Valentine's Day, er.....a few days late.

I've been meaning to publish this post, but keep forgetting to. How was your Valentine's Day? I really love these Hallmark holidays because a) it gives me and opportunity to be loved on and b) it gives me a great conversation piece with my clients while I'm doing their hair. It's so funny to me to hear the plans that people make.

So, Jason was home! (And has been every weekend for a month or so - yippee!!) We decided not to go out since it was on Saturday we knew that there would be really long waits and if you know my husband at all, you'll know that he is not a very patient person. So, we decided to grill out steaks instead. His absolute favorite cake in the whole world is homemade strawberry, so I used Paula Dean's recipe and whipped up a sweet cake for my sweet Valentine.

Here's the recipe, if you are interested:

Simply Delicious Strawberry Cake
Makes 1 (9-inch) cake
1 (18.25-ounce) box white cake mix
1 (3-ounce) box strawberry flavored instant gelatin
1 (10-ounce) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
4 large eggs
1/2cup vegetable oil
1/4cup water
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)
Garnish: sliced fresh strawberries
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease 2 round 9-inch cake pans.
In a large bowl, combine cake mix and gelatin. Add pureed strawberries, eggs, oil, and water; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour into prepared pans, and bake for 20 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks. Spread Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting in between layers and on top and sides of cake. Garnish with sliced fresh strawberries, if desired.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes about 4 cups
1/4cup butter, softened
1 (8-ounce) package cream sheese,m softened
1 (10-ounce) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
1/2teaspoon strawberry extract
7 cups confectioners' sugar
In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in 1/4 cup strawberry puree, reserving remaining for another use. Beat in extract. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, beating until smooth.
Note: For pinker frosting, add 2 to 3 drops of red food coloring to frosting.

Yep, people, that's 7 cups of confectioners' sugar. It was delish!
Here's a picture of my little helper:
We are on a tight budget these days, so I knew that I shouldn't expect a bouquet of flowers, but I did mention to him that I do love it when he gives me flowers (especially because he always includes a sweet card with them that I can keep forever.) But, he was quick to remind me of how expensive flowers are right now and how we have so many other things that we need to spend that money on. :( Sneaky, fella...I call them the economy-friendly bouquet. The card was so sweet and those flowers have lasted me almost the whole week! He did good.