Sending Smiles ~

We hope you all had a fantastic Christmas. For us it was a busy time in the shop, lots of hours working but lots of laughs too. Have Christmas Day off from the shop was so wonderful for the hubby and I. Slept in a bit later than usual, had a nice breakfast and then what did we do??? We hopped in the car for our annual trek out to Longwood Gardens so that we could be surrounded once again with flowers! Nobody does Christmas like Longwood Gardens and this year was no exception. Gingerbread cookies were the theme throughout and what an amazing display it was! Everywhere you looks there was lush foliage and poinsettias! My personal favorite area is the orchid room. With so many orchids growing up the wall in every color of the rainbow. These orange ones were one of my personal favorites but can you really have a favorite when you faced with such loveliness? Hehehe, this one makes me laugh. When I see him I see a smiling mouth, a funny little nose and huge eyebrows. Andy

It's not all the time that we get to do wild and crazy things with flowers but boy did we ever get to do that with Cherie's flowers in May. Don't you just love the natural feel of her bouquet? Roses, berries, callas, arabicum, soft green hanging amaranthus, hydrangea, loops of curly willow vine and galax leaves all combine to be anything but boring! The brides maids carried simple cream hydrangea which looked so pretty against their soft, antique lavender dresses. The men's boutonnieres were green hypericum with a double galax leaf treatment behind. The amazing and unusual - Grounds for Sculpture of Trenton was the setting for the ceremony. A wedding made in heaven if you ask me! To see more of this wedding check out the "Photos Sent By Our Brides" album on our Fan Page at www.facebook.com/localflorist or visit our wedding website at www.perfectweddingflowers.com A special thanks to Reena Rose and Erin Hoyt for their amazing photography!

Looking for a different rose gift for Valentine's Day? How about this stunning design created by our designer Holly. Cymbidium orchids and roses in red, hot pink and pale pink arraned in a metallic vase accented with floating hearts. Who says sending a dozen roses for Valentine's Day has to be boring!! To see this and more of holiday designs check out our website at www.sendingsmiles.com

It's official - Halloween is almost here! The designers have started filling orders for novelty arrangements similar to the one designer Norman was creating yesterday. Tiny ghosts, witches brooms, gerbers and fall leaves are included in the Ghostly Greetings bouquet.  What a fun arrangement to send  to "ghosts and goblins" of any age, don't you think?

This past spring we were lucky enough to have a camera man come into our Princeton store to shoot our new video and I have to say, I love the way it turned out. It was fun seeing the employees all buzzing around going about their day! What do you think?

Let's face it, if money was no object everyone would love to have flowers in their house. Having fresh flowers in your life doesn't have to break the bank and with a little care you can enjoy them for days or even weeks. Buying Flower Tips: Look for flowers that look hydrated but are still closed or just beginning to open. This one is a biggie. Flowers that are fresh from the farm as just beginning to open and bloom. Blooms often open in order from top to bottom. For example: Lilies. They are multiple buds. The ones at the bottom open first and then as they expire out the higher ones open. Buy them with the buds are either closed or just beginning to open and you'll get two weeks out of your flowers. Other tips are to look for fresh looking foliage. Stay away from leaves that are yellow or even brown. Remember, there is always going to be a certain amount of imperfections in flowers, they are real and not fake but try to find ones that truly look fresh. Le

Lots of people ask me the same question when they first meet me and find out the name of my business. That question is "where did the name Monday Morning Flower and Balloon come from". Well, I don't blame them, even I know it's sort of a strange name, a catchy one but a bit unusual for a flower shop. Ok , so here goes, this is where the name came from. I was working another business (Mrs. V's Cleaning Service) and I was beginning to realize that cleaning houses was pretty hard work. I was feeling like I needed more of a challenge so I thought starting another business might be a good idea. I went to the bookstore and found a book of "easy to start" businesses and in there I found one called "Monday Morning Flower Shop". The idea of this business would be to offer delivery of flowers to corporate offices for their lobby on Mondays. So that is exactly what I did and being the creative person that I am, I just used that name. Monday Morning Flow