{See the rest of this wedding here on Style Me Pretty}

These cheerful details are exactly what I’m looking for right about now {9 degrees outside yesterday? Really?!}.

Have a lovely weekend, lovelies! Younger sister is coming to visit this weekend, but before she gets here I’m going out to celebrate a friend’s birthday. What are your plans?

P.S. I’m particularly excited about Monday’s inspiration board. It’s going to be dark and magical and luxurious… and will include blackberries.

I know thin belts aren’t a particularly new trend, but try as I might, I still can’t figure out how to make them look good {on me, anyways}. I always seem to be wearing them at the wrong section of my torso, or they bunch the layers underneath when I stand or sit or walk, or I can’t figure out what to do with the tail of the belt after its been buckled. Every month, the J. Crew catalog taunts me with page after page of perfectly put-together outfits topped off with the slimmest belts. I tear out said pages, and store them away or hang them in my closet, but I just can’t seem to pull off the look when the time comes. This saddens me, because these belts are quite versatile.

They can dress up jean jackets:

They can cinch a cardigan:

They can accent a lady-like jacket as well as a chunky sweater:

{All photos c/o the tantalizing J. Crew, except for the top right and middle right, which are c/o Glamour}

So tell me, dear readers: what am I doing wrong? Have you gotten this style to work for you? Any tips you would be willing to pass along?

As promised, a petite Valentine’s Day DIY. My original plan was to make the “Sweet Sensations” from the Winter 2009 Martha Stewart Weddings:

{Directions here and template here}

I wasn’t too impressed with how my version came out, however, mainly because I was using Ghiradelli squares instead of Martha’s fancy tasting squares.

{In retrospect, the heart cut-out should have been bigger. Much bigger.}

After I added my own twist to the project, here’s what I ended up with:

And here are the instructions:

{Click to enlarge!}

1) Assemble your supplies: ruler, pencil, clear tape, glue {I swear by the Tombow permanent runner}, scissors, decorative paper, ribbon, and chocolate {I chose two Ghiradelli flavors: dark chocolate with raspberry filling and milk chocolate with vanilla caramel.}

2) Begin by folding back the edges of the wrapper so the package is as neatly square as possible.

3 & 4) Using clear tape rounds in between layers, stack the squares on top of each other in {again} as neat a formation as possible. This may take several tries.

5 & 6) Cut your paper in a long, thin strip, making sure it’s long enough to go around the chocolate with some overlap. Glue in place. Choose a coordinating ribbon {or ribbons} and tie in a bow or knot.

Repeat for as many valentines as you’re lucky to have!

What are you doing for your valentines this year? I’d love to hear some more ideas!

I clipped this recipe out of my local newspaper years and years ago, so I have no idea who to credit it to, but it is a firm favorite among my family and friends. As a matter of fact, I’m going to go out on a limb and say this will be the most delicious muffin you will ever taste. They also pack and keep exceptionally well.

Ingredients:
– 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
– 1/4 cup granulated sugar
– 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
– 2 teaspoons baking powder
– 1/4 teaspoon salt
– 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
– 1/2 cup milk
– 1 egg
– 2 cups (one 11-ounce package) milk chocolate chips
– 1/3 cup red raspberry preserves

Heat oven to 350 F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper baking cups. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugars, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, combine butter, milk, and egg. Add to flour mixture and stir just until combined. Stir in milk chocolate chips. Spoon half of batter into 12 muffin cups. Spoon a small dollop of raspberry preserves into each muffin cup; top with remaining batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.