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I won't keep you waiting another minute!
The girls were all in a dither....
...so excited to be getting ready for Evi's special Valentine luncheon...
I had my goody bags all packed and ready.....bits and bobs of pretty papers...sheet music, buttons, lace and copies of vintage postcards, chocolate kisses and candy in a little wire bird's nest...etc., etc.....basically, lots of goodies to craft or make your own Valentine with....
We arrived at Evi's beautiful home dressed in our finest...or our funkiest!
No business suit for me today! Paula was wearing her favorite Anthro sweater....it looked so cute with her altered scarf.
And, as requested... here is a charming picture of a styling Carole.....
We're a rather shy and quiet group of girls...
...chuckle...
So....here is Evi's pretty dining room again.....
beautifully set with heart candies strewn about and...
... a stunning centerpiece of pink, red and white tulips that her handsome hubby Ebbie bought her for Valentine's Day.
click on any picture for a closer look!
Looking into the dining room and beyond from the kitchen ....
...it is hard to see because of the light in this picture, but their home sits high on a hill and the view is beautiful out through these French doors, over the deck out to the snow covered mountains in the distance.
Evi, a gourmet cook and fabulous baker...made us each a packet of decorated sugar cookies!
She baked some very large cookies in the shape of crowns which she used as our place markers...
I told you she treated us royally! :)
Our hostess served a delicious carrot soup with crusty rolls, a tossed salad of mixed greens, cheese and cucumbers, Swiss chicken cutlets with tomatoes and avocado on top and a yummy orzo salad. Evi promised to share the recipes!
There were hearts and touches of red everywhere....
I will share some more details of her home and collections in the next few days....
And just when we didn't think there was room in our tummies for anything else...Evi served these sweet little lemon cakes baked in the shape of hearts!
...and chocolate dipped strawberries....yum!
We had extra strawberries as Deanna brought some to share too!
You can never have too many chocolate dipped strawberries...
...at least in my humble opinion :)
...and that's not all!
...look at this apricot cranberry frangipane...to die for!
....it was all so very delicious!
Then, these creative and artistic girlfriends of mine shared some wonderful handmade gifts!
Paula covered these little heart boxes with vintage sheet music, bird images, bits of lace, ivory buttons and an antique key....
....dreamy....always faithful to her favorite palette of creamy whites...
...inside were caramels...
..and look at that crafty Carole!
She fashioned personal hearts for each of us...(mine was blue of course)
...with lovely fabrics and handmade tags...
She covered tins with vintage papers....the top with lace and filled them with Valentine goodies...
Think of all the time she spent...all this clever talent!
(You can tell that the spring season hasn't begun yet at Maynard Greenhouse...)
Paula wrapped a special gift for me with pretty papers, a crochet shade pull and stamped tag...
(gift to be revealed at a later date!!)
Debbie gifted us with homemade chocolate and almond bark and wrapped each box with special paper and her own heart tags...
She even added ruby jewels as accents to the wrapping paper!
That Debbie is oh, so sophisticated!
...and also a fabulous cook and baker!
...her meringue mushrooms?.....yummmmmm!
And then Carole gave Evi this incredible book box that she created herself with pretty papers, fabric and laces....Can you picture her carving and shaping the insides of this old book?
This was Kathleen and Deanna 's first visit to Evi's home and they were thrilled to take the tour and get an inside look at her amazing studio where all the magic happens and where she creates her unique and highly desirable dolls! Kathleen took home a snow angel and we are all looking forward to Evi's next show at the end of March...
...There was more too...much more...
...but we must save some for another day!
Evening came too soon....more snow was expected...the girls had a two hour drive back to Conneticut...so after many hugs and a tear or two...we said goodbye!
Thank you Evi for hosting this wonderful Valentine luncheon and 52 Flea's first blogversary party! It all started here!
To enter the 52 Flea Give-Back just click HERE to read all about it...
... and leave a comment for a chance to win!
