Valentine Luncheon

Every year I have a Valentine's Luncheon for friends. Every year I have a different menu and different table decorations although the cherub candlesticks bought many years ago seem to graviate to the Valentine's table.

This year I decided that since red is the color of Valentine's that the tablecloth and napkins should be red as well as the flowers.

Tulips were bountiful this year and although I do like the smell of roses, tulips are really a better fit to Linderhof's style. Four of my antique silver julep glasses make the perfect low "vase" for a bouquet.

At each place is a silver vase which holds a placecard. One tulip in each vase for each guest. The placecard is the invitation that was mailed two weeks ago -- cut in half. It tells each guest where to sit on the front.

And on the back is the menu -- Rozelle Court Chicken Salad (from the dining room at the Nelson Gallery of Aart in Kansas City); Chantilla Lacy Fruit Salad (a bed and breakfast and tea room in Johnson City, Texas -- I whined until they gave me the recipe for the poppyseed dressing which is so perfect for fresh fruit), my mother's banana bread (for when she had her ladies over -- that was the menu -- chicken salad, fruit salad and banana bread). Dessert was to be heart shaped meringues but the weather didn't cooperate and so white chocolate cake with a orange marmalade filling was substituted.

The china is my grandmother's Noritake (Marcasite), the flatware is the English hotel silver (only knife and fork because it is a one plate meal) and the goblets are the parfait glasses that we always use for water. The red napkins are in my collection of silver napkin rings -- Victorian and Edwardian most with names but some with initials.

This is my second "Tablescape Thursday" -- sponsored by Susan from Between Naps on the Porch. It was so much fun last week that I thought I would participate again!