Fresh Cut Friday

For this week's Fresh Cut Friday, I wanted to use what I had. Not spend any money. Be thrifty. So, I snipped the few remaining blooms from my poinsettia plants, robbed half of last week's arrangement of its blooms, and came up with this...



I used four little bud vases (or whatever they were originally intended to be), and lined them up on the dining room table. Much like last week's flowers, they have a "Valentiney" feel to them. Wouldn't little arrangements like these be cute for a baby or bridal shower? The carnations look so girly with all of those ruffly petals! Not that poinsettias are available year-round. But you could use a different leafy plant in place of the poinsettia.

So there's another Fresh Cut Friday for you. Simple. Pretty. And FREE!

Lamp Lust

In the market for a lamp, or 10? Wish I was. During my last trip to HomeGoods, I spotted these beauties, all of which were very reasonably priced. Like $39-$59. I wanted to take them home...every single one of them.

I really have a thing for lamps. And mirrors. And pillows. All of which are found in abundance at HomeGoods. It's a miracle when I leave empty handed. Not that it happens often.

Fresh Cut Friday

Get excited...I'm back with another "Fresh Cut Friday"! This week, I stopped in at Flowerama for my fresh cut flora. Normally, I would stay far, far away from a place like this. They have wooden wind mills and scary garden statues sitting out front to greet you. Not my kind of place. But I was wanting something pretty specific. Something I knew they'd have. Something I used to hate...CARNATIONS. I think I actually once told Jason I'd rather receive no flowers than receive carnations. Can you say snobby? But I seriously used to hate them! However, these days I think they're OK, in the right application. I'm still not a fan when they're mixed in with other more "sophisticated" flowers. But I do think they can look pretty charming on their own, displayed in tight little bunches.

Since Valentine's Day is right around the corner, and I don't have much V-Day decor, I thought I'd go "Valentiney" with the flowers. That led me to carnations. I think they last a while, so hopefully these cute little bunches will stick around until 2/14 hits. My mom got Jason and I these initial mugs from Anthropoligie for Christmas. I thought they'd make the perfect little vessels for my carnations.

Here is a bunch in Jason's mug...

And another little bunch in my mug...

I am loving the pretty pink hue and the texture of these carnantions. Perfect for Valentine's Day. Even for us reformed carnation haters. A girl can change her mind, right???

Pizza Love

Made this pizza tonight, courtesy of Pioneer Woman. It is the first recipe of hers I've tried, and let's just say...I'll be trying more. Soooo good! The Mr. & I make a lot of homemade pizza, and I've been searching for the perfect pizza crust recipe for a long time. I think I may have found it!

Fresh Cut Friday

I really, really love having fresh flowers in the house. They add color and life to whatever room they're in. If I could, I would have an arrangement in every room of my house...at all times. BUT, since that isn't exactly realistic, I am going to aim to have at least one fresh bouquet in my house, at all times. And to help me with that self-serving goal, I am going to institute "Fresh Cut Friday" as a weekly feature on this little blog of mine.

For the most part, I get my flowers at my local grocery store while I'm doing my weekly shopping. But every once in a while I get to hit up other places that offer a wider variety. Like Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, or Walter Knoll. WK lets you create your own bouquets from the buckets of flowers in their cooler. You can do that any day of the week, but on Saturdays & Sundays, they're half off. I used to live just few minutes from one of their shops, so I took advantage of that deal often. I could walk out of there with two or three great bouquets for under $20.

Sadly, I never find myself near a Walter Knoll on the weekends anymore, but that doesn't stop me from popping in on my lunch break every once in a while to pick my own bouquet from their cooler. This is what I brought home today...

This arrangement turned out a little wild, but I like that. I love the color combo. The wintry gray with the bright and springy yellow and orange is perfect for this time of year. Ahh...nothing like fresh flowers in the house. I look forward to having them around ALL of the time!

Download Some Cuteness

I just came across this super cute 2011 calendar on Deliciously Organized...

And you can download it for FREE, on redstamp.com! They have a few other colorful designs, too. How great would one of these look in your office or tacked up on a bulletin board??? I can't wait to find a spot for mine.

Finds in The House

I'm back with another post, to show you what I did with my "Friday Finds". I've been working on them here and there the last few days. Really, the only thing that required work was the botanical print project. The mirrors were hung as-is.

First up, the $24 mirror. I left the frame dark and just cleaned it up a little. I hung it above my entry dresser. I think a really traditional piece like this looks best paired with something more modern and fun. In this case, the dresser with the chevron top. It keeps the mirror from looking too stuffy or formal.

Next is the coveted convex eagle mirror. I decided to hang it in the dining room. I was sick of the plates I had hanging here before. This definitely changes it up a bit. You can see I'm trying to trick myself into thinking Spring is almost here, with the tulips. Not working though...we got more snow today.

And finally, here are the botanical prints in those cheap-o frames. I spray painted them gold and popped the prints in them. It was really simple. To make sure all of the images were nice and centered in the frames, I cut them with an exacto knife, using the glass as a guide. And I didn't bother measuring when I hung them. I just eye balled it. Sure, I put a few extra holes in the wall. But they're tiny, and they're covered by the frames. If my dad reads this, you can bet he'll be doing some head shaking.

As you can see, I only have nine of the twelve hung right now. I think I'm going to pick up one more frame, so I can hang two more above each lamp to fill the space out a bit more. This is a big wall.

Seeing my finds repurposed and happily hung in my house makes me feel warm and fuzzy. And isn't it great how just a few new inexpensive pieces can freshen up a house? I get a major case of the blahs if things stay the same for too long. My husband just loves that, let me tell you. Hey, at least I do it on the cheap. And better yet, I don't ask for his help. I'm pretty sure that's enough to appease him.