Chickadee Home Nest: Valentine's Day

Showing posts with label Valentine's Day. Show all posts

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Valentine China Cabinet

Valentine’s Day is around the corner, and at our house we’re sure to celebrate—the chickadees are a perfect excuse to decorate for any holiday! So the red and white and hearts are out!

The china cabinet is always one of the first things to get a refresher. I had whites and silver there since after Christmas, when our eyes and home needed a “rest,” so I simply added some reds and we were ready for Valentine’s Day. Little Miss Chickadee likes to go through and see what I’ve added.

The red roses are from the Valentine table (aren’t you always sad to take a tablescape down? I am!) You can see that table here.

Isn’t it fun to play with Picasa? I used the Waterford Kinsale vase in the Valentine table centerpiece, but it was hard to see it with the ivy around it.

Would you like to join me for a bit of Bailey’s? Always a favorite treat.

Before my blogging days (and before Little Miss Chickadee was around or old enough to notice), I didn’t have many Valentine decorations. This vase is now a favorite. It, too, was part of the Valentine tablescape—did you notice it? As were the hydrangeas, which are from last summer. I find that I keep using them over and over again in different places, because I think they’re so pretty and fragile.

Someday I’ll have to do a post on why I have these cups, which for now I’ll call double-espresso cups, but they are for something much more yummy! The darling teapot is a gift from my sweet friend Cookie. I wonder if she remembers that she gave it to me?

The silver sugar scuttle is versatile. Of course~candy for Valentine’s Day!

While I didn’t have many Valentine-specific decorations, I do have quite a bit of red around the house, because I LOVE red. To me it’s such a versatile color—I can use it for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, the fourth of July, and just about any other time, which I do! It’s a great accent color for me. Do you like red that much? Or is it too….RED?

This darling tureen is a gift from my mother which I use quite often as a gravy boat, or for sauces, or even salad dressing when we have a larger group.

Can you believe that a college student makes these gorgeous glass serving pieces as a way to earn money for school? We visited her booth at an art show while we were vacationing on Anna Maria Island a few years ago. It’s very, very fragile, but boy, does it have WOW factor when it’s on the table!

The red Tiara glass was originally on the stack of plates, until…

…the roses earned the coveted spot once they were past their prime and no longer suitable for the vase. As I’ve mentioned before, I love “old” roses. You can see lots of them here.

Did you notice that the top was bare in the first picture? Are you that observant? After the pictures were taken touches of red and silver were added.

There’s a bit of a love story behind this cruet set. When I was a teenager, a friend of my mother’s was getting married, and her MIL-to-be gave her a vintage/antique cruet set. I thought it was LOVELY, and since that time I’ve wanted one, but just never ended up buying one. So about six months ago this lovely set appeared at an auction…and now IT’S AT HOME WITH US! So it just took me a few {decades} to have one. The wait was long enough to make its homecoming all the more special! Believe me, it wasn’t in this pretty, shiny condition when it arrived, but it was truly a labor of love to bring it to its full splendor.

Are there pieces like that, that you want but for one reason or another haven’t gotten? What is it for you? What is on your WISH LIST? This is testament to the fact that if we wait, the things we cherish long term will eventually come to us, and the fleeting wishes will disappear.

So here’s wishing you a happy Valentine’s Day around your home. May your hearts be filled with love for all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Fridays at Feathered Nest: http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Thursdays at No Minimalist Here: http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com/

Inspiration Friday at http://www.atthepicketfence.com

From my nest to yours, ~Zuni

Saturday, January 26, 2013

“P” is for Pink Pancakes and Pajamas

Our oldest chickadee, Miss Chickadee, is in pre-school, and “the letter of the week” this week is “P,” so they were having a Pajama Party at school. Since they were coming over later in the day—all three of them in their pajamas—:) we decided we should have breakfast for dinner—Pink Pancakes, in our Pajamas (yes, we were going to get into our PJs too, but there was no time for costume changes for my husband and me. We had hungry little bears on our hands!)

Ms. Chickadee had done some Valentine’s Day decorating around here earlier in the week, so the original plan was that we would have the strawberry and cream cheese French toast they love, but when “P” came into play we went for Pancakes instead, but kept the Valentine theme and made them Pink—and heart-shaped!

Well, they were kind’a heart-shaped. :) I don’t have a heart-shaped pancake mold, and I’m pretty sure I don’t have a BIG HEART cookie cutter, so I didn’t even take the time to look. Freehand they were… The whipped cream is of course made with my handy-dandy iSi cream whipper I told you about HERE. Yum!! These chickadees LOVE, LOVE, LOVE whipped cream!

Before the chickadee flock arrived, in keeping with our Valentine theme I quickly put a table together for them~

The snowy trees, silver pieces, and white (snow) cutwork runner I’d kept out after Christmas were quickly repurposed to serve as a Valentine centerpiece. The trees were decorated with felt heart cutouts I bought a few years ago, and a few other red/heart touches were sprung into play.

{And the Blue Hour was upon us…that’s always a special time.}

Believe me, taking this picture was NOT easy—these chickadees (in their P’jammies) were HUNGRY!!

HAPPY EARLY VALENTINE’S DAY!

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Friday at Tatertots and Jello

Friday at French Country Cottage

Friday at The36th Avenue

Friday at Bacon Time

Friday at It's Overflowing

Friday at Shine on Fridays

Fridays at Stuff and Nonsense

Saturday at Six Sisters Stuff

Sunday at DIY Show Off

Tuesday at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Tuesday at A Stroll Through Life

Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Wednesday at DIY by Design

Thursday at No Minimalist Here

Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch

Thursday at Shabby Creek Cottage

Thursday at House of Hepworth

Thursday at Jennifer Rizzo

From my nest to yours, ~Zuni

Monday, January 30, 2012

Felt Valentine Hearts

Before the world opened up and blogging came into my life, I was always dabbling and finding things to do--crafts, tablescapes, gardening...anything to keep myself busy with things I enjoyed.

During one of those times I decided to make a Valentine tree by making simple, country felt hearts. I suppose I used a pattern to cut the hearts out, but that's certainly not necessary...it was truly a freehand project to use what I had on hand.

This is an umbrella stand next to the piano, where we have
those kinda new lighted twig things and some real curly willow twigs.
I added the hearts to the twigs to create our
Valentine tree this year.

I wanted them to look VERY :) handmade-looking, almost childlike, like old samplers.
Then I stuffed them with batting.

For some, like the white one, I used beading on the heart itself, and for some
I used beads to hold the ribbon or tulle hanger.

I also used them on the table, accompanied by baubles that speak to
the ROMANCE of Valentine's Day, and of course
a Cherub--or is he Cupid? Where is his arrow?!
"He" is so special to our family...
My dear grandmother brought him back from Italy probably 35 years ago,
and my mother gave him to me to use for our first grandbaby's baptism
(see the picture below)

We hosted the reception at our home, and though this picture is blurry, I wanted
to share how we used "him" for her baptism.
The cards are memory cards I made. It's a Cuban tradition for baptisms
to give these cards, with the baby's and his/her parents' and godparents' names, the date and
church where the baptism was held, etc., to the guests as mementos.

My love of roses extends to when they get to the "vintage" stage--aren't women like roses? As ~~they~~ we age,
don't we get more beautiful, albeit it in a less traditional way?
I used them for an earlier post, Romantic Vintage Table HERE .

My first china cabinet of the year was simple and "peaceful," HERE -- my post-Christmas senses
just needed a little break--but now, color is creeping back into my decorating.
Wishing you a happy Valentine's Day, filled with LOVE.

Thanks for stopping by. Please leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them! They encourage me and inspire me. And if you like what you see a lot J, maybe you’d like to +1 this post too! Thank you!

I will be joining these fun parties; please stop by to see all the great things there!

House in Roses Show Off Your Cottage Monday at http://houseinroses.blogspot.com/

Amaze Me Monday at http://dittledattle.blogspot.com/

The Space Between Monday party at http://thespacebetweenblog.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/imagine-the-impossibilities-link-party-1/

Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple

Newbie Party on Monday at http://debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com/

Tabletop Tuesday at http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/

Wow Us Wednesdays at http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

Tablescape Thursday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Open House Party Thursday http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com/

Transformation Thursdays at The Shabby Creek Cottage

Feathered Nest Friday at http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Potpourri Friday at http://twenty-eight-0-five.blogspot.com/

Inspiration Friday at http://www.atthepicketfence.com/

Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrifty Groove

Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground

Show and Tell Friday at http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

Home Sweet Home Friday at The Charm of Home

Feature Yourself Friday at Fingerprints on the Fridge

Cheap Crafty Mama at www.cheapcraftymama.com

Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors

Seasonal Sunday at http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

Homemaker on a Dime, Sunday at http://www.homemakeronadime.com/2012/01/creative-bloggers-party-hop-011512.html

Wishing you love on Valentine's Day and always,

from my Chickadee Nest to yours~

Zuni

Monday, January 2, 2012

Candy Cane Meringue Kisses

These "kisses" are perfect for Christmas, because they look like candy canes, but they're also perfect for Valentine's Day. Happy kissing!

Here's what they look like--cute, huh?
Want to learn how to make them? It's easy---follow along.

The recipe is a basic meringue recipe:
4 egg whites (save the yolks for another recipe)
1 cup granulated sugar
(so the recipe is 1/4 c of sugar for each egg white--you can make as much or as little as you'd like).
Four egg whites made three large jelly roll pans.

Set the egg whites aside for about 15 minutes so they're not cold from the refrigerator.

You'll also need:
* Red gel or cream food coloring to make the candy stripes
* A small brush
* Pastry bag
* Star tip on the pastry bag
* Edible glitter in white and/or red (optional)

Very important: Be sure there is NO yolk in the egg whites!

Cut enough parchment paper to line your baking sheets.

Preheat oven to 210˚

I like the convenience of disposable pastry bags.
Push the "coupler" into the bag as far as you can (it probably won't fit through the open tip)
Mark the bag where the coupler stops, remove the coupler, and cut the tip there
(be carefeul to not cut it too far up, or it won't seal)
Put the coupler back in the bag and push it through so only the threads are out of the bag
Place the star tip up against the coupler, and hold both in place with the twist seal.

Pour egg whites into mixing bowl.
Beat on high, adding the sugar slowly until all the sugar has been added and the
meringue looks firm and shiny and beautiful.
When the meringue is stiff enough that it no longer drips from the beaters,
it's done!

To prepare the pastry bag:
This step should be done once the meringue is ready to be piped, as the pastry bag can't be put down
once the "stripes" are painted.
Pour some cream food coloring into a small bowl.
Dip a small paint brush into the food coloring and carefully reach into the bag
and "paint" three evenly spaced "stripes" from the tip of the bag to 4 or 5 inches from the top.
Notice that they don't have to be perfect, but the meringues will look great!

Using a spatula, add the meringue to the pastry bag.

Fold the top of the bag several times to release the air in the bag and
to move the meringue down.

Squeeze a small "kiss" on each corner of your baking sheet(s), then place the parchment paper
on your baking sheets. This will hold your sheets in place.

If all the meringue doesn't fit in the pastry bag, simply paint more stripes in the same
areas where the first were and refill the bag with meringue.

Sprinkle with glitter if desired.

Place in oven for 2 to 3 hours, until they are completely dry and feel hard to the touch, but
don't let them start to change color!
Meringues should be perfectly white when done.