VALENTINE'S DAY LUNCHEON - THAT'S AMORE

Today was my Valentine's Day luncheon and I went with a theme of AMORE! Or LOVE for those that don't know Amore is the way it's said in Italian.

The colors were red, black and white.


I actually knew before Christmas that I was going to use a theme like this. I didn't set out to make it like this but it sort of came about on it's own.

I found this darling Cupid piece that actually goes in the garden. I thought it was so cute and I bought it as a gift to give to my sister that I live with, Patty.

As I kept looking at it in my cart it hit me that it would be so cute as a center piece on a Valentine's Day table.

Isn't it funny to see how different tablescapes come about.

I did give Cupid to Patty but since I live with her, I knew I could use for the tablescape.

I knew I already had the square black and white polka dot plates. I had them from Halloween. So I was on the hunt for some plates to use on top of them. Something that red and white on them.

Then as luck would have it, one day walking around Home Goods I spotted these great plates with black, red and white that were perfect for my table.

Here is a better picture of Cupid. Isn't he darling? I didn't paint him black. He came that way. I think that's what caught my attention and made me buy him.

He even has little bow and arrows.

I already had the lace table cloth and napkins. Do you remember seeing them at my friends Vintage Valentine's Day party?

Of course Valentine's Day makes you think of hearts right? So hearts were also a big part of the theme.

I had hearts on the plates, heart napkin rings, hearts on scattered on the table, heart bowls.

I found the glasses at TJ Maxx in the clearance section. I thought they were perfect for this table because the top was red and the stem was black. The little heart candles were from the 99 cent store.

I used our silver. To me it gives a feeling of romance.

Of course there had to be a favor at each place setting. What says Valentine's Day more then chocolate hearts?
Everyone got a package of red foil covered hearts, a chocolate, marshmallow and carmel heart and another chocolate heart shaped candy. All were from See's candy. Then I wrapped them all up in cello paper and tied them with a red ribbon and attached a cute red heart tag I made.

I also made the name cards. I used red glitter paper and then attached a white tag to it. The white tag was from the Martha Stewart collection I found at Michaels. Red glitter letters were used to spell out every one's name.

Also on the table was a heart ornament and an old key which represented the "Key to my Heart".

Since it was an AMORE theme I knew we would have to have Italian food. This little red heart bowl was perfect to put the Parmesan cheese in.

I made heart shape garlic toast. I know, it's a bit dark but my sister, Maureen, likes her garlic toast this dark.

We started with a salad and they were plated with the heart shape Parmesan crisps I showed you how to make in the last post.

Silly me, I forgot to take a photo of the main course that was Lasagna.

Our dessert was very good. It was fresh strawberries topped with a piece of heart shape pound cake and whipped cream. I served them in the crystal dishes that belonged to my dad.

The strawberries were very good. They were grown just down the street from me where they have a fruit and veggie stand.

The food was good and the company was lovely. We had a nice visit and all to soon the day was over.

I have such great friends and family! I really enjoy being able to have these small luncheons and sharing time with them.

They were so sweet, they even brought me hostess gifts. I love these cute napkin rings that my sister got me. I'm putting together a tablescape just to go with these as the theme.

Maureen also got me a See's heart shape candy, a pot of baby red roses and a gift card to Panera Bread. We go there together every Tues after Weight Watchers and get a bagel for breakfast.

Sandra gave me these cute heart spreaders, a red heart bowl and some note cards and a note pad.

I almost felt like it was Christmas!

I'm hooking up this post with Susan's Tablescape Thursday over at Between Naps on the Porch. If you have not yet gone there, do so. There are tons of great tablescapes you can get ideas from.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day!

LET'S GO SEARCH FOR VINTAGE VALENTINE'S DECOR

Today I felt like getting out of the house but I really had no where to go. So, I thought I would head on over to the Orange Circle where all the antique stores are. I was searching for some fun vintage Valentine's Day decor.

I thought you may like to see what I found.


These are super heavy and nicely made vintage baking pans in the shape of hearts. While they were $48 I think that was a great price for these pans. However, I have a set of stacking heart shape pans. I left these behind.

There were a few vintage hankies that I thought were darling. However, I'm going to my friend's Valentine's Day party and I happen to know she is giving everyone a Valentine's Day vintage hankie.

So, I saved money on these.

A few more were found in the next booth. I almost caved in and got them. After all, if I bought them all I would then have a collection!

Then I remembered my plan for 2010 and staying on budget so I walked on.

A little vintage hand made heart pillow and an unused Valentine's were spotted in the back of this booth. I wasn't real thrilled with either so I wasn't even tempted.

Now this Vintage Valentine's made me swoon! But it was $22.00 which I hear isn't that bad for big old Valentine's cards. Yet, it was way over my budget amount. It got left for someone else with more money to spend.

This big heart was pretty and reminded me of the Christmas trees and wreaths we all love. It was not vintage but had the look. Still, not what I wanted.

Lots of mini heart pans. Again, I have several of these already. After all, I do bake and decorate cakes so I have tons of baking supplies. I don't need one more thing in that area.

I did like these cute heart pillows made out of old towels, quilts and so on. Sadly they were not in the red, black and white color theme I'm going with this year.

I did fall in love with this. Do you know what it is? It's a little wire mesh in the shape of a heart and it's a soap saver. I'm not sure how you use it but you put all the little bits of bar soap you have in it and use it up.

Now this was a good idea for those who are trying hard to use every last bit of soap. Saves money and is not wasteful.

Here it is up close. Since I had no clue how to use it and I wasn't shopping for items to hang up in the kitchen or bathroom I put it down and sadly walked away from it.

This little area caught my eye for sure. Not so much because of the Valentine's Day items but because of the milk glass!

The milk glass was priced way to high for me. So I took notice of the candy heart boxes, they were sweet but nothing real special.

I did like the Valentines but again, to much money.

The candy heart in the jars were darling. I have lots of jars at home so I could just use this idea and not spend a penny.

This was pretty but I don't know what it says. Do you?

These little lady bugs were darling and would be cute as a party favor. I have no idea why I didn't even look to see what the cost was on these. I guess it's because I already knew what I was giving for my favor at my Valentine's Day luncheon.

The little heart boxes would also make a cute favor. You could even put a little chocolate inside.

These pillows would be great on a couch or chair. But I feared my dogs would think they had a new toy and chew it up.

Not really sure what this was all about but she made me laugh.

Lots more Valentines but the ones I looked at were not in that great condition.

This little plate was cute but by the time I saw it I wasn't even in the mood to spend money any more. WHAT! I know!

These were the items I know I'm going to lay awake at night and dream about. Plates and bowls in the shape of a heart with an arrow through them.

Oh how I fell in love with these. But they were $65 and I could not justify that amount to use one day a year.

I've never seen anything like these before and I'm all about the different and unusual items.

This booth had a table set up in Valentine's style.

Old cookie cutters and I love the pan cake mold in the shape of a heart.

This little guy makes me smile every time I see him. I should have gotten him. I could have used him all year long. Oh well!

If you add a little tablecloth with hearts on it and use red and white items it's Valentine's Day! Proof you don't have to use actual Valentine's Day dishes and glasses.

I thought this was very sweet but once again, the price tag made it to where I had to leave it behind.

Same with this little darling girl. To me $32 was to much to pay for her when she wasn't it perfect condition.

While this post makes it seem like I came across a lot of stuff there really wasn't much out there. This was all I found in all the stores I went into. I guess they really didn't decorate much for Valentine's Day years ago.

So, I went home without one thing! But, I am still dreaming about those clear plates and bowls. I really really want them!

Hope you enjoyed going shopping with me as we went on the hunt for Vintage Valentine's Day decorations.

CHEEP VALENTINE'S DAY DECORATING

We have this table that is the first thing you see when you walk in our house. I decided it would be kind of fun to decorate it for every holiday.

But, I didn't want to spend much money so I search around the house to see what I can come up with.


I had this Vintage book that I had found at a thrift store awhile ago. It is red so of course it's perfect for Valentine's Day. So out it came. Along with a vintage white pot I have that is filled with shells. I just added a few little glittered hearts to it.

I picked up red candles for only 39 cents at Michaels that I put in the white holders I already had.

While at Michaels I picked up these four letters to spell LOVE. I was going to paint them red and glitter them up but I liked them just white. They were only $1.29 each.

Three more of the little glitter hearts bring in a bit of red.

I had the lace heart and the rusty key. So I just added a bit of red ribbon that I had. I thought it gave the "Key to my heart" look.

I added some red cinnamon candy hearts to one of my jars and I tied some red ribbon and added another glitter heart to it.

Table is finished and I hardly spent any money. I think it was around $5.00.

Now when people walk in they can get a little Valentine's Day cheer.

I've already decided what I'm going to do for St. Patrick's Day and Easter too. You'll have to wait to see those though.