A Valentine Weekend

It's Silver Sunday and Mosaic Monday!  I have some pics of the Valentine's dinner party/Bible study we had at our house Saturday night.  My husband surprised me with the most gorgeous pink (my favorite) long stemmed roses as well as a magnificent pink and white rose centerpiece for our table.  We had a wonderful evening with dear friends.  I have begun using my silver regularly rather than saving it for "someday".  It occurred to me one day, exactly WHAT am I saving it for?  Who more special will I ever serve at my table than my husband and children and grandchildren?  Each time I use my beautiful silver flatware memories flood my mind of happy newlywed days when I was so excited to be married and setting my own table with my own silver and candles daily!  I leave you with some photos and mosaics of my Valentine's table and some other things from around my house - my mantle, family room coffee table, and living room hall and coffee tables.

 Be sure to stop by Gypsy Fish to find the list of participants in Silver Sunday and Little Red House for participants in Mosaic Monday.

The china my husband and I received for our wedding has a silver pattern and rim...

These napkin rings are silver and pearl with some sparkle between the pearls...

I love the delicacy of this sugar shell...

The silver capped salt shaker is an antique, the pepper shaker is not.  I like them mismatched!

Coconut cream and fudge pies were served on pink heart dessert plates and eaten with nothing other than silver dessert forks...

On the table in our family room, an antique silver tray compliments a large glass container with candle and Valentine ribbon...

A hammered aluminum chafing dish...

A vintage aluminum tray holds glasses, lemons, and sweetener for beverage - iced tea, of course...

An old silver pie server on scalloped milk glass dessert plates...

Our Valentine mantle...

Our sweet son dropped by today with these flowers for me...

The gorgeous roses from my husband...

And the centerpiece he surpised me with...

Candles and candy around the centerpiece, which sits on the cake plate matching the milk glass dessert plates...

The front entry table decorated for love...

The table scarf was hand crocheted by my grandmother...

Silver Sunday: Week Four

Silver Sunday has been such a fun blog event! Stop by Gypsy Fish to find many participants posting about their silver treasures!

One of my all time favorite gifts is the photo below in the gorgeous silver frame.  My sister Karen gave this gift to me and an identical gift to our younger sister Kelly.  I love the frame she chose.  It's silver and bejeweled - an endearing favorite!  But as much as I love silver, the photo is the real gift in this case.  It was taken during the summer of 1982.  The blond on the left is my mother, next is my sister Kelly, then my sister Karen, and I'm on the far right.

We had the loveliest 25th anniversary celebration in 1995.  My husband's parents helped our children give us a surprise party at our favorite restaurant.  They invited members of our wedding party and my parents came from Tennessee.  We had such a great evening!  There was a wedding cake made by the same bakery that made our wedding cake.  Our kids had found our wedding album, guest book, and believe it or not, my wedding gown and veil.  We got lots of wonderful gifts for our 25th but one of the most precious was this silver tray from our children.  It's engraved in the middle with our names and the dates of our wedding and 25th anniversary.

This chest of silver flatware was our wedding silver.  In 1970 many brides were still registering for silver.  It's Rogers "Grand Heritage" and I still love the rose and scroll pattern.  It seems like we registered for 12 place settings but we have 10.  I think I'm going to start looking for the other 2 settings.  I would also love to have the iced tea spoons.  We also have about 10 serving spoons, forks, and knives.

Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

Silver Sunday: Week Three

Be sure to stop by Gypsy Fish where you will find a list of participants for Silver Sunday! 

Last week I showed you a small green Depression Glass caddy with a silver handle.  This is a Depression Glass ice bucket with a silver handle.  When I brought it home the handle was so tarnished I really thought it was brass underneath, but with a lot of polishing I discovered silver!  The pattern doesn't match the smaller caddy but they certainly could be used together.  I think I'm going to use both of these pieces for flowers.

I love this little glass pitcher.  The base is silver.  It too was extremely tarnished, but it cleaned up quickly with little effort.  I think it would be so cute used for breakfast juice or milk for cereal.

This pinkish-lavender and silver glass tile vase sits in my guest room.  It wasn't very expensive but I've always loved it.  I bought it before I had a lavender room to put it in...some things are just meant to be!

I LOVE my Victorian style mirror!  I've had it for years and it hangs in the hallways right outside our master bedroom.  You can see the wreath on our bedroom door reflected in the mirror.

I have quite a collection of cake plates - and what goes better with cake plates than cake knives and servers!  All are silver and the servers in the middle have embellished handles. 

These two severs say "Merry Christmas"

I loved this silver and rhinestone bracelet as soon as I saw it in a little antique shop in upper Michigan.

This piece is getting old and looks warn for wear but it's priceless to me.  After our rehearsal dinner nearly 40 years ago, my sweetheart drove me home and before I got out of the car to spend the last night in my parents home, Sandy presented me with a gift.  This silver frame was inside.  The left side is embellished with a silver bride and groom and the right side with wedding bells.  Under the bells he had had our names and wedding date engraved.  I loved it then and after all these years of marriage I treasure it.  It has hung above my nightstand all  these years.  I have seen it there for so long I think I stopped seeing it.  Tonight when I took it down and cleaned it up a bit I remembered that evening so long ago when a young man and woman sat in her parents driveway for a kiss goodnight, counting the minutes until she walked down the isle toward him and a brand new future together.