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Love is in the air! Whether you’re celebrating this day of hearts with a special someone or using this opportunity to show a friend or family member just how much they mean to you, doesn’t it always seems harder to express ourselves than it truly is? A simple card is a classic gesture, but if you’re like me and want to do a little more…here are a few ideas to help you get you started, but remember… these gestures of affection can be shared any time of year.

Photo courtesy of Fancy Flours

Home baked goodness:  Do you have a cookie monster in your life? Bake them up a box of vintage valentine postcard cookies made with edible wafer paper. There’s nothing sweeter than a gift from the oven!

Photo courtesy of Bakery Nouveau

Dessert to go:  If baking isn’t your forté, leave it to the experts and simply scoop up a sticky dessert for your honey bun. Stop by Bakery Nouveau, one of the best bakeries in town, and order the St. Valentine – a St. Honoré style dessert pairing the flavors of raspberry and vanilla. OR…try the Macaroon for Two – it’s filled with chocolate mousse and topped with fresh fruit.

Photo courtesy of Yedi Housewares

A charming gift:  All sweet things aside, it would be just as lovely to sip your morning tea or coffee in a colorful heart shaped cup and saucer from the Inside Out Hearts collection by Yedi Housewares. I couldn’t pick just one!

Photo courtesy of marthastewart.com

A playful activity:  Staying in with a fun activity can be just as touching and memorable as an expensive night out. This simple crayon heart project by marthastewart.com requires very little materials (think of all those broken crayons that can be rescued!) with stunning results. Hang these hearts from a fixture over your dining table, a hanging chandelier or a brightly lit window. No one says that you have to take them down after Valentine’s Day, either!

Photo courtesy of Auberge Edge

The weekend getaway:  Surprise your loved one with a retreat in the Woodinville wine country at the Auberge Edge, a secluded four-suite inn that offers French cooking classes, garden tours and Thursday afternoon tea parties among the list of accommodations that has guests proclaiming this hidden gem as the most romantic hotel in Seattle. Plant the seed now and someone might be taking YOU there!

sweetly, rosanna

I love how a single flickering tealight can set the “mood” and I love them even more in clusters, but what I love most of all is when their design is clever – the opposite of predictable. Enter the “Tilt” tealight – my newest crush!

Tilt tealight by Crate & Barrel

At $3.95, I will be stocking up on these beauties – just don’t tell the B Man (my husband) because he operates on this ratio system (he’s so….practical) that for every decor item gained in my personal entertaining collection, we must get rid of one said item. Whaaaat!?  This shakes me at my core because I am a collector of beautiful things such as these tealights that I must possess. So let’s not tell.

Tealights are not just for candles. Cradle a small bloom or air plant with this tealight for an elegant accent to a tabletop design or fill it with felted river rocks for a special hostess gift.

I can’t wait to integrate a little tilt into our client’s tabletop designs!

How would you use the tilt? Share with us!

Sweetly, rosanna

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