Budget Blooms
Budget Blooms: Pink Lovelies (A Little Late)
As most of you know, every month we like to enjoy one inexpensive- and sometimes free- bouquet to keep things feeling fresh around here (the idea actually stemmed from a super sweet Christmas present from the hubs a while back). And since July was our anniversary month, we decided to honor that fact with some gladiolus stems that we snagged for a song at the grocery store a few weeks back (just $2.39 for the entire bouquet!).
What do gladiolus stems have to do with our anniversary? Well, three years ago we whipped up garden themed favors for our backyard wedding. We just picked up simple brown mini paper bags at Target and dropped a single gladiolus bulb into each one for our guests’ garden. We even added easy handwritten planting instructions on the back of each bag (they were one of the only bulbs that could be planted that late in the season). Clipped to the front of the bag was a photostrip (tying in with our photostrip save-the-date and the actual photobooth that we rented for the event) and the strip on the favor featured John’s face covered in lipstick kisses while we held signs that read: Plant one… on us! *smooooch*
Believe it or not, many of our friends and family members planted their gladiolus bulbs and actually get to enjoy their own little backyard blooms every summer when they sprout (my mom sends us pictures of hers every year without fail). But since ours never bloom (they shoot up leaves but don’t get enough sun to flower) we opted to pick up this under $3 bouquet to fill the void.
We love the sweet pink color and the tall sculptural stalks. Especially paired with my fun curvy green vase (a birthday gift from John’s sister from Crate & Barrel).
So although we didn’t get a chance to share our July bouquet in July, we figured it was better late than never. And before you know it we’ll be back with our August blooms so we’re sure not to miss those this time. But enough about us. What about you guys? Did you recently snag any greenery on the cheap from your backyard, your local grocery store, or even the farmer’s market? Tell us all about what flowers and other outdoor finds you’re loving this month.
Wanna see our first grocery store bouquet from last January? Itching to check out February, March, April, May, June, July, August, and September too? How about this year’s January, February, March, April, May, and June bouquets? Just follow the links for some pretty sweet cheap-o (and even free) bouquets.
Budget Blooms: Sunny Delights
As most of you know, every month we like to enjoy one inexpensive- and sometimes free- bouquet to keep things feeling fresh around here (the idea actually stemmed from a super sweet Christmas present from the hubs a while back). And this month John actually came home with a bouquet thanks to the fact that for the first time ever, he went grocery shopping without me. We always run errands like that together, but since Clara was just two and half weeks old at the time, us girls opted to stay behind and send daddy out for food on his own. Guess what? He survived without us (the nerve). And of course it was a lovely surprise when he returned with this cheerful $4 bouquet of yellow alstroemerias along with the milk, eggs, and other staples that he ducked out for.
They look great on the console table by the front door (especially since people have been stopping by to see Ms. Clara, so we love the little pop of color that hopefully says yes-we-have-a-newborn-but-our-house-hasn’t-imploded-in-the-meantime). Even if a few other rooms aren’t nearly as neat these days…
We love alstroemerias because they’re one of the best bang-for-your-buck grocery store bouquets that we’ve found. They easily last three or even four weeks – all we do is change the water every few days and recut the stems on an angle about every eight days or so. And these yellow guys are so happy and sweet (we’ve always gone with soft pink ones in the past).
And instead of opting for a super bright vase, this time we went with a simple square glass one that we had laying around. It creates a nice balance to the glass greenhouse on the other side of the console and it really lets the yellow blooms and those fresh looking green leaves be the stars.
So that’s our bloom o’ the month breakdown. Have you guys been enjoying alstroemerias or any other cheap but oh so charming flowers these days? What’s the state of affairs in your backyard? Any free blossoms to clip and pop into a vase for a quick little dose of happy in your kitchen or living room? Tell us all about your latest floral related endeavors.
Wanna see our first grocery store bouquet from last January? Itching to check out February, March, April, May, June, July, August, and September too? How about this year’s January, February, March, April and May bouquets? Just follow the links for some pretty sweet cheap-o (and even free) bouquets.
Budget Blooms: May Madness
As most of you know, every month we like to enjoy one inexpensive- and sometimes free- bouquet to keep things feeling fresh around here (the idea actually stemmed from a super sweet Christmas present from the hubs a while back). But this month we got lucky. Nope, not with a free backyard bouquet, but with the photo shoot that we mentioned this morning… which involved a cooler full of flowers provided by the prop stylist, many of which weren’t even touched when the cameras were being packed away.
And what did that ever-amazing prop stylist do? She offered all the floral outcasts to us as she left. Did I mention said prop stylist happens to be my best friend who actually worked with us on our last photo shoot with Do It Yourself magazine as well? Anyway, we tried to send the bouquets home with her and she said she would just throw them away if we didn’t keep them because she had a long hot drive home and they’d be a bit worse for wear. Convincing argument. So we kept them. And our house has never felt more fresh and spring-like. Here’s what we ended up with.
We inherited a few errant cream colored carnations…
… that we stuck in three cheap-o Ikea vases on the windowsill with a bit of greenery to beef them up.
And you may have noticed that bottle with three roses in the first shot of the kitchen. Well, we were also left with these beauties, so a glass milk bottle that we had laying around became quite a charming (and kitchen appropriate) vase.
Aren’t the scarlet tips so pretty with the creamy yellow coloring on the rest of each bud? We’re not usually rose people, but we’ve both stopped to admire these guys for the last week on a daily basis.
The half bathroom also inherited a nice little cluster of cream carnations. And this time the vase was actually one of our new drinking glasses from World Market.
We love how the green glass and the green stems work so well to offset the pure white and cream blooms. And we’re confident that these guys will last clear through May and well into June. Of all the flowers that we’ve brought home over the past year+ of this whole monthly floral arrangement adventure, carnations never fail to last the longest and charm us to no end the whole time.
But now for the piece de resistance. Check out these luscious tulips with gorgeous varied coloring in my new green vase from Crate & Barrel (it was actually a sweet birthday gift from my sister-in-law, does she know me and my love of green glass or what?). These guys are definitely our favorite bouquet of the month- the entire house feels more vibrant and alive with them happily sitting on the dining room table.
So yeah, we’re feeling pretty spoiled by all the bouquets. Heck we almost feel guilty for having such an abundance. Have you guys ever found yourself with a plethora of petals throughout your home? Maybe from an overly enthusiastic backyard rose bush, a secret admirer, or a flower sale at Trader Joe’s? Do tell. And while we’re on the subject of a bounty of bouquets, what do you prefer when it comes to bringing the outdoors in? Do you like all-the-same-flower arrangements? Clear glass vases only? Low packed-tight bouquets? Wild meadow-like bunches? Brightly colored blossoms? Spill the bloom beans.
Wanna see our first grocery store bouquet from last January? Itching to check out February, March, April, May, June, July, August, and September too? How about this year’s January, February, March, and April bouquets? Just follow the links for some pretty sweet cheap-o (and even free) bouquets.
Budget Blooms: April Greenery
As most of you know, every month we like to enjoy one inexpensive- and sometimes free- bouquet to keep things feeling fresh around here (the idea actually stemmed from a super sweet Christmas present from the hubs a while back). But this month I just had to deviate from the plan when I saw this adorable leafy little guy complete with his own shiny turquoise ceramic pot for- get this- $2.50 from Walmart. Ringing in just as cheap (if not cheaper) than most of our monthly grocery store bouquets, I love that this splash of foliage livens up my desk and even comes with its own vase of sorts (well, planter) that I can use over and over again… even if my leafy friend ends up kicking the figurative bucket.
So far so good though. He’s a low light house plant (which is nice for the right side of my desk that gets only partial sunlight) and I especially love how he looks next to my shiny pink Crate & Barrel vase (who is no stranger to our monthly bouquets so you guys may even recognize her). And yes I did get a bit sexist there by calling the blue potted plant “him” and the pink vase “her”- sorry for that. We of all people know that blue can totally work for the ladies (since it’s one of the main colors in our daughter-to-be’s room) and John has even been known to sport something pink from time to time.
Anyway, that’s our monthly dose of greenery. We definitely recommend keeping an eye out for cheap potted plants these days, especially those that come in charming little ceramic pots as opposed to those cheap-o plastic ones. Heck, even those aren’t too bad if you grab a crisp white $1 ceramic planter from Ikea. So there’s more than one way to get your fill of lovely leafy goodness.
What are you guys gravitating towards in the floral arrangement or potted plant department these days? Any deals out there to be found? Anyone snipping things from their own backyard? We had some lovely cherry blossoms on a tree out front but decided to leave them outside just in case they tried to kill me once they were invited indoors (silly allergies, although this year they’re much much better than usual). Anyone toting home those super affordable daffodil bouquets from Trader Joe’s? Let’s talk about the flowers and plants that you’ve been inviting inside.
Budget Blooms: My Birthday Bounty
As most of you know, every month we like to enjoy one inexpensive (and even free) bouquet to keep things feeling fresh around here (the idea actually stemmed from a super sweet Christmas present from the hubs a while back). But somehow I actually ended up with two months of blooms overlapping here at Casa Petersik this month. Remember when I shared February’s $5 blooms? Well those suckers are still alive. Well into March. All of them. Gotta love carnations. And I’m not doing anything special (just changing the water every week or so and reclipping the stems at an angle every two weeks or so). Crazy, huh?
But that didn’t stop my favorite/only hubby from walking in the door after work on my birthday last Friday with a big smile and this pretty surprise birthday bouquet full of lilies, alstroemeria, and a few sprigs of plum colored heather in honor of March (and me I guess).
I’m not used to having a big professional arrangement around the house (especially since we usually clip things from our yard or spend, at most, $5 at the grocery store for our monthly bouquets) so maybe that’s why it feels so special. Seriously I’m still permasmiling a week later. But perhaps I should elaborate in John’s defense. It’s not that he never comes home with flowers, it’s just that he does it just rarely enough to totally catch me off guard and make me giddy. As an example, he had a bouquet delivered when we moved into our house so I would answer the door and see something pretty to bring inside in hopes of making this old ranch feel more like home. And he usually heeds my I’m-a-cheapo-so-just-buy-me-a-single-white-rose advice since I don’t want him to break the bank every month on giant special occasion bouquets.
Possibly the cutest thing is that John excitedly explained that he specifically directed the guy at the flower shop when it came to my bouquet (saying things like “she likes similar tones that are sort of layered so nothing is too high contrast” and “nope, not too much filler” and “yeah, I think she likes lilies” and “no tulips because they remind her of a certain annoying ex”). In short: the whole thing was adorable and I was a very happy birthday girl indeed.
I also love that John picked them up over lunch, which meant that when he brought them back to the office everyone was curious about the giant bounty of blooms so he started telling people that he won a pageant over lunch. He cracks me up. And he even sat them in a cup of water on his desk until it was time to bring them home to me, just to keep them happy. I’m telling you, he’s the man.
So although this month’s bouquet is less of the free-or-five-dollar-variety, it’s truly special to me and I just wanted to share the birthday eye candy. And did I mention I also awoke to find this cute homemade birthday banner (complete with little love notes on each letter/number) hanging in the doorway between the kitchen and the den?
I love birthdays. But enough about my big turning-two-eight adventures. Have you guys ever been surprised with flowers? And what do you like when it comes to big pro bouquets? It was so interesting to hear John directing the guy at the flower shop because he was better at articulating my preferences than I could ever be. Does anyone know you better than you know yourself in the flower department? What would you say if you were asked to describe the perfect bouquet for you?
Wanna see our first grocery store bouquet from last January? Itching to check out February, March, April, May, June, July, August, and September too? How about this year’s January and February bouquets? Just follow the links for some pretty sweet cheap-o (and even free) bouquets.
