Valentine’s Day: Set the Mood

I love Valentine’s Day. I love its message, I love the aesthetics, I love all of the typical chocolates and gifts that are given, and I love decorating my house for the holiday. 

We usually celebrate at home and divide the duties for our meal. I repurpose many of my Christmas decorations for the holiday because I decorate with a lot of red for Christmas, so many items serve dual-purpose for me. An ideal Valentine’s meal includes a creamy pasta, a filet with peppercorns, a salad with pickled vegetables and white French dressing, and a flourless chocolate dessert of some sort. I’d start with a sparkling rose or sauvignon blanc and move on toward a red blend or Sangiovese.

Here are some great items that I enjoy using and decorating and cooking with. They are tried and true and you’ll enjoy them for years to come. And, in some cases, so will your descendants. 

The Riedel stemware is something I swear by. We received many for our wedding over two decades ago and they remain favorites. I’ll tell you that wine tastes better in them, but you need to try for yourself. This set is versatile, classic, and beautiful. 

We also received Waterford double old-fashioned glasses and receive so many compliments on them. Pro tip: the Marquis line is just as beautiful and is a lesser price point. This set is versatile and can be used for whiskey, cocktails, or even as a tea light holder to impart beautiful patterns of light on your table.

While we don’t have a wine bottle or champagne chiller like this one, I’m definitely contemplating getting one. I’d use this inside, but I’d 100% use it on my patio in the summer.

We have a whole house speaker system, but literally use our son’s JBL speaker much more frequently. We take one everywhere and I highly recommend it.

I hope this list of gift ideas was helpful and that everyone gives and receives all the love they have.