While we wait for our primed and painted open shelves to dry (ahhh, tomorrow is H-Day, aka: haaaanging day!) we realized that we’ve been waaaaay overdue for a budget blooms post. Remember when we used to do them every month? Yeah, we fell off. Oops. And a few of you have actually requested them, which is just what the doctor ordered since book chaos + kitchen chaos = a hankering for a sliver of beauty in a completely trashed house like ours. Seriously, it looks crazier than it did the day we moved in. Bed in the living room? Check. Painting and repainting a five foot swatch of wall in the playroom different colors every few days? Check. Photography equipment filling up our dining room? Check. But six bucks at the grocery store later, and I had me these beauties – and a small slice of gorgeousness in this crazy house full of people, projects, and other miscellaneous craziness.
I love this vase from Crate & Barrel (a gift from John’s older sister for my birthday a few years back) and it looks especially good with floppy flowers sort of splayed out around the wiggly perimeter.
And I love the two-tone tulip action going on. The prettiest color combinations are always found in nature, huh? Buttery yellow + poppy reddish pink + fresh green = yes please.
I like how they’re leaning out like they’re growing towards the sun in our natural-light-less kitchen. Oh the irony. These guys have actually been alive a few days now, so I guess they only need water but not too much sun (since they have yet to fall to pieces). Whew.
Oh and just for fun, I played around with them in another vase. Well, I guess it’s not really a vase (it’s a seeded glass hurricane meant for a candle that I grabbed at HomeGoods a few years back). Just as pretty, huh? Oh and I got us a kitchen radio on clearance from Joss and Main about a month ago (and we finally plugged it in after staring at it on the counter for a while). Let me tell you, it’s novel. We’ve actually never had a radio in the kitchen but since we log so much hangout time at the peninsula these days (doing blog stuff/book stuff/projects/eating) we thought it would be nice. And it is. Especially with pretty tulips next to it.
The hilarity of this photo is that if I were allowed to share behind-the-scenes book pics, the next photo would be what you see if you swing the camera about six inches to the right. A shot of our monstrous dining table that sits just beyond this half-wall and is completely full of lamps/ceramic things/paint cans/fabric/baskets/bottles/books/frames/etc. Seriously, you can’t even see the tabletop anymore. So when I say there’s a sliver of beauty in our completely trashed house, I really do mean it. And the juxtaposition is hysterically funny to us. So just know that the over-sharer in me is dying to slather chaos pics all over this end of this post to balance the sweet charming “moments” in the kitchen. Oh well, when the book is out we’re allowed to share it all, so we’re counting down the months.
Anyway, back to the kitchen and our little budget blooms. I now firmly believe that every kitchen is made better by three things: flowers, a radio, and a white ceramic tea kettle (of course). Closely followed by a giant ceramic rooster. And a wall full of penny tile doesn’t hurt either. Have you guys been buying flowers or other greenery lately? Have you played around with a few different vases just for fun? Do you have a kitchen radio? Do you even listen to the radio anymore? Oh and what are three things that you think makes any kitchen better?
Psst- Check out a whole mess of Budget Bloom posts from over the last few years here.
Haha… took a quick look back through the old budget blooms posts and stumbled upon the one where you guys “Oprah-fied” yourselves! Cracking up now!!
I love your kitchen radio! I have an Ipod dock/radio that is in the room next to the kitchen (I can hear it from the kitchen) and I love it!
http://retroranchrevamp.com/2012/01/02/a-retro-styled-starburst-clock-and-radio-for-christmas/
I also think every kitchen should have a weather station or wireless thermometer. That way you know if you need a coat or not on the way out the door!
Ooh yeah, that sounds awesome.
xo,
s
Flowers = loveliness!
I love your first vase, its very flow-y :)
I MUST know what the name/brand of that radio is!! It’s so freaking adorable.
It’s a Tivoli radio scored on sale from jossandmain.com – hope it helps!
xo,
s
you can find the full-priced version here: http://www.tivoliaudio.com/2-637.html
they’re great radios – the sound quality is amazing and they have a plug for ipods/iphones. (i promise i don’t work for tivoli. my parents had a few around the house growing up so i’ve always loved them.)
Thanks for sharing the link Emily!
xo,
s
I’m actually going to be on the radio on Friday! I just found out that they’re having a little V-day contest for single people and they picked me. The prize is $1000, so I hope I can answer whatever trivia they have for me! :)
Wahoo! Oh my gosh, you can do it girl! Keep us posted!
xo,
s
I don’t know if you’re familiar with this trick for tulips, but if you put a penny in the bottom of the vase, your tulips will stand upright for longer (and last a few more days, too). It works!
Love it! Thanks!
xo,
s
I was just about to post this same trick! The florist lady at the market told me about it – specifically for tulips. I guess it is really for any flower with the wide, tube-like stem. She said that using the white powder stuff that comes with them on those types of flowers will actually kill them faster.
No way! Good to know!
xo,
s
I was totally going to post this also, I absolutely love tulips and it’s a GREAT tip – I’ve kept ’em going for 10 days with that trick! And it’s kind of fun for kids too, take a pic of the floppy flowers, let them put in the penny and come back a few hours later and see them sticking straight up! A friend of mine did a time lapse photo thing of it, pretty cool!
That’s nuts! I’ve never heard of that at all and I grew up in a house full of tulips and other bulb flowers (Grandpa had a flower hobby…) How does it work??!
I actually tried the trick and to my surprise it really works! Fascinating :)
OMG! Where does that radio come from? Must have. Love it!
Scroll back a few comments for that info. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
How timely! I JUST wrote a post on my facebook page about doing this after I bought the biggest pink mum bouquet our grocery store had and separated it into 1 medium bouquet and 7 more smaller ones to spread throughout the house. It’s been rainy and dreary here so it helps perk the house up. :) Tulips are one of my favorite spring flowers too!
We have a small, flat screen TV in the kitchen in lieu of a radio. I just love having a christmas movie on while I’m making cookies in December, or just cnn while I’m cooking at night. What are your thoughs on TV’s in the kitchen? Love, hate?
That’s cute! John definitely wants on in ours- I’m on the fence. But something small and sleek sounds nice!
xo,
s
I LOVE my lil 15″ flat screen TV in my kitchen. =)
I love the fist vase the tulips are in and love the radio too! I don’t know how you guys are dealing with everything in an uproar in your home….. and people around a lot. Yikes! I’d be going crazy!!!
Hmmm…3 things that make any kitchen better. Hard to beat your choices, really. Definitely fresh flowers, lots of sunlight, and something baking in the oven – fresh bread. Or cookies. :) We have a little radio tucked away in our kitchen. I love to have soft classical or good “oldies” in the background while we’re doing everyday things in the kitchen.
Mmm, yes fresh bread or cookies sound beyond perfect.
xo,
s
Tulips are some of my favorite flowers! I even asked the florist to throw some in my bridesmaids’ bouquets (she used the same flowers as the ones you have above). Did you know that tulips close up at night and open again in the morning? It’s very subtle but it happens.
That’s cute! Never knew that!
xo,
s
Put a penny in the vase to help them stay upright. =)
Love that tip!
xo,
s
I have been hunting for big glass jars like the ones see on your counter but the ones and target and crate and barrel don’t have seals. Do you find that you food gets stale easily or its stays fresh ok in them? I am wanting some to put flour and sugar in. Oh and I love the flowers too :) Thank you for you help!
We go through cereal so fast that it doesn’t seem to lose any freshness (John always notices those things, but even a picky guy like him says it stays fresh, haha). We also store sugar and flour and even couscous and rice in them and we don’t have any issues. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
We get ours in Ikea. They have lots of sizes and types and the two types we have at home do have seals (they are called Burken and Slom). They look purdy with nuts or brown sugar in them :)
Good to know!
xo,
s
Is the trim behind the tulips on the tile a different color/gloss than the shelves, or are you painting as well? That vase is to. Die. For.
Oh yes, that’ll be painted to match the grout.
xo,
s
You probably know this already, but you can plug your ipod into this radio! You will have to get the cord (I got mine when I bought the radio). I have mine in the kitchen!
Never knew that! Love it!
xo,
s
You can probably snag the cord from the ceramic pig speaker! (what can I say, I have that ceramic pig on the mind today!)
Haha, nice! Thanks for the idea!
xo,
s
I love having a small lamp on a kitchen counter. I love a soft glow in the evening when the kitchen is supposed to be “officially closed” but I sneak in for a snack.
Aw that sounds sweet!
xo,
s
We haven’t bought flowers lately, but we did find a white ceramic rhino at Ross last week. I had to have it and he now watches over the living room from his floating shelf. :)
Oh…LOVE the tulips!!!! Tulips always reminds me of growing up near Holland Michigan and their tulip festival in the spring. I have pictures of me as a little girl dressed in a Dutch costume sitting in a field of tulips.
It is always amazing to see what you do in a week!
I actually had some gorgeous Cala lillies and white roses from a wedding: http://mailboxjourney.com/2012/01/30/corks-closets-calla-lilies/ (I was in the wedding & caught the bouquet) but they have since died :(
So pretttttty!
xo,
s
You just gave me the greatest idea for my empty glass jars sitting in the kitchen. CHEERIOS! My daughter is the same age as Clara & she loves em every single morning.
So sweet. I like listening to the radio, especially morning shows. They bring me back to the ol’ days.
Three things that I think make any kitchen better are:
1. A stocked fruit bowl. Because it is healthy, looks good and changing the bowl up is so fun.
2. Art or photos. I have a friend that keeps small family photos by her kitchen sink and she loves that it makes doing the dishes more pleasurable. I am a firm believer in art (or large photos) SOMEWHERE in the kitchen. It injects something so personal.
3. A gathering place. For example, your peninsula. We are lacking this right now in our home and can’t wait to renovate to create a casual place where people and kids can hang out, eat, prep and chat.
Love this game! Thanks for playing, guys.
xo,
s
Its interesting that you bring up art to put into the kitchen. The very first (and actually, currently only) piece of art (or photos) hanging in my apartment is a lovely picture I won in a drawing and it is hanging across from my kitchen, where I can see it every time I do dishes.
Sounds so pretty!
xo
s
Love budget blooms! Whenever I go grocery shopping, always pick up a $5-10 bunch to set out in the living room (where we spend most of our time). We have over a dozen houseplants, but only two are flowering, so having cut flowers makes all the difference!
man! I’ve been staring at tulips at every grocery store ( with a floral dept) that I’ve been in for the past 3 weeks. not sure why I havent bought any, but this just makes me want to make an extra stop on the way home from work.
tulips are my very favorite. these look gorgeous in your kitchen!
We shy away from fresh flowers because we worry about our kitties chowing down on them. However.. we were thinking of buying or DIYing someting like this-
http://www.etsy.com/listing/81863071/mail-holder-double-slots-key-hooks-jar
So cute! I love that idea!
xo,
s
I got that same radio from Joss & Main, in blue though! I bought it full price for my boyfriend for his birthday last year and he LOVED it, but so did I…. I’ve been secretly lusting after it ever since. I finally broke down and bought its twin when it went up on Joss & Main, how could I not?! I love the white/color contrast and vintage look. Speaking of good sales, did you see the cute white ceramic elephants on One Kings Lane the other day?? I snatched on up immediately and thought of you guys!
Oh man, I missed those. They sound so cute!
xo,
s
Love it! I’m right there with you on the flowers + radio = better kitchen. My third thing, however, would have to be a cookie jar, preferably with cookies in it! (And if they’re homemade, that just sends me completely over the edge!) Growing up, our cookie jar was shaped like Winnie the Pooh, but one of my first purchases for my first apartment was an Italian green glass cookie jar. It has a cork top and the word “cookie” in several languages. Many years later, it still makes me smile!
Wow, I actually found a picture of one just like it: http://compare.ebay.com/like/320804679922?var=lv<yp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&_lwgsi=y&cbt=y
Aw, I love the idea of a cookie jar. And cookies. Lots of cookies.
xo,
s
Tulips are my absolute favorite flower of all time—and you’re right; my kitchen never looks better than with a fresh bouquet!
tulips – of any colour – are my favourite.
Tulip buying tips – buy when you can’t even see the colour yet and they’re just buds. You’ll be amazed and how long they last and how much they grow – they just keep on stretching and curving. Amazing flowers.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/150212687/ (not my shot, but gorgeous nonetheless)
Ooh love it!
xo,
s
ADORE that first vase. And your radio is sooo cute. I want to steal it!
I love snipping roses from my back yard and bringing them in to brighten up the dining room table. My current dwelling is open concept, so I can admire them easily from any of the main living spaces in the house. Not quite the season for roses yet, though!
I can’t wait to see the behind-the-scenes pics! Isn’t it amazing how the most simple things are what get us through sometimes?
We have an iPod dock like the one you have in Clara’s room in our kitchen. Whenever we feed our 10 month old we play Bach’s Brandenburg concertos and he looks at the iPod and says “Bacccchhhhhh!” It’s adorable.
I have to have:
cute salt shakers.
Cute soap dispenser
a single bloom of whatever flowers I have for the week in a bud vase by my sink.
also besides the penny in the tulips you can take a sewing needle or pin and prick a small hole right below the base of the tulip head in the stem. It will fill the stems up with air and perk them back up if they are droopy…
I just learned from House that crushed aspirin in the water makes flowers last longer. (That fact was totally central to the episode, BTW.)
Love that tip too!
xo,
s
My husband surprises me with fresh flowers every month on our anniversary. Somehow I always lose track of the date. It always brightens our kitchen up and nice to have something fresh in the house. Your’s are beautiful… Enjoy!
So sweet!
xo,
s
I love the radio in the kitchen. It actually looks a lot like the Tivoli models http://www.tivoliaudio.com/ (which I’ve been lusting after for years but they’re so expensive). Is yours that same brand or is it another one? If it’s another one, I’d love to know which one.
Ack, never mind, just read that you already answered that, sorry!
No worries!
xo,
s
That radio is adorable! Where can I get one? I love the retro look of it. :)
Scroll back through the comments for that info! Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Did you know that tulips are the only flowers that keep growing after they’re cut? Might be a fun thing to track with Clara (because every kitchen is better with flowers that double as a science experiment/observation learning game!).
No way- so cool!
xo,
s
I love the little hints about book projects sprinkled in the post, so excited to get my hands on a copy of it whenever it’s done!
Oh, fun!! This seriously makes me want to run by the grocery store on the way home just to get some fresh flowers!(And that’s saying a lot ’cause I hate the grocery store right after work when everyone and their brother decides they need something last minute for dinner. ha!)
Love the tulips! I was super excited the other day because Trader Joe’s had gotten a huge shipment of daffodils in from England. They were SO lovely and SO hinted at springtime that I couldn’t resist buying a bunch. And at $1.99 the price couldn’t be beat!
I constantly have the radio on in the kitchen – I joke with my husband that David Ginder on Classical WETA is my morning time boyfriend. Sometimes I stream the radio through the iPad, but that still counts right?
3 things that make my kitchen better:
-My Chinese “happiness pot” where I keep my tea (looks like this: http://www.wisteria.com/Happiness-Pots-Short/productinfo/W1810/ but cost $11 at a consignment shop)
-A living plant (or three!). Detoxifies the air and makes the space look lovelier.
-The picture of my family that’s in a frame with about a thousand little rhinestones on it. There is a sliver of light that reaches it around mid-afternoon and it casts about a million rainbows all over the room. Makes me smile every single time it happens. xoxo
Love it! Everyone’s “three things” sound awesome!
xo,
s
So pretty! I always forget how much I love fresh flowers. They can brighten up almost any space!
Gorgeous tulips! I’m a perfectionist, so I have a hard time just letting flowers “flop,” but I need to control that. It looks really pretty!
Do y’all know about the other H-Day? When Sweden changed from left-hand drive to right-hand drive in the 1960s? The whole country stopped at 5p to allow for the change of direction; everyone literally came to a stand-still. So it’ll be like you – when the whole Petersik household comes to a stand-still to appreciate your new shelving. :)
No way- I love it! Never heard about that!
xo,
s
Those are the perfect pop of color in there! I can’t believe its tulip time already! I’m still waiting to blow off the cobwebs on my snowshoes! :(
In our current small (and darker, centrally located) kitchen set up, we don’t have any spare counter space for flowers, however we are enjoying a cyclamen plant that our neighbor gave us on the ledge between the kitchen and family room (right in front of the sink).
Our current project-in-progress is putting together the nursery for baby #2 (the baby’s gender is a surprise). We are in the process of painting the walls a nice butter yellow and we’ll be incorporating green. That poppy reddish pink color on your tulips is what I’ve imagined using if our baby is a girl! I’m still a little stuck on what we will use for an accent if the baby is a boy though.
I’m loving navy lately – could that work?
xo,
s
I am a big fan of navy these days too!
That ceramic apple makes me smile.
I agree on the radio–I get my evening news from NPR while I cook/clean, but on some occasions the ipod sets the mood.
I also agree on the flowers–for every room in the house, but especially the kitchen.
So, I guess my third thing would be bright kitchen towels. My kitchen is white but rather small, so that’s how I inject color.
I’ve got those same tulips in a vase at home! Tulips are my favorite flower so my hubby bought them for my birthday. I didn’t realize they were on sale, lucky him I apparently don’t like pricey flowers lol.
My Dad came over last night and actually brought me flowers ! And the funny thing is that a few hours earlier, I was grocery shopping and thought a minute about getting myself a bouquet ! I didn’t play around with vases though, since I just have one big enough to hold those beauties.
We don’t have any radio in the kitchen (I only listen to the radio in the car) but since our kitchen is not remodeled yet, I’m sure we’ll get one once it’s done. And that vintage look is quite interesting …
For me, a good kitchen is a place where there’s a nice spot to cook (good stove), a lot of storage and a large table to gather family and friends !
Good luck with the whole book process. Take care !
Do you know yet if your book will also be available as an iBook?
Yes, we think it will be!
xo,
s
Yay! Can’t wait!!! :-)