It’s hard to believe that Valentine’s Day is just 3 weeks away. That’s right, THREE WEEKS PEOPLE! Meanwhile, the Internet is still obsessing over resolutions – mainly of the fitness and health food variety. Like, WHAT is this celery juice nonsense and when can decide we’ve had enough and move on to those delicious V-Day conversation hearts? Just kidding. Those are gross. Pretty, but gross. Kinda like Peeps. The Peeps peeps could pay me a million dollars and I still wouldn’t accept their sponsorship. Actually, I might sell my soul for a million dollars, so eating Peeps within the frame of my Cannon might not be entirely out of the question. I’m kidding, I won’t do that. I digress…
Back to Valentine’s Day. Some people love it, some people hate and others are completely indifferent. I am somewhere in between. I think it’s nice when couples celebrate, but I don’t find a burning desire to have a romantic night on the town with my husband come February 14th. Mainly because it’s freezing outside and when I get home from work in the winter months, I ain’t leavin’. So, a night binge watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel trumps an over priced holiday themed dinner. Romantic, I know. But I have to admit, I do love walking through the stores this time of year and looking at all the festive merch. Especially considering I live in Iowa, where it’s DRAB CITY this time of year. The magic of winter and all things snow is beginning to run it’s course and everyone starts getting cranky. When will this deep freeze officially end?
Moving on. Did you know that Valentine’s Day is also referred to as the Feast of Valentine? No matter your feelings on the holiday, I think we can all get behind the feast part, amiright? But Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to mean a romantic night out with your main squeeze. You can be festive in any way that works for your lifestyle. Perhaps that means a Galentine’s evening with your favorite gal pals, a festive dinner with your kiddos, or a dinner party with other couples. I do so love a good theme party. Celebrations like these also don’t have to cost a lot. Survey what you have and go from there. I like to buy items I know I can use on repeat.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Use what you have. I have been wanting to use these dishes for awhile. They were a gift from my grandma, so they have a special place in my heart. They are actually the inspiration for the V-Day tablescape. These dishes are very traditional, so I wanted the rest of the table to reflect that. Don’t have festive dishes? Don’t sweat it. Just use your everyday dishes!
Step #1: find a table runner. I have been getting by just fine using scarves for temporary runners over the holidays but I wanted one that would work year round. I found this guy at Tuesday Morning! If you have never been to Tuesday Morning, I highly recommend it! You can see in this tablescape, I used a scarf instead of an actual runner. Both work equally well.
Next stop? Hobby Lobby for these adorable scrabble letters and candles. Both on sale and seriously cheap. Bonus if you already have scrabble letters you can use! It is legit all about the details. The name cards? Hand made. Don’t get too bogged down in being perfect with things like name cards. They don’t have to be perfect to be pretty.
Would it even be a tablescape without a trip to Dollar Tree? I snagged these peppermint sticks and a couple of the small glass vases. Small drinking glasses work great too, but most of ours have labels on them and I wanted a couple on hand with a clean look to them. And, it’s the Dollar Tree…where everything is ONE DOLLAR.
Last stop? Target. Obviously. I snagged the flowers, the dessert stand and the napkins. Major score!
TO SUM IT ALL UP!
What I had from the start: all of the dishes and glasses, the big glass vase for flowers, two small glass vases, the candlesticks, the hazelnut sticks and the picture frame (I printed the saying and stuck it in the frame).
What I purchased: the runner ($9.99), scrabble letters ($3), candles ($3), peppermint sticks ($3), two small glass vases ($2), cake stand ($3 at Target dollar spot), napkins ($6 at Target dollar spot) and roses ($10).
And that’s a wrap on this week’s tablescape. May all of your Valentine’s Day wishes come true! XOXO
See ya on the next post.
-The Chic(ish) Chick
