Valentine’s Day
EarthSong Flowers
Nevada City Chocolate Shoppe
Yuba Blue
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, have you thought about how you’re going to celebrate? There are so many great things to do, see, eat and buy for your loved one locally, I went a little overboard coming up with ideas, plus a great giveaway prize for one lucky winner.
For the sweet tooth, you can buy DeGroot truffles from Nevada City Truffle Shop, chocolate covered strawberries from Nevada City Chocolate Shoppe, an ice cream from Treats, a bar of Cello Chocolate or something sweet from Lazy Dog Chocolateria.
If you’re looking for flowers stop by the Nevada City Florists EarthSong Flowers and mention this blog post to receive a 15% discount if you pre-order your Valentine’s Day bouquet by Feb 10th.
There are some great local shopping options in Nevada City from My Favorite Things, The Parlour at Neva Co, Kitkitdizzi, J.J. Jackson’s, Gray Goose, Abstrakt, Judi’s or Nevada City Crystal & Glass. Downtown Grass Valley offers gift options in Mint and Yuba Blue. Or perhaps you want to get creative and make your sweetheart something special at The Artist Workshop.
So whether you’re going out to eat, heading to the Masquerade Ball at the Miners Foundry or drinking wine with the downtown Grass Valley Valentine’s Day wine stroll there are a lot of great events happening Valentine’s Day weekend.
And now the giveaway…. scroll to the bottom of this post to see the prizes, but one lucky winner is going to win:$25 gift certificate to Earth Song Flowers, $10 gift certificate to Cult of Gemini, a $10 gift certificate to Yuba Blue, a Sundae for 2 gift certificate to Treats, 2 chocolate covered strawberries and a chocolate lips sucker from Nevada City Chocolate Shoppe, a complimentary cheese platter from Smith Vineyards, a hat and socks from Mint, bag of Valentine’s Day coffee from Carolines Coffee. Who doesn’t want a love goodie bag worth over $125. Post a comment here about your favorite Valentine’s Day memory and I’ll announce the winner on Wednesday, February 10th.
Cult of Gemini
Grass Valley Wine Tasting
Mint
© 2016 InnSide Nevada City, Photos © by Erin Thiem
My favorite valentines day memory is the first year we were married, and we went to spend Valentine’s weekend at my parent’s cabin in Tahoe. It was such a blast!
love my fud, always have, always will.
My favorite Valentine’s Day memory was when I arrived home from work, hubbie had a candle-lit table set up in the middle of the living room, soft music playing and my favorite bottle of Chardonney chilling with a lovely dinner all made and ready to eat. Sweetest gift I ever had. (Didn’t have to cook dinner!)
Every year my kids and I make Valentines. It’s always so much fun. what a special time.
Happy Valentine’s Day Leia, hope those little people give you lots of kisses.
I have loved buying local ingredients at Briar Patch and making extravagant meals at home with my husband for Valentine’s Day.
Great idea! We took a Briar Patch Cooking class for our wedding anniversary last year, figured it was a great way to have a meal out and learn something new at the same time.
Ooooh, I have several involving steak and lobster dinners lovingly prepared for me by my live-in Valentine. Maybe this year I’ll win big and treat HIM for a change!
Or you could make ’em together? Or buy all the fresh ingredients at the Farmers Market and celebrate an non-Valentine’s Day? (I love that Theresa said you turned into a Huck Hollow cracker fan after you won the gift certificate from me, does that mean if you win this gift certificate you’ll be eating sundaes for two every week?).
So many special valentine memories, from staying home and making special dinners (since the restaurants are usually so crowded), the hand made cards and gifts from my six children over the years, making heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast, and snuggle time with the ones I love!
I love that you put snuggles in that last! Happy Valentine’s Day!
My valentines are my grandchildren. I love buying them something special and making heart-shaped cookies with them to give to their parents.
Heart shaped cookies sound lovely!
When we were younger and thinner, I used to buy my husband a big box of Godiva Chocolates. We would limit ourselves to one chocolate each a day and we would savor the different flavors. Yum!
I have some funny little memories of being in elementary school when we would give classmates valentines, and making the critical decision of whether to sign each card with a “from, Lillian”, or a “love, Lillian”. Big stuff. And then there were my mom’s intricately decorated valentine’s cookies. Beautiful little pieces of artwork.
Awesome Valentine ideas! My favorite memory was helping my daughter make Valentines for her classmates! We always had a fun project!
Also a funny memory from when I was in grade school MANY years ago… I had a crush on a boy named Richie. He was in my class and I think we were in 4th or maybe 5th grade. I chose a particularly sweet Valentine for him out of the ones in the package my Mom bought. I was very anxious for him to open it!
My last valentines day was spent with my daughter. She’s now a year and a half old. O was given chocolates and a card from my parents. My little was my valentine. She’ll always be mine.
I’m making this Valentine’s special by hosting a “Be Your Own Valentine” event for young women.
I forget which Valentine’s Day it was after we got married, I think it was our second. There was not much left in the budget after paying the mortgage, car payment and other expenses for anything really fancy. KFBK had a radio contest where you had to submit what you would do for your Valentine on Valentine’s Day to show your love to them to win some fabulous prizes like flowers, chocolate dipped strawberries, diamond earrings, a limo ride to pick you up for dinner at the Firehouse in Old Sacramento, and to see Swan Lake. On my day off work, KFBK read my entry on the home commute and my husband heard it (and so did some of my coworkers). I don’t remember if I told him beforehand if I had entered. Not believing my husband I called them and they said yes. A couple of days before you had to show your love, KFBK selected three entries to have a phone vote with the winner with the most votes wins the grand Valentine’s Day prize. We were coming back from a trip along the Central Coast that day while they were announcing throughout the afternoon commute who just received calls, which was exciting to hear. I was not the big winner of the phone in contest, but I did win a pair of tickets to see Swan Lake and a box of six chocolate dipped strawberries and created a beautiful memory that I got to share with you, 20 years later 🙂
Good Luck and Happy Valentines Day Everyone!
My best friend and I (25 + years) have been exchanging valentines forever. So despite relationship status, I always get sweet things. Got my package already! Truffles and a sweet little jewelry dish. BTW, being semi new to town (1 year) I get so much out of this blog ! Thank you! Great leads and tips!
Wow, what an awesome giveaway, Erin! Thanks.
We don’t often do much for Valentine’s Day – usually just a nice dinner – so I don’t know what my “favorite” memory is. But I can tell you about my most memorable! The year before we were married, we were living in two different states while I worked and he finished school. He knew I love gifts and am impatient (both about giving and receiving – once the gift is purchased, I have the hardest time waiting until the right day to open it or give it!) He intentionally sent me my gift so that it arrived a week early, but then he padlocked it shut, and wouldn’t give me the combination until Valentine’s Day. Oh, was I curious, and he loved teasing me about it. 🙂
My favorite memory was when my husband said I got you a ring for Valentines day, I went outside and in the back of his work truck was a fire ring, like the kind you see camping. It is still one of my favorite gifts from him, other than our daughter, of course, she was the gift ever. Happy Valentines day Erin.
As an adult, i have often found myself frustrated w/ Valentines .. feeling hallmark-ness of it all …
so my favorite memories are since having kids … and when they were young .. and wanting to truly shower them in love
I’d cut out hearts and make confetti and get various heart candies, and sprinkle a trail to the breakfast table .. which was totally decorated in reds and pinks and love colors!
their eyes got SOOOO big as they woke .. a bit like christmas … and followed the trail.
Now i actually really appreciating celebrating this day simple as a day to honor LOVE … still less in to the romantic lovey-dovey stuff tho’ … just too many memories of single valentines that left me feeling lonely. I LOVE having this day be about who I will shower in love … not who will do so for me! (And yet … a shower of your prize would be just fine!)
So far my favorite Valentines Day memory is when my Honey got down on one knee at an Italian restaurant and proposed, in 1997. Soon thereafter we learned that we had conceived our daughter that same night (oops, is that TMI?!), so that Valentines Day will probably remain at the top of the list forever. 😉 But this year we have The Cabin booked at The Outside Inn and it’s the mid-season premiere of The Walking Dead, so… this could turn out to be a close second! 🙂
I love getting a handmade card from my son!
my favorite valentine’s day was spent in texas visiting two dear friends, we made chocolate beet pudding for the first time (but not the last!).
One of my fave Valentines was last year, when my son was old enough to participate in some of the festivities, including making “love bugs” with toilet paper rolls, googly eyes, and pipe cleaner, and then making a gourmet dessert (to us!) of rosemary pine nut brittle and vanilla bean panna cotta…. Yum.
Yum! I thought you were going to say when you won the Outside Inn’s prize package last year and enjoyed a bouquet of flowers 🙂
My favorite memory is that my Mom gave me, each Valentine’s Day, a pound of chunk milk chocolate to savor over as many weeks (days?) as I could make it last. She did that from the time I was a young girl until she died when I was 47. I still miss both her and her milk chocolate gift.
How thoughtful to continue to the tradition all those years… now you can eat the chocolate this holiday season and remember her with sweet thoughts.
Always happy to enter these lottos for locals, hope springs eternal.
My wife and I generally don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. I know it sounds cheesy but we try to have Valentine’s Day gestures as often as possible.
My favorite valentines day memory was going on a road trip to big sur! It was magical!
My favorite memory was my employee showing up as cupid and rocking her costume all day long.
In 1994 my husband and I were going to Sierra College and class was cancelled for the day unexpectedly. We went to Colfax and hiked the Stevens trail to the American River. The hike took forever, but when we got to the river the ladybugs were mating and thick on every branch and rock, piles and piles of them! It was gorgeous and very memorable!
No favorite memory yet, but looking forward to pretty excited for this coming one (cue the cheesiness, and wine 🙂 Awesome giveaway Erin, woo!
My favorite Valentine’s memory always surround my kids (and now Jude, my grandson!). We have always made homemade Valentines – and still do – Even though most of us are adults! How can you go wrong cutting out pink and red hearts!
What a lovely giveaway. Thank you for putting it together.
My Father always left on the kitchen table a box for chocolates with a handwritten note for each of his 4 daughters. And the chocolates were handmade by a famous candy maker in Upstate New York.So sweet♥
The time I got a whole box of chocolates! Only happened once … hoping!
A Sunriver Valentines .. with a LOT of chocolate!
I was single and talking with a group of friends of mine who were also single about Valentine’s day. I suggested that we all go out to dinner together. Well, word got around and I ended up making a reservation for 8 at a nice restaurant. “8?” the person on the phone asked. “Yes, 8.” “8 people for February 14th? ” “yes, 8 on Valentine’s day,” I confirmed.
We arrived and were put in the center of the room, while couples were sested at candlelit tables all around the restaurant.
As can happen when a large circle of friends get together, we laughed and passed dishes around and generally had a great time.
More than a few couples, on their way out the door at the end of their meal, said, “you all are having way too much fun!”
Two years ago my husband and I were in San Francisco so that he could attend an art conference that started on Feb 15th. There were several women painters attending from Nevada County as well. For our Valentine’s Day dinner, there were six women (including me) and my husband, We all had a great time and I’m sure it gave the other diners and the wait staff something to talk about.
But it’s like Jodi’s comment about the best Valentine’s Day tables are the ones full of friends having a good time, I’m sure they were all jealous!
Love this story, we should all celebrate the love of our friends, they make us happy too!
At the moment, my fondest memory is of yesterday. We celebrated by hiking to the Yuba. Jumped naked in the river. Observed masses of Ladybugs. And fell in love with this beautiful planet all over again.
Sounds delightful, the ladybugs are amazing, what I love is that once you stop and notice them they’re everywhere.
My husband was never big on Valentine’s — often waited to the next day and then went to Rite Aid for a reduced box of chocolates!
I think my happy memories are the luncheons that my financial advisor/tax man has for all his widow clients so they are not alone on that special day.
One year my husband and I were too broke to buy valentines or go out to celebrate. I had gotten up early to make his lunch and had gone to take a shower and get ready for work. When I got done, there was a hand written love note, with little hearts and lots of love put in it, from my husband. His taking the time to write and draw on it made it extra special. I have it on my bulletin board so I can see it every day. I have no idea where to find the store brought ones if I had to in a hurry. The personal one came from his heart.
I would love to be a winner of your contest. All your giveaways are so lovely!
Thank you,
Connie