february

Valentine’s Day for me is just another excuse to shove even more chocolate in my mouth than I did the day before while giving extra tight snuggles. It also means the quality of the chocolate is definitely better than my typical 1 and 3 o’clock pick-me-up from my hidden stash. There are plenty of delicious places to shop this Valentine’s Day for yourself, your love or your Bambinos that don’t include the heart shaped milk chocolate box from the drug store. These are worth the trip, guaranteed.

Artisan Confections: Arlington, VA. and Fairfax, VA.
Jason Andelman’s recipes creatively blend high-quality ingredients that subtly enhance the star of the show – Valrhona chocolate – considered the best in the industry. The result is a collection of smooth and creamy confections that look as stunning as they taste. These are my absolute favorite and must-have each Valentine’s Day!!!

Fleurir Chocolates: Alexandria, VA.
Hand made artisan chocolates that are works of art made of high-quality, natural ingredients in small batches.

June B. Sweet: Chevy Chase, DC
They have a selection of Brigadeiro flavors, mini cakes and Brazilian Mousse available every day at Write for You.

The Chocolate House: DuPont Circle, DC
The Chocolate House is a tasting room and boutique store where you can experience over 300 unique chocolate bars and confections from artisan chocolate makers and chocolatiers from all corners of the world.

Harper Macaw: Georgetown, DC
Harper Macaw is a fine chocolate venture founded by a Brazilian chocolate maker and a U.S. Marine Veteran with an ambitious yet tangible objective: To turn chocolate into a force for tropical reforestation. They also give factory tours on select days.

Neuhaus: Union Station, DC and Bethesda, MD.
From Belgium with love since 1857.

Chocolate Moose: Downtown, DC
Over 40 years in business, this is your go-to Belgian chocolate shop.

SPAGnVOLA: Gaithersburg, MD.
Crisoire Reid is an award winning Chocolatier and co-owner of SPAGnVOLA. Having been raised in her ancestral hacienda in Hato Del Rey, Dominican Republic. With her passion in land cultivation and agriculture, she began to focus her interest in improving the quality of their crops. They offer gift boxes, hot chocolate, caramels and more.

Café Chocolat: H St NW, DC
A chocolate boutique with a coffee bar in it. The hot chocolate has been featured in Washington City Paper as a “must-have”. They specialize in small bean-to-bar chocolates from around the world and the US. The latest feature is the only chocolate-maker from Haiti, Askanya Chocolates.

Chocolate Chocolate: Downtown, DC
D.C.’s first independent chocolate shop, in 1984 serving chocolate from around the world.

Periwinkle: Chevy Chase, DC
In the back of this fabulous boutique shop you’ll find a display case full of fine, fresh local chocolates.

Godiva: Various locations
Hand dipped strawberries, truffles for miles and drinks made to order. You can become a Rewards member for free and receive a free truffle each month.

Balduccis: Locations in Bethesda, Alexandria and McLean
This is a premiere destination for many things such as meats and cheeses, the section of chocolates and confections is very impressive too.

The Valentine’s Day Card Workshop at the National Postal Museum is one of the very first events I included in a blog post back in 2014 when I was just staring out. I remember running into an acquaintance that Saturday afternoon, after the card workshop at the National Postal Museum had taken place. She told me she took her kids to the card workshop because she read about it on my blog and thought the event was the perfect way to get into the spirit of Valentine’s Day. She mentioned how crazy her kids went for all of the creative supplies the museum provided and how much fun they all had. Because this workshop is free and no registration is required, pop in when you can and create some cute DIY cards for those you love. More details about the program below…

Saturday, February 8, 2020 from 10:00am – 4:00pm
Sunday, February 9, 2020 from 10:00am – 4:00pm

Homemade love is in the air at the annual Valentine’s Day Card Workshop at the National Postal Museum on February 8th and 9th! Create handmade heartfelt cards to send to your loved ones.

The museum provides a bountiful spread of patterned papers, rubber stamps and postage stamps for decoration, gems and other 3-D embellishments, special cut-out scissors, washi tape, stickers, markers of every color (with a surplus of red and pink of course!) and more. Following their own creative instincts, kids and adults can choose whichever supplies they would like to design one-of-a-kind Valentine greetings.

Once finished, cards can then be placed in envelopes, addressed and adorned with a distinctive National Postal Museum postmark at the museum’s stamp store! How cool is this?! You may want to bring some addresses of those who you will make a card for because in keeping with educating children about the postal service and how mail works, kids can pop their own cards in an official USPS mailbox that is decorated to exactly resemble – none other than – SpongeBob SquarePants!

You will find the event at the National Postal Museum in the lower-level Atrium. For those new to the National Postal Museum, the Atrium is full of various postal transports from over the years, including a real train car, semi-truck (yes, kids can climb in and pretend to drive!), a horse-drawn carriage and airplanes hanging from the ceiling. The layout of the card-making stations and supply tables fosters sharing, friendliness and a sense of community. And the museum’s pleasant staff and volunteers are always available to answer questions, provide examples of completed cards, or help in any other way!

Visit the museum’s event calendar for information on the many fun and educational programs available at the National Postal Museum.

Address of the National Postal Museum:
2 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Washington, D.C. 20002