“There is only one happiness in life: to love and be loved.” Georges Sand
This little Valentine’s welcome at the front entrance comes straight from the heart. A heart wreath flanked by planters decorated with dangling red hearts is a charming and sweet welcome for February. 
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Shopping for flowers the week after Valentine’s Day might not have been the best decision. I set out to find a big bunch of tulips to fill the Alice Goldsmith ceramic pitcher I had coveted and which my own true love had surprised me with. The tulips were picked over. The roses too. Then I spotted them~these dusty lavender and green roses that everyone else had left behind. “Perfect for Halloween,” said one woman. “Could I use them for funeral luncheon arrangements?” queried another. “Weird,” pronounced another. I had never entertained so much conversation in front of supermarket flowers. But those roses made my heart skip a beat. They were modern in a charming old fashioned way with their faded coloration. They reminded me of roses ones sees in fashionable Paris florists’ ateliers. Of course I brought 2 dozen home. Continue reading
When my sons were still at home, I would break out all things pink and set syrupy-sweet Valentine’s Day tables complete homemade cards and heart-shaped foods. Being the only female in this household(even the cat is male!), I had to have one day a year of pink feminine touches! You can read about one of those pretty-in-pink-breakfast tables here. The boys have grown into men and have all flown the coop now but I still had to send them some Valentine love, wrapped in, you guessed it, pink. Snickers is one of America’s most popular candy bar and a favorite of my sons. How good would cookies chock full of melted Snickers be? Really good! To fancy them up, I finished the cookies with a drizzle of melted chocolate. They were soft with just the right crumbly texture. And in every bite, the sheer deliciousness of caramel, chocolate and peanut combination that makes Snickers so famous and beloved.
I love anything lemon but especially can’t resist lemony sweets. In the heart of winter, lemony flavors whisper spring is around the corner and really lift the spirits. In this interesting cornmeal shortbread cookie, sweet meets savory. The lemon is paired beautifully with thyme in a very flaky shortbread dough sweetened with honey. Cut them in fun shapes. Perfect with a cup of tea. If life gives you lemons, make lemon~thyme shortbreads! 
“A man is not where he lives, but where he loves.” Latin Proverb
February is a big month in our household with Valentine’s Day, our wedding anniversary and my birthday. With winter setting in, I like to brighten the entrance for the month of February with a Valentines theme. This year I recycled my holiday decor and transformed it with a few simple tweaks to celebrate the month of love.
“The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.” David Bowie
I find a lot of the ready-made Valentines Day decorations are too corny or overdone so I like to create my own. The holiday urns had been done up in silver, flocked and red twig branches with red winter berry wreaths. I left these in place, removed the silver Christmas balls in the arrangment(you can see the original urns here) and hung heart shaped ornaments throughout the branches. Simple, restrained yet not too frilly. I live in a household of all men, including the cat! I really like the subtle sparkle from the glitter branches in the winter light. Don’t have red twig dogwood? Simply paint any branches with red paint as I did here.
French Gardener Dishes 