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

If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

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Set Your Table With Flair--A Rustic, Traditional Christmas

Welcome!  Come on in!  

Hello, dear friends!  Thank you so much for stopping by!

This time of year is so incredibly busy, isn't it?  Shopping, cooking, planning, and most importantly, giving!  It all seems worth it though, and I am always in such a euphoric state.  :)   I just love it!

A few weeks ago, I decided to try to transform my home into a sort of quasi-lodge this season.  What that meant to me is I wanted to keep things pared down with simple, rustic elements.  In today's post, I am sharing my final Christmas tablescape for this season.  I am a traditionalist in my heart-of-hearts, so this setting will fuse rustic elements along with the traditional themes I love this time of year.  I hope you enjoy the post.


What does tradition mean to you?  Personally for Christmas, I just adore tartan, so I began this table in a dramatic dark tartan of green, black, with red and gold elements.

Vibrant red chargers, clear plates, and cream saucers complete the plate stack.  Gold flatware to capture and reflect the gold metallic of the tartan cloth was set as a compliment.

 

Rustic to me means lots of greenery on the table, so I wove a pine garland down the length of the table....placed ornaments, pinecones, and poinsettias.

 

Tall red taper candles in clear candle holders and different-sized cream pillar candles were placed along with the greenery.

Red napkins, held by tiny grapevine twiggy napkin holders were set at each setting along with mini pinecones as place settings, and tartan place cards.

At each setting, a premade topiary tree dressed handsomely in McQueen Tartan was added along with green-footed stemware.  Along with Blackwatch tartan, McQueen is likely one of my favorites!

If you would like to view the tutorial to make these mini topiary trees, you may do so by visiting the post on my blog The Crafting Table here.

On the back of each chair, grapevine twiggy wreaths with more tartan.

 

Closer look.

Santa keeps a watchful eye on the festivities from the closeby ballerina table.  Hello, there!  Ho, Ho, Ho!

Completed tablescape.

Here are a couple shots with the candles lighted.  There's nothing like a candlelit dinner!  So warm and intimate!

Have a lovely, lovely holiday season!

From my collection:
Red chargers and clear plates, generic
Cream saucers, Ralph Lauren Whipstitch Collection
Flatware, Wallace Grand Duchess Collection, Horchow/Neiman Marcus
Garland, Large ornaments, and mini pinecones 3/$1, The Dollar Tree
Pillar candles, Ross
Mini ornaments, Hobby Lobby
All other items, thrifted, including tartan, twiggy wreaths, and stemware, which is Durand Luminarc France Cristal d'Arques Emerald Green

If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 

Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

Follow me on Pinterest!!  Please be sure to kindly follow the board guidelines, as it takes time and effort to find fabulous pins across the Internet and Pinterest!  Thank you!  

Thank you for stopping by! ❤