My Pinterest Valentine

A carnation sundae (so easy!) created at our Garden Club

pre-Valentine’s Day meeting (red oasis is the secret ingredient) 

Homemade sugar cookies served on a silver tray

(Garden Club ladies know how to host a pretty party ; )

Dove chocolates that I received from my boys

(discovered on my bed forming the shape of a heart)

Origami heart with hugs + kisses pattern

 for my boys (I made them each one)


{origami heart how-to}



happy valentine’s day
xoxo yvonne


ps all photos are mine but feel free
to pin them if you are a fan : )

Decorating tips with Valentine’s Day in mind ...

Color consultations are a big part of my design business.

Here is a taste of some pretty sweet spaces ...

On Lynnfield Patch:  D E C O R A T I N G  W I T H 

C H O C O L A T E , W I N E , A N D  R O S E S

{click here}

Dear Sweet Tooth ...

all photos via BostonChocolateTours.com Back Bay photo gallery

A true love confession from guest blogger,

Pamela N. Simoneau

It’s not my fault. It’s genetic. I can trace the lineage of the pesky gene back several generations. Fortunately for me, the Bean in Beantown refers to the cocoa bean. At least it does for this chocoholic. Needless to say, my Valentine’s Day – ok and most holidays – must feature some kind of sinful, soul-satisfying treat. That’s mainly because unlike regular days, the calories don’t count on special occasions like holidays and birthdays. Yes, Anybody’s birthday. 

This Valentine’s Day, consider giving your chocoholic friends or loved ones the sweetest experience in Boston: The Boston Chocolate Tour. Envision sampling the sublime while strolling Boston’s picturesque sidewalks. Pre-planned stops en route allow local purveyors to showcase their best creations and to offer a subtle education on the origin and evolution of their chocolate delicacies.  





As any fanatic worth her salt, or sugar, will tell you, a chocoholic can easily source a tasty morsel to quiet a craving. But the experts at Boston Chocolate Tours have assembled a heavenly smorgasbord of chocolate confections for indulging. For my first Boston Chocolate Tour – oh yes, there will be others – I chose the Back Bay route from a list of five individual Boston area tours.


From cocoa infused espresso at the Nespresso Boutique through Ben & Jerry’s chocolate chunk ice creams, Back Bay tour members encounter layers of previously-uncharted chocolate territory. Consider a chocolate lip balm from natural cosmetic company Lush, for example. “Lips like sugar” takes on a whole new meaning.  






Then check into Hotel Chocolat to experience a more luxurious suite of chocolate. Better than a traditional hotel, this shop is a highlight on the tour. It is by all definitions a sanctuary of authentic, gourmet chocolate. A few minutes in their tasting room will have you happily reaffirming your addiction. Their knowledgeable staff shares the establishment’s fascinating history and philosophy while you follow along, tasting chocolate that can only be described as transcendent.  







On the day of my tour, our guide Victoria steered the party down Newbury Street while narrating amusing stories with chocolate-related anecdotes. The group also stopped at Teuscher to savor their signature Champagne truffles. Afterwards, those not blissfully intoxicated by sophisticated concoctions, moved on to the award winning SWEET Cupcakes.  Here, the seasonal delights are as tasty as they are decorative. 

via Sweet Gallery

My advice? Try everything. Take home the few samples you’re too full to eat during the tour to share with family or to squirrel away in your own secret stash. Either way, this sensational tour will leave you and your Valentines celebrating the day chocolate ascended from dessert menu to main event.  


For more information about the Boston Chocolate Tours, or to make reservations for a tour or a chocolate making workshop, go to www.bostonchocolatetours.com

image via MIT Endicott House

This year as a special bonus, Boston Chocolate Tours is offering a Valentine’s Day Weekend of chocolate-related events. Taste of Chocolate and the MIT Endicott House have teamed up to present A Chocolate Lover’s Weekend on February 11th and 12th. The weekend begins Saturday at 9am with an Introduction to Chocolate and wraps up with a Chocolate Truffle Workshop on Sunday. Come for all or for part of a day. For information and reservations for the Chocolate Lover’s Weekend, call 617-253-5211 or email info@mitendicotthouse.org

Pamela N. Simoneau is a regular contributor

to New England Finery Magazine. 

A Valentine’s Day treat ...

I hope you enjoy this sneak peek
at the cover of the premiere issue of
New England Finery Magazine!

full online issue to come ...

xoxo yvonne

{Now go enjoy your Valentine’s Day!}

Happy post-Valentine's Day to...

Paula Bakies


Your name was chosen (by my youngest, Ben) as the winner of my Valentine’s Day giveaway! I will get in touch with you to deliver this custom-made Seashell pillow from my design collection. As promised, I have posted the remaining items on my Etsy shop and will be adding other items from my design inventory throughout the week. Thanks to everyone who entered and who have been following my blog : )

xo Yvonne

Valentine's Day at the Stevens Estate

My Valentine’s Day gift to the Estate:
Newly designed side chairs with estate monogram
and a reversible coordinating table cloth.
(check out the before shot here)
Acorn Interiors: upholstery and table cloth
Threads Couture: embroidery
TaggArt Studio: painting

Last night I enjoyed a special Valentine’s Day reception at The Stevens Estate in North Andover (thanks for the invite goes to the lovely estate manager, Laura Gifford). There was a delicious meal catered by A Day to Remember (I wish I had taken some pictures of the elegant presentation of the food, but check out their website for some mouth-watering visuals ... yum!) and a local band, Music Street, played some jamming tunes. As one of the decorators at the estate, I decided to celebrate the evening by offering a special prize to one lucky guest ...

Many guests dropped their business card or a complimentary raffle ticket into this glass hurricane with the hopes of winning a chic and delicious Chocolate High Heel Shoe (filled with chocolate truffles!) that I picked up at The Chocolate Truffle in Lynnfield (other Massachusetts locations include Reading and Winchester).

And the winner is ...
R. Smedile!

*I will give you a call to arrange pick-up*


For those of you who did not win, pick up a shoe of your own (or a pair!) at The Chocolate Truffle. They have lots of great goodies for the Valentine in your life or when you are in need of a chocolate fix. Tell them you read about them here : )


For another chance to win a special prize, there is still time to enter my Valentine’s Day Giveaway. The contest ends February 14th at 11:59 pm EST. Winner will be announced on February 15th. Good luck!


– Me with my Valentine –

Today’s post sponsored by ...

Beth Hylan Design Studio
“Love Letters” Trunk Show 2.13.10

Love letters show ...

I am going to let the pictures do most of the talking today. I took these photos on Saturday at Beth Hylan’s “Love Letters” Trunk Show at TaggArt Studio in Wakefield. I am always amazed at the unique ways that Beth combines vintage paper, jewelry pieces, and other odds and ends to create miniature works of art.

Precious.
Charming.

Adorable.

Signs of affection by Mary Taggart

Call Beth at 781.246.8552 to check on the availability of items pictured in today’s post. To be informed of upcoming shows visit her website to sign up for email notification. And if you are feeling creative, check out the schedule at TaggArt Studio (I will post a series of photos of my own “artwork” soon!)


My gift to you: enter to win my Valentine’s Day giveaway! Feel free to share the love : )

A blogger's Valentine giveaway ...

Love is a canvas furnished by Nature
and embroidered by imagination.

– Voltaire

Dear Readers, I am giving away a small token of my affection in honor of Valentine’s Day 2010! On February 15th one lucky follower will be chosen to receive a decorative item that I personally designed (the sewing, however, was left to a professional!)

To enter this sweet giveaway there are three rules:

1. Be an official follower of my blog

2. Post a comment saying which of these items is your favorite and mention where you might use it

3. To receive the giveaway item, the winner (who will be chosen by a random drawing) must provide a shipping address in the United States. If the winner resides outside of the United States, there is a separate prize (but still feel free to comment on which item is your favorite).

Here are the choices ...

Choice Number One:
A pair of vintage tea towel pillows. Tea towel fabric on front with pink chenille on back. Down-filled, trimmed in red. Zipper at the bottom.

Choice Number Two:
“Monkey Love” Bundle

One banana-yellow down-filled bolster ...


wrapped in a snuggly child-size throw designed with a playful monkey flannel on one side and a brown faux fur fabric on the other. Bonus: one monkey mask.

Choice Number Three:
“Best Friend” Framed Fabric Art

Choice Number Four:
Seashell Pillow (Shells on front, blueish-green fabric on back). Made with indoor/outdoor quality fabric, zipper on bottom, welted in a vintage seafoam green and white striped fabric. Poly form pillow insert.

And if your name is chosen and you live outside of the U.S., you will receive three matted wallpaper prints (shown above in shadowbox frames – sorry, frames will not be included in prize shipment).

The deadline to post your comment is 11:59 pm EST on February 14, 2010. The winner will be announced on Monday, February 15, 2010. Winner must then provide shipping address to me via e-mail in order to receive chosen favorite. Items not chosen by the winner will be listed for sale on Etsy. Good luck and thanks so much for reading my blog!

xoxo
yvonne