Valentine's Day Boxes - Revealed!

Well.. my Valentine's Day was a BLAST! 

I had SO much fun making Valentine's boxed lunches. 

There were a TOTAL HIT and I can't wait to do it all over again next year! 

So... do you want to see how they turned out? 

I'll show you! I took a ton of pictures. 

It's amazing how something SO simple, 

with some small details and lots of LOVE 

can turn out SO special!

I started by personalizing some of the products I purchased.
It's the little touches that make a HUGE impact!
I printed labels and attached them down with good, old fashioned elmer's glue.
I'm sure there's something easier, but that's all I had and it totally worked! 

Aren't these SO cute?
I attached an adorable poke-a-dot straw
with some red and white twine, giving them such a nostalgic feel. 

The more... the merrier!  

I had three types of cakepops:
Vanilla, Peppermint and Chocolate Truffle.
They matched my "Red, White and Pink" color scheme! 

All the boxes are lined up and packed with the items.
 I had to find the PERFECT fit, before I added the food.
(Yes... I'm THAT O.C.D.)
Poor Mr. Giles... he walked into the house
to find ALL the couches covered in boxes and nowhere to sit!
Thank God I married a VERY flexible man,
 who loves my creativity and will sacrifice for the greater good of his wife.

 I labeled every box with the name of the recipient.
using my alphabet red ink stamps.
They turned out perfectly!
Yes... the middle box says, "Benny Boy"... it was for by Brother-In-Law.
As fellow Melancholies, we are ALWAYS using inside jokes
and I knew he would think it was funny!

Here is a view from the top.

I placed a menu on the inside cover of the box.
When they opened the box, they would what was on the inside. 

Here is what it looked like. 

A Box Tour:
Left Side: A personal drink, straw and cakepop.
Middle: The plastic container held a salad.
Right Side: The white container held the soup and the stripped,
red and white wax paper, held the sandwich.
Bottom: A red napkin held the gold silverware and
it was tied with twine and a label.  

Here is the top of the box.

  So, on to the BEST part... the food! 

THE SALAD: 

California Salad 
Salted Pecans, Cranrasins and Blue Cheese Crumbles with a Raspberry Vinaigrette

All packaged up! 

THE SOUP: 

Organic Tomato Bisque
This was really simple to assemble... UNTIL the containers started leaking!!!
Thank God I noticed it BEFORE I put them in their boxes.
With some quick thinking,
I used leftover containers from my old food business and saved the day!  

Don't you just I love 'like items' lined up!
Yes.. it REALLY makes me happy!
No wonder I love Crate and Barrel's kitchen section.
Everything looks so clean and all the 'like items' so neatly stacked!  

THE SANDWICH

San Francisco Grilled Cheese
sharp cheddar cheese, roasted turkey, avocado and spicy mustard
Unfortunately, this is the only picture I took of the sandwiches.
Some of them had avocado, turkey and cheese and others were just plain grilled cheese.
I used a thick, rustic french bread and a spicy mustard.
 It was divine!

HINT: Between us girls, if I had to do it over again, I would make a cold sandwich.
 Even though they came out of the oven all toasty and delishous,
I'm not sure if they lasted as long in the delivery process.
I'm sure some people received them luke warm and had to reheat them.
So... you live and learn.
Next year, I will make a Classic BLT or a Chicken Salad Sandwich.
YUMMY.. my mouth is watering just thinking about it!  

Here is the final package.
Elegant, simple and perfect in every way!
I tied the box with more red and white twine.
It helped to keep the lid shut and all the goodies inside. 

Off to deliver the packages... all stacked in my Swagger Wagon!

On a side-note: 

I SURPRISED Mr. Giles and show up to his work in THIS! 

To my very "BRITISH" husband (who NEVER wants attention)
I knew it would be OVER THE TOP for him.
I was right!
When he saw me walking up to his work in this shirt,
he hugged me and asked if I HAD to come inside?
To which I responded, "Absolutley!"
Makes me smile even thinking about it.

Mr. Giles received a box too!
NO... not every box had LOVER BOY on it. 

Here is the box with food in it!

Mr. Giles enjoying his drink! 

Mr and Mrs. Giles
8 years ago, Daniel flew me up to Scotland and we had our first kiss!
What an incredable memory we shared.
Every Valentine's Day is special and we love to celebrate it!
Some years, we've booked beautiful hotel rooms or dinner cruises,
 other years we've stayed home and had a beautiful, romantic take out dinner.

No matter how big or how small we celebrate,
We love spending it together.

Here's to 40 future Valentine's Days!!!!

Cheers, until we meet again,  

Debsx