Fourteen Days of Love - Day 4 - Straight to the Heart ~ New House Design

What is Valentine's Day without hearts? By far, this one symbol outshines them all as a representation of love and devotion.

As I planned out this party–months ago–I thought of all the symbols one associates with Valentine's Day. I listed as many as I could think of and, from that list, chose fourteen to be the topics of the

Fourteen Days of Love.

I didn't give a great deal of thought to the fact that as the hostess of this little affair, I would have to have things to share for each day's topic.

Now, don't misunderstand. I knew I would be publishing a post

each day–hopefully, one filled with fun and creativity. I just had not taken stock of how many things I actually had around the cottage, or in my personal photo files, that would actually match those topics.

So…bear with me as I share what I could find related to hearts!

The day I was in Marshalls, I was a camera-clicking machine. After all, I figured I was already there–and they had lots of pretties–so, why not take lots of pictures.

I really liked this heart-shaped wire basket filled with roses. I even contemplated purchasing it and using the roses in my tablescape here.

They also had the basket in a different finish with solid pink roses. I liked the silver basket better, but preferred the other roses…so, I just passed on both of them.

I did think seriously about that cute serving set though. Then I decided that I wanted to go in a different direction with the look of my tablescape, so I nixed it as well. Hey, a girl can change her mind–right?!

But, I was very happy with the Valentine's dishes I was able to get–with all their pretty hearts and sweet pinkness! ; )

Though these ramekins were terribly cute additions to the dishes Marshalls had on display, I wanted something that would play well with all the crystal and glass that I would be using on my Valentine's table.

When I found these sweet little votive holders, I knew they would be perfect! I used them as salt cellars in the tablescape, and will later use them for their intended purpose.

After reading a lot of blogs, I've made a discovery. Many of you love, love, love red! So…you should really shine tomorrow for the day's topic–Seeing Red.

I use very little red in my decorating–even at Christmas–but, Marshalls dedicated as much space to red Valentine items as they did pink.

Want to know why I'm such a fan of that chain of retail stores? They have a fabulous selection–at least in my area–at phenomenal prices. Their original prices are great, but their clearance section is awesome!

Honestly, that's the first place I check in each department. And they always have great bargains there!

These crystal napkin rings were reduced to $7.00. Can you make out the shape? Yep, hearts!

And this sweet little teapot was only $5.00–because it had blown its lid.

These whimsical Annalee mice would have been something I would have snapped up for my children when they were younger. Since our darling little granddaughter, Lana Lexie, is a bit too young for them right now, I just took in all their cuteness and passed on by.