Grandma Would Love This

When Mr. Pressed Pants told me (sort of at the last minute) that he was not going to be home on Valentine's Day, we decided to have a dinner for two on Sunday.  We never go out on February 14th anyway because of the crowds and the "prix fix" menus, etc.  So surf and turf at home suited me just fine.

I had just arranged these flowers for a sick friend, so they became an impromptu centerpiece for just this one meal.  Sort of "borrowing" up front! The more I think about this, the more I think it might be tacky.  Oh, my! Well, they could sit on the counter, or they could sit on the dining room table, right?

I love this combination of colors.

Grandma's Haviland china matched them perfectly.  I buy very few "sets" of dishes.  I'm more of an impulse buyer of miscellaneous pieces which I use to mix and match.  But this pattern was my Grandmother's and she gave me all of the many, many pieces for our wedding.  The best part is that her name was Rose Ellie, and my name is Linda, and the pattern is called "Rosalinda".  I just love that.  I didn't use any of the serving pieces, cups and saucers, or even bread and butter plates.  I kept it special, but not at all over the top.

The linens kept the dishes from being too precious.  They are just a bright pink tablecloth and a scalloped linen placemat.  No charger, and no fine silver.  Just French reproduction flatware that reflects the cream colored dinner plates.

Then, I chose light pink linen napkins and tucked a bright pink carnation into the ring.

The napkin ring is made of ivory.  It is old and I've collected these for years.  They can't make these anymore, of course, since ivory is a protected resource.  So they are becoming very hard to find, but that makes the hunt more fun.

These cranberry glass stems are another antique, or maybe just vintage element.

Not old, but fun, are these gold cherub candlesticks. 

Some special things and some casual things.

I don't mean to be flippant about being apart on Valentine's Day, but our marriage can surely survive an early celebration and short notice of travel plans! 

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