Thinking February~♥ ♥ ♥

I am happy to see January end, one month closer to the start of Daylight Savings Time.  I can stay out longer! :)

I found this Thursday in the WS Outlet.  I have many cake stands, but not a rectangular shaped one.



It was originally 69.00, in clearance for 20, but I had a 20 off coupon, so $15.00.  I can't wait to bake a cake and use it.  Very weighty aluminum.

Anyone planning a dinner party for ♥ Day?

It is pretty empty around here in winter, most of my local friends head to FL for the winter.

I think I will see who is still around and do a dinner party.  We'll see!

I love planning!  I am bugging Alma to start planning her son's graduation party!  She'll have none of it though.

I, on the other hand, have sheets of notes on thoughts for my gson's first birthday.  He is the only one of 5 born in a summer month, so I will have it here. 

So what will I do for ♥ day?

We could start with this very easy appetizer, served on heart plates.
 I have a ton of them, I bought them to use for favors for an engagement party, but we went with something different.



I could serve part of the dinner in a heart shaped ramekin from Pfaltzgraff as I have plenty of those.

  Maybe a heart shaped apple tart as one of the desserts?


Definitely some Linzer Tarts...

And some heart shaped cookies as take homes?



I must not forget to make the Feta cheese lips for the salad!



They already think I am crazy, so this will confirm it!

Then there's the table.  Do I do pink...



or red?



That will depend on the number, I don't have 12 of everything! Now if only The Tablescaper lived nearby! :)



But what ever I decide, I'll be sure to do it with love,


MMMMMwah!

Thanks for listening to my ramblings!

Have a wonderful Sunday.

Joining The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday.

SNOW~WINTER Table Challenge~ Let's Dish

Welcome to Let's Dish #45.  Tonight is the SNOW~WINTER Challenge.

Please link only those tables that follow the theme this week.

You can see the table used in the header here.

There won't be any challenge for February or March as we have Super Bowl,  Valentine's,  Chinese New Year, Mardi Gras, ST. PATRICK'S DAY, and Easter. So many tables!

Suggestions for April are welcome, last year we did The Good Earth, so let's try to think of something different.

Mother Nature must have heard about the challenge, we got  a little snow and it is 15 degrees!


Many of us have these from the Dollar Tree .  I used it to wrap a bowl for the centerpiece.
I had a silver wreath that has seen better days, so I broke some branches off, put battery operated lights underneath , and filled in with dried Baby's Breath.
I used one of the mirrored chargers underneath.

The lights give off a nice wintery glow.

My tip for Stone Gable's TTT, keep those battery operated lights out after Christmas, good to use in centerpieces all winter.


  Pale aqua tablecloth, made from soda bottles, from BBB.  I got it the other day in the clearance, $7.98 and 90 in.
Very soft, and stain resistant.


Flatware is Calypso, by Towle from CTS.

  Looks like little snow balls. :) It was about half the price that is was in Pier One.  Never pay full price.  :)


Mirrored charger by Jay, aqua paisley plates from HG, with a white trimmed in silver plate underneath.

Napkin rings from Dansk, sleighs by Gorham.


Silver snowflake name card holders from Pottery Barn Outlet, silver trimmed stems, from my mom, shower gift, 42 years ago!

So take your pick, this or a true snow scape table!  Snow themed spatulas, clearance, WS Outlet, .92.  Good for flipping snowballs!


Some Snowman Soup before you go?  Just slide that whipped cream from the rim right in, and start slurping!  Hot chocolate is good, from a bowl, or a mug.  :)

Moving on, next week...Mardi Gras or Valentine's?

The Holidays for Tablescapers are bunched close together this year.

Thanks for stopping by!

Don't forget to put a link back to Let's Dish so others can come visit the entries, if you link up.  I had to delete 2 last week. 

Your turn!

No word ID, one link, BLOG NAME FIRST,

 unlimited letters to describe your post, so please put the blog name first.  It helps others to get to know your blog.

Of course, leaving a comment is a good thing, I love hearing from you!

Thanks for visiting so many of the entries.  Last week the highest was 70 and the late entries got around 20!

I am joining Diann for Thrifty Things Fri, Susan for TT, Gollum for Foodie Friday, and Yvonne for T, T and T.
That is if I remember to link up!
Those of you experiencing this frigid weather, stay warm and safe!



Bargain Hunting with Laurie is hosting a ♥ Party on Feb.  11th.  Do join in, it is always fun!

Don't You Just LOOOVE a Bargain?

I know many of you have shopped the after holiday clearance sales and found some great things!

I ventured out last Tues. with Alma for a little bargain hunting.

Where did we go?  Christmas Tree Shop, of course!

It is over an hour for me, so I have to make it worthwhile
.
I already showed you the extreme bargain  tablecloth I got for .98. More here

http://www.cuisinekathleen.com/2013/01/mid-january-red-and-black-let-dish.html



We picked and hunted our way through the place!


Please excuse my pics, my dining room does not get much light, I have no windows, just a French door.



A pretty red with white embroidered tablecloth...2.50  Wintery, so it can be used for awhile.

"Thanksgiving" by Churchill....FORTY CENTS!



Friendly Village by Johnson Bros. 1.00


Johnson Bros. Blue Fern....salad .50  Dinner 1.99

The pretty pale aqua tablecloth under it is from BBB and it was marked down, and with my coupon came to 7.99 .
90 in round

It goes great with the dishes.



The blue cotton napkins were 8 for 1.24 and they go well with the Blue Fern plates too!  Here I have them paired with a plaid cloth.  Blue, red, green and white.

Not just for Cmas, as I will be using it for Tartan Day, whenever that is!  I think it is April.


2 of these covered casseroles @ 3.49.  They will be hostess gifts at Easter.


Pretty pale pink napkins  @ .60 ea  BBB

Spatulas to save for next Cmas, .42.  Cute to stick in as a little extra with a hostess gift, or a take home for a luncheon.

Gingerbread embroidered placemats, .20


All the tablecloths were either 2.00 or 2.50


Many of them will be gifted.

Blue and tan tonal striped napkins 1.99 for 4
Bell place card holders .50

Already thinking of a ♥ scape for the pink plaid, and then of course later for Easter...which is Mar. 30 this year!

The peppermint striped plates were .25

Gearing up for ST. PAT's, some shamrock clothespins, .44, and green napkin rings .49



I loved these embroidered towels 1.29!  I got the last of them, I hope they get more, as they are great as napkins.

Plus, we had a 10% off 50.00, so we did well.

I have been looking for a Popcorn maker for my gkids, and my friend Pam, who is not a blogger, but reads many of the blogs in my sidebar, picked this up for me in CVS



15.00.  I will try it out, and if it isn't easy to clean, it will go back!  Thanks, Pam!

There's more, but Alma is posting this trip too, and she has some of the same things I showed you, but some different too.  Be sure to stop over at The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays to see her Bargain Bonanza Post!  She will take hers out of the pkg so you get a better look, lol, I didn't!

Laurie at Bargain Hunting with Laurie will be doing her annual Valentine's Party on Feb. 11th.  Always a fun party, mark your calendar! 

And of course, please remember the

♣♣ 5th Annual St. Patrick's Day Blog Crawl on March 13th.♣♣

Thanks for stopping by, and  the WINTER Tablecape challenge is this Wed.
Have a wonderful Sunday!

Mid-January Red and Black~ Let's Dish!

January blahs...what to do?  Too soon for Valentine's Day!

The photo in my header is from Jan. 2011.

You can see the details here. It was the first time I made the rose cupcakes, and the directions are linked.
They are on the green footed plate in the top right of the picture.

I don't want you to think I am jumping to St. Patrick's Day, although I have been thinking about the 5th Annual Blog Crawl!

Next week is the SNOW~ICE~WINTER CHALLENGE, so I didn't want to do something on that theme.
 
I bought this red and black check tablecloth at Kohls before Cmas, and this flatware from World Market.  I hadn't used it yet, so today was the day.  Very dreary, cold and rainy,  but we escaped the snow that many of you got.


Red and black checked tablecloth, black place mat, red square plate, white salad, and red covered bowl.

The red square plates I have used a lot, and they are by Pfaltzgraff, they were 1.00 in one of their on line sales.  I have them in yellow too.



The flatware is from World Market, as are the little red covered bowls.


Short black glasses hold votives, they are from $ Tree.

Black napkins with some dried baby's breath tucked in.

Black goblet from Pier One, and black footed ribbed glass from Pfaltzgraff, both several years ago.
 
The centerpiece is my Lion's Head Tureen from WS Outlet, filled with hydrangea, sprayed black and some baby's breath .

My tip for Yvonne's TTT is to dry your hydrangea and spray them any color you want.  I have done gold and silver for Christmas centerpieces, and red for patriotic holidays.

I didn't make anything new this week, so I will show something for ♥ day from the past.


These are small heart shaped cakes.  Use a cookie cutter to cut out part of the cake. Dust with confectionery sugar. Fill with cherry pie filling.
 You could be really decadent and dip the cake in chocolate before you fill it!

Eat the part you cut out, you deserve it!  :)


The Tablescaper and I went bargain hunting at CTS yesterday.  We did well!

How about this 60x84 Nordic looking tablecloth.  The snowshoes and skis are embroidered.

I think Debbie at Mountain Breaths
would like it!
It was a whopping .98!  I'll show some more of the bargains we found in this weekend's post.

Now let's see what you were up to this week!

The details...
One table related link, no word id, and a link back to this post, PLEASE. If there is no link back, your entry will be deleted.

BLOG NAME FIRST, you have unlimited letters to describe your entry.

A comment is always appreciated, and I know so many of you make a great effort to visit the entries.

If you don't have time to visit some of the others, I would rather you not link up.

One of the biggest complaints I hear about parties is that bloggers take the time to link up and visit, but they don't get many return visits.  I know that is not the case here.

Thank you for understanding.

Thanks for stopping by, and see you this weekend for Bargain Show and Tell!  :)

READY, SET, GO!
I am joining Susan for Tablescape Thurs.,
Diann for Thrifty Things Fri
Gollum for Foodie Friday