Happy Valentines Day! (and GIVEAWAY)

{love}

Happy Valentine's Day! The restaurants will be crowded, so our family will be cooking a heartfelt, homemade dinner for five, and finding a good excuse to use...

{my red transferware - photo from a 2010 post}

 My late grandmother Honey's romantic red transferware dishes. I don't think they are technically "china", but we call them "Great Grandma Honey's Fine China." We have a full set that comes out for special occasions. We are missing Honey this year, she passed away last October at 100. (And she actually visited China! Honey had a love for travel!)

Her vibrant red dishes will make any meal full of love.

{GIVEAWAY! Loretta Fontaine Jewelry Reversible Maria necklace with Crimson Rose}

Don't forget to enter my ongoing Valentine's Day Giveaway (find the giveaway post here) to win my romantic Maria necklace. I am drawing the winner February 16th at noon.

{Albany, N.Y.'s finest - Krauses's Handmade Candies chocolates}

The winner also gets a tempting box of chocolates? How can you resist that!

What are you doing this Valentine's Day?

Loretta

Valentine's Day Earring and Chocolate Giveaway!

 Let's do a sweet giveaway! The winner will be chosen on Valentine's Day, and receive this pair of Loretta Fontaine Jewelry freshwater pearl earrings on handmade sterling silver wires.

...and a box of chocolate from Krause's Handmade Candy! (This is our BEST local chocolate!)

To enter, be a follower of this blog and leave a comment below. For a second and third chance, post this giveaway on Facebook and Twitter, and leave a comment below, as well!

Winner will be chosen by randomnumber.com at 10:30pm EST February 14.

Loretta

A Trip to Krause's Handmade Candy for our WINNER Art By Karena!

{not a stock photo - these are the giveaway chocolates! Yum!}

Oh, how I wish I could send jewelry and a heart shaped box of chocolates to all the readers who left comments during my Valentine's Day Giveaway! But there was one number picked, and our lucky winner is the beautiful and talented Karena Albert,  author of the popular and wonderful blog Art By Karena! She'll be getting these luscious chocolates, handmade here in Albany, New York...

 ... to go with my handmade sterling silver and freshwater pearl earrings! Follow me as we take a visit to Krause's Handmade Candies in Albany where we picked out the chocolates...

{1609 Central Avenue, Albany, New York}

Krause is a familiar name in chocolates on the east coast, with shops run by various Krause family members operated in Albany, New Jersey, Saugerties and Long Island. It began when Alfred Krause came to the United States from Germany in 1929 with his Old-World knowledge of candy making.  Alfred's grandson Tom opened Krauses's Handmade Chocolates in Albany in 1986.

{don't know how he banged his nose!}

 I brought along a little chocolate lover. Preschool really tired him out that morning, because Son H arrived at the candy shop like this...

{candy land}

 Now, you can find more "gourmet" handmade chocolates in our area, but when I think Valentine's Day I think of a red heart shaped box full of luscious classics - smooth creams and truffles, chewy caramels and nut-filled bites. I don't need the gold leaf or strange fillings!

{How to choose?}

Krause's has a huge classic candy counter. The chocolates are made fresh with quality chocolate and the best ingredients.  Their factory is right through the doors behind the counter.

{handmade penuche fudge, anyone?}

Did I mention there are a lot of samples? I must have tried at least four treats laid out on the counters.

{Love the floppy hats the employees wear!}

 If you are cute, you'll even get to pick an extra sample from behind the counter! 

{sucker for sprinkles of any kind - Son H picked the nonpariel}

I was thinking I'd score 50% off Valentine's Day candy two days after Valentine's Day, but I forgot at Krause's the boxes are filled to order!

 

Let's see if I can remember what I choose... Raspberry, blueberry and coconut creams, chocolate truffles, dipped marzipan, white and dark chocolate peanut butter cups! (If this makes you hungry, Krause's Handmade Candies ships across the country.)

{the beautiful Karena Albert}

Happy Valentine's Day, Karena! Please visit Karena's blog on Art, Interior Design, Architecture and Inspiration: Art By Karena.  Not only a talented artist, Karena is also a generous and inspirational person, and actively involved in the Kansas City, Missouri art scene!

I could not think of a sweeter Valentine.

Loretta