Valentine's gift guide from the AML Etsy Shop!

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and despite the saccharine cheesiness (I still don't think that pink and red are two colors that should go together), it's one of my favorite holidays because it celebrates one of my favorite warm fuzzy feels: LOVE!

I think of V-Day as not just a romantic holiday, but a chance to share love with your friends, family, and everyone who's important in your life.

It's really easy for us to get caught up in the hustle and stress of the day to day grind, get trapped inside our own heads, and forget to acknowledge all the people who support us.

So this upcoming week, I'm going to challenge myself to open up and share as much love and gratitude as possible!

It's definitely not necessary to buy into the consumerism of this holiday, but if you're inclined to gift your friends, family (or yourself!) something special to brighten their day (let's face it, without Valentine's Day this would most definitely be the gloomiest and most depressing month of the year), I encourage you to support small or local businesses. It's like giving back twice!

And to make it even easier for you, I've got you covered with lots of gorgeous, one of a kind scarves and gift ideas for EVERY personality type, made with tons of love by yours truly.

Just click to shop without having to go out in the cold and dark ;)

Valentine's Day Gift Guide

(order by 2/8 to ensure delivery by 2/14!)

for the CLASSIC girl

1. Sparkly red knit chunky cowl with rhinestone brooch
2. Printable floral watercolor wreath (idea: print it out and write a personalized message or quote in the center!)
3. Printable floral watercolor pattern (print and frame as art, or use to make Valentine's Cards!)
4. Bright magenta lightweight shimmer scarf

for the CLASSY girl

1. Black satin infinity scarf
2. Black and white leopard print scarf
3. Chiffon snakeskin scarf
4. Classic leopard print infinity scarf

for the SPORTY girl

1. Pink activewear scarf
2. Mint activewear scarf
3. Bright coral activewear scarf

for the GIRLY girl

1. Ivory leopard burnout scarf
2. Floral chiffon infinity scarf
3. Dusty pink chevron burnout scarf
4. Purple silky scarf

for the FUN girl

1. Classic chevron and teal chunky cowl
2. Coral flannel and lace cozy cowl
3. Lime green flannel and lace cozy cowl
4. Floral spring infinity scarf
 

for the office chic GIRLBOSS

1. Dusty purple wool and flannel chunky cowl
2. Black and white bird print scarf
3. Ivory herringbone chunky cowl with lace
4. Neutral flannel and black lace cowl

Happy shopping, and happy Valentine's Week!

xo Anna

p.s. be sure you're on my newsletter list for more fun Valentine's surprises coming your way! 

end of February in photos

 

Helloooo. Is February over yet? I wish. Instead we're getting handed another blizzard tonight, yay.

I'm definitely sick of ugly winter, so I bought myself a bouquet of cheap pink garden roses from Trader Joe's. Best idea ever! $4.99 of joy and pretty. I should probably do this on a regular basis.

 

 

 

I'm also really proud of myself for starting a book club! We had our first meeting last Friday. Our first book was Jenny Lawson's Let's Pretend This Never Happened, which as a quirky and expletive filled comedic memoir doesn't really purport itself for deep challenging discussion, so we just ate pizza, drank wine, and read the craziest chapters out loud to each other.

The next day I baked the leftover pizza dough into rolls and made prosciutto mozzarella paninis mmmm.

We never order pizza because it's cheaper and almost just as easy to make it yourself. The trick to yeast bread is letting it rise in a warm oven (turn it on for a few minutes, turn it OFF, put covered dough in for an hour).

 

And since I'm not working this week my mom asked me to come visit for a couple days, using the excuse that I should teach my little sister how to play the trumpet so she can be in jazz band (apparently they don't allow clarinets into upper jazz bands, which seems kind of discriminatory). I played the trumpet for 12 years, and I do sound like a professional compared to Nicole (although she is definitely doing a great job so far and has learned five notes in one day, not too shabby for having woodwind chops). Our cat will be forever traumatized.

 

 

Oh, and since I'm sure you've always wondered what the landscape between Chicago and central Illinois looks like in winter, here it is. MIND NUMBING. Or starkly beautiful? Nope, mind numbing.

 

 

And there in the distance is my home town, population 6,000. My family lives on the outskirts now, behind a few fields of corn/pumpkins/soybeans. You can vaguely make out both of our watertowers in this shot, which incapsulates the entire city. And yeah, it's technically called a city.

 

And finally, here's the line-up of what I've made recently!

 

pretty watercolor thank you cards

fun chunky spring infinity scarves

happy and bright birthday cards 

 

More colors of these cute boho lace knit headbands

And I figured I'd capitalize on having a mini-me around and whipped up a kid and tween size chunky cowl.

 

See the struggling grass in that last picture? Apparently it's about to be buried in up to 8 inches of snow. Le sigh.

new in the shop

floral watercolor greeting card

 

I've been busy adding more listings to my shop and expanding on new lines of cards and baby wear! I'm sloooowwwly trying to transition out of heavy knit winter scarves and into more pretty cards and accessories for spring (even though it definitely still feels like winter!) Here's a peek of my fresh stock. Enjoy!

watercolor thank you cards (will add more colors soon!) 

shimmery cabled fingerless gloves in silver/charcoal

and in gold/ivory/magenta 

cute baby cowl scarf/dribble bib in pink and lime stripe

and in lavender 

chunky cowl in charcoal 

and a huge chunky infinity scarf

 

I love to do custom work if you have an idea you want to turn into reality. Also let me know if you'd like anything in a different color-- I'm definitely open to suggestions!

 

 

Happy Weekend!