Flowers for Friday

Just three delicate pink tulips in a petite Chinoiserie vase delights me so!  Hope your Friday is lovely, dearies! 

Flowers for Friday

If your Valentine didn't bring you the posies you wanted, treat yourself this Friday!  I splurged on fuchsia roses and purple freesia to celebrate another week.

Flowers for Friday

With its soft yellow and pink face, this orchid reminds me of the singing flowers in Alice in Wonderland.  When I pass by the lovely blooms in our entryway, I secretly hope I'll catch them humming along.

Flowers (and vino) for Friday

Santa brought me a very lovely Trader Joe's gift card this year. Rather than stocking up on peanut butter or cereal or some other essentials, I splurged on pink gerber daisies and a bottle of Seismic Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand (and it's quite "quaffable" as my dad would say). Thanks, Santa, for indulging me in my favorite Friday treats.  

Flowers for Friday

My friends, here are few festive red tulips to brighten your morning and make your day sparkle. As you spend the day preparing for holiday festivities, don't forget to do something lovely for yourself.  A bunch of flowers will certainly perk up a winter's day!

Flowers for Friday

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." -Norman Vincent Peale

Today I didn't even have to treat myself to my Friday flowers.  One of my dearest friends (she is my Thelma, I'm her Louise) brought me this festive bunch of red and white blooms with lots of evergreen tucked in the bouquet too.  
What a lovely surprise!

Flowers for Friday (and chocolate too!)

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.” 
― Charles M. Schulz

Another week of hard work has passed.  Time to celebrate the weekend with people you love.  Today I treated myself thrice---why stop with a bunch of ruffled tulips when you can also indulge in a bottle of vino and some dark chocolate? 

Flowers for Friday

Finally after weeks of lingering summer, the weather has turned crisp and cool in Southern California.  Yesterday after our first good rain since spring, my little one and I walked through the park, feeling the bright sun on our faces, listening to the winds rustling the changing leaves and noticing that unmistakable, diffused autumn light.  

To celebrate this welcome shift in temperature and seasons, I've adorned my table today with autumnal mums and bright green hypernicum berries.  Don't forget to treat yourselves to a cheery pumpkin or fall flowers today.  Harvest those last few perfect days before chilly winter blows into our lives yet again.  Happy weekend, my dears!

Flowers for Friday

“I must have flowers, always, and always.”
― Claude Monet

Flowers for Friday

"The Amen of nature is always a flower." 
-Oliver Wendell Holmes

Flowers for Friday

Van Gogh, Sunflowers, 1888

Today I bought a bunch of sunflowers.  Normally, I wouldn't purchase these big, hearty blooms, but I've been reading about Van Gogh and had sunflowers on my mind.  I arranged them in a champagne bucket for the perfect mix of country and classy. They've been smiling at me ever since. 

Flowers for Friday

When I buy my weekly flowers, I gravitate to the simplicity of a gerber daisy.  They are ordinary and youthful and lovely.  I remember as a girl being delighted by the bright, vivacious hues of these happy flowers.  The daisies seem so innocent and remind me of young girls plucking petals and reciting, "he loves me, he loves me not."  Today I mixed the joyful blooms with some summery pink and orange snapdragons to create an explosion of warm colors. 

Flowers for Friday

“Nobody sees a flower - really - it is so small it takes time - we haven't time - and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.” -Georgia O'Keeffe

Georgia O'Keeffe, Pink Tulip, 1926

Flowers for Friday

"There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose, because before he can do so he has first to forget all the roses that were ever painted."
-Henri Matisse

Flowers for Friday

(Ahem, yes, I am aware it is indeed Sunday and not Friday. You must forgive my tardiness.  My brain is in baby-mode, not bloggy-mode.  But at least I got you flowers to apologize.)

I am in a serious ranuculus phase.  On my Friday trips to the market, generally, I can't leave without a bundle of tulips, but these days I am adoring the crinoline ruffles and watercolor hues of these pinkish flowers.

Flowers for Friday

I'm having a case of the blues today, so I'll just post my happy tulips and irises and think good thoughts. No wise words or witty banter pour moi this week, simply flowers will have to do.

Words to Live by

"Arranging a bowl of flowers in the morning can give a sense of quiet in a crowded day - like writing a poem or saying a prayer."
-Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Pink Week: Flower Power

"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles."
-Audrey Hepburn   

As a build-up to the pinkest of all holidays (ahem, Valentine's Day), this week I'm celebrating some of my favorite pinkalicious goodies.  

For today, a few pink posies to peak your passion for Valentine's Day. 

Flowers for Friday

When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.  ~Chinese Proverb

In recent Fridays, I've been forgoing my usual bunch of flowers at the market, buying loafs (of bread) instead of lilies.  But today, I indulged in this little bouquet of pink daisies, white hydrangea and little bright green berries.  These eclectic springy flowers bring a little sunshine to the apartment.  I never regret the pennies spent on fresh flowers for my home.

Flowers for Friday

Not one of Flora's brilliant race
  A form more perfect can display;
    Art could not feign more simple grace
      Nor Nature take a line away.

      - James Montgomery, On Planting a Tulip

Nothing adds more elegance to a room than a large clear vase of tulips. Whether you fancy the pinkest pink or a creamy ivory, tulips gracefully bend and arc on their green stems.  They delight us with their simplicity and amaze us with their beauty.

This Friday, indulge in a bunch of fresh tulips and you'll be cheerful all weekend long.