Amuse Bouche Party

Sunday evening, the Romancing the Home team each brought one savory appetizer and one sweet bite to an amuse bouche tasting.Today, I am going to share with you the savory table setting and tomorrow I will show you the details of the incredible food that the Romancing the Home team prepared. To set the table, we used all of the new French countryside merchandise that we are offering this spring. We love the tall wire basket filled with primroses, artisan lettuces, Chinese long beans and tangerines. Old bread boards and vintage bakery cake plates were used to display the food. A new collection of table linens from Pom Pom was used on the table- we especially love the new Bon Appetit napkin. Small vintage butter pats were used for the tasting plates, along with old bone dishes. Our favorite detail on the table ( other than the food!) were the pair of cement lambs that we sell at the store. Today we will be joining www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com for Tablescape Thursday. Be sure to check out some of the other inspiring tables.

Valentine's Day Chocolate Feast

It's Valentines Day and time for chocolate! Chocolate wines from World Market, embellished with scrap booking rhinestone decals and cocktail rings, have beautiful labels. Rose biscuits from France in silver biscuit box and rose covered chocolates from Vosges in Chicago look very pretty together. I have used the ex voto's or Milagro Hearts of love that we sell at Romancing the Home to enhance the design of the heart shaped smoked tomato chocolates from Vosges. Jill brought me the beautiful pastel French macaroons from a shop in Kansas City called Nastasha's. An old French engraving of Cupid stands in the background to supervise the festivities! Happy Valentine's Day!

Guest Room Details

Lynda Sue is in town to help me with my store spring kick-off this weekend, so I wanted to add a few new details into her bedroom before she arrived. Recently, I found some wonderful old platters in different sizes and decided to hang them on the wall in the guest room. The stack of pink books from France and my collection of old vanity jars look perfect with the platters. A few treats are left in a gift bag embellished with old ribbons.A new book for inspirational reading late at night is wrapped in kraft paper, silk hand dyed ribbon and an old dried rose. Fresh roses are added for the weekend and the room is ready for my friend!

Chocolates- From Pretty to Beautiful

Ferrero Chocolates are wrapped in wonderful foils in shades of gold, silver and chocolate. You can find them at every grocery store this time of year and their price is very affordable. I decided to make them even more special by adding a jeweled embellishment on the top of each one. I love the way they look with the faded roses that I am just about to throw away. Faded roses and chocolates- how beautiful for Valentine's Day!

Antiquing Around Chicago

A set of Limoges demitasse cups- perfect for a small chocolate mousse serving
an assortment of small crystal sherry glasses- perfect for a serving of salmon tartaré.





Katha's Stash- an old cigarette set, hand blown glasses, pastry server and candy jar.
The old cigarette set has 2 glass urns and 6 small plates, perfect for an amuse bouche.

A gorgeous old tea service, samovar and cut crystal champagnes.

A set of 12 Meissen salad plates- unbelievably beautiful with gilt edge.


A set of service plates from Marshall Fields in the 1940's.

Etched fern patter glasses- reminds me of the pattern from William Yeoward Crystal

36 inch tall iron hurricanes- perfect for my front porch!

Look at the stem on these lovely champagnes- to die for pretty!


Two sweet Mottahedah lambs.

A collection of gilded oven cookware- made my heart stop beating for a second!

Three sweet petite crystal compotes ready to be filled with jams for scones!

Precious orange and cream tablecloth- perfect for the porch in summer.


A closer look at this beautiful tea service.

Yesterday, Katha and I spent the day antiquing in one of our favorite spots and found some awesome things. Our mission was to find small vessels that would be perfect for serving small bites or popularly called " amuse bouche". We were searching for small glasses and plates that would showcase a beautiful one bite appetiser, as we are having a store party next weekend and all the girls are bringing one savory and one sweet bite to share. While we did find some amazing vessels for this purpose, we also found many great things. It was a wonderful day, full of surprises, great conversation and great finds. Katha found a cool floor lamp and bamboo bar for her new den and I hope to share pictures with you in the near future. We got home, unwrapped our treasures and re-lived the moment of finding them. Sorting them into three piles, Katha's, mine and the stores, we realized which pile was the biggest. Better get more into the store's!

Valentine's Roses

It is February 1st and thoughts turn to Valentine's Day. It is a wonderful reason to get a group of friends together and have a celebration during the dreary winter days. We often associate Valentine's Day with roses. But not only is there the beautiful floral rose, there are many treats made with the rose flavor. Today I am sharing two of my favorites, Vosges rose petal covered chocolates and the famous rose biscuit from the Reims region in France. Maison Fossier has been making these delectable little biscuit treats since 1691. They are delicious dipped in Champagne . They have a wonderful pink color and are beautiful used in desserts. One of the prettiest is a Rose Biscuit lined charlotte mold that is then filled with pistachio ice cream. You can find many more ideas on their website at. The rose covered chocolates are made here in Chicago by Vosges and are dark chocolate. Not overly http://www.fossier.fr/biscuits-roses-de-reims_c1.html sweet, they melt in your mouth and leave a nice sweet scent behind. You can purchase them at the Vosges stores or online at http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/. Serving these little treats in pretty vessels is an expression of thoughtfulness and love. I love seeing the little pink biscuits peek out of the cherub biscuit box. My friend Marlene gave me the beautiful pastry server for Christmas this year and it's perfect for grabbing the little darlings and placing them straight into a glass of bubbly!