The Lonely Hearts Club Valentine's Day Party!
On Valentine's Day my aunt had a small party for a few of her single family and friends, we dubbed it "The Lonely Hearts Club Valentine's Day Party!" It was a last minute idea, but it turned out so pretty…. My aunt can whip together a miracle in a moment's notice! She prepared a beautiful cheese platter with an assortment of berries, a big salad to go with the pizzas that we ordered, and some almond brownies too. I made a heart-shaped walnut brownie, and Strawberry and Red Velvet cookies - I talk more about making those sweets in this post. Anyway, we had a great time and yes, there was lots of red wine! ;)
I have some travel and garden posts coming up, including some huge travel announcements! This will be the last of the Valentine's posts, until next year... Enjoy!
Catherine
xoxo
Valentine's Day posts of the past:
The table was set beautifully! My aunt used the Ikat tablecloth that I picked out for my graduation party - for obvious color coordinating reasons.
These tulips looked unreal, in fact if it weren't for the fact that I've been to Amsterdam so many times and know what pristine tulips look like (perfection!), I would have thought these were fake...
I think this Vanilla Rum Cake came from the Fresh Market...
My favorite part of the entire table? The cheese and berry platter!
I'm pretty sure I've shared photos in the past of these adorable little sterling silver cheese markers… Sure, the mouse is cute, but it's the goat that has my heart! Just in case you're not a goat cheese lover (like me) and you don't know what that log rolled in pepper is, the goat is there to let you know...
Unfortunately, no cute little adornment for the Brie, but we love it all the same. Although, I've gotta admit I really don't care for cold brie, I prefer it melted with some honey and nuts, or melted on a pizza with caramelized onions and bacon!
The platter was so visually appealing, the cheese nestled among strawberries, raspberries and blackberries! It was so yummy, particularly the combination of peppered goat cheese and blackberries...
The platter was so visually appealing, the cheese nestled among strawberries, raspberries and blackberries! It was so yummy, particularly the combination of peppered goat cheese and blackberries...
Some of my leftover crafts from the Valentine's Day Goody Bags project made their way into the table-scape as well...
We ordered some pizzas and my aunt made an amazing salad!
After pizza and salad (and lots of red wine), we dug into dessert - starting with the cake...
I didn't have any (I'm not big on cake), but I heard it was moist and delicious...
More baked treats over on the sideboard...
See those pink and red cookies? They're made from cake mixes, and they come out perfect and really delicious! Check out my Valentine's Day Sweet Treats post for the recipe and other goodies that I made.
I made another heart shaped brownie, except I pressed chopped walnuts into the top. We cut the brownie up into piece for serving, so you can't tell that it was heart-shaped… :(
That goody bag is another leftover result of my Valentine's Day Teacher Goody Bags extravaganza! And my brownies weren't the only brownies at the party because my aunt made some delicious almond brownies using almond extract and slivered almonds pressed into the top...
Roses are far from my favorite flower, but they sure are sweet and pretty...
My mother's rose bush puts out such small dainty rose compared to these that you see everywhere… There are so many interesting variances in nature!
Sadly, these shots came out terrible, but anything and everything looks sexy under this chandelier! Every time we have a party, I crouch down low and take photos of the floral arrangement juxtaposed against the elegant glow of the antique chandelier (like in this post). This time around I was rushed, but you get the idea...
Valentine's Day posts of the past:
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