Vintage 365: Daydreaming about Hotel Chocolat's wildly elegant Valentine's Day collection

✯ Day 38 of Vintage 365 ✯

With only one week left to go until Valentine's Day comes fluttering back into town like cupid on a crosswind, I think it's only natural that my mind has started to wander into the realm of thinking about chocolate. Lush, rich, indescribably satisfying chocolate, that is, not merely the kind of everyday chocolate bar one might grab at the check-out aisle of the grocery store.

Generally speaking I have much more of a "salty tooth" than a sweet one, but I'm far from opposed to a dose of sugar from time-to-time, and should that dose happen to be chocolate, well then all the better! :)

There's something about Valentine's Day - set as it is in the middle of a freezing cold, still very grey month - that makes it utterly perfect for the mood enchanting, taste bud pleasing qualities that chocolate packs. Snow piled so high outside your window it looks like you feel into a foam pit? Nibble on a delicious truffle! Just about ready to throw your snow boots off a cliff? Take a deep, calming breath and reach for morsel of milk chocolate goodness. While chocolate can't actually erase the unpleasant elements of February, it can make getting through them about five million times more enjoyable (and more tasty!).

Though I haven't actually sampled any of their products yet, I've long been smitten with the enchantingly elegant (subtly vintage inspired) packaging that the UK based company Hotel Chocolat wraps their immensely pretty sweets up in. (I’ve also heard rave reviews from some lucky folks who have tasted Hotel Chocolat’s treats, all of whom said their tongues were extremely happy with the excellent chocolate this company produces.)

Given that Valentine's Day is right around the corner, it only seems fitting to daydream about a heart shaped box of incredibly luxurious chocolates - such as the Sealed with a Kiss collection pictured above, that's available for £40.00 from Hotel Chocolat's website.

What could be more chic, than the understatedly gorgeous white and black keepsake box this swoon-inducing selection of 35 premium quality chocolates (such as pralines, truffles, and liquid caramels - comes packaged in? Even just looking at this sophisticated box of Valentine's chocolate makes February seem more cheerful and exciting! (Now, if I could just justify spending that much on sweets – surely there must be a chocolate tax deduction, no? ;D)