Sweet Valentine's Tributes

 Sunday  night, I was at my friend Jill's home for dinner.  It is always a treat to explore her little antique vignettes that are displayed in her home.  She has a natural talent for creating little magical collections of fresh flowers and antique accessories.  While she was preparing a delightful  dinner, Marlene ( who was visiting from Tennessee) and I were admiring and taking pictures of these thoughtful little displays. 

 

On the kitchen pine farm table, a mirror plateau with two small pitchers of fresh flowers, a candle, salt and pepper cellars and a sugar bowl.

 

A wooden bread board with Leslie Stowe crackers, Camembert, truffles and fresh roses - served with a gorgeous horn cheese knife.

 A collection of  silver, horn and iron pieces with fresh tulips and a boxwood ball for a pop of color!

 Parchment books, Victorian iron planters filled with fresh ferns,

a terrarium filled with tulips, nests, eggs and moss.

 

 

 The fresh ferns and moss remind us that spring is coming soon!

 

Moss, ex votos, roses, candles and the boy statue on a cement Jan Barboglio plateau in the center of the dining room table.

 

 

On a side note-----

The three of us had spent the day before at a local flea market.  One of the booths was displaying some handmade items made from old lace, rhinestones and old books. 

 We simply could not resist them.

Little card board potting pots with wire handles were covered with vintage lace remnants and then embellished with rhinestones.  Excited about my purchase, I placed them on a silver tray and filled them with dried roses that were left from Julie's birthday  party last weekend.   

 

Tossing a little bright green reindeer moss on the tray added the contrast that I needed.

Insides of old books are wrapped and tied with laces and rhinestone embellishments.

I added these to the tray.

 

I had purchased the candle bobeches the month before and they looked perfect with this Valentine's vignette.



 

Old wax cupids from the 1920's were then added to the grouping.

 

Vintage blush and grey beads from the flea market look so pretty on the tray.

 

 

 

Just need to add a few votives and voila-  a wonderful centerpiece for Valentines!

 

I have found that silver trays, plateaus, bread boards, and books are all great elements to "corral" a collection together on a tabletop. It unifies the statement and makes a stronger impact with all the items grouped together, rather than placed individually on the table. 

After being inspired by my friend's home on Sunday night, 

 I have decided that  Jill is a master of this skill! 

Valentine's Day Chocolate Feast

It's Valentines Day and time for chocolate! Chocolate wines from World Market, embellished with scrap booking rhinestone decals and cocktail rings, have beautiful labels. Rose biscuits from France in silver biscuit box and rose covered chocolates from Vosges in Chicago look very pretty together. I have used the ex voto's or Milagro Hearts of love that we sell at Romancing the Home to enhance the design of the heart shaped smoked tomato chocolates from Vosges. Jill brought me the beautiful pastel French macaroons from a shop in Kansas City called Nastasha's. An old French engraving of Cupid stands in the background to supervise the festivities! Happy Valentine's Day!

Chocolates- From Pretty to Beautiful

Ferrero Chocolates are wrapped in wonderful foils in shades of gold, silver and chocolate. You can find them at every grocery store this time of year and their price is very affordable. I decided to make them even more special by adding a jeweled embellishment on the top of each one. I love the way they look with the faded roses that I am just about to throw away. Faded roses and chocolates- how beautiful for Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Roses

It is February 1st and thoughts turn to Valentine's Day. It is a wonderful reason to get a group of friends together and have a celebration during the dreary winter days. We often associate Valentine's Day with roses. But not only is there the beautiful floral rose, there are many treats made with the rose flavor. Today I am sharing two of my favorites, Vosges rose petal covered chocolates and the famous rose biscuit from the Reims region in France. Maison Fossier has been making these delectable little biscuit treats since 1691. They are delicious dipped in Champagne . They have a wonderful pink color and are beautiful used in desserts. One of the prettiest is a Rose Biscuit lined charlotte mold that is then filled with pistachio ice cream. You can find many more ideas on their website at. The rose covered chocolates are made here in Chicago by Vosges and are dark chocolate. Not overly http://www.fossier.fr/biscuits-roses-de-reims_c1.html sweet, they melt in your mouth and leave a nice sweet scent behind. You can purchase them at the Vosges stores or online at http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/. Serving these little treats in pretty vessels is an expression of thoughtfulness and love. I love seeing the little pink biscuits peek out of the cherub biscuit box. My friend Marlene gave me the beautiful pastry server for Christmas this year and it's perfect for grabbing the little darlings and placing them straight into a glass of bubbly!

Valentine's Treats for Two

Valentine's Day demands that you serve sexy, pretty food! Heart shaped ravioli from our local grocery store, chocolate dipped strawberries, and decadent cupcakes, resplendent with sugar flowers and blackberries. Add your own beautiful dishes and lots of candlelight! Chocolate dipped strawberries are best enjoyed by a roaring fire with chilled champagne. A simple dish of basil and tomato ravioli, shaped into little hearts is delicious and pretty served with a marinara sauce and freshly grated Parmesan. Vanilla cupcakes, filled with a raspberry filling, are garnished with sugar roses, calla lilies, and blackberries. Yummy little treats for your special Valentine~!

Valentines Day - Tea for Two!

How about just a sweet little table for two? Afterall, that is what Valentine's Day is about - two people that are each other's Valentine! This is a table from our cookbook "Romancing the Home Entertains". We have used old Fitz and Floyd cherub embellished plates, a vintage stand for the tea sandwiches and vintage lenox espresso cups for the beverage of your choice - coffee, tea or me! A small cherub sits on a vintage rhinestone embellishment, removed from an old dress, and chaperones this tea party for just two!

Valentines Day Inspiration from Mary

While in Atlanta this month, my friend Lynda served us a delicious berry sauce over brie with crackers as an appetizer. Her sister, Mary, had brought it back from Michigan during Christmas and given Lynda a jar. So I have to credit Mary with inspiring me to pursue this Valentines idea. I guess it's very appropriate since Mary grew up in Michigan with her maiden name of Mary Mee. Now how cute is that for a Valentine's inspiration - she kept that name until sweet Jeff did marry, Mary Mee! Now they live happily in Atlanta, near Lynda!

I loved that sauce so much that I ordered 3 cases for the store for Valentine's Day gifts. Of course, we had to embellish the label and top a little bit with a few Romancing the Home touches. This sauce, a confection of cherries, raspberries, blackberries, and lemon, is delicious with ice cream, cheeses, pound cake, and waffles. For Valentine's Day, we used a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut the waffles into heart shapes. We have embellished this Valentine's Breakfast idea with pink roses, petite little dessert cloches, and sweet little cherubs. A full selection of the cloches and the fantastic Mixed Berry Sauce is available at the store.