Valentine's Day decor

I think I mentioned this in an earlier post but I just recently removed our winter themed dishes and accessories from the kitchen. The theme was officially Christmas-y but not super overtly so- it was more like the dishes were wintery so I kept them displayed. However, by this past weekend, I felt like I was over having them displayed as decor- I'd had them on display since sometime in November. While winter is not nearly over, surely we've reached the apex of cold temperatures.  Plus, I wanted to decorate a bit for Alyssa's birthday so it made sense to say good-bye to the Christmas/winter (Wintermas?) dishes.

When I took the items off of the kitchen table, I realized that I did not like the look of the table bereft of decor. When we first got the table back in the fall, I immediately decorated it for fall and then from fall I went straight to Christmas. I realized over the weekend that I could go straight to Valentine's Day so that's what I did!

One thing I like about the Valentine's decor is that I did not buy anything new for this year. Don't think I wasn't tempted... I'd love some cute napkin ring holders and it is not hard to imagine the adorable designs available for Valentine's Day. However, I bought SO MUCH stuff in November and December that I don't want many more things in the house that aren't necessary. I'm not turning minimalist or anything but at the moment, the thought of turning to Amazon for something that I know I would like the looks of just to have to store soon after the purchase sounds unappealing. 

I've had everything for years~ the plastic heart plates are what the kids used to decorate Valentine's Day sugar cookies on so they are special to me!

I 💕the round heart placemats with a little ric-rac ish trim. So cute! 

I should have ironed the placemats as they are curling up here. I was in too much of a hurry to get the bare tabled decorated :).

I've had the candy dish for ages as well as the napkin holder heart. 

There's no Parisian theme here but since Paris is associated with romance, I decided to display it on the tray. My friend Stephanie got this for me when she went to Paris. It's made in France which I think is neat!

Speaking of cookie cutters that maybe don't fit the theme, a cookie cutter attached to a light fixture is hardly the normal but normal is boring, right? I bought this cookie cutter on a whim years ago from Williams and Sonoma. I think it's the only thing I've ever purchased from W&S. I saw it online and it was a must have, something I've had never felt before nor have I since about a cookie cutter! Well, it's completely impractical as a cutter- it's huge and so detailed- too easy to mess up. But, I have it so I figured I may as well decorate with it.  

I placed a few more functional Valentine's Day themed cookie cutters in a jar for display (I doubt I'll make sugar cookies this year so these guys are, most likely, just for decor)

I have not sworn off all purchases, just a few and mainly from Amazon (I've had just one purchase from Amazon in the month of January... so far). This purchase (the silver banner holders/banner) was not from Amazon. Tanya mentioned the Birthday Butler products a few weeks ago and I looked into it. I thought about purchasing it for several days (so not a whim (important distinction)) before I did. Basically, you buy the holder and then various banners for different occasions. I bought a Happy Birthday banner and used that for Alyssa's birthday and then I bought this Be Mine banner for Valentine's Day.

I've had the lights for years. The balloon for a few days :). I got Alyssa balloons for her birthday and included a heart one (not intending to keep it past it her birthday but when I was taking the balloons down after Alyssa was back at school, I decided to keep the heart one up :))

The dining room table

The floating shelves in the hall bathroom upstairs

An iconic countdown sign at Chez Rineer- the chances that the number stays the same as when it started out are HIGH!!

Donnie dubs this my Single Mom Photo and I tell myself that I need to change it though I do like it of the three and me

Alyssa helped me add the hearts to this banner years ago. It needs to be ironed as well as the placemats...

Be Mine bathroom decor style

And that's just about it-just a few touches for the sweetest of holidays! Linking up with Joanne for Talking About it Tuesday!