A Bright and Beautiful Entrance

I certainly don't mind having April flowers instead of showers, as long we don't have to make up for it in May or June. I have been loving the great weather we've been having, and all the fun activities that come along with it. It's so nice to add a nice long walk/ bike ride back into our nightly rotation, we all sleep better, and a little exercise never hurt anyone. One of my favorite parts of our walks other than watching my adorable little girl has been seeing all the beautiful flowers blooming EVERYWHERE!
I seriously think I have some crazy version of spring fever, all I want is fresh flowers all around, all the time. Thankfully I don't have to drive all the way to town for them now. I just have to walk outside. I snipped these beauties off of the tree in our cul-de-sac, and I am totally loving them. I was tempted to cut enough for the whole house, but I don't know how my neighbours would feel about that. We'll see, I'm still considering it.

also, notice my little girls handiwork, she got these little white ceramic animals and paint in her Easter basket, and went to town on them. What mother doesn't adore their child's art, I love incorporating it into our decor.

I bought some pots a few weeks ago at our local discount store, (Ollie's for the locals) and I have been patiently waiting to get some flowers to plant in them. Well, today was my lucky day. I decided to bite the bullet, and buy some blooms. I went to my usual flower place, Home Depot, I love their "insurance" if they die within one year, you can bring them back. For a black thumb like me that's enough to have me SOLD!

I bought a bunch, and tried to buy them in colors that would go well with the house, and our fun new zig-zaggy doormat which is orange, red and blue.

I got some ranunculus,

some gerbera daisies,

and a bunch more that were colorful, and liked a lot of sun.

The front of our house has gone through some pretty big changes in the past few weeks. The landscapers cut down a tree, and pulled out the two bushes that flank our front steps.

before: with the tree and bushes

after: no tree, less bushes, more flowers

It really made a huge difference. Our whole house looks brighter!

I love how the entry looks now with our freshly painted door and our newly potted flowers.

YAY! They look great with our new mat, and really brighten up our front door. 

I just need to find or make a wreath, and I'll be done, at least for now.

What have you been doing to bring some spring to your house?



Linked Up To:

Enjoying the View

The trees and flowers are blooming all over our neighborhood, so I brought my camera along last night when  Olivia and I went for our nightly bike ride/ walk. 

I plan on having these printed, and framing them for Olivia's room. They are so beautiful. 

I purposely framed this shot with our house in the background.

It adds a fun little personal touch.

Feel free to print and use these photos for your own personal use. Please do not try to sell them. (I doubt anyone would actually want to pay anything for my amateur photography skills anyway)  :)

March Blooms of the Month

Sorry about my little hiatus this past week. My darling husband tore his meniscus at work, and his surgery was on Thursday, so I have been loving on him, and nursing him back to health the past few days.

Here he is right before surgery. I just couldn't resist snapping a pic
with my iPhone. He looked handsome even with his gown and hat on. 

I have been just loving all the daffodils and tulips that are sprouting and blooming all over the place. Nothing makes it feel like spring, quite like the sight of flowers blooming. Daffodils are my favorite by far, and seeing them everywhere makes me as happy as can be. Spring has Sprung! As a matter of fact, today at 1:14am Spring began with the vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere.

Our sweet baby girl, majorly cheesing for the camera in her spring hat that she made at school today.

I have been anxiously anticipating this day, and couldn't be happier that my wait is over! There are so many wonders that spring brings; fresh breezes coming in the windows, sun on your face while watching the kids play outside, flowers popping up everywhere. What better way is there to welcome spring than to make some bright and fresh flower arrangements to display around the house!
After my husbands physical therapy appointment yesterday, we stopped by my favorite place for flowers, and picked up a few bunches.

They are so beautiful!

As soon as I got home I grabbed my biggest vase and put them all in some water, so they would stay nice and fresh until I had a chance to arrange them (it's a good thing I did, because they sat like that until today)

I spent $15 on all of the flowers, including the mum and pussy willow, and I was able to make 5 flower arrangements, plus I potted the mum, and put the pussy willow in a vase with a thin neck (I am hitting myself for not buying more pussy willow. They look so wonderful on top of the mantel, and were just what I needed to add some height there. I really hope they still have some next time I'm in the area!)

just had to share that I am SO excited to finally be able to photograph things on
our dining room table without having to worry about getting the big white blob of
a refrigerator in the shot. we sold it two weeks ago, and I am SO glad it's gone!

I made this little bouquet with one of our small glasses, and it's definitely my favorite. All the bright colors just scream "SPRING" to me. I use any water tight containers that we have around the house. It saves us money on vases, and I think when using something this simple, it really allows the flowers to get all the attention.

Here's a few more shots of the blooms!

I am loving the vivid colors!

I hope you all had a wonderful first day of spring!

Flowers Forever!

So, I LOVE having fresh flowers around the house, the thing is when I do buy flowers I don't want to spend a ton, and I want them to last longer than 3 days. I'm sure you can relate, the hubby brings you roses, but 3 or 4 days later they are totally wilted, and looking horrific. Yep, it happens, and it's such a sad waste of that hard earned cash. 

I am lucky enough to have found a produce store that sells flowers on the cheap. I'm talking 2 dozen roses for $6 - sometimes even less. I know, now y'all hate me. Anyway look around, do your research and find the best deal. I bought all the flowers in these pictures for about $20, and while I have to arrange them myself, I really don't mind. I would much rather buy a new accessory for our house than blow all our money on blooms.

These photos show how I kept rearranging those same $20 worth of flowers to make them last for 3 WHOLE WEEKS! 

Yep, 3 weeks, and that last arrangement still has a few days of life left in it. I just take them apart, pull out the nasty ones, and figure out a new way to put them back together. Another little tip I found is that if the ends are getting all soggy and swampish just chop them off, and put them in a short vase or even small water glasses like I did above.

What tricks do you have for saving cash on little luxuries like fresh flowers?

P.S. if you are local and are wondering where the awesome flower source is-

It's Produce Junction  on Mac Arthur Road. Check it out, they have the deals!

what type of flower is this?

Hello! Hope you're all having a wonderful week.  I love having fresh flowers around the house, and our local  produce place has incredibly low prices on loose bunches so I picked some up and brought them home to arrange. I decided to go with white this time, and grabbed some that caught my eye. 

Anyway, I love this flower, but I have no idea what it is. Does anyone know what type of flower this is?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!