Belated Valentine's Day Weekend Update!

Valentine's Day has always been one of my faves. Cupid shot me with two love arrows...my sweet husband and my precious Brooks! 

We started that weekend off right by making Brooks's daycare teachers gifts on Thursday night for their big party on Friday.  Thanks Pinterest. ; )

Then, of course, Friday night we grilled and Dylan and I had date night in our dining room.  Steak and oysters on the menu!

Saturday morning, my guys got some "heartfelt" eggs for breakfast and mid-morning homemade strawberry, banana and blueberry smoothies! 

Then, we opened Valentines gifts!

Who's the cutest valentine?  This guy!!

In preparation for our Saturday night dinner date {thanks to parent's night out at our daycare!!}, I got my nails done at my favorite nail salon! 

Dylan and I dined at Cru at The Avalon.  We enjoyed their special Valentine's Day menu.  My favorite part of the entire meal was dessert.  They know what they are doing in that category! We chose the Rasberry Creme Brulee and the White Chocolate Mousse.  The Ahi Tuna was also good but I might not order the steak again. :/  Honesty is the best policy when recommending restaurants, peeps!  They did, however, give all the ladies a free {normally $24} glass of champagne.  That was a plus!

I got some beautiful flowers from Dylan!  And some chocolate and Starbucks gift card, too!

THEN, the inevitable happened just as our weekend was going so so well.  Dun dun duuuuhn....stomach bug hit the whole house.  I hate when that happens but with our little one being in daycare, it happens quite a bit.  Yikes.  

I'm happy to report that we survived.  We made it out a bit sleep deprived and quite a few pounds lighter. 

I'll share the deets on our Chicago trip next!!  That was a B-LAST! :) 

Sweet and Spicy Glazed Chicken Wings

Last weekend, I came up with an original recipe for baked chicken wings! When my sweet husband forgot the sauce I'd requested he pick up at the grocery store, I was forced to get creative and make my own.  Surprisingly, it turned out wonderfully!! 

I'll tell ya what I did...

Chicken Wings:

• Salt and Pepper chicken wings and place them onto a baking sheet lined with foil {I also sprayed a bit of PAM onto the foil}.
• Brush the tops of the wings with olive oil and bake at 350 for about 25-30 mins.  
• Take them out and let them rest on your counter so the juices can re-distribute.

Glaze: 

• In a medium saucepan, saute 1 minced garlic clove and 1 finely chopped shallot in about 2 tbsp butter. 
• Add in 1/2 cup grape jelly {or more if you are feeding a large crowd} and 2 tbsp of sriracha {more if you like it super hot!} and bring to a low, rumbling boil.  Stir often so it doesn't stick and burn! 
• Add in 1 heaping tbsp Worcestershire sauce and reduce heat to a low simmer.
• Turn the heat off and let the sauce cool and thicken. 
• Then, brush the sauce over the wings and place back into the oven on 350 for 5-10 mins so the wings heat through and the sauce coats the wings thoroughly. 
• Give them a toss and transfer to a pretty serving platter. 

Ta~da!!!  I added some julienned carrots to our platter.  I think a fresh sprinkling of parsley would be lovely if I'd had it on hand.  

We had this along with a cheese plate {of course!} as our Sunday Super Bowl feast.

Excuse the baby monitor in the photo.  I don't go far from that thing when B's asleep ; )

Mmmmm good!!  Hope you give my little recipe a try!