Such an easy way to beautify your home.  These actually came from my neighbor last week, who had just clipped them from her yard.  My sweet, adorable probably-80-something-year-old neighbor.  To quote Gloria the hippo from Madagascar, whenever we see her or her dear husband, we just want to “dunk them in our coffee”.   She rang our doorbell at about 9:00 last Monday morning and was holding this beautiful bunch of gardenias in her hand for me.   Sort of an extension of Mother’s Day, I think.  Mmmmm… can you smell them?  They have made our kitchen so fragrant!

Then, to top it all off,  at the end of last week I got these (below) sent to our house by a very dear friend.  Her card said she just wanted to send some sunshine my way!  I mean, how thoughtful is that?!

Ever since the flowers started arriving last week I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling every time I’m in our kitchen.  The kind acts by these two ladies just brightens my day every time I look at those flowers.  It was a simple act on their part, but it radiated into so much more.  And who can turn down the feeling you get when your husband hops out of his car as he arrives home from work, and hands you a beautiful arrangement, ‘just because’?  I love that!!

I adore having fresh flowers in the home.  As I mentioned in my ‘Simplify’ post, we recently moved.  This is what started me on the flowers thing.  When your house is being shown on the market, adding a beautiful bouquet to your coffee table or kitchen is an instant way of bringing fresh fragrance and loveliness to everyone who walks through your front door.

So when we moved into our new home, I kept buying flowers!  I don’t do it every week, but I try to do it somewhat regularly, as I feel like it just adds that final touch of warmth to our home.  And it’s rather easy to find them at affordable prices.  Mine always come from Trader Joe’s, where you can get a very nice arrangement for around five dollars.  (I’m sure I’ll be doing an entire post on Trader Joe’s at some point… just a head’s up.)  You can also find great prices at farmer’s markets, or, do what my neighbor did and simply clip them from your own yard. (You can’t beat free, right?!)

And be sure to get the most out of them.  As they start to wilt, I pull out the ones that have really had it, and keep the ones still hanging on.  Sometimes I have to downsize the vase or jar in the process, or move them to a smaller ‘display area’. Instead of front-and-center on the kitchen island, they might get moved to a window sill if all I have left is a few sprigs in a jelly jar.  But they’re still pretty to look at, no matter how small!

Another time to use flowers is to bring some to the hostess of any home gatherings you might be going to.  (Like a large family party, reunion, or holiday celebration.)  Even though everyone might be helping out and bringing a dish or dessert, the hostess will still put in more work than everyone else in opening up her home.  So bring her a little bundle of flowers when you arrive!  And, if she can point you to the right cupboard, even offer to handle putting the flowers in a vase, jar, or even a tall glass so as not to overwhelm her with more work as soon as everyone is arriving.  Then after the party has died down, and she’s cleaning up all those red solo cups, she can look at her new pretty bouquet and smile.