Or in our case, the heart shaped pancakes.

Sure Valentines Day isn’t till Friday, but last weekend we started to invoke the general positivity of the holiday by eating thematically, using nothing but things we already had on hand. I always love it when you can create something festive out of stuff that is already laying around. Oh and if you don’t already have heart shaped cookie cutters, may I suggest you get some ASAP. They are always coming in handy– a heart shaped cookie is sweet on any day of the year.

The big day, full of chocolate kisses and the obligatory card-for-every-kid-in-the-class, plus grandparents, and maybe a neighbor thrown in for good measure, is right around the corner. Here are a couple ideas to get your juices flowing if you are looking to go beyond the card/flowers mode. (Although don’t get me wrong, a hand made card can go a hell of a long way…)

For one, the good people at One Kings Lane have some great ideas of how you might celebrate.

We are making peppermint bark for all the kids this year. It’s basically a layer of white chocolate over a layer of dark chocolate with broken up bits of organic candy canes (oddly difficult to find) on top. Delicious!

If you’re having trouble getting into the mood, the folks at Flavorwire have a list of 50 books to titillate your fancy.

You can get this really nice spherical hanging basket and fill it with chocolate and other treats. That’s good for an entire family!

Who wouldn’t be excited about getting this open silver heart from Jill Platner?

This dustpan isn’t really romantic at all, but it is red, and beautiful. And there is a certain person (rare, but they do exist. I am married to one, in fact) who always yearns for beautifully designed cleaning implements. There’s lots of other red stuff at Kiosk as well, so go visit them now as the shop is closing on March 8. They have yet to find a new space, but hopefully one will materialize soon…

We don’t actually have any plans for Valentine’s day… To tell you the truth, my husband is going to be on the west coast at a meeting (thanks a lot!) returning home at some point after 1 am on the 15th. So the pressure is off, at least in this household, though I’m sure we’ll figure out something to do on Saturday that feels lovely and valentine-like.

Right Josh??

(Figured I’d give him a little nudge, if he actually ever gets around to reading this…)

Because it’s funny. And smart. And feminist. And educational (it’s an encyclopedia of all things “lady” for crying out loud…) And edited by a woman who’s racial and religious mix is the same as my daughter’s, so of course she’s extraordinary. (The Book of Jezebel, edited by Anna Holmes. $16.20)

Because imagine how much better a world it would be if all kids learned to meditate early on. (Planting Seeds by THich Nhat Hanh, $22.15)

Because you definitely have a friend who likes to fantasize about an agrarian life and needs to be up on that scene, even if they really live in Brooklyn and the closest thing they have to a farm is the market in MacCarren Park. (Modern Farmer Magazine subscription, $29.97)

Because the best pizza place in Brooklyn (aka the world) has a cookbook out. And you can give it to your friend and get them to make stuff and invite you over for dinner. (Roberta’s Cookbook, $21)

Because this book follows a group of teenagers through their varied lives on into middle aged adulthood and is funny and beautiful and sad and true (in a fiction sort of way) and boy do I wish I had read something like this when I was younger and thought the future was only filled with roses… (The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer, $17.94)

Because you are a person who firmly believes that a magazine can elevate itself to the level of art. And hates advertising. And loves anything that includes a CD that is actually worth listening to. And you want to spread the gospel. (Esopus Magazine subscription, $30)

Because this man is truly the master of the form. (John Updike: The Collected Stories, $49)

Because they are going to buy it anyway, so they may as well get it from you. (David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell)

…and a cartoon.

A 1959 cartoon version of The Night Before Christmas featuring a sailor, a damsel in distress, a black-clad villain and, of course, Santa.

For the five or six of you who haven’t heard about Andrea Elliott’s extensive profile of a homeless girl named Dasani (after the water) for the New York Times, just click here.

Fellow New Yorkers, just in case you were thinking of skipping town, here are a whole bunch of reasons to stay and love New York.

I am sad that Alex Calderwood is no longer with us.

Leave it to NY Times photo editor Kathy Ryan to make photographs of office life beautiful on Instagram. Now you can actually buy prints of some images, too.

You can take a bus tour of the crazy amazing celebratory over the top Christmas light bedecked homes of Dyker Heights. Only in Brooklyn.

Coconut snowball cookies are suddenly the perfect cookie to make now that snow has started to fall on the streets of the big apple…

More gifts that we might like… and if we like them, other people you know might like them too.

For all the moms (and dads) that need to tote around snacks for their kids (or themselves) but aren’t interested in using plastic because of the harmful effects of the chemicals leeching into the aforementioned snack. (Trio of snack containers, $24.32)

I do not like to be cold. (wool felt long mittens, $120)

Does including this brass set of measuring tools on this list out my “creative” husband for the math geek that he truly is? (Tool The Mathematician by Tom Dixon, $130)

My favorite song as a kid was about whaling. I still sing it every night to coax my daughter into sleep.(whale bottle opener, $26)

Who doesn’t like warm feet? Certainly not the Swedes, who make these felt shoe inserts. ($24)

If you know me, you know about my love of all things Red Flower. Yet somehow I missed the fact that they make hair products. Like conditioner. That I would use every day if I had some. Just sayin’. (ocean softening hair conditioner, $32)

Trying to get my husband to bring a healthy lunch to work every day might be as easy as getting him this bag. (lunch tote, $65)

Or at least, things you might give somebody like us (travels-a-lot, parents, city-dwellers-who-like-to-cook-fresh-produce, lovers-of-good-design, media-professionals-yet-secret-hippies… you know the type.)

Charcoal toothbrushes. Come on, how cool are these? And lets be honest… how many people do you know who already have one? ($8 ea.)

I mean, how often do you wish you had a spoon so you (or your kid) could just eat that yogurt right now! Just sayin’… (pocket utensil set, $16)

This is a little bottle of magic oil made with St John’s Wort which heals all things scrape, bruise or burn related. And it’s direct from Greece, the home of the gods, so it must work. Every parent should carry this in their bag to help with the inevitable injuries that go with being a kid. (Valsamelio or first aid oil, in English, $15.)

Whaaaat? Jill Platner makes leather pouches with the most beautiful silver zipper pulls ever and I don’t have one already? They’re sold separately or you can buy all three and give the medium one to me, the larger one to Josh for his travels and save the tiny one for yourself to keep your lip balm and credit cards snug. (from $150)

It’s a battery operated lamp that unfolds like a book with a beautiful wooden cover. I mean, who doesn’t want this? (lumio, $160.)

Giving somebody socks may feel unimaginative, but believe me it is not. At all. Especially when they are made of cashmere. And you’re a guy who loves soft things but maybe doesn’t want everybody to know that right away just by looking at you. (Corgi cable socks, $190.)

it looks like a blanket, but really it’s a shield of wings. Which for some reason I feel like I must have. ($390)

Ah tis the season of the cocktail party. Photo courtesy of jenbutneverjenn.com.

Let the gift guides begin! Everywhere you look, people are making all sorts of suggestions about what you should get for the ones you love (as well as the ones you feel obliged to give to for whatever reason)

For the next week or so, I will humbly add my two cents to the pile. Each day will be a slightly different set of things for a slightly different situation. Hopefully, at least one of them will save your proverbial a** as you stumble through the next 4 weeks.

Here we go:

First off, while we’re on the topic of those holiday parties, it is evidently considered uncool to show up to these things empty handed. Especially if the gathering is at someone’s home. So here are a few suggestions of things you can arrive with so you can feel totally justified in piling on mounds of caviar, or drinking your fill of expensive champagne…

These miniature blown glass Chinese birds make perfect ornaments, plus they come in a set of 12, so if you buy these you’ll have to hit a dozen parties before you need to come up with another gift idea.

It’s more fun to wash your hands when you’re using hands to do it, right? These soaps come in sets of around 8 as well (each set is different) so this gift can cover a few parties as well.

I’m all about bringing consumable gifts to my friends because they take up less room and create beautiful memories. A splash of bitters turns any glass of sparkling water into a party, so it’s the perfect thing to bring to one.

Upgrade their fridge with these oak and walnut magnets. Because nobody ever has too many refrigerator magnets.

Maybe your hosts have sheep, or maybe they just want to hang some sonic cheer around the house. Either way, these animal bells from Greece are the perfect thing.

Bring these cards as a gift if your host is single and looking for company. Maybe they’ll give online dating a bit of a rest.

This Sweet Home Booklet Mobile (designed by Yusuke Oono for Artecnica) is just pretty. And small. So bring it to somebody who likes that kind of thing. Like me.

And last but certainly not least, who doesn’t love a beautifully scented candle? This diminutive set of candles by the ever wondrous Red Flower includes scents like Ocean and Italian Blood Orange. And again, a set of six means you can spread the love six different times.

Come back tomorrow for more…