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Valentine’s Tablescape

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Do you celebrate Valentine’s Day? If you plan to set the table for the occasion, here is a simple but adorable inspiration for V-day. I’ve linked most of the things I have used on this table and similar ones. Check the end of the post for info.

When I went into Citarella, these hot pink flowers spoke to me, and I couldn’t get my eyes off them. I was in love with this shade of pink, and I knew they were the ones. I then decided to go with the blue-pink color combination for my valentine’s day tablescape.

I used a blue patterned tablecloth from Julia Amory; she has a beautiful selection of table linens. When using an impactful tablecloth, I keep all other elements clean and simple; there is no need for too many flowers or decor. A patterned tablecloth can be very impactful and transform any table decor.

For the plates, I selected Juliska’s Berry & Thread French Panel Collection dinner and salad plates. I love this design and the off-white color; they are versatile and can be used on many occasions.

I picked napkins that were clean and simple, these blush linen ones from Pottery Barn coordinated nicely with the blue patterned tablecloth.
Candles!! They make any setting cozier and more intimate. I love them! These candlesticks are from Crate and Barrel and are always a show stopper. Small blue bud vases as a final touch decor.
Valentine’s Day is not complete without chocolate!! I added Godiva heart-shaped dark chocolate to every setting. A little something sweet to make V-Day more special.

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Savory and Sweet Valentine’s Day Board

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Valentine’s Day is coming up in a few weeks! Whether you are celebrating with your significant other, kids, family, girlfriends, or by yourself, here is a cheese board inspiration. Perfect for a gathering or a night in!!

Start with the board! We love a white cheeseboard for the occasion; they look more feminine and make the strawberries and macarons pop. This one is a pottery charcuterie platter from Dresden & Company and is about 14″ wide. You can find a similar one here and more on the bottom of the page under “Shop The Post.”

Next comes the cheeses!! For this board, we selected Manchego, Brie, St. Agur Blue Cheese, and heart-shaped Swiss Cheese (this one was mainly for decoration purposes). However, feel free to choose your and your guests’ favorites -the sky is the limit!! For most people, due to the wide variety, selecting cheese can be a little overwhelming. We sliced the manchego to give more dimension to the board and kept the brie and blue cheese in their original form. For the heart-shaped swiss, use a mini cookie cutter (1.5″) to cut through it (we used the regular sliced swiss cheese).

Crackers!! We love the original crisps from 34 Crisps. They are so thin yet so crunchy and pair so well with so many different types of cheese. Plus, as a bonus, they are lower in calories than most crackers. The other must-have crackers that we always have on our boards are the Lesley Stowe ones. They are so savory and look beautiful! They have a variety of flavors, and they are all so delicious. Both brands you can find at most grocery stores.

Condiment! We kept this board simple and only added honey. Is there anything better than a small bite of brie on a cracker and topped with honey? It’s so simple but so tasty! One of my favorite combinations.

Fruits! Strawberries are the most “Valentiney” fruit; don’t you agree!? We couldn’t leave them out. They pair so well with the brie and honey.

Nuts! We are absolutely obsessed with truffled almond nuts. They are divine and one of those foods that you can’t stop eating. We also love how their color complements the board’s color scheme.

Sweets! After all, it is a savory and sweet board, and it is a valentine-inspired cheeseboard. To me, macaroons are a good idea, anytime, anywhere, and at any season. They are one of my favorite desserts. I also love their shape and the different colors available. Valentines is not complete without chocolate!! These Godiva heart-shaped ones are the perfect addition to the board.

Lastly, garnish with rosemary for a little pop of green!! So easy and super quick to put together! Happy Valentine’s Day! Lots of love!!!

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Tablescape

Galentine’s Day Party

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You and your friends deserve a few hours of fun, right?? This February 13th, make your closest friends feel special by throwing a Galentine’s Day party!!! This informal soiree should be casual and stress-free. The trick is to prepare everything beforehand and keep it low-key. The point is to have fun and relax!!!!

1- Decor and set-up:

Don’t stress over every detail! There is no need to re-create a florist flower arrangement; just get a few flower stems at the grocery store and put them in a vase. This will be enough décor for your get-together.

Parties always end in the kitchen, right? So, let’s start there too!! Set-up the food and drinks on your kitchen island. Don’t have one? A kitchen table can fill in as an alternative, or you can bring the party to your living room and set the food up on the coffee table.

2- Food:

Don’t make things complicated! This event is more about socializing than trying to show all your cooking skills (we are sure you have lots….but save it for another gathering). Take advantage of the great selection of cheese, meat, nuts, and dips at grocery stores and create a charcuterie board. Better to focus on finger food that doesn’t require utensils.

If you still feel like creating something that looks fancier but requires just a few steps, you can try our Goat Cheese Balls, and why not a Mediterranean Quinoa Salad. They take a minute (ok…maybe a few minutes) to make, and your friends will love it.

For the sweet eaters, you can buy a pre-made dessert or make some of our favorite desserts:

They are all very easy to prepare and require zero cooking skills!!!!

3- Drink

Water, white wine, red wine, and champagne should be enough! Leave it on a big bucket full of ice so the guests will feel comfortable helping themselves. But if you want to go a little bit over, have vodka, rum tequila, and a couple of fruits and let the girls create their own drinks.

4- Vibe

This event should be a release of all the stress from your busy lives. Have some music playing in the background for an ambiance. In the end, this get-together is meant not only for your guests to relax and have fun, but you also deserve it.

Recipes

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

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This Mediterranean quinoa salad makes for a quick lunch or dinner, and it can be served as a side dish or enjoyed as a meal on its own. This salad also keeps well if you make it ahead of time, so it’s a great recipe for when you are entertaining, so you can prepare ahead of time

What’s in this salad?

Quinoa – The protein-packed quinoa brings a nice texture and is the “heart” of this salad.
Turmeric and curry – These two spices are easily accessible, packed with tons of flavor, and full of health benefits.
Feta cheese – The feta’s creamy texture and salty taste will bring this salad to a whole new level.
Black olives – You can skip it if you are not big on olives. We love it, so we always add it to this salad.
Mint – In our opinion, mint is a MUST in this salad.
Tomatoes and cucumbers – they will give a nice texture and crunch to the salad
Olive oil, salt, and pepper

Some tips:

Cook the quinoa ahead of time and let it cool completely before tossing the salad together.
Adding the turmeric and curry to the water before you cook the quinoa will give that yellow tone to the dish.
We prefer adding olive oil, salt, and pepper as the dressing, as the turmeric and quinoa will already give lots of flavor to this salad. If you prefer using a more elaborate sauce, you can use an Italian dressing.

Try this recipe and let us know what you think!!

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

This Mediterranean quinoa salad makes for a quick lunch or dinner, and it can be served as a side dish or enjoyed as a meal on its own.

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Prep Time 20 mins

1 hr

Total Time 1 hr 20 mins

Course Salad

Cuisine Mediterranean

Servings 6

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 cup crumbled feta
1/4 cup black olives, pitted and sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 cup sliced cucumbers
1/4 cup fresh mint
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Add the turmeric and curry in the water and cook quinoa according to package directions. The spices will give that yellow tone to the dish.
Let the quinoa cool completely.
Add feta cheese, black olives, mint, tomato, and cucumber.
Add salt, pepper, and olive oil.

Recipes

Liquid Alfajor

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Have you ever tried or heard about alfajores? If you have never tried them, you are missing out! They are delicate dulce de leche sandwich cookies that are very popular in South America. They are incredibly delicious, rich, and melt in your mouth.

As we like effortless recipes, we have twisted this classic cookie and created the liquid alfajor. It combines the dulce de leche and shortbread cookie and doesn’t require any baking.

Dulce de leche is decadent, smooth, and rich! If you are not familiar with this confection, they can be bought in cans and are most commonly found in your local store’s baking aisle. All the other items, we bet you are very familiar with.

Ingredients:
– 11 oz dulce de leche
– 11 oz heavy cream
– 6 oz butter cookie or shortbread cookie
– 8oz bittersweet chocolate – grated
– Mint leaves to garnish

How to:

Combine the dulce de leche and heavy cream and bring to a simmer for 3 min. Let it cool and pour the cream into a glass or a bowl;
Crush the cookies into fine crumbs;
Add the cookies crumbs on top of the cream;
Add the grated chocolate and refrigerate;
Décor with mint leaves.

You won’t regret trying this recipe. It is simply divine, quick, and a good choice to serve as a dessert. Irresistible!

Liquid Alfajor

Liquid Alfajor is a dessert that combines dulce de leche, chocolate, and shortbread cookies. It's so decadent, smooth, and rich

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 mins

Resting time 1 hr

Total Time 1 hr 10 mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine South America

Servings 6

Ingredients

11 oz dulce de leche
11 oz heavy cream
6 oz butter cookie or shortbread cookie
8 oz bittersweet chocolate – grated
mint leaves to garnish

Instructions

Combine the dulce de leche and heavy cream and bring to a simmer for 3 min. Let it cool and pour the cream into a glass or a bowl;
Crush the cookies into fine crumbs;
Add the cookies crumbs on top of the cream;
Add the grated chocolate and refrigerate for about an hour;
Décor with mint leaves.

Recipes

Goat Cheese Balls

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These goat cheese balls taste decadent and are so simple to make!!! They are a great last-minute appetizer and a flavorful addition to any party spread.

This recipe calls for dates or grapes. Both are great, but we personally prefer the ones with dates. The natural sweetness of the dates paired with the tart flavor of goat cheese is so tasty.

Here is what you need:

Goat cheese
Dates or grapes
Crushed pistachios or almonds

How-to:
– Cut the dates in half;
– Wrap the dates with goat cheese and make small balls;
– Cover the balls with crushed pistachio or almonds;

Enjoy!!!!

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Flower Arrangement

Green and White Flower Arrangement

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Flower Arranging can be a little overwhelming for most people, especially if you mix different types of flowers and colors. This one is though super simple and easy to follow. We used small white ivory hydrangeas, ivory roses, and green hypericum berries, all of which can be found year-round.

The first step is to fill the vases with room temperature water; add warm water if the flower buds are tight and you want to help them open up faster. Don’t forget to add flower food to your vase water (they usually come with the flowers when you purchase them at grocery stores)! It will help slow down bacterial growth.

When trimming the stems, make sure to do it at an angle. Doing this ensures that the flowers will absorb plenty of water and nutrients. Remove all the leaves from the stems, make sure there are no leaves below the waterline. Start with the roses, slowly and gently, remove the guard petals that are wilted and/or have black edges.

Next, if you want the blooms to open up, gently blow onto them. Place three roses in the vase.

Next comes the green berries; place one on each side of the roses (don’t forget to remove all the leaves from the stem). Hypericum Berries make great fillers to any arrangement, and they also give texture and volume.
The following step is to add the hydrangeas to each side of the berries. Keep repeating this pattern until you have filled your entire vase. Refer to the video below. Happy Arranging!

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Tablescape

Elegant table décor for the Holiday Season

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Creating a stylish table setting for family and friends is probably one of our favorite things to do during the holiday season. Whether you are hosting a holiday dinner or hosting just you and your immediate family, don’t overlook your dinner table. A beautiful table setting will set the ambiance of the evening.

The elegant mix of orange, green, and deep purple was our color choice. It’s a beautiful color palette that adds sophistication to the décor. We selected cream and green dinnerware for an extra charm to the table. If you don’t have dinnerware with green accents, don’t worry! This table would have looked as beautiful if we had used white plain plates.

To enhance the appearance of your Holiday table, don’t forget the candles! While white or ivory taper candles are always a classic choice, we also love to add colorful candles on the table for an easy way to add a pop of color. We chose the warm amber taper candles for this setting to bring a glow and coziness to the table.

One tip is to consider using unscented or lightly scented candles when adding them to your table. The objective here is to create ambiance and not fragrance. You don’t want the candles to overpower the aroma from the meal.

The centerpiece is filled with roses, waxflowers, safari sunset, hypericum, alstroemeria, poms, and mini calla-lilies. If you don’t master a flower arrangement, you can simply combine alstroemerias and roses or even select just one flower. All you have to do is cut all the stems at the same height and add to a glass container. A brass bowl of clementines would also be a great option in this setting. Do what works for you and with what you have at home!

The clementines and the calla lilies brought a pop of color to each set!

The most important tip to create your table décor is to remember that the table set doesn’t have to be over the top to make a statement. Set the table with care, and your family and friends will certainly feel the love! Happy Holidays!

Tablescape

Warm and Cozy Thanksgiving table

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This Thanksgiving set a simple, yet a warm and cozy table that celebrates great food and amazing company!

From simple styling to more elaborate looks, there’s always a way to make your table feel festive. No matter the style you choose, setting the table for Thanksgiving should be pleasant and not be difficult to achieve.

This table layer rustic elements for a look that’s cozy and inviting. Glints of copper paired with the wicker placemats created the scene. Here are some elements we added to create this rustic and elegant style:

Wicker chargers: rich in texture, the wicker charger adds a welcoming and rustic feel.
Traditional turkey motifs dinnerware: To add some festive feelings to the table, we added a traditional turkey motif dinnerware. These gorgeous plates certainly set a warm atmosphere for a traditional dinner.

Lanterns: lanterns centerpiece can add charm and elegance to any space. Choose small lanterns that are not too big to make it difficult for guests to talk across the table. If you want to add larger lanterns, make sure to place them on the side of the table, like we did here. In decorating, the rule of 3 is the golden rule, so to create a balance, we paired three lanterns on each side
Pumpkins: Complete the look with autumnal elements. The pumpkins with succulents on the side bring natural beauty to the table without crowding the setting.

Napkins and Place card: The napkins serve double-duty as elegant placeholders. We ditched the napkin rings for a more personal and creative way to dress up the napkin. We inserted greenery with a tied place card into a pocket folded napkin.

The food: Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that revolves around food, so we reserved the center of the table for the “Hero of the night!”. A large wood board decorated with roasted garlic, oranges, persimmons, dried apricot holds Turkey. You can find here for more details on how to decorate your turkey platter. The sides were served on the lovely mini copper pans.

If you like this setting, you can use this table décor as a jumping off point for you to create a table that’s uniquely YOURS. Happy Holidays!

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Macy’s Black Friday Deals

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We have selected some of the best Black Friday deals at Macy’s. We will update this page as we see more exciting items. Most of these items we own!

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