Miami's 35th Annual Greek Festival

Good day, I hope your week is going well!

This past Sunday I went with my family to the 35th annual Greek Festival here in Miami.  We make it a point to go most years, mainly for the Gyros and Baklava!  For the past few years the festival has been held at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church, however I have attended the festival in the past and it was held at another Greek church in Miami, so I guess the venue varies over time.  Anyway, would you believe that of all the beautiful photos I took I didn't take any of the food!?  Well, take that as a sign that it was so delicious I had no time for photos.  To be honest, I like living in the moment, and most of the time when you really live in the moment you have no time or need for photos and social media.  

The Lonely Hearts Club Valentine's Day Party!

On Valentine's Day my aunt had a small party for a few of her single family and friends, we dubbed it "The Lonely Hearts Club Valentine's Day Party!" It was a last minute idea, but it turned out so pretty….  My aunt can whip together a miracle in a moment's notice! She prepared a beautiful cheese platter with an assortment of berries, a big salad to go with the pizzas that we ordered, and some almond brownies too. I made a heart-shaped walnut brownie, and Strawberry and Red Velvet cookies - I talk more about making those sweets in this post.  Anyway, we had a great time and yes, there was lots of red wine!  ;)

Valentine's Day Recipes: Puppy Chow, M&M Heart Brownies, and Cake Batter Cookies!

Valentine's Day M&M Brownie Heart

I've been a busy bee this Valentine's Day, I guess it's because I'm single - HA!  I've made a slew of things, not limited to just baked goods - check out my crafty Valentine's Day Teacher Goody Bags.  Funny thing is, I've never been a super fan of Valentine's Day, but my love of baking seems to have inspired all sorts of crafts, like my Valentine's Valentine's Dinosaur Matchboxes and Strawberry Cupcakes of years past.  Well, I guess you could say I have a thing for holiday recipes and crafts in general!

Scroll on for my fast and easy Valentine's Day recipes...

Valentine's Day Teacher Goody Bags!

This Valentine's Day I decided to get crafty and make some goody bags for all of the wonderful teachers and volunteers at my sister's community center.  They had a big Valentine's Day dance on Friday afternoon, so I stopped by to deliver my creations and ended up staying the entire party taking photos of all the dancing couples - asking them to pose for the "Love Cam."  There was so much love and happiness at this party, I had an awesome time!  

Roses are Red…

Hello hello… Well, today is Valentine's Day and although that doesn't mean much to me, you'd never guess that if you knew all the crafts I'm currently involved (more like embroiled) in! This year I've taken it upon myself to make 16 Valentine's Day goody bags for all the great teachers and volunteers at my younger sister's community center. Check out the end of this post for a sneak peek of my chaotic progress, I will have a post up later with the finished products.

Back to the topic of the post… As you can see, we've got a full bush of roses over here!