"I have never yet known what it was to separate esteem from love . . ."
Sense and Sensibility, chapter 3
Valentine's Day always gets the decorating shaft at our house, second only to Arbor Day. I guess I run out of steam after Christmas. And cash. But when February dawned on the calendar this year, I decided to put at least a little (and affordable) effort into Cupid's big day.
Today I created a vignette in the kitchen by scouring the house for glass jars. I then stuffed them with the least tempting pink and red candies I could find. (Heaven knows I'd eat them all if they were even close to appealing. Just ask the bag of Dove chocolates that used to be in the cupboard.) Luckily, I'm not a huge fan of taffy or Smarties because they are a super inexpensive jar filler. And when you find that you don't have enough candy corn for your deceptively big apothecary jar, granulated sugar makes a nice base.
Now, while I can pass by a Swedish fish without the least bit of longing, my kids can't. That is why I made the love synonym labels on each jar. If the kids want a candy, then they have to exhibit at least a smidgen of the "lovely" behavior listed on the jar of their choice. That, or they have to wait until Mom and Dad aren't looking.
Come to think of it, I should have labeled the jars with behaviors like "clean toilets" and "say your mom looks skinny" if I really wanted this to pay off. Oh well. Maybe I'll just have to save those labels for Arbor Day.
Linked up to Dear Lillie's Valentine Party :)
What a great idea. I love it!
ReplyDeleteYou are my hero. And a genius!
ReplyDeleteI really like your Valentine decor in your kitchen. I know what you mean about the yummy candy. I wouldn't want to put chocolate in the glass jars if they were at my house. hehe I love those birds too. Happy Valentine's Day, sweet friends.
ReplyDelete~Sheri at Red Rose Alley