Here's a late Valentine's post; right after Valentine's Day our whole house got hit with the flu and I'm still recovering. But Valentine's Day was extra special this year, and I wanted to post some photos.
I have memories growing up of Valentine's Day dinners my mom made for our whole family - she would cook something special and give my brothers and I all a little gift, and I like to do the same for my family. Since my son is single and my daughter is in high school, why not make the day special for all of us? Besides, the last thing I want to do on Valentine's Day is go out to a crowded restaurant. I like the idea much better of sharing the love!
Since Valentine's Day was on a Saturday this year, I thought I would do a nice brunch, and I wanted to invite a special friend over too. Since I was inviting my friend Karen (who happens to be single), I also invited Greg's sister Linda (who happens to be single too). I really wanted to do something special for them.
And it was! Here are a few photos of the table, with all my favorite things:
One of my goals is to learn and improve my flower arranging skills.
I thought the flowers turned out beautiful on the table.
I set the table with old transferware dishes that belonged to my great-grandparents.
I love having an occasion to use them.
I also used the silver my grandmother gave me as a wedding gift.
My daughter Juli made the napkins into hearts.
I had a transferware compote that was not as tall that I wanted to arrange the flowers in. I've never put them in a compote before, and I bought the wrong kind of floral foam (it was too hard) so it didn't work.
This vase was Plan B.
But I bought five different flower bunches and I thought they all combined together beautifully.
I didn't want to use traditional red.
I bought two glass vases at Goodwill and asked Juli (who is very artistic) to paint them for me.I put some of the flowers I bought in each of the vases, and we gave them to Karen and Linda to take home.
This fruit trifle was angel food cake, vanilla pudding, fruit and whipped cream.
Greg with my good friend Karen who lives in our neighborhood.We met because she's a crazy plant person like me...she has giant pots of tropical flowers (I mean 8' tall Birds of Paradise) that she hauls in and out of her garage every spring and fall to decorate the front of her house. She's had some of these plants almost 30 years and they are almost too tall to fit in her garage (did I say she was a crazy plant lady?).
Who wouldn't love a woman like that?!
It was a family effort: my son vacuumed the floor while my daughter helped me make the food.
It's wonderful having competent help!
It was a beautiful Valentine's brunch, filled with special people.On Sunday the 15th my husband and I went to dinner and a movie.
No crowded restaurant!
Oh, and did I mention that for my birthday last year Karen gave me one of her Bird of Paradise's babies? She had a division of her original that she had put in a pot; its now about five feet tall. And now it's mine!
She knew who would cherish it!
It's funny sometimes the bonds that connect us together, isn't it? 💕
