Before you bust my chops about posting 42 Valentine’s Day Decorations in Your Home the day after Valentine’s Day, let me explain. Valentine’s Day is over. Yes, it’s over. And, no, I didn’t miss it and yes, I spent the day with my loved ones (Charlie and Mom).
But because it’s over, it’s now time to start thinking about putting your Valentine’s Day decorations away until next year. What better time to take a quick inventory of your Valentine’s Day decorations than when you are packing them up to store until next year?
See, I’m not crazy as a loon {well maybe a little}!
When I started thinking about working on this post, I was in a cooking frenzy for Valentine’s Day. I was rifling through my kitchen, laundry room and storage area looking for anything and everything that was remotely Valentine’s Day related or heart-shaped. That’s when I discovered that I only had two true Valentine products in my house – a lone 3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter and a crystal heart-shaped platter!
After 40 years of living in my own homes, how could I possibly have only one heart-shaped cookie cutter and a crystal platter? Well, we lost our home in the 2007 Southern California wildfire, known as the Witch Fire. While firefighters did save a few of our belongings (I Love Firefighters!), we virtually started over again from scratch. So, since that fateful day in 2007, I’ve purchased only the one little heart-shaped cookie cutter and my aunt gave me the heart-shaped platter.
I’ve written a story about the loss of our home and the rebuilding process and if you missed it, you can find the series in our archives or start by clicking here: Any Way the Wind Blows.
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve used that little lonely heart-shaped cookie cutter over-and-over-and-over again and created several recipes:
- Sweetheart Pie Crust Cookies
- Sweetheart Cream Cheese Spread
- Sweetheart Maple and Sage Sausage Patties
- Sweetheart Watermelon and Arugula Salad
- Heart in the Hole
- Sweetheart Toasted Sausage Sammies
I’d say I got my money’s worth out of that little heart-shaped cookie cutter {grin}!
Plus, I created an Easy Valentine Candy and Cookie Buffet. Note to all my friends out there: no, you didn’t miss a party and no, I didn’t forget to invite you! Confession: I didn’t have a Valentine’s Day party – I just set the table to look like it while I was cooking all these recipes for the various posts! Maybe next year…
Note to the rest of the world: I’m blessed to have many friends and don’t want them to think they are unloved and left behind!
Anyway, since I discovered I only had one lonely heart-shaped cookie cutter, I went on a spending frenzy and bought a few more Valentine’s Day things. Here’s a picture:
The 3-inch cookie cutter used in all of this year’s recipes is in the bottom right of the photo above. The crystal heart-shaped platter is in the top left. All of the other things in this picture are new, expect the pretty pink heart picks, which were part of a bouquet of roses that Charlie gave to me last year.
The large red heart-shaped baking dish in the upper left plus the 4 smaller heart-shaped bowls I purchased at our local grocery store. Plus the gummy candies, the lollipops, heart-shaped pie press, cupcake wrappers and magazines came from the grocery store. The two sets of candy/cupcake wrappers on the right I bought at Michael’s.
The two sets of heart-shaped cookie cutters plus the egg/pancake heart-shaped form I bought through Amazon! I love Amazon! Next year’s Valentine’s Day posts will be even better!
This is a good time to talk about magazines as respects a household inventory list for insurance purposes. Even though magazines are available electronically these days, hard copy magazines are still a thriving business! Look around your home and see how many magazines you have lying around. Maybe you receive some of them monthly through a subscription service or maybe you buy them from your grocery store, drug store or book store.
In any event, you probably have more magazines then you realize! And, some of those magazines you may not throw out after your read them because they are specialty magazines, like cooking magazines, crafting magazines, sewing magazines, crocheting magazines, knitting magazines or for the man in your life, sports and hobby magazines.
Who knew you had so many magazines!
And, magazines are expensive. Some of those magazines cost $12.99! If you have lots of magazines, it’s easy to have a small fortune invested in them. And, if you ever have to create a list of household belongings for an insurance claim, don’t forget to include your magazines!
Anyway, here’s the list of 42 Valentine’s Day Decorations in Your Home and the FREE printable version is available at the end of this post:
- Valentine’s
- Tablecloths, runners, placemats
- Napkin, napkin rings
- Place cards, place card holders
- Candles, candleholders, lanterns
- Vases, centerpieces, decorative containers
- Wreaths, swags, door hangers
- Artificial plants, flowers, trees
- Mantle displays, garland, streamers
- Sprays, floral stems, bunches, picks
- Crafts and craft supplies
- Banners, posters, signs
- Flags, windsocks, balloons
- Scatter, confetti
- Party crackers, poppers
- Baskets, trays, boxes
- Invitations, note cards
- Gift/treat boxes, favor bags
- Wall and window decorations
- Paper lanterns and fans
- Potpourri, bowl fillers, sprays, diffusers
- Valentine string lights
- Stuffed animals, teddy bears
- Decorative knick knacks, trinkets
- Decorative pillows and throws
- Doormat, outdoor décor
- Ribbons, bows, wrapping paper, gift bags, tissue paper, gift tags
- Chargers and dinner plates
- Dessert and salad plates
- Flatware and serving utensils
- Drinkware, mugs and coasters
- Serveware
- Kitchen linens and aprons
- Bedroom and bathroom linens
- Specialty cookware and bakeware
- Specialty cooking accessories
- Specialty food products and candy
- Decorative picks (cupcakes)
- Books, magazines, cookbooks
- Costumes, toys, CDs, DVDs
- Specialty storage containers, tubs
- Gifts for others
And here’s your FREE printable list to add to your household inventory binder: TS4T Checklist – 42 Valentine’s Day Decorations in Your Home.
And, here are some pictures of Coco, my photobombing partner-in-crime:
“I think I’ll jump up on the table and get in the middle of Carole’s business. After all, she isn’t paying attention to me!”
“This is comfortable…I’m feeling right at home plus I’m leaving my kitty-cat hairs over every possible part of her white tablecloth!”
“She won’t quit taking pictures of me! How annoying!”
“Really, Carole, will you give it a rest? I’m sick of having that camera shoved in my face!”
“Well, if you’d just cooperate and give me a ‘pretty face’, I’ll leave you alone!” I reply out load (yes, I talk to my cat).
“Okay, you win; here’s my pretty face!”
How much Valentine’s Day stuff have you collected? Bet it’s more than you thought! Plus, St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner!
Tootles,
Related Posts:
(other list of 42 holiday items and party supplies)
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