Parsimonious Décor Darling: February 2024

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Simple Romantic Ideas for Valentines

Hello, lovers and sweethearts! Today I am sharing a couple of quick and easy tips I utilized this Valentine's Day to ensure it went off without a hitch. I hope you enjoy the post!

The flowers. Here I played up the romance of the day with a huge arrangement comprised of red roses, green foliage, and white, red, and pink peonies. All of these fabulous faux(es) came from Amazon.

A closer look. Pas mal for falsies, no?

Dishes and accoutrement. Here, I am using antique red teacups and gorgeous red and white transferware.

I use these often, and I love the pattern! So versatile!

Sweets and treats. I served whoopie pies (love the double-entendre there, lol) and themed cake pops.

The EASIEST whoopie pies:

I used a devil's food box cake and added a box of instant chocolate pudding, and reduced the water as indicated on the box from 1 cup to 3/4 cup. I used Oreo premade frosting as the cream middle. I cannot take credit for this, lol, the full details came from the Betty Crocker Website, which you can visit here.

Super simple cake pops:

To make cake pops, I also used a box cake (so easy)! After baking the cake according to the box instructions, allow to cool, and crumble the cake into a large bowl. Add one whole tub of frosting of your choice and mix altogether using your hands until you are able to shape the cake into balls (and hearts like I did here). Place into a very cold fridge or a freezer until ready to use.

I used a double boiler to melt Candiquik Vanilla flavored candy melts, ensuring to add a bit of shortening for easier flow ability. I poured the melted white candy mixture over each round cake pop, and placed them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. I set aside a small amount of plain white candy melt in a piping bag to be used for later.

Next, I added red food coloring to the candy melt mixture. Food coloring affects the texture of the candy, so at this point, you may need to add a bit more shortening again to thin out and aid with flow. I covered each of the heart-shaped cake pops in the red candy melt. With the remaining white candy melt, I drizzled over the hearts, and with the remaining red, I drizzled over the white pops.

As a side note, when you are initially baking your cake, you can add a bit of flavored extract such as peppermint or cinnamon to add an extra element of depth. This time I used peppermint. So good!

Happy Valentine's Day, friends!

From my collection:

Florals, as stated, Amazon

Red teacups, Anchor Hocking Ruby Red, Local Antique

Red transferware, Staffordshire Engravings 17th Century, local antique

Until next we meet,

--Y

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Tuesday, February 13, 2024

A Subtle, Upscale Mardi Gras Tablescape

Bon jour, mes amis beaux! Thank you so much for taking the time to pop in!

Do you celebrate Mardi Gras? To be honest, even though my husband is Catholic, and though we usually observe lent, we really don’t make a big to-do on Mardi Gras.

This year, I attempted to set a table for the holiday (this will be my first, frankly), with a toned-down, more elegant vibe that I prefer when setting a table. I hope you enjoy the post!

Color scheme: I utilized the traditional colors of Mardi Gras, which are purple, green, and gold; I chose though to use a more muted version of the color palette.

Setting the scene:

To set the foundation of my Mardi Gras tablescape, I began with a couple of beautiful remnants of fabric I purchased online, just in time and just right for this occasion.

Isn’t this gorgeous!!? The beautiful deep plum and fabulous foliage…ahh sigh! It is vintage, and from Ralph Lauren’s Brittany collection.

I used the remnants to create a runner, just perfect as a basis for my table.

For a centerpiece, I used a wonderful vintage-inspired hobnail vase in emerald mercury glass.

I LOVE the detail on this vase!

A combination of florals from the local grocer and buds from my trees

perfectly compliment the pattern on the runner.

I love these trees that grow on my property. During the summer, they practically burst with fragrant blooms, and when the weather is cold and they are dormant, they are abundant with beautiful purplish-blue pods that almost look like grapes.