A Simple Valentine's Day

Hello, lovely ones in the bloggersphere and beyond!  I hope you are well.  This evening, I wanted to share a few simple tips that helped my Valentine's Day go off without a hitch.  I hope you enjoy the post!

For my Valentine's Day decorations this year, I kept the tree up that I used this past Christmas.  You may see this tree featured here in my post archives.

I removed the tree skirt, hot cocoa cups, and hot cocoa topper.  I found these cute foam hearts at The Dollar Tree.

I used a standard hole punch

to make holes in the tops of the foam hearts,

then I tied them with this pretty velvet ribbon Mr. Parsimonious found at Hobby Lobby.

I adorned the tree with the hearts in the places where the cocoa cups had been.  Super simple!

Setting the Table with Flair

The centerpiece for this simple setting consisted of fresh bougainvillea right from my garden and store-bought white roses.

I added one white rose to each of the place settings.

Each place setting included a beaded red charger, white hemstitched plate, ruby cup and saucer, and a demitasse fork and spoon.

A white cake stand was used for sweet pre-dinner noshes. 

You cannot go wrong with chocolates, strawberries and cheese (in this case, it was Babybel)!

A romantic setting for two.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Until next we meet,

--Y

From my collection:

Red chargers, Generic

White hemstitched plates, Ralph Lauren Whipstitch Collection

Ruby red cups and saucers, Anchor Hocking Royal Ruby Red Collection

Demitasse forks and spoons, Wallace Silversmiths Antique Baroque Collection

Cake stand, Ralph Lauren Pavillion Collection

Linen, Generic, from HomeGoods

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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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,

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 

Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

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Set Your Table With Flair--A Non-Traditional Valentine's Day

Hello, friends!!  Thank you so much for popping in for a visit.

When you celebrate and/or plan a Valentine's Day celebration, do you dream in red

or in pink?





When I went about setting tables for past Valentine's Day celebrations, that certainly was the case.

Most of the tables I have set were very literal interpretations.  An abundance of hearts, red, pink, et cetera were included in the settings.  This Valentine's Day however, I wanted to play up the romance of the evening without being too cliché or kitschy.

For me, a sweet setting,

featuring uncomplicated linen,

beautiful china,

and aromatic florals that are just beginning to wilt contribute to the allure of the evening.  It creates an ambiance that is beguiling (spellbinding, but no hearts or cupid's arrows at this setting!), intimate, and magical.

A shot as the sun began to set...romance is in the air!

A table for two al fresco in the cool of the early-to-mid evening set to candlelight is just right for lovers.

Happy Valentines’ Day!

Until next time,

--Y



From my collection:

White ruffled linen tablecloth, Colorbird French Vintage Collection, from Amazon

Stemware, all, generic

White dinner plates, Ralph Lauren Club Collection

Salad plates, Ralph Lauren Intaglio Collection

Forks, Reed & Barton Silversmiths, 1914 Poppy Collection, antique

Spoons, Fairfield Plate 1913 and Rogers Brothers 1847 A1, both antique




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. 

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Thank you for stopping by! ❤

Set Your Table With Flair--Simple Romantic Tea for Two

Valentine's Day is for lovers.

A lazy day spent under covers.

A bit of romance,

Ne'er left to happenstance...

Yet it can be uncomplicated too,

A sweet bit to nosh,

either simple or posh,

and a quiet stolen moment for two.

From my collection:

Teapot, Ascot Sheffield 

Creamer and sugar, W. M. Rogers

Ruby Teacups, Local Vintage

White plates, Ralph Lauren Whipstitch Collection

Rose saucers, Generic

Crochet-edge tea towels, Boutross Fine Linens, Horchow/Neiman Marcus

Cake plate, Ralph Lauren Pavilion 

Silver rose napkin holders, Local thrift 

Table topper, fabric, Morex Enterprises Inc. C. Patt Local Vintage 

If you would like to view all the details of my decadent dark chocolate raspberry lovers' cake, you may do so by visiting the post on my blog Parsimonious Pabulum by clicking here.

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! ❤