From the garden

As I mentioned earlier this week, we toured the Blithewold Mansion in Bristol, Rhode Island.
They had a handful of incredible gardens filled with the most beautiful flowers and a couple of critters too!

This past week

This past week was a rough one for me. Since last Sunday I've been feeling pretty horrible... ok, really horrible. It started with a bad sore throat and then eventually turned into a viral infection that will take another 6+ days to get over. Sigh. Despite the symptoms and lack of sleep, I was actually able to get a few things done. Since Stephen's birthday was Saturday, I spent most of the week preparing for that (which included tackling a pile of laundry we had been playing Jenga with for more than a few days... seriously it was huge/growing up our closet wall) as well as getting a lesson done for my Cub Scouts, cleaning, getting the house ready for friends to stay with us, errand running and present wrapping. While I was grocery shopping, I found those pretty flowers below and some cool pumpkins. How much did they cost me? $12! Thank you Publix! During one of my energy spurts (about 30 minutes after taking medication) I made Wisconsin cauliflower soup and paninis. You can find the recipe for the soup via the link below. Now that I think about it, that probably wasn't the best move ever, especially after thinking about those 15 minutes of Stephen telling me to relax and that he'd go pick us up something to eat. But thankfully it's Monday and that week is over. I realize that I probably should have gone to the doctor sooner and I probably should have taken it easier (but thank you Stephen for putting up with me, I'm stubborn I know, but I really appreciate you always being there for me). Hopefully this week will be different. I'll keep you posted.

{soup} Note: I pureed the mixture in a blender for 2 minutes on a medium speed to make it smooth and creamy.

Unique Valentine's arrangements

There are a couple people I'm giving flowers to this year- my two visiting teaching sisters and one of my professors who just had back surgery. Earlier in the week I found Kerr canning jars a Michaels for only $1.19. (What a great deal since vases are so expensive. These jars worked perfectly into my budget and what I had in mind design wise). I threw these arrangements together in about half an hour. I bought the flowers in various bunches at Costco for a total of $19.00 (also a great deal since flowers nearly double in cost around Valentine's Day). The colors aren't very traditional, but I just wasn't into red or white. Then it was just a matter of stripping them down and cutting them to size. I tied little pieces of twine around the lid to tie a tag to once I had finished. I think I prefer the arrangements without bows, but it works either way.

December Arrangement

Our last lab in floral design was an "evergreen" design. This design consists of a variety of evergreen foliage as well as carnations, starburst mums, button mums, roses, hypericum berries, statice and pine cones. This arrangement took the longest to make because of the collaring of greens and the strategic placement of flowers. The candle sits on top of the foam and is secured with wooden dowels that encircle its base. The arrangement is suppose to last well into Christmas with a life of about 4-5 weeks. It's been a little over a week so far and everything still looks fresh and lively.

Giving Thanks

This Thanksgiving we had the opportunity to go to Florida and be with Stephen's family. Our friends from Brazil, Arlindo and Rosangela came to visit too. We really enjoyed spending time with everyone, relaxing and soaking up the warm weather. We have so much to be thankful for this year!

For my floral design class our assignment was to create a centerpiece for a Thanksgiving dinner table. This is what I made:

Emme trying on Stephen's boot.

Arlindo and Rosangela.

This is why we were so happy to be somewhere warm (what we returned to):

A Gift for Stephen's Boss

A little while ago Stephen's boss had a birthday, so I made this glass cube arrangement for her. When Stephen took it to her at work, she wasn't there. The next day she found it and thought the girls at work gave it to her :)

Boutonniere Basics

Mid-semester we learned how to make boutonnieres and corsages. The techniques we learned included: piercing methods, wiring methods, taping methods and attachment methods. These are four of the basic ones we did in lab.

November Arrangement

One of the floral arrangements we made in November was inside of a pumpkin. It was probably the hardest arrangement to make so far, but it turned out really good. I gave it to my boss and his family to enjoy since Stephen and I went to Florida for Thanksgiving. He was super impressed and kept telling me how it was still looking great 3 weeks later.

Front

 Back

Cubes

I'm taking a floral design class this semester and I absolutely love it!

Here's this week's arrangement that went to...

...Karen (former employer) at the BYU Bookstore.

Retail: $50-$60

(Price matched on telafloral.com)

We are given certain flowers each week (according to what we are learning/studying in class) and can do whatever we like (any color scheme). The first week I did an autumn theme, last week I did pinks, greens and whites in a hand wrapped bouquet. They were both quite lovely. Unfortunately I didn't take pictures them :(