Sending Smiles ~

This past Saturday, Kevin and I were able to leave work a bit early and head out into the sun for a bit of fun at Silver Decoy Winery. Our friend was throwing his wife a surprise party compete with family, friends, food, flowers and fun!! My hubby enjoys the sun as we walk among the vines at the winery. For those who are not aware, New Jersey has many wonderful vineyards and makes fantastic wine. Remember, keep it local whenever possible by supporting the businesses close to your home! These smiley face and latex balloons were a colorful addition to the tent. I love the look on the children's faces when they see these flying gems. Who doesn't smile when they are faced with such a funny image! Baskets of summer flowers seemed to be appreciated by all. Daisies, roses, lisianthus and statice in a white washed basket - so cute! Who doesn't love a few blooms now and then! It was fun walking among the vines and don't tell anyone, but I tried many of the grapes and they we...

There's a few things I'm learning about myself as the years roll on. One is that I'm not liking getting old, but hey, who does! I'm also learning that I'm a bit of a perfectionist. Hm, my husband says in my line of work it's a good thing but I think my poor employees would say other wise. But, onto the point of this blog... I'm noticing that I look at everything around me as if I were taking a picture. What's the lighting? What are the colors and how do they look together? What's the composition? Is there something in the way of making my "picture" perfect? I remember one time when my Event Coordinator David came back from setting up a wedding and proudly showed me the pictures he took. Now, mind you, this is on a tiny screen, not on a big computer. I did my usual, "These are great David, wonderful shots, except there's an exit sign in this one, this one is too back lit, the angle makes the flowers looks crooked and this one... loo...

You gotta love the summer. There is nothing like being able to take a little time off from work (if you are lucky enough to do so), sit back and relax with a good book. I read three books this summer, which is a lot for me being I did not get to take a formal vacation this year. I love girlie books that are not quite romance novels but they are the kind of books that get made into movies such as "Bridget Jone's Diary" and "The Shopaholic". A few of us at the shop ended up swapping books back and forth, which made it even more fun because we could talk about the books together. It became sort of our own Book Exchange. That's when I got the idea to start a Book Exchange within our Yardley shop. For anyone that has been to our PA location, you can see right away that has a "home town" feel to the environment and customers become friends. The Town Center has all the hometown trappings such as a cleaners, wine store, pizza place, a hair salon and of cou...

With kids returning to school in a few short weeks and the change of seasons not far behind, I thought it might be nice to do a "Scenes from the Shop" blog again. There has been so much activity at the shops I thought it would be a good time to fill in my readers! Above is a picture from a Bat Mitzvah we did yesterday. Lots of pink flowers and balloons made for a festive event at the Princeton Marriott Hotel! If you need a great location for your next event, you should check them out! These lovely centerpieces were for a wedding we did just yesterday for bride Rebecca. Her wedding was held at the Chauncey Conference Center and although the Hurricane hitting our shores caused much rain and a bit of flooding, the flowers sure brightened the mood of the place!! Chauncey is another great location that we work at quite a bit. If you need an natural, more out of the way location for your next event, they might be a great choice for you.! This arrangement of flowers for Rebecca...

But only if it's working for you"... I love that saying, keep on doing what you are doing, but only if it's working well for you. How many people have you met over the years that just seem to have the same things happen to them over and over again? Is it just Karma? Is it fate? Or can it be that they too are stuck on a path that creates a certain outcome, over and over again? Years ago I had a friend that was always in dire straights and it was one thing after the next. Sometimes it was money related, sometimes it was boyfriend related, other times it was family related. After awhile, I could see her actions and I knew what the outcome would be. I could predict what would happen and most of the time it was like a slow motion train wreck. I was like the flag man yelling " don't do that!! Go back!! Go this way! Speed Up, Slow down" whatever was the opposite direction of what she always did, which usually caused something "bad" to happen. Something she...

You may laugh but with over 20 employees coming and going between our two shops, that are open 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, it's hard to catch all our employees at the same time! Over the years I've become accustom to sending out my Red Alert News Bulletin's keeping the employees posted on the happenings at the company. While writing this one, I thought it might make a fun blog for those of you that would love the inside skinny of what's new and exciting at the two Monday Morning Flower shops! Read on to see what the employees see! :o) Red Alert!! Monday Morning News Bulletin! From, the Big Cheese, Georgianne Well, I thought it might be time to write a bulletin as the last 6 months have been very eventful, with both devastating news and rebirth. As some of you are new to the company and many are “old timers” I wanted to take this opportunity to let you all know how special and important each and every one of you is to Kevin and me both professionally but personally....

My absolute favorite part of doing a wedding is the bridal bouquet. From the first time the bride and I meet to discuss her wedding flowers, I become fixated on what we will create for her to carry. For me, it sets the tone for the whole wedding. Please a bride with her bouquet and most likely the rest will fall into place. Color, structure, form and the details - I become lost in them! My eyes glaze over as she shows me her floral inspiration pictures and describes of her dress. In my mind, the possibilities are endless but what will she want? What will make her heart sing? What will make her eyes tear up on that special day when her bouquet is presented? That's what I see my job as - the one that makes it happen!! Enjoy the video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiaSdjj8vH4

I laugh at myself as I write that title but it's funny how every time I have a "grand" revelation (and I use that term loosely) I think - "Wow! I have to write a blog about that"! I'm sitting here wondering when did my life turn into a blog? And the bigger question is, does anyone care what I think? I'm not so sure but boy, I really do love putting down my thoughts knowing that someone just might read it. Last week, one of my employees commented on my writing because she really loves my blogs. She innocently asked me if I got good grades in school for my writing skills. I nearly laughed out loud but, of course, that would not be very Presidential of me. I very nicely told her no, I was never good at English or writing. I was completely honest and told her that I had to take Junior English twice, as I failed with a big fat F! I don't know the difference between a verb and a noun and thank goodness for spell check! I'm a florist for heaven sake, no...

Welcome back for Part 2 of "Inside the Design Bench" at Monday Morning Flowers. Part 1 explored all the work that goes into beginning to design wedding flowers. Our team works hard to make sure that everything is perfect for that special day. I know that sounds corny but it's true!! This part explores the actual delivery and set up of all the wedding flowers. By the time our set up team is back in the truck and heading for home base, 9 or 10 employees have helped to make it all happen! Now, back to bride Erin's wedding....Below is her bouquet. Depending on what our bride has chosen and if it's a unique looking bouquet, we try to get a quick picture before it leaves the shop. Future brides appreciate our ability to show them different styles and colors of bouquets we have created. Although the actual day of the wedding can be hectic, especially if we have more than one to set up that day, remembering to take a few pictures is top on our list of wedding details! Er...