happy valentine's day!

i love this holiday, mostly just for the excuse to indulge in cutesy things, but andy and i don't really go overboard. we've actually been in the habit of celebrating a day or two earlier, so we had our vday dinner & movie date on friday night. the food at the restaurant we went to was unbelievable; if you lived here, i would make you run, not walk, to try it out for yourself. when the entrees appeared we were stunned into savoring silence and i told him that "this-this-is my flowers."

as i was telling my friend emily this, and the fact that andy had to pull overnight duty on saturday night, she suggested making him breakfast. perfect!...there was a pancake recipe i'd been wanting to try. the late-night grocery trip for eggs, butter, and blueberries turned out to be totally worth it.

i didn't end up making any heart-shaped ones {i was just trying not to burn them/mess them up whilst flipping!} but they were daaaang good. if you notice that the above pancakes look a little deformed it's because i gave andy the perfectly shaped ones. ohhh, the things we do for love!

oatmeal pancakes found on orangette, the blog that inspired this book...which i loved. seriously, give these ingredients a spin and throw in some mimosas for extra effect.

p.s. if you don't have buttermilk (and who does?) just put a 2 tbsp of lemon juice in the called for amount of milk. let it stand for 10-15 minutes; you should see that it starts to curdle (what a gross word). i didn't let it stand for nearly long enough, but they were still delicious. i bet they'll be divine if you actually have some real patience. i also think the stick of butter has something to do with their melt-in-your-mouth wonders.