Hopefully you all got to see Keri this morning at 9:40AM on Good Day Austin on FOX. If you didn’t, you can view the segment in it’s entirety by watching it here. Keri’s recap on the Valentine’s Day looks are below.
Valentines Day Entertaining: As Seen on Fox Good Day Austin
Romantic Dinner:
Ok guys I made this super simple for you.
I started with a simple white tablecloth I had at home (you can pick these up from Target or Wal-Mart for under $15) and then I took my Valentine Day Gifts and wrapped the bottom one in a pretty foil heart paper (purchased for $2 at Hobby Lobby). I then took my top gift, wrapped it in butcher paper, and then adorned the butcher paper with red heart doilies (purchased at Target for $1.47 for a pack of 20). These were simply glued on with glue stick. You can even get the kids involved…and we Mom’s love that! Once my gifts are stacked I put $5 worth of red roses (purchased at HEB) into a mint julep cup (any silver cup will work) and Voila! A personal and pretty centerpiece. Then, to finish the table, I added fine china (dig out that wedding china and glasses guys…and if you are single you can rent it at www.premierepartycentral.com). And of course that perfect red box of chocolates…she will love the sweet treat and it adds another pop of color.
Couples Dinner Party
I wanted to create an elegant but fun dinner party table that could also be used any time of year. I started with a black tablecloth and added a pink runner with some texture to it. (I rented mine but you can purchase both at Target or Wal-Mart or any home goods store). Then I dug out some candle sticks from my candle collection and simply purchased candlesticks in pinks and reds (at Hobby Lobby) to tie in the theme. To add some elegance and sparkle I added crystal garland (purchased again at Hobby Lobby) and wove some silver votives that I had in between. Simple and elegant took all of 5 minutes to set up. For the china I took real fine china as my base and added some fun plates and bowls from the dollar section of Target, which add whimsy and fun. I placed a box of chocolates inside the bowl as a place card. That way it is a favor and a place card all rolled into one (we love being efficient with our designs). Instead of using traditional napkins I used hand towels with pink stripes that I found in the dollar aisle at Target. After your party these can be used around the house. They would also make great burp clothes for a nursery if you have one.
Girls Night In
So for this table setting I teamed up with Carrie Beamer of Flora Fetish (one of our favorite Austin Florists!). We started with the inspiration of a grown up Soda/Sundae shop. Let’s face it ladies when we are alone on Valentines Day who doesn’t want Champagne, Chocolate and some Ice Cream??? I used a red linen (I rented but you can certainly buy something similar at Target or any home goods store) and we topped the linen with a black and white striped runner. Carrie took black construction paper and made cones that she then adorned with a white heart shaped doilies and added a rhinestone for some bling. Who doesn’t love bling at a girl’s night? You can’t have too much in my book! Carrie then took carnations and glued them into the cones so they would stay. The cones were placed in a black Champagne bucket that we adored with a super cute craft heart. Carnations are a great flower choice they are economical and really easy to use. Then to keep the soda shop theme going we took old-fashioned Sundae Cups and filled them with beads and bling (you could even use red hot candies) and topped them with a bunch of carnations to mimic the scoops of ice cream. We placed these centerpieces on top of white doilies that we decorated by dripping red and pink candle wax dots all over it. A fun creative touch. For china I used a simple white plate and topped it with a fun red striped plate for color and visual interest and again we used our trusty chocolates as our place cards.
We hope these Valentine’s Day tips have inspired you to have a fun and romantic Valentine’s Day.
XOXO,
Keri & The Leave the Details To Me team.
Photo courtesy of Pinterest.com
Valentine’s Day is tomorrow, and we are so excited! What could be better than an entire day focused around LOVE? It’s what we live for!
So everyone knows that Valentine’s Day is a day for love, but do you know what exactly we are celebrating for?
Valentine’s Day has its roots far back in both Christian and Roman roots, but the most common story about how Valentine’s Day came about is that back in Rome in the third century, Emperor Claudius II decided that young single men would make the best soldiers for the Roman army, and therefore outlawed marriage for all single young men. Saint Valentine, recognizing this injustice, took it upon himself to perform marriages in secret. Unfortunately, once the Emperor found out what Valentine was doing, he sentenced him to death on February 14, 269 A.D.
Another fun bit of Valentine’s Day trivia is that during the Middle Ages, birds’ mating season was in its peak high on February 14th, and has since been referenced as a day of love for that exact reason.
Written declarations of love and actual Valentine’s greetings date back as far as the year 1400 A.D.! Even today, over 1 billion Valentine’s Day greeting cards are sent every year on Valentine’s Day.
No matter if you are getting married on Valentine’s Day, sending a greeting card, or declaring your love for your special someone, tomorrow is a day to be celebrated! Spread the love, and have a Happy Valentine’s Day!
For tips and design tricks for a special Valentine’s Day in, watch Keri tomorrow morning at 9:40AM on Good Day Austin on FOX.
XOXO
Super Bowl Party Planning Tips
Planning a Fab Football Party for $100 or less
Food & Drink:
Football shaped cookies:
I buy a role of gingerbread cookie dough (I use gingerbread as the color is closer to that of a football) and cut them into football shapes and pipe with white icing (which can even be made from scratch with confectioner’s sugar and water). I personally buy the generic brand of pre-made sugar cookies, because I find they taste the same as name brand, and are at least $2 cheaper. These can be done a day ahead and you can have your kiddos help with decorations.
Football Sandwiches:
These are super easy and cost effective. Cookie cutters are a Party Diva’s best friend. They can transform any ordinary food into a themed item with very little cost. I use pumpernickel bread because A) it is sturdier bread for cutting the shapes, and B) it is darker and closer to the color of a football. Simply build your favorite sandwiches and cut with football cookie cutter and decorate with slivers of cucumber to create the lacing and lines on a football.
Stadium Popcorn:
So for a fun snack to go along with those football sandwiches, I took mason jars that I already had around my house and I created (in Microsoft Word) football field bands to go around the jars. All I needed was some glue, paper, a printer and some creativity. I then filled each jar with popcorn, which is a super economical snack and can be made in large batches. Who doesn’t love popcorn?
Drinks:
I don’t know about you, but I seem to loose my glass at every party I go to. For Super Bowl Parties I simply got scrapbook stickers with numbers and put my favorite players numbers on each glass. After the party is over, you simply peel the stickers off! Easy cleanup!
Decorations:
So there are tons of party decorations at your local party store but they can be very pricy and let’s face it not very personal or original. Here are a few creative DIY projects to make your Super Bowl Party a bit more fun and creative:
Centerpieces:
So being the girly girl who loves football, I wanted to think of a way to bring a bit of glam to my football party without breaking the bank. I created beer mug centerpieces (above) by going to my local discount store (think Marshalls or TJ max) and purchased two sets of pint size beer mugs with handles (plastic or glass will work). I then filled the mugs with acrylic gems in an amber color (these are super inexpensive from hobby lobby or any craft store) to mimic ice cubes, and then I topped it with white carnations ($4 a bunch) for beer foam. To make the flowers stay I cut a circle of floral foam out with a knife, soaked it in water, and simply stuck my carnations into the foam and then inserted it in the mug. I lined the mug with some ribbon to mask the green floral foam.
What you need:
Chair covers:
To spruce up my mismatched chairs, I made these cute chair covers with pillowcases and black electrical tape. Again for purchasing the pillowcases I turned to my trusty discount stores for those (Marshalls, TJ Maxx & Big Lots).
What you need:
Instructions:
Tips:
Whistles can be found in the sports department of a discount department store for under $2.00 or online at Oriental Trading Company.
Happy Superbowl Sunday, Everyone!
To see Keri’s Superbowl tips featured in Mint.com’s “Frugal Foodie” blog, hop on over to the article here.
