Sunday, February 16, 2014

A Touch of Lipstick Red for Valentine's Day







The week of Valentine's 
was busy around here.


Lots of chocolates and 
fun times spent with friends.


This stack of red and white stripe plates,
a sweet surprise from a girlfriend for my January birthday,
 was the inspiration for our Valentine's table this year.

An impromptu stop at Sur La Table 
yielded these pretty new napkins.
The beautiful woven texture, red stripes, and 
fringed edges make me think of vintage French linens.

They fit in perfectly with
my theme of black and white 
and touch of lipstick red.

My go to woven ruffled placemats,
MacKenzie-Childs Courtly Check chargers,
Black dinner plates from Dollar Tree,
Red and white striped salads by Grace's Teaware,
All stack up for a pretty Valentine Dinner Party
with a group of girlfriends.

Small heart shaped boxes filled with chocolates were
transformed with chalkboard paint to use as place cards 
as well as sweet take home treats.

La Rochere 
Napoleonic Bee Glassware

Tossed Green Salad


Spinach and Artichoke Lasagna
Made at home by my personal in-house "chef".  

Hot Garlic Bread

Light Dessert
Lemon Petite Fours 
Camomile Tea and Almond Tarts

Served with 
fresh raspberries and .   .   .

A dollop of 
sweet whipped cream!

Little cinnamon hearts 
on the side for a touch of spice.

The following morning
I hosted my CAMEO group
for our monthly antique club meeting.

I saw this idea on Martha Stewart.
You take dried Calimyrna figs, cut lengthwise, 
and they look like little hearts.  
Tasty, healthy, and oh so cute!

Several of the ladies are gluten intolerant, 
so I like to serve gluten fee choices such as this camomile
and almond tart that I picked up from a local bakery.

The pretty little petit fours, 
while not gluten free,
are a secret I learned from a friend.
You can buy a box of 24 of these at Costco 
for about  the cost of one petite four from a bakery.
They are "lemonylicious" and no one is the wiser!
Sometimes I add a little added flourish on top.

As a take home treat for my CAMEO friends, I bought mini heart
boxes at Michaelsused the chalkboard paint again,
then placed a decadent chocolate heart inside
on a nest of red and pink crinkle paper.

All in all it was a
"sweetie pie" of a week here!
Hope your Valentine's Week was filled with delights too.

Joining