Vintage Valentines & a Birthday Breakfast

Over the years I've saved and collected some wonderful handmade, 

vintage Valentines and heart shape candy boxes.

This year I decided to venture up into the attic and bring down those 

relics from my past life.  

And scatter them throughout the house.

It's fun to create these holiday themed vignettes around the house.  

Every time I walk past it brightens my day, makes me smile

In the dining room I set up this display switching out my Christmas decorations for Valentines.  I love using an old wood box and soda crate as a shelves for collectibles.

I got this lovely tattered vintage valentine candy heart box from my sweetheart long ago.  Can't help but wonder about the original giver and receiver of such and unusual valentine.  It's made of cardboard and the glue has disappeared with age but I still think it might be my favorite.  

The spiderwebs are cool and give it an air of mystery, don't you think?

Here's another vintage valentine from my collection and a metal candy heart box.

I like to gussy up this old cupboard in my kitchen with vintage holiday themed collectibles sprinkled in with my favorite Jadite and McCoy pottery pieces.

Glass apothecary jars are filled with pretty candies in Valentine shades of red and pink.  

There's red licorice, coral pink heart shaped Runts, 

Jelly bean hearts and gummy kissy lips!

My very Favorite chocolate is Godiva and over the years I've 'collected' so many pretty heart shaped boxes.  Every year there's a new design, you see, and they are all so lovely.  I thought the old packaging on the birthday candles was very cute and went with the valentine theme especially with that little heart on it that says .10 cents.  

Can you believe there was a time when birthday candles were only .10?!

The fella & gal are vintage plastic candy containers.

I have this extra large window in my kitchen over the sink 

that looks out onto some trees and backyards. 

It's a good place to hang suncatchers and my goofy windchime made out of silverware.  

I display some pretty Depression glassware on the window ledge.

Here's a closeup of one side of the little shelves my hubby built on either side of the window.  They are just the right size for spice shakers.

This photo shows the other side of the window.

I'm glad I decided to get the old Valentines down from the attic.  It was nice to see them again and they certainly brightened up the house during 

this very seriously cold winter here in North Carolina.

My firstborn daughter's birthday is a week before Valentine's day and she requested 

a birthday breakfast this year.  

I was happy to oblige, baking her favorite muffins, 

Cappuccino Chocolate Chip 

and having them ready fresh out of the oven for her arrival 

so the chocolate chips are still warm and gooey.

It looks like my kitty cat, Sookie approves.

I made little fruit cups using fresh mango, strawberries, blueberries and starfruit.  

I think fresh fruit for breakfast is the BEST.

I made scrambled eggs with chopped green onions, 

fresh organic baby spinach, 

dried basil, cheddar cheese
and served with sauteed mushrooms.  

We sipped mimosas and nibbled our breakfast treats while she opened all of her presents

Here is the recipe for the Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Muffins.  

I found it years ago, in Country Living magazine's October 1993 issue and they've been a family favorite ever since because that are so good, dense and cakey.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cup unsifted all-purpose flour
6 T. butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 T. Instant espresso - I used 2 packets dissolved in 2 T. hot water
2 T. coffee flavored liquor (optional)
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease or paper muffin pan. Usually makes 9-10 muffins.

In medium bowl, sift or whisk flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.

In large bowl, beat on medium speed: butter and sugar till light and fluffy. 
Beat in egg and vanilla.

Dissolve instant espresso by stirring into 2 T. hot water.  Then add milk & optional coffee liquor until blended.

Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternating with espresso beating just until combined. 

Fold in chocolate chips. Divide batter among muffin-pan cups.  I always sprinkle muffins with a bit of Turbinado sugar mixed with cinnamon

Bake 25-30 minutes or until centers spring back when lightly pressed. Serve warm so the chocolate chips are melted.

Hope you give them a try!

Highlights of My Christmas 2014 Decorating

One of my first and favorite things to decorate for the Christmas are the shelves on the cupboard in my kitchen. 

I keep some of my favorite Jadite and McCoy pieces displayed on it all through the year and just add cute candies, vintage collectibles and seasonal whatnots to it.

I adore the vintage pink McCoy kittycat cookie jar especially with the touches of Christmas red.

On my birthday I was shopping at World Market and spied that terrific pink velvet-y deer on sale, 2 for $5!  So I bought them and casually set one there on the shelf and thought it looked perfect next to the holiday candies.

The other pink deer ended up on the bookshelves in the hall

That silver sleigh with the reindeer is one of very favorite things!

I set up part of my vintage blow mold collection on an antique buffet we have in the dining room that I have set up as a bar.  I like the way all the nifty bottles look with some of my vintage glassware.  Cocktail anyone?

Don't these bottle brush trees look cute in the window?

I'm crazy about vintage stuff, especially the graphics on the boxes.  I've been toying with using vintage boxes as a design element for a few years.  The challenge is getting just the right amount of interesting stuff in your display without looking cluttered and too messy.

Sometimes I like the box better than what's inside!

For instance, my scary Santa collection is rather cluttered and kitchy displayed on a bookshelf in the parlor.  The guy sitting in the back on the left is kinda weird, isn't he? That guy came in the cool green box with the peephole {on the right}.  Then the Santa with the bell shaped skirt? that spins around came from the 'Musical Santa' box.

I display lots of Christmas collectibles on the Kitchen hoosier cupboard.  

Here's a closeup of that vintage box of silver icicles

As I was decorating the tree this year with with all those cherished family heirlooms I started stacking all the empty vintage Shiny Brite boxes on this antique chair in my foyer.  I liked they way it looked so much I decided to leave the boxes out as another kind of decoration.

Here's a preview of another post I'm working on about using my vintage Christmas collectibles and their boxes for a display I made in our antique secretary.   I'm thrilled with the way I've decorated it this year.  It looks knock your socks of amazing!  But I'm not happy with the photos I took at all.  My camera is vexing me and being very temperamental.

 This photo isn't bad, except for the glass refection.

Most of the photos in this post were taken by my Lovely daughter, Sarah.  

Thank you for helping me, Dearie!  

Visit her blog, Lostvestige for more of her wonderful photos.