Sending Smiles ~

Wow, I can't believe how long it's been since I wrote on a subject for this blog. For those that don't know, my husband and I have closed our shop and retired! I'd like to say that I miss running the shop but for almost 8 months now we have been thoroughly enjoying having time to our selves to putter around the house, travel, meet up with friends and just be ourselves.  So what has inspired me to write again? Well, I'm in the process of writing a book!! Yes, it's a book about which I feel highly qualified to write and the topic is "How to Choose a Wedding Florist". After years of helping hundreds if not thousands of couples plan their wedding flowers, I'm putting together an eBook that will help them choose a florist, save time, money and frustration. I'm taking all the things I learned as well as all the things I saw my couples do both wrong and right and sharing them with others.  The book is almost done but I'm currently writing a chapt...

Our designers always love Sunflower season because let's face it, they are such a happy flower, right? Check out these new designs using local sunflowers. Our best selling Sunflower/Summer design is   Sunny Shores . This design just screams summer. Deep blue delphinium, vibrantly yellow roses, light blue hydrangea, yellow alstromeria, beachy grasses and fresh locally grown sunflowers are arranged in a clear glass grace vase with real sea shells on the bottom. This design has been our best seller on our website at   www.sendingsmiles.com  We've sold more  Sunny Shores  on our website than any other new design so far this July but a close second is our new and updated  Sunny's Charm . This design is super affordable at only $34.99 and includes sweet baby's breath, white daisies and 3 gorgeous sunflowers arranged in the cutest little mason jar tied with a raffia bow. not only are local sunflowers pretty because because they are grown locally, they have a very...

  You've most likely heard the term   Plant   Parent. It just means that you take care of a plant and that you love it! Since Covid has locked many in their homes and kept them away from the office and other "indoor" space, folks have been loving becoming plant parents. Aside from the fact that living with   plants   in the home is healthy for you (they help to clean the air), taking care of a plant gives you something to look forward to. You watch your plant grown and thrive and you can take great pride by saying - "I did that"!  You might be surprised to find out that many men love picking out and receiving as  plants  as gifts. Our designer Alicia, who is an avid plant collector and since moving in with her boyfriend Erik, he's become a plant lover too. If Erik says it's ok to bring home another plant - she doesn't wait to be told twice. Our design Alanna loves decorating the patio of her apartment with beautiful green plants and her boyfrien...

  Looking Forward to a New Beginning in 2021 Georgianne Vinicombe 2 minute read We made it and so did you. We sincerely hope you are well as is your family. If you had told me back in March that we would still be living and working in the middle of a pandemic I would have told you that you were nuts. But here we are and although we are hoping for better (and safer) days ahead we have been so grateful to be here to help our customers express their love and fondness for friends, family and coworkers.  Birthdays  and  Anniversaries  are still happening and we have been helping to send well wishes for those milestones, which is more important than ever being folks are not able to get together. Of course,  get wells  and  sympathy  deliveries are being made and gifts of flowers, plants and food baskets are always appreciated during those times.  Believe it or not we actually provided flowers for a  wedding  on New Years Eve! In case...

  Are you Shopping Small this Holiday Season? Georgianne Vinicombe 3 minute read Are you Shopping Small this holiday season? With so many more small business having great  websites  and offering both curbside pick up and delivery, your options for holiday shopping have exploded in 2020. Here at our shop we've always offered delivery ~ we are a florist, of course and that's what florists have been doing for over 100 years! As soon at the car was invented flower shops started delivering. 😉 Bring on 2020 and the pandemic and more businesses than ever are offering delivery. Are you shopping small this holiday season? If you haven't thought about it I'd love to give you some reasons why you should support your small independent  retailers this holiday season.  Small Businesses give back more to your local community. We you buy from a local business, you are supporting your town. Business pay sales tax and when you shop big box business elsewhere that money does...

  Elopement Flowers, Every Bride Needs a Bouquet ~ One of the most gratifying things to come out of the pandemic is all the e lopement  flowers we have been creating. With many couples deciding to get married right away and not wait, it's been our pleasure to create some gorgeous last minute  wedding  flowers. Some couples are getting married at their own homes while others are going to the court house. Isn't that romantic? We love it!! This  bouquet  was created this pasts weekend and the bride asked for mostly white and green to be accented with touches of blush/pastels. We used a combination of tea and spray roses, mini calla lilies, locally grown gomphrena, cut succulent plants, eucalytpus and  touches of sweet baby's breath. So soft and romantic.  One of our favorites was from a couple of weeks ago. We created a hand tied bouquet of all pink and peach flowers and pops of blue with no added greenery added. Tea and Spray roses, gerbera daisy, b...

  Our Retail Shop is Back Open for In Store Shopping Our retail shop is back open for in store shopping!! Yay! We have finally re-opened our retail store to in-store shopping after more than 5 months of doing Curbside Pick and Delivery Only. It's felt good to welcome folks back into our pretty little store. During the Pandemic, we brought in tons of new items which we highlighted mostly on our website but now you can see them in person. We have majorly expanded our line of food items to include things such as spice rubs and hot sauces, along with healthy snacks such as veggie chips and Super Food cookies. During the pandemic folks have been wanting to send gifts that pamper and support and so we have brought in more items such as spa sets, soaps and lotions, more healing crystals and even items such as sanitizing sprays and face masks. Many of these items have been added as either their own product on our website available for delivery or as "add on" items that can make y...

Today's bridal bouquet ~ I love all the bouquets we do but this one is the closest to what I would have for myself, if I was getting married for the first time (again). After my own wedding almost 35 years ago and a vow renewal 25 years ago - sadly, I can't justify another wedding for myself and Kevin but it's always a wonderful part of my job to road test the bridal bouquets. This bouquet is created with white and pale pink roses, stephanotis (jasmine), gold tinted seeded eucalyptus, silver dollar eucalyptus and pops of purple limonium.

Intimate Weddings During Covid-19 ~ What a mess this year has been for couples trying to have a beautiful wedding here in New Jersey. Even my own cousin was affected, changing their date twice and moving locations to accommodate an outdoor setting. Most, if not all our  weddings  for 2020 have been either postponed to 2021 or are being downsized. A few are holding smaller  intimate weddings  for family and friends in their back yards and next year will hold the larger receptions with a vow renewal for family and friends. Here in NJ, we are allowed outdoor events with up to 250 guests but most of our weddings are seem to be less than 100 people. Social distancing and masks will be the norm with couples providing both sanitizer and mask. A few of our brides have even asked for a for floral arrangement for the Mask Table. Who thought that we would need that? Yikes!!  If you are having to have your wedding during this time, we do have a few suggestions for you....

Updating for Summer! Check out our new designs for the season. Updating for Summer!! Check out our new designs for the season. Can you believe that summer has finally arrived and with that comes a time for our designer to create new floral arrangements for the season! Be sure to check out our current selection in the  Summer Flowers  and Gifts Category. First up is a redesign of 3 of our most popular designs. These designs are what we call  mono-floral being the focal flower is all the same time, with the only variation being in color or accents.  First is our  Spray Rose Bouquet  ~ for the season we have added tiny fever few daises among soft colored spray roses. A clear glass vase is accented with colorful nuggets for a bit of whimsy.  Another design that received an update is our  Amazing Alstroemeria  arrangement. This design also include fever few and is created in a fun cinched vase that is over 9" tall. A bright mixture of colors such ...

Funerals During Covid-19 You may be wondering what is appropriate to send to funerals during Covid-19 and we believe that anything you would have sent to the viewing/memorial/service is still appropriate. Just because the number of attendees is limited, it does not mean that your show of support through sending a floral tribute is not appreciated. As a matter of fact, we think it's more important than ever! Take for example this  funeral heart  wreath that we recently created for the tribute to a beloved mother and wife. Imagine how serene and soothing this design would be in an almost empty funeral home.  A vibrantly colored spray or wreath is just the thing to bring a soft smile and a little kindness during a very difficult time. Not exactly sure what to send? Our talented and thoughtful designers are here to help you decide what is appropriate.  Family funerals are not the same. Limited attendees, barren viewing rooms - just so sad. Floral tributes are appreciated...

Mother's Day and Covid19 Update Mother's Day and Covid19 Update ~ Can you believe how long we've all been locked down with this horrible pandemic? We've been blessed to be able to continue to spread cheer through daily delivery of flowers, plants, balloons, food baskets and other gift items. Our customers have been so grateful and the recipients have been over joyed when they open their door to find a special gift left just for them. At first it was hard securing fresh product but each week it gets a bit easier. It's been amazing how many birthday celebrations we've been a part of. We've always created lots of balloon bouquets but never so many for children as the last 3 weeks. It's been so rewarding to be able to create these sweet bouquets for little boys and girls.  This week was Administrative Professionals week and were kept very busy on Wednesday with over 50 deliveries going to hard working staff that have been doing their jobs from home...

With many folks working from home during this epidemic (go away bad virus) it's been so nice to see companies thanking their staff. We always love making gift baskets and we really had fun making these for one of our corporate accounts. These snack baskets were delivered all over our local area and included fun and healthy snack food like nuts, chips, cookies and chocolate. We event tucked in an inspiration stone, chapstick and a candle. We especially loved the card message that read "And you don't even need to share with your co-workers". Is there someone out there working hard at home for your company? Why not show your appreciation with a delivery of fresh flowers, food or even a plant? We're here to help with No Contact Delivery 7 days a week!!

Fresh Flowers Have Arrived! The world has gone a bit crazy but  flowers  spreading good cheer still remains the same. The Governor has said that we are allowed to continue doing No-Contact flower deliveries and that's what we intend to do. Our customers have been so grateful that we are able to  send  their loved ones a pretty bouquet on their birthday or let them know that someone is thinking of them while they are sick or grieving.  Look at all these gorgeous flowers that just arrived. Here's a list of what just came in!! Rainbow Spray Roses Purple Statice Cremone and Spider Mums in all colors Gorgeous Full Size Carnations Rainbow Alstroemeria Pom Pon Daisies Hypericum Berries Blue Thistle Dianthus Flowers Solidago Asters Full Size Roses Tulips Just name a few! Isn't that amazing? We are also grateful to all our wholesalers and suppliers for all their help getting this product to our shop during this difficult time. Do you know someone ...

The health benefits of living with flowers are many and the colors can mean so much. According to a 10-month behavioral study at Rutgers University, flowers have an immediate impact on happiness and a long-term positive effect on moods. Study participants reported feeling less depressed, anxious, and agitated when presented with flowers. Color plays a strong role in this reaction: • Red has a positive effect on the immune system and an energizing influence on fatigue and exhaustion. • When you see pink , you often feel joy. Bright hues of this color increase blood pressure, heartbeat and respiration, as well, which leads to energy. • Violet calms the body and mind and nourishes creativity. • Yellow , the happy color, encourages communication while it stimulates memory and the nervous system. • Orange’s psychological profile includes promoting optimism, determination, and success. On the other hand, it also urges viewers to socialization, so be sparing with this colo...

Rutger's University:  Emotional Health With today's high-tech and fast-paced lifestyle taking its daily toll on our lives, experts advise exercise and other personal lifestyle changes to relieve stress. According to recent behavioral research conducted at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, nature provides us with a simple way to improve emotional health - flowers. The presence of flowers triggers happy emotions, heightens feelings of life satisfaction and affects social behavior in a positive manner far beyond what is normally believed. "What's most exciting about this study is that it challenges established scientific beliefs about how people can manage their day-to-day moods in a healthy and natural way," said Jeannette Haviland-Jones, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Rutgers and lead researcher on the study. Research Findings A team of researchers explored the link between flowers and life satisfaction in a 10-month study of participants...

Why are flowers more expensive on Valentine’s Day ? Many people are getting flowers for their loved ones for Valentine's Day, but they may wonder why the price tag on them is suddenly increased. Here are 4 reasons to help explain the reason! 1. Roses need to grow quicker It takes 14 weeks to grow a rose. If you do the math you will soon realize that there aren’t 14 weeks between Christmas and Valentine’s Day. The timescale between those two peaks isn’t big enough for the roses to grow at their natural pace. To encourage the flowers to grow, the flowers need extra heat and light which costs more money! 2 The Roses have to be cut quicker More demand for red roses equals less time to cut all the roses . This means that the flowers have to be cut in a very small window of time. To keep up with the demand growers need to invest in extra labor and overtime, which of course costs money! 3 More Roses have to be transported Because everyone wants their roses at the same ti...

Valentine's Day is February 14th - See what we have to offer this year Choosing a Valentine's Day gift can be a bit confusing because there are so many options. Our specialty is being able to deliver the gift for you. Imagine their face when a gift is delivered right to the job!! Although  Red Roses  is the traditional gift of love during the Valentine's Day holiday, we offer so many other options for you. Although red roses can get pretty pricey during the month of February, you are in luck because we have many options to choose from that won't break the bank. Here's just a few to help you decide!! We have to start off with a dozen (12) long stem red roses because it is tradition. These gorgeous blooms are going to be arranged in a 10" tall red glass keepsake vase this year. Although they are one of our highest priced items at $124.99, they are also one of the most dramatic designs we will be delivering. These are called our Valentine's Day Red R...