In chocolates, they gave Candinas, La Maison du Chocolat, Jacques Torres and Norman Love Confections all "excellent" ratings, with West-coast favorite See's Candies coming in close behind with a "very good" rating, along with Godiva and Leonidas. Target's Choxie brand followed with a "good" rating.

For the florists, reliability seemed to present a problem with some vendors. ProFlowers offered selection, value and reliability, but FTD.com, which stocks the Todd Oldham bouquets, sent out the nicest arrangement. CR still recommends going with a local florist, if you can, for best results.

A bouquet of roses on Valentine's Day sends a message, but that message could be anything from "let's be friends" to "I love you." The only sure way to make the message clear is by directly including it with the roses. And in this case, you can actually put the message directly on the long-stemmed Colombian roses directly. From Hammacher Schlemmer, these Personalized Roses are each embossed in gold with your choice of "I love you," "Happy Birthday," and "Happy Valentine's Day." They are sold by the dozen and packed with baby's breath and greens, in your choice of red, white, pink or yellow roses. Price: $80.

Add a little springtime into your home with the Little Tulip Chair from Pierre Paulin. The chair is sculpted in the simple, well-known outline of one of nature's most recognizable flowers. It comes in either fabric, primarily wool, or leather upholstery, with six options to choose from: interglobe wool, success fabric, gaja fabric, tonus fabric, divina fabric or elmo soft leather. There are also five different finishes to choose from for the base of the chair. Individually, the chairs can be used in an office, as a desk chair, or used as kitchen chairs in a modern kitchen. Price: $1,200.

[via BLTD]

Flowers with functionality, like the Sarah Clock, are something we wouldn't mind seeing more of. Somehow, flowers make things a little more fun. They can also brighten up a room, as the Flowerpower Fan does in each of its six bright colors. Far more aesthetically pleasing than the fan you might have had back in your dorm room at college, the fan blades on this 3-speed fan are made from high-density foam, meaning that they are safe enough to not require enclosure in a metal cage. It also means that, unlike more traditional fans, these are easy to clean and will not simply push dust around. Price: £395.

[via Funfurde]

If I had to guess, I would say that this soccer ball is aimed at art fans or collectors more than soccer fans. Soccer fans seem to be drawn towards balls that they can play with, or balls that have been signed by their favorite team, rather than a limited edition ball that seems intended for display. That said, despite the bold, floral pattern designed by Takashi Murakami, this ball could be used to play a game in the yard during a World Cup half-time. It is manufactured by one of the leading soccer ball companies, Molten USA, with FIFA approved materials and construction. What really mark it as a work of art, though, are the clear plastic display bag and the $400 price tag.

The Bulgari special edition Flower Sunglasses hit all the hot sunglass style points of the moment. They have black acetate wrap-around frames, large lenses and are loaded with sparking Swarovski crystals. The flower detailing makes them unique in the bling department, since many other sunglass designs this season took a more abstract approach to their ornamentation. Variations on the theme include glasses without frames and colored frames, like the pair shown here in Bordeaux. The lens shades vary slightly with each color. To get a pair yourself, look for a retailer in your area.