Valentine's Dinner Party

Over the weekend, my husband and I hosted a post-Valentine’s dinner party! 
It was nice to be at home for the weekend, so we invited a few friends over for a fun dinner.
My darling hubs gave me gorgeous roses and a fabulous potted pink hydrangea for Valentine’s day! Along with his sweet gift, I knew I wanted to use my pink camellias in my dinner party’s centerpiece. 
I’ve got three large camellia bushes in our lower yard. They are literally covered in buds! And have been blooming for about a month now. 

A few weeks ago, I gathered the fresh blooms to use in my mustard yellow tulipiere. I just love the combo!

During those dreary January days, this arrangement was keeping my entry lively and fun!

Camellias aren’t the most dependable bloom on the block – they brown quickly and whole heads fall off! But when in bloom, there’s nothing prettier! 
I loved these images on Pinterest.
I’d love to be a guest at this luncheon!
One simple bloom looks so pretty a midst your every day items!
But en masse, they’re divine! 
On Friday morning, the day after Valentine’s, I scooted to the grocery for my menu supplies. And got first dibs on the leftover 1/2 off flowers! Score! 
White hydrangea, my pink camellias, and lovely pink roses graced the table in simple glass containers low enough so as not to interfere with conversation the following evening. 
The small cups housing the camellias were a Christmas gift from my sister in law. I love that they’re etched with a “G”  – and have so many uses! Votives, dessert, flowers, candies, cordials….

I loved an excuse to use these fun gray and white straws. Thanks Etsy!
And they looked cute with my gray and white chevron dinner napkins.

Santa sent gorgeous monogrammed place mats – lucky girl, right?
They continued my color scheme of white, pink, red, and gray.

I’m a fool for pink and red on any day, so perhaps a holiday devoted to all shades of these two hues is why I was so thrilled to set my table!

Along with the white linen place mats and the fun straws and napkins, my everyday Juliska dinner plates paired perfectly with a simple red salad plate from Pier One.

A few more roses from my {sweetheart}

In addition to the loveliness of my Valentine’s tablescape, I wanted to share our new dining room chairs! You may have noticed they’re slip covered. 
I love them.
I kept being drawn to images like the ones below on Pinterest. There’s just something inviting about a slip covered chair around the dinner table.
And I just had to have them monogrammed with our initials for a touch of the South
And here they are! 
I chose a linen slipcover that is super comfy on a wide-seat chair. The monograms are done in an off-white thread. I absolutely LOVE the way this space has taken shape for us! 

My grandmother’s chandelier got a mini face-lift by removing a good portion of the dangling crystals for a more modern look. 

Next on the list:
I am holding out and saving up for these guys for the heads of the table….quite stately, don’t you think?