summer visit

this is a repost. but it is one of my favorites




dear parents, (not mine, because they never take me anywhere)


well, it's that time of year again, school is out and that can only mean one thing, the summer vacation. i know you are really excited to be on that beach, having fun at a theme park or just hanging with family at a reunion (hey, i won't judge if that's your thang....) but i bet you're not looking forward to the long, hot hours in the car or long layover time at the airport. no worries, aunty demosthenes and i are here to help.




according to the package: this wonderful activity is simple, but yet the diversion you need "Every 50 miles your child gets to tear open the corresponding area on the package to reveal a small plastic novelty that should keep them busy temporarily so you can continue on your journey without their incessant nagging." sweet right? i think so, and the tiny plastic pieces are the perfect size for your little one to put in their mouth. a bonus!







nothing lift's a family's spirit on a long car ride more than a good yodel. i know what you're thinking "but, valentine, we don't know how to yodel" i got your back baby, the emergency yodel button. keep this with you at all times and when the need arises, press the button to hear the sweet mellifluous warbling of an alpine yodeler.






these dante's inferno balls are the key to silence. little mouths can't be running if they're being burned by "cinnamon candy forged by demons in the third circle of hell"







don't worry parents, i didn't forget about you, but come on let's be honest, all of the other presents were really for you. but in any case, i got you something that is so very functional and practical, you'll wonder why you didn't always have one.
the beware pick pocket wallet! i remember as a child, my dad was always stressed and worried on vacations because it was costing him an a**load and also the fear of having money stolen from the locals. well, this fantastic wallet will solve one of those problems.

the whimsical stick figure sternly cautions any potential pick pocketer that you mean business and will not put up with their thieving. and if they are so caught trying to steal, you will deliver a swift blow to their windpipe, rendering them unable to breathe...... hey they were warned. k, maybe not, but it's probably still a good deterrent to pick pockets.



well, it's time for us to be off. but, we will stop by again and bring you some more fetchingly sweet presents.



aunty,

master of karate and friendship

dear blogosphere,

ever since letters from valentine was a baby blog


(yes, we are coming up on a year, not so baby anymore are we!)


i have been intrigued and fascinated by the awards that get spread around the blogosphere.


and ever since i found out that anyone can make one


(that you didn't have to put in your award petition by filling out 7 request forms, in triplicate, sending in $20 for processing fees and submit them to some sort of blog award sub committee that will make their decision and notify you in 2-10 weeks)


i decided to make one of my own.



k, so that was months ago.



but i guess better late than never.



letters from valentine is proud to present the:







totally fetch right?

it is of course from the brilliance that is


it's always sunny in philadelphia


if you don't like that show, leave now. srsly, cuz i don't know if we can still be friends.


anyways, this award is all about recognizing friendships that have been made while blogging.


so, the rules to this absolutely awesome award is:



list 6 things that you are a master in


and pass it onto 6 bloggers that you think are masters at friendship and make blogging so awesome.






1. i am a master in sleeping.

srsly, i could sleep for 12 hours, get up, eat breakfast and go back to sleep.


2. i am a master in quoting lines from movies or tv.

i don't think i say an original thing all day long, i just quote stuff.


3. i am a master of procrastinating

despite wanting to do something right away, i am physically unable to


4. i am a master at multi tasking

since i procrastinate, i usually have to do a couple things at a time. i have gotten good at it. very good.


5. i am a master at googling.

it's all about the keywords.


6 i am a master at shopping sales.

i love a great deal. and i really love 50% off clearance. i feel a mighty hunter. and the sweet deals are my kill.


and i am passing this award onto:


supah mommy


cottage cheese thighs


hotpants


amy at happily ever after


living in france


whitney at the king and i




you know, if hollywood had an award as awesome as this one, i might be more interested in watching boring award shows.

no one's home

dear readers,


yeah, so we're not here today. clare over at the lilac grove has foolishly asked demosthenes and i to guest post today while she is on a break. so, basically we were left alone with the keys and no supervision. bad idea. of course we ended up having a dirty dancing party (see, we do watch some 80s movies) all over her blog. it got a little wild.


we also forgot to water her plants and may have broken a vase, so i am not sure she will ask us to guest post again. in case that is true, head over there now to see us while you can!




also, i wanted to thank kimi for choosing us for her september "i'm kinda a big deal" award. she said some very kind things about us and we really appreciate it!!

we are kinda a big deal,

cadeau

dear fabulous LFV readers,

hot dang! i am so excited to finally being doing a giveaway. we reached 50 followers a short while back and i thought it would be fun to do one for it. so, this is my giveaway, demosthenes will be doing the next one, when we reach 100 posts, which is approaching fast!so, when i started this blog 4 months ago, i never imagined i would have so much fun and meet such wonderful blog friends. you all have been so awesome, so as a thank you for all the blog amour:

i am gonna do a giveaway for both of these beautiful frames, so 2 people will get 1 frame each. these are incredible frames, if i do say so myself, which i do because i totally made them!!

when my dear blog friend, debilyn had her 100th post, she did this awesome Q&A for her giveaway, i thought that sounded like fun. so, all you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post, which includes a question you'd like to ask to get to know me or demosthenes better (i guess just indicate V, D or B for both, in your question).

each comment that contains a question counts as one entry, and each commenter can submit up to 2 questions, which means you can have a couple of entries. the only rule is that you can only ask ONE question per comment. it starts today, mon, aug 17 and runs until fri, aug 21. i will announce the winners on aug. 24. oh and make sure that i have some way to contact you.

*sorry, this will only be open to those that live in the united states and canada*

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

so slowly, but surely, one thing at a time, demos and myself have decided to reveal a little about ourselves. our newest reveal? photos! that's right, you can now see our darling mugs. it may not seem like a big deal, but it is for me and demos. we were initially planning to be completely anonymous, as you can see, we are slowly changing our minds. anyways, this is us.

a note from demosthenes as to why we posted pics: "mostly I thought we should post pics just so no one thinks we're THOSE girls. Ya know, the ones with cheeto crumbs on their shirts and unwashed hair". so true demos, so true.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

so, speaking of returning blog love, letters from valentine, has been nominated for a couple of Blogger Choice Awards, so this is my humble plea to click on our badges, that are oh so conveniently located in the top right corner, and vote for us. you will be eternally fetching awesome!

rollin' it giveaway style,

awardalicious

dear fetchin' awesome blog friends,


this has been an amazing week! we have received some really great awards. i am sorry that it has taken me a couple of days to get to them. but, demos and i are supes excited about all the blog lovin' that is going around. you guys totally rock!

the awesome lovelies at dtothe4thpower ( who has the cutest and so very creative craft ideas.)

and one pink fish (she home schools and finds the coolest things online) passed the one lovely blog award. thanks ladies!

the amazing orange juice ( she has some really cool craftivities for kids) passed the butterfly award. merci!

the ever so sweet and talented amy at happily ever after, not only passed on this fantastic de-lurker award, but she also made it! see what i mean by talented. it is totally sweet. gracias!

the absolutely fabulous kathie at my net finds (she finds some fetch things online.)passed on the you're a gem award, that she also created! there are some srsly talented women in blogland. grazie!

k, it was really hard (that's what he said) to decide which awards to pass on and which rules to follow. so, after much debate, flipping of a coin and consulting my advisor, a magic 8 ball, i decided, what the hale. and made up my own rules.


since i have already received the lovely blog award before, i am opting to not pass it on again. so i will start with the butterfly award:

1. lizzie at infectious chatter

2. amy at happily ever after

3. sarah at that's what she said

4. supah d at adventures of a wanna be supah mommy

5. foxy at the fox den

6. one pink fish at one pink fish




the de-lurker was created to award all of the non-lurkers, and to thank them for their non-lurking lifestyle:

1. rawan at rawan's random thoughts

2. darrah at dtothe4thpower

3. kimi at so many kids, so little time

4. kathie at my net finds

5. orange juice at orange juice

you're a gem award is for the special bloggers who take the time to not only read my posts, but also leave comments, respond to comments, form blog friendships with and support others...the ones who are a real "gem" in the bloggy world:

1. alicia at it ain't easy being cheesy

2. kristina at pulsipher predilections

3. whitney at the king and i

4. debilyn at definitely debilyn

5. hotpants at handbags & handguns

6. kristin atbonbon rose

and last, but oh so very not least, the delightful debilyn at definitely debilyn has tagged LFV for 6 things that make us happy. since we are rule breakers, we are each listing 6 things that make us happy.

valentine:

1. fresh, clean laundry

2. cheesecake

3. the office

4. mountains

5. fall

6. presents

demosthenes:

1.rockin out (when no one is watching) to songs that used to
be popular when i was in high school

2. the fraggles

3. eating bread

4. listening to thunderstorms

5. halloween

6. seattle




you are all fetchalicious,

p.s. i think there has been some slight confusion about our commenting. for anyone who is curious, demosthenes does not comment. not at all. what can i say, she's lame. but if we were to get technical, she doesn't actually even blog. she just happens to email me random letters that i just happen to post. on a blog. so sorry, all comments are made by me. and just me.

that's right, we're cool.

dear lfv readers,


we have been featured! thats right, holla!!! the fantastic and fabulous lizzie over at infectious chatter spotlighted us as her august featured blogger. pretty sweet right? we thought so. it even comes with this fetching awesome award!!

we were so excited when we found out that lizzie chose us as her august feature. here is the convo that followed:

valentine: hey we were featured! how sweet is that? did you see the award that comes with it? it's totally kick asphalt. um, yeah, that is a girl walking one of the robots from the third star wars movie!


demosthenes: that is cool!! i'm glad someone appreciates our art*!! and the award is AWESOME!!! but i must correct you. you said the third movie? oh val.... (shakes head sadly).

*sorry, dear reader, here is where we totally deviate off topic and onto the awesomeness that is star wars*

its from the empire strikes back, so the 5th movie if you count the lame new ones, and the second movie of the originals... in no way is it the third movie, lol. and the machines are called AT-AT's (all terrain armored transports)


valentine: ohhhh, for some reason i thought the AT-ATs were from the one with hoth.... LOL i guess not. either way, it is an effing cool pic


demosthenes: ATAT's are the ones from hoth!!! hoth is the second movie! sheesh, you need to turn in your star wars card


valentine: what a day! first i lose my twilight card and now my star wars..... at this rate my wallet is gonna be empty!

so, we got a little off topic. okay, a lot off topic. but, even though we got sidetracked, we are totally stoked to be featured! we can't believe that anyone would keep coming back for more of what we dredge from the cracks of the internet, but you do and that is fetching cool. we really, really appreciate it. now head on over to lizzie's to check out our awesome-o featurette!

we're cool because lizzie said so,
&

* if by art you mean finding weird stuff on the internet and makin fun of crazies, then yes, we are artists of the interwebs

oh the humanity

dear stephanie,

thank you for giving me this award! you are so sweet and makes the absolute cutest clothes! everyone should definitely check out your blog, a pocket full of buttons.

"The Humane Award honors certain bloggers that I feel are kindhearted individuals. They regularly take part in my blog and always leave the sweetest comments. If it wasn’t for them, my site would just be an ordinary blog.

Their blogs are also amazing and are tastefully done on a daily basis. I thank them and look forward to our growing friendships through the blog world.
Link back to the person who gifted you with the award and share the love with other bloggers.”


i am going to pass this onto a mighty m family, one pink fish, and ab home interiors.

you ladies are so great, you leave the best and sweetest comments and your blogs are fetching awesome!

honest to goodness awesomeness

dear beth,

thanks for gifting us with the honest scrap award! we usually try to say what we think, sometimes more than you might want to know. i absolutely love your blog, you are definitely honest when it comes to the joys and frustrations of being a parent. you started following me in the very beginning and for some reason you keep coming back......i really appreciate it.

k, so the rules are that i am supposed to list ten things about myself that are true, but everyone may not know and then tag five other bloggers.



since demosthenes is such a big part of this blog (srsly, what would i do without her?) i wanted to include her in this. but instead of listing 10 things about both of us, we decided ( and by we, i mean it was another great idea from demos) to list 5 true things about each other.

about demosthenes:

1. you are a huge star wars nerd, even though you don't realize you are

2. you are weird about how you eat cottage cheese (you eat one curd at a time)

3. you are way stronger than me

4. you are younger than me (by 1 1/2 years)

5. you love IKEA


about valentine:

1. loves a good sale

2. taller than me, but still weighs less than me

3. hates kill bill (don't ask me why)

4. hearts sims 3 (to the point of addiction)

5. never misses an episode of the office


i am gonna pass this onto 5 new blog friends, if you have already received this, i apologize. i really enjoy your blogs and are glad that we are new blog friends. so, in no particular order:

1. lizzie at infectious chatter

2. mommy of 2 girls at a pocketful of buttons

3. robynxx at twisted pretzels

4. little lady cakes at little lady cakes

5. awesome sara at sara says awesome



it's awesome to be honestly awesome,

friendship

dear chrissy,


thank you so much for passing this friendship award onto me! see, i'm not anti-social, i'm friendly. don't know what my therapist was talking about......
anyways, i really appreciate you thinking of me for this award. your blog is definitely charming and awesome! you are such a sweet blog friend, you always leave the best comments. everyone should definitely check out your site!






this award is giving for: These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.


i am going to pass this award onto:


1. Amy at happily ever after

2. Debilyn at definitely debilyn

3. Emily at good frau

4. Hotpants at handbags & handguns

5. Kathie at my net finds

6. Kristin at bonbon rose



you all are such wonderful blog friends,

league of extraordinary ladies

dear kathie,


if only my high school JROTC Colonel could see me now, (that's right....demos and i were both JROTC nerds in h.s.....whaz up? where all my JROTC ho's at? holla!) wait,where was i? that's right, telling you how my Col. would be proud.....and i think he would be. i believe he always felt that demos and myself would go on to do something extraordinary and awesome:



and as you can see, we totally did! thank you kathie for gifting me with the "extraordinary and awesome" award. you are such an incredible blog friend, this means a lot to both demos and myself. your blog is definitely extraordinary, you find the most amazing deals, the coolest stuff, and fantastic crafts! everyone should totally check out your site!



this one didn't really come with any rules, so i am going to pass this award onto my 6 new blog friends:

1. imogen at sneak a peek

2. cheryl at the coolest mom on the block

3. Rocksee at the porch swing

4. chrissy at a lil' dash of diva

5. becca at isn't this fun!?

6. teri at the mighty m family


you guys are all awesome and a treat for that awesomeness- a haiku of course!


an award to me
i'm extraordinary
i am awesome too


isn't it awesome to be extraordinarily awesome?

awe-summm!

dear lady cakes,





thanks for passing the queen of all things awe-summm! award on to demosthenes and myself. we really appreciate it! i love your cake decorating tutorial blog. it is absolutely fantastic and you have such wonderful videos.


Queen Duties are as follows:
1. List 7 things that make you awe-summm.
2. Pass the award onto 7 bloggers that you think are awe-summm.
3. Tag those bloggers to let them know they are now Queens too (and link back to the Queen who tagged you).


okay, 7 things that make me awe-summm:

1. i have an incredible memory, at least for all things trivial, i can quote almost any line from any movie or tv show.

2. i make crazy delicious deserts

3. my best friend/sister, demosthenes

4. i love musicals and black and white movies, preferably from the 1940s and 50s

5. i am tongue tied (it's part of what makes me- me)

6. i have lived in 5 states in 8 years

7. i wear the same size clothes as i did in high school



and since this award was given to both demos and myself,


here are 7 things that makes demosthenes awe-summm:

1. my sense of humor

2. i can bench just as much as my husband

3. i own my own business

4. i like cooler movies than valentine ;)

5. my butt looks awesome in tight jeans

6. i'm vegan

7. my best gal, valentine




i would like to pass this onto:

1. clare at this and that

2. whitney at the king and i

3. debilyn at definitely debilyn

4. kel at girl in the glasses

5. pam at pam's perspective

6. sara at unwrap life

7. beth at be careful what you wish for



isn't it awesomely awesome to be awesome?

me? lovely?

dear kristen,




this is so incredibly awesome!! demosthenes and i are so supes excited to be gifted with this lovely blog award! i never thought that would be a word that described demos or myself! our mom will be so proud! i love your blog, you find super sweet fashion for super sweet prices. i love the outfits that you make to help people like myself who can not seem to coordinate clothes! LOL thanks again, we are totally psyched to be getting this.


Here are the rules of this lovely award:
1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award


i'm not that cool....so i don't have 15 new blog friends LOL. so i'm just gonna pass it onto 10 new bloggy chicas ( in no particular order )

1. handbags and handguns
2. happily ever after
3. la vie est belle
4. my net finds
5. chocolate chip waffle
6. the luckiest mrs
7. the mighty m family
8. simply b
9. v spot
10. whitney inspired


rockin' the lovliness,

kreativ blogger

dear beth,

i am so excited you have gifted me with the Kreativ Blogger award! this is my first award, and demosthenes and i are totally stoked about getting it. we are fairly new to the blog scene and are glad that our hours of strange, weird and pointless convo's are being recognized! thanks again!




and i would like to pass this spicy curry award onto the good frau.
i love her blog. it is hilarious, sweet and honest. also, she takes technology revolutions very serious, which is an important quality for this prestigious award.



thanks to the academy,