LIFE AT THE COTTAGE

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

One-stop Shopping for a Valentine's Tablescape



Recently, I was in one of my favorite retail stores–Marshalls. 
I had stopped in just to browse a bit with my daughter and fifteen-month-old granddaughter.
 (Can one actually browse with a fifteen-month-old in tow?! lol)

My intent was not to shop, merely to soak in all the
 delightful spring displays. In light of the incredibly cold weather we've
been experiencing, it was a breath of fresh air to see signs of spring somewhere!


As I rounded the corner, near the back of the store,
I was drawn to a wonderful group of holiday arrangements.
 But, the one that really got my attention was dedicated to Valentine's Day.


Let me preface what I 'm about to say with this confession...I'm a dish-aholic!
If there is anything that will pull me in like a magnet—at a flea market,
antique store, yard sale, retail shop, etc.—it's dishware.

And this lovely grouping reeled me in effortlessly!


I knew I just had to run back to the car to retrieve my camera!
With digital in hand—and without hesitation—I returned and began
 clicking away with quite a fervor.



After fifteen minutes or so, it occurred to me that I was receiving
some rather peculiar stares from passersby.

The looks on their faces told me, in no uncertain terms, that someone
snapping up pictures in a
department store is more than a little strange.

Did they think I was casing the place?

On more than one occasion, a stranger's look said,
"Who in their right mind takes a camera into a department store
and takes pictures of displays?"

Umm…let me see.
That would probably be just about
every woman who blogs, right?!!

So…I threw caution to the wind and kept right on clicking.   ; )


Of course, it's the wonderful multi-hued flowers
that take center stage on these beauties.
They just happen to be some of my favorites—pink peonies!

And the cute little extra flourishes—like the hearts and
the words Love and Amour—are just
icing on the plate…I mean cake!   ; )


Then there were the fabulous serving pieces…oh my!!!
There were so many, I dare say I probably missed a few.

What tablescape wouldn't look adorable with that cute little creamer and sugar bowl? 
The sugar bowl is practically hidden on the second shelf.


Now, take a look at these lovelies. Are they not totally charming?
There was a rectangular pink-handled tray, a ruffled square dish—it's in the back—a precious
heart-shaped plate, and large bowls decorated with pretty hearts on the inside.



And that doesn't include all the coordinating accent pieces
that were not even part of this actual set,
such as…


this trio of pretty heart bowls and...


this darling "Kiss Me" mug—for that special someone.

Wouldn't it be fun to dish up that delicious Valentine's fare
with these quaint serving spoons?


Can you guess who I thought of when I spotted this
sweet little heart-shaped ramekin?

None other than the delightful hostess of Tablescape Thursday, Susan.
You know how she adores using unique items as salt cellars.

Or...


perhaps she would prefer these cute round ones with
the Valentine's messages in the bottom.


As you can see—for an addict like me—this was pure dish heaven!
As a matter of fact, I've only shown you the tip of the iceberg.

Visit me again next week and I'll share my ideas for
the perfect Valentine's Day tablescape using some of the lovely pieces you've seen here.

38 comments:

  1. They are very pretty! I have not yet attempted to take pictures inside a store. Having worked Loss Prevention for Marshalls at one time, I can tell you that I'm sure you were being "assessed". : )

    ReplyDelete
  2. I suppose next time, I should find the manager and alert him/her to what I'm doing! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  3. All of these treasures would add a treat to decorating about one's home or cheering up a table!
    Very nice,
    d from homehaven

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nice Valentine things. One of my favorite holidays!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I LOVE those dishes! Are you saying you bought some? I sure hope so and look forward to seeing what you did with them. I remember seeing something similar at HomeSense last year and was mad I passed them up...now, seeing these, I'm doubly mad! Hope you enjoy them!

    DD

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh you're in like company dear! I actually got some of those salad plates at Marshalls last year -- I may have to make a trip soon and get a few things to add to these pink pretties!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I just had a little shopping trip right here at home! Thank you for sharing all the beautiful valentine goodies at Marshalls!
    Yvonne

    ReplyDelete
  8. The folks at my local T J Maxx are so used to me in their with my camera clicking away at all the gorgous dishes! LOL

    Those pinks are stunning!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh I so enjoyed shopping with you today. The weather has been too frightful for me to get my dish fix and you just helped me tremendously! Love those Peonies...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for sharing these lovely valentine items. I need to make a trip to Marshalls and see what they have in stock here.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I can just see people looking at you while taking pictures, like you had two heads or something, instead of a little camera! I have one of those gorgeous large round peony plates that I use for serving cupcakes or almond cakelets on. I love the colors.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks for taking me shopping with you!! I'm hoping you bought the whole lot....I would have....they're BEAUTIFUL!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love the pink! I take pictures in stores and markets all the time! If there is someone to ask - I might but usually I just snap away and then link to the store.

    Carol

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh my, I am just drooling over all these wonderful dishes. I love all of them. Thanks for all the wonderful pictures. Great eye candy. Hugs, Marty

    ReplyDelete
  15. I need to get to Marshall's. Thanks for sharing and I can't wait to see next weeks table. Have a great day!

    ReplyDelete
  16. OMYGOODNESS...what eye candy you are showing us. Enough to get my drooling glands working overtime. Aren't they all just beautiful !!
    So glad you took all these great photos to share with us...
    xo bj

    ReplyDelete
  17. So girly and pretty! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks for the tour. I'm glad you had your camera. :)

    D

    ReplyDelete
  19. How pretty! I really enjoyed looking through all those pictures!
    Mary Lou

    ReplyDelete
  20. You casing the joint for some dishes is a bit much!!!! Now if you were casing the back room, that would cause a disturbance I am sure. I sure am glad you threw caution to the wind and took these lovely photos. The dishes are just too pretty for words. Thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  21. Those dishes are gorgeous. So romantic.

    I'm proud of you for taking your camera. I just don't have the nerve.

    ReplyDelete
  22. You are in good company in Bloglandia because we all adore a cute dish! And I am in love with the ones with the XOXO in the bottom. You have cuter things at your Marshall's than I saw at ours. Love those pretty dishes! :-)

    I stopped over from BJ's blog to say, "Hi," because she linked over to you for Pink Saturday. Welcome and I hope to get to know you better. I always love a good dish addict!

    Happy PS to you...

    XO,

    Sheila :-)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hello there! I was sent over, by Dear BJ.

    Oh that poor woman who didn't understand you taking pics! Obviously she didn't know the Joys of Blogging. Sad... Sad... Sad... ,-)

    ReplyDelete
  24. Ohh thank you, for not making us do Word Verification here! Thank you, a zillion times. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Those really are pretty pink dishes!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Drooling here! and cannot wait to see what you come up with for Valentine's Day

    ReplyDelete
  27. Thanks for taking us along. What a fun store. We don't have one close by..good thing this dish-a-locic would be in "big" trouble...hugs ~lynne~

    ReplyDelete
  28. I was in Marshall's recently and didn't see anything as pretty as these dishes! Gorgeous...I'm a dishaholic too!

    Taking a camera and snapping photos is hard to explain....even harder is explaining blogging to someone who doesn't know about blogs or doesn't understand the community of blogs. If someone asks why the photos I'll say I have a blog...and they will look at me sort of sideways and say uh huh. I guess we are a "strange" bunch..LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  29. What pretty Valentine plates. I can imagine you clicking away and it gives me a big smail because I am the same way, lol. Thanks for doing that and sharing these lovelies with us....Christine

    ReplyDelete
  30. I love all those pretty plates!!~Beautiful post!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Oh so pretty..wish I had some of the heart shaped bowls, they are precious! Happy Tuesday!

    Miss Bloomers

    ReplyDelete
  32. Hi Liz, goodness, what yummy pics. I love Marshalls too. Everything is so gorgeous. Delightful post!

    Barb ♥

    ReplyDelete
  33. Love the dishes....I have an arrangement with pink peonies that would look perfect with these dishes. Unfortunately, I don't have a free weekend coming up, so I doubt that I can get to a Marshall's before all the goodness is gone, gone, gone. My camera goes with me everywhere I go and if I feel like snapping away in a store, I definetly do...I'm advertising for them, so I don't think they mind. If I go in a boutique or specialty shop, I always ask first.

    ReplyDelete
  34. cute post. I think Susan actually got those gorgeous dishes too! I think I saw that for last week. I found a bunch of $1.29 heart shaped and scallop edged lil bowls there.

    ReplyDelete
  35. You're so lucky to have a nicely displayed Marshalls. Mine always seems to have been turned upside down. Also, there is hardly any Valentine stuff left near me.

    My question is...fellow dish-a-holic, which did you purchase?

    - The Tablescaper

    ReplyDelete
  36. Oh what pretty vignettes. I love them all. Hugs, Marty

    ReplyDelete
  37. I love those dishes........I saw them at Marshalls here in SC. Needless to say I wanted to Purchase them, But I have no more room, every time I go out my husband says to me, don't buy anymore dishes.......sometimes I listen.....LOL

    ReplyDelete
  38. OK, ma'am, just back away from the dishes....ever so slowly and we won't have an incident on our hands. Slowly, ssslllooowwwlllyyy ssslllooowwwlllyyy.
    Now get outta' my way so I can go get some. Jackie

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to comment.