A Valentine's Tea

I decided to host a sweet Valentine's Tea for all of my fabulous friends over the weekend. I wanted to have time to sit, chat and pamper my friends as a way of saying "I love you." Life gets so busy and we never seem to be able to have girl time without kiddos running around or husbands interrupting our schedules. Do you ever feel like this? I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends and I am glad I was able to spend some time with these beautiful women.

There were ten of us altogether... a perfect number for a tea. Since I only had 8 place settings of my china, I had to borrow a few pieces from my mom. It worked out wonderfully and you would have never noticed that certain pieces didn't belong with my set.

It was so fun to be able to use my grandmother's china and silverware that has been passed down to me. My grandmother was a classy lady and I can only hope she was smiling down on our fun girly tea seeing all of her pieces being used. 

These pink napkins were actually part of the centerpieces at our wedding. My mother-in law monogrammed them for us. We have a totally of 22 and I have been wondering what to do with light pink monogrammed napkins over the past 9 years. They worked into the color scheme perfectly!

Ready for picture overload?? Enjoy!!

I really had a lot of fun putting the whole event together.
The Details:  I made the chicken salad sandwiches, cucumber sandwiches, strawberry basil, honey & brie crostini and heart sugar cookies. I borrowed some jelly canning jars from my mom and layered some granola, vanilla yogurt & berries to create a fruit parfait. I also went to our local bakery to pick up the macaroons. The small desserts were from Trader Joe's and my mother made her famous heart bread topped with honey butter & strawberries. For tea we had Earl of White and Earl of Grey. Both were delicious! Making all of the tissue paper flowers was the part of the preparation that took the longest.  I made a few each night while watching television. Even though they were tedious, I am so glad I took the time to make them because I think they made the most impact in the room!

I really love hosting parties and since it was such a hit, I think it is going to be an annual tradition! Anyone else want to join us next year?

Throughout your busy week, try to focus on how you can make others feel loved! Isn't that what this holiday is all about!? Have a fabulous week friends! xoxo