Disclaimer: when I packed to go to the hospital to deliver my babies, I always included a yard of pink grosgrain ribbon as well as a yard of blue, along with scissors and thread. The pink ribbon never got used. If you’ve been reading my blog you know I enjoy being a domestic diva. Yet I live with 4 guys and even my cat is a male! No pink in this house!
Yet come Valentines’ Day, I gather all things with pinks, reds, frills and hearts and set a decidedly very feminine breakfast table with a mushy hand-made valentine at each of my sons’ places. 
Can you just imagine this motley crew surrounded in pink fine china????
I think the boys secretly enjoyed the fuss and being smothered with affection. I chose breakfast because it was a meal where I was sure to catch them all at home. They even got up early to all have time for this special breakfast!
An easy breakfast is to create edible décor with fruit in a heart -shaped dish
and cut a waffle or pancake free-hand into a heart shape then topping it with red berries. Waffles can be made ahead, cut, frozen and reheated so there is no mad rush at breakfast.
What was important was the heart to heart conversation around the table, having teenagers give each other and their parents undivided attention and simply connecting. Making the table a treat for their eyes and their heart is something I hope they will remember from their childhood. I firmly believe it played a role in helping them become sensitive, caring men.
Here is how I set a Valentine Breakfast table:
The table linens were their great grandmother’s vintage linens. The white plates are everyday china, the floral pink china, from a local antique shop. The heart shaped bowls were found in the dollar bins at Target. Their orange juice was served in champagne flutes. A basket of pink colanchos completes the table.
And those pink ribbons……..? Long forgotten. Couldn’t love these boys more than I do!
“And she loved a little boy very, very much, even more than she loved herself” Shel Silverstein, The Giving Tree
French Gardener Dishes 