you just love karma!