Nothing Says Lovin....

Valentine: noun
A sentimental or humorous greeting card to a sweetheart, friend, or family member on Saint Valentine's Day.
A gift sent as a token of love to one's sweetheart on Saint Valentine's Day.
A person singled out especially as one's sweetheart on Saint Valentine's Day



Warm and fuzzy...oh, yeah!
I will say as I have (ahem) - grown with the "seasons", Valentine's has meant a variety of feelings for me...(fade into dreaming...)

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL:
Do you recall making decorated boxes and receiving Valentine's from everyone in your class? I LOVED making the box, and receiving the cards!

JUNIOR HIGH / MIDDLE SCHOOL:
No more boxes, but the great HOPE that HE would be brave enough to give you a real Valentine, or at least a note written on a wrinkled piece of lined notebook paper. Never fear, your best friends would always fill your locker with handmade "I HEART YOU" notes!

HIGH SCHOOL:
Pressure!!! A Valentine AND a gift? Would SHE get one, and not you? Would HE go shopping for a gift, would HE give you a sweet card, would HE let his friends know that he was sweet for you? Pressure, pressure, pressure...for EVERYONE! And remember the dances? I loved them...others not so much...but I had my dancing shoes on and a smile on my face!

COLLEGE / YOUNG ADULTHOOD
A Valentine "real date", romance, a gift...possibly a RING?

YOUNG MARRIED / YOUNG SINGLE
No money, lots of romance, a night out....IF he remembers! Should you remind him, or maybe your best friend ;p remind him?

NOW YOU'RE GROWN UP (and all that implies ;p)
Money a little easier, but (he says) the restaurants are so crowded! But He did bring home flowers, and a romantic card...and yes, he wants to cook dinner and clean the kitchen. Not a bad deal, at all...if you ask me! (Candlelight required at some point of the evening ;p)...I'm good to go!

OK, can't go any farther than this yet. This is my experience...so far!

And yes, I've loved (almost) every Valentine's Day of my 50 plus years.

I'm hosting a party that I'm calling LOVE 2010. I've invited a few ladies, asked them to invite a few ladies, and the idea behind the whole thing is for neighbors (old and new) and friends (old and new) get to meet each other. We'll LOVE eating our heart shaped goodies, we'll LOVE seeing new home decor items, we'll LOVE hearing new ideas of how to decorate, then we'll LOVE teaching our new friends how to blog!
And I am LOVIN' the idea of the diversity of this group...makes my heart smile.

Typically, I don't decorate alot for Valentine's Day, but this has provided a fun excuse to bring out the love.

A quick tour, and a promise of more to come...welcome to the Love Shack! (photos will enlarge if you click on them)



Switched things around, and brought these pieces into the entry. Things I LOVE here...old silver, vintage valentines, scripture, and the vintage baby cups and silver pieces that were the childrens' (monogrammed...my heart skips a beat).



Things I LOVE are the vintage Valentines (not / we'll talk more soon), the Lefton china two tiered server I got as a bargain (YES! thank you Nancy) and Grandma's cake stand.



Things I LOVE here are Lefton dessert sets, Grandma's cut glass vases, Nelda's goblets, vintage table cloth and those cute little pink heart suckers (from the dollar store).

I must admit, I am having way too much fun, it's a youthful (is that even a word?) experience. I've loved being part of Metamorphosis Monday...you must go see ;p !




Although love (all kinds of love) and romance have been the inspiration behind the decor and this post, I also want to remind you of the greatest promise of love there is.

Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Jude 21

Come back soon, I want to show you the rest of the house (yes, I said house)...it is all LOVED up! And, I'll show you how I made the scripture and vintage Valentine trees (on a shoestring budget)!

LOVE to you!