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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Thanks for stopping by. I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them! And if you like what you see a lot, maybe you’d like to +1 this post or pin it on Pinterest too! Thank you!

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Sundays at The Tablescaper: http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

Mop it Up Monday at http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com

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

Tuesdays at http://www.astrollthrulife.net/

Wednesdays at Let’s Dish: http://www.cuisinekathleen.com/

Wednesdays at Wow Us: http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

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Thursdays at Home Sweet Home: http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Transformation Thursdays at http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/

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

Purple Passion for Valentines

The color PURPLE traditionally has been associated with royalty, but I also associate it with PASSION, since it’s such an intense color.  When I researched the meaning of PURPLE I found something interesting:  “It is understandable that purple represents royalty if one thinks how purple is a mix of red and blue, that is a mix of female and male energies. Mixing female and male energies grants the power of creation which is an attribute of god.”  (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_the_color_purple_represent.)    Maybe subconsciously I sensed that meaning the female and male energies, because when I started to plan my Valentine table, I knew I wanted to use PURPLE.  I also found that PURPLE “connotes luxury, wealth, and sophistication,”—well, there you have it!  HAVE to use PURPLE!  (Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/spot/colors1.html#ixzz2Jrt4gOjP)

RED is “the most emotionally intense color…it stimulates a faster heartbeat and breathing.  It is also the color of love," so that’s why RED is the traditional color of Valentines.(http://www.infoplease.com/spot/colors1.html#ixzz2JrtHzzCw/)

PURPLE, shimmery placemats and RED chargers are the foundation for today’s tablescape, which is set for TWO, of course.

Can you feel the passion?  The intense reds, with a touch of shimmery purple, and touches of gold and silver?

The red tassel napkin rings, because of their shimmer, are able to keep up with the shimmer around them.

   If you’ve visited me in the past you know of my PASSION for vintage, hand-embroidered linens.  The napkins are one of several romantic linen touches at this table…  If you love linens too, there’s more coming!

Ahhh, yet another passion—crystal—that adds another element of shimmer and excitement.

And candlelight…  Did you notice that the table is also set for after-dinner coffee, and perhaps CHOCOLATE too?

Roses and china and crystal and chocolate, OH MY!

More vintage napkins.  These came home with me last summer, when I simply could not walk away from them.  And now I see that they are perfect for our romantic Valentine’s Dinner.  The napkin rings are a gift from our youngest son, from years ago.  That bright boy knew to go to Bombay to buy gifts for his Mama.  :)

Vintage sugar bowls and creamers…yet another passion.  And my Table Art leaf spoon, purchased at a lovely little shop, The Morgan House, near our home, years ago.

I needed some height at the table, so I improvised and repurposed my pink Heisey footed server as a pedestal for the coffee service.

This is truly a vintage piece…a square topper that is beginning to show its age, but is soooo loved.  The stitching is exquisite, as is the fabric.  It’s worthy of a table set for royalty, or romantic Valentines.

Nightfall allows for candlelight...the best time to enjoy a Valentine dinner.

More vintage linens—a runner that is pressed into service over and over again—and a vintage silver footed dish adds interest and texture and shimmer to the table.

Hmmmm….I think maybe I’d rather have a scrumptious breakfast with my sweetie at this table!  We can quickly improvise—milk in the water goblets, juice in the wine glasses, move the coffee cups right here next to our plates, and maybe bring on the champagne flutes for mimosas!

The gold flatware that my sweet grandmother gave me years ago, to go with the six sets of Lenox Holiday dessert plates and teacups she gave me.  She was such a sweetheart.  Using this flatware, over and over again as I have over the years, always makes me happy.

Wishing you a happy Valentine’s Day with the one you love.  May you have all the things this table represents, in the way that you most like.

How will you be celebrating Valentine’s Day?  With roses and chocolates and candlelight and crystal and silver?  Or in a different kind of special?  Although I would have loved to have actually eaten at this table, we weren’t able to.  My sweetie has made reservations at a lovely restaurant and shop, The Pine Tree Barn.  It’s a bit of a drive, but one that we love.  We’ll spend a happy day at the shop then I’m sure it’ll be a romantic dinner for two.  That’s the way we like it—dinner for two.

Other details about Purple Passion post:

Goblets: Lismore Tall (water) and Alana (wine)

Candleholders: Waterford

Sugar and creamer: – Pattern and maker unknown.  Haven’t had time to research it, so if you know, please let me know! :)

Under plate used as charger, cups and saucers and coffee server: Lenox Eternal

Dinner plates:  Limoges (according to Replacements.com, the pattern is GueGue 596)

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Thanks for stopping by. I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them! And if you like what you see a lot, maybe you’d like to +1 this post or pin it on Pinterest too! Thank you!

I invite you to follow my blog and follow me on Pinterest. If you’ll let me know that you’re following, I’ll be sure to follow you back.

Sundays at The Tablescaper: http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

Mop it Up Monday at http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com

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

Tuesdays at http://www.astrollthrulife.net/

Wednesdays at Let’s Dish: http://www.cuisinekathleen.com/

Wednesdays at Wow Us: http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

Thursdays at Tabletop Thursday: http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Thursdays at Home Sweet Home: http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Transformation Thursdays at http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/

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

“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!

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them! And if you like what you see a lot, maybe you’d like to +1 this post or pin it on Pinterest too! Thank you!

I invite you to follow me. If you’ll let me know that you’re following, I’ll be sure to follow you back.

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

Hot Chocolate and Chocolate Dessert Bar

Our dear friends came to visit for the weekend—the perfect opportunity to spoil them a little.  We texted them while they were en route:  “Arrive hungry…we have LOTS of goodies for dinner and dessert!”

For dessert we had a HOT CHOCOLATE BAR set up.

I used our sons’ baby cups for the mini marshmallows and tiny chocolate chips.

Vintage napkins I turn to often, because they are so sweet.  They were a gift from my dear MIL from their years when they lived in Mexico, where my FIL was sent by General Tire. 

My iSi cream whipper was at the ready, of course, (you can read about this wonderful kitchen tool HERE), and the vintage silver cocktail shaker my mother gave me was perfect for the hot chocolate…LOVE this piece.

    Gifts from my SIL, I use these spoons often too, because I think they’re so pretty.

These sweet little sugar tongs now repurposed to serve the mini marshmallows.

And yes, we also had fruit on hand, in case we wanted to add something healthy to our dessert. :)

A not-so-mini chocolate-chocolate Bundt cake, garnished with peanut butter fudge curls and bite-size pieces for walking by and grabbing one or two, plus dark-chocolate on butter cookies, and of course, kisses.

My husband’s favorite aunt used to make peanut butter fudge for us, but now that she’s gone he’s happy to have found an excellent substitute at Krema.  Krema is local, but they ship everywhere.  You won’t go wrong with them, I promise.

And other walk-by treats.

But this was the BEST part…our family gathered together to spend time with our friends.

Our friends are so sweet.  They love everything we do to make their visit special, and they enjoy EVERY.SINGLE.DETAIL.  That makes it so much fun! 

What do you do when you have guests?  I’d love to hear your idea of pampering guests for our future visitors. 

I’ll be posting the recipe for my Espresso Hot Chocolate soon. ~~

Cake stand – Crate and Barrel, several years ago, a gift from my cousin

Mugs – House Beautiful, Marshall Field’s, years ago

Spoons – 1847 Rogers Bros., Columbia

Sugar tongs – Vintage Forbes Silver Co.

Cake plate – gift from my MIL many years ago; Dome – Bombay Company

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them! And if you like what you see a lot, maybe you’d like to Google+ this post or pin it on Pinterest too! Thank you!

I invite you to follow me. If you’ll let me know that you’re following, I’ll be sure to follow you back.

Mop it Up Monday at http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com

Tuesdays at http://www.astrollthrulife.net/

Wednesdays at Let’s Dish: http://www.cuisinekathleen.com/

Wednesdays at Wow Us: http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

Share Your Cup Wednesday at http://jannolson.blogspot.com/

Thursdays at Tabletop Thursday: http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Thursdays at Home Sweet Home: http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Transformation Thursdays at http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/

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

Home Sweet Home Fridays at http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

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

Sundays at The Tablescaper: http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

From my nest to yours~  Chickadee Home Nest