Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day! I don't know what it is about it, but I always do. I got a Valentine's drink at the local coffee shop this past week and they made this amazing sugar heart on top - I felt so loved! Despite it being cold and rainy on Sunday, I needed to get out for a hike. I discovered the Buckeye Trail at the end of the summer and have been since trying to cross of parts of it in the area. The Buckeye Trail is a complete hiking trail around the state of Ohio. It goes through numerous state and local parks here. There is a section that runs by the Mogadore reservoir on the side that I have never been on, so I decided to check it out. 

 I calculated it to be six miles out and back and it actually was 7.25, which was fine because I felt great! I had some light rain at the start and end, and it really got windy at the end, but other than that, it was a great hike. I saw just one person, and that was when I was just starting. There were some nice pathways, but there were also some points that were basically just deer runs in the middle of the woods. I was faced with a lot of standing water, thorns and got covered in mud, but that was no bother for me!

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The raindrops looked like icicles clinging to the bare branches.

This was one area that was well-maintained with wooden walkways

This downed tree blocked the path - had to work my way around!

Following the blue blazes of the Buckeye Trail

After the hike I was quite hungry. A delicious venison dinner did the trick! I prepared it one of my favorite ways. I took venison back straps and cut it into rounds, doused it in flour, then egg, then whole wheat bread crumbs, then cooked it on the stove in olive oil. So good! Tastes even better when it's a deer you took down. This time I tried something new and added blue cheese crumbles on top. Delicious!

On Monday we had another ladies' lunch at work, so I brought in some red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. As usual, I found the recipe on Pinterest. I was nervous because I had never made red velvet from scratch before and this recipe was more involved then other ones I've used. Luckily I had nothing to worry about as they were wonderful! Definitely one of my favorite scratch recipes to date. 

Since Tuesday was actual Valentine's Day I made a trifle to bring in. I simply made a white cake from scratch and layered it with cheesecake pudding died pink, whipped cream and strawberries cut to resemble hearts. It went fast which meant it must have been good! Nothing is better than trifles because they are quick and easy to make and everyone loves them. The rest of the week has been back to normal, but I plan on going on another hike this Sunday as it is supposed to warm up. I should have a post from that shortly after. Also, I'm out of work all next week due to some sinus surgery, so I should have plenty of time to catch up on movies and documentaries. Until then!