Sending Smiles ~

I was listening to the radio coming in to work today and heard a great comment that inspired this blog. "There are multiple right answers". It didn't really apply to the flower business specifically but after seeing this bridal bouquet being created today, it made me think how often folks think that there is a right or wrong answer when choosing flowers. Whether it's a wedding or other event, there are many choices and multiple right choices. Take this bouquet for example. The bride is truly a free spirit and allowed her friend (our designer Alanna) to create her bouquet. Kate loves everything natural (she's a Vegan who runs a rescue farm for animals) and is wearing a Chakra Crown to her wedding. Imagine her delight when she sees that Alanna has added healing stone and crystals to her bouquet? Is this right for everyone? Would Kate love this bouquet if it did not have the stones? I think we know the answer but how awesome is that she trusts her friend to cr

Fresh Flowers + Gift Option =  A Great Value? Yes if you send one of our new value bouquets .  Did you know that 92% of women remember they received a gift of flowers. That's a pretty powerful gift and now you can send fresh flowers for only $45. Included in each bouquet is an assortment of 3 large focal flowers, 1 style of accent flowers and fresh foliage all wrapped up elegantly in fancy paper. We guarantee that there will be at least 15 stems of flowers in each bouquet and the flower selections changes daily to allow for the freshest selection. Why not send a bouquet to someone special right now? www.sendingsmiles.com - or call 609-520-2005

I've been in the flower and balloon business so long I sometimes forget how receiving one of our offerings can make someone feel. Just this morning I took an order from a woman who wanted to send a dear friend a big bouquet of Get Well and Thinking of You Balloons . Get Well Balloon Bouquet  She told me the story about how she felt when she received balloons when her son was born. She said she loved getting flowers but the balloons were so fun and festive and made her happy. I mentioned it was ironic that she and I were having this conversation because we are in the middle of a huge project of expanding our balloon bouquet offerings on our website. I guess it'a all about the timing. Here are a few new bouquets that just went live today!! Sweet 16 Balloon Bouquet  18th Birthday Balloon Bouquet  21st Birthday Balloon Bouquet 40th Birthday Balloon Bouquet  50th Birthday Balloon Bouquet 60th Birthday Balloon Bouquet

A thank you to our customers and what is new for 2014!

Well, actually, it's both! We began creating terrarium floral centerpieces for tomorrows wedding and although most have been created with flowers, they also include some plant material like this one. Three purple roses, mosses and ivy plants combine to make an elegant floral display, don't you think?  What I really love is how each table will going to be a completely different "container" and so no 2 will look the same. Our color palate is purples and blues and so we are using blue roses and orchids with accents of river stones, fresh mosses, glass gems and even terrarium sand. The bride and grooms also provided us with some fun little characters such as faeries and tiny terrarium animals such as frogs, turtles and even birds. I can't wait to see these all set up at the Lambertville Inn tomorrow night and I'll be sure to post photos!

Well, it's $5 Flower Friday and today we have fresh sunflowers . Boy oh boy, they have been a huge hit with the phone starting to ring about 7:30 am with folks wanting to reserve some for the weekend. Did you know that you can receive a text every Friday morning telling you what the flower special is that day. Just text the word Friday to 555888 to be included. Sorry, no delivery, cash and carry only!  Lots of pretty summer blooms arrived today such as these daisies. Don't you just love daisies?  "They are such a friendly flowers, don't you think they are the friendliest flowers"- Trivia; do you know what movie that line is from?   In case you are not aware, these weekend we are having a plant event in the shop. Come anytime between 10 am and 2 pm with any plant material you have or buy some from us. We'll help you plant it, transplant it or design it! It's all about plants this weekend - August 4th.  Be sure to follow us on our Facebook page t

What do Flowers and Margarita's have in common? Apparently at Monday Morning Flowers they have quite a bit. Our Summer Floral Design Class appears to have been a big hit with the ladies who attended. Even my Mother in Law got into the act and had a blast.  As will all our classes, we start off with food and drinks, giving the attendees a little time to mingle, network and shop.   This class included $15 worth of Monday Morning Money for the ladies to spend however they wanted. Candles, hand bags and plants seemed to be the best sellers that night.  Next comes the design part the program . This class had us learning how to design using colored floral foam in a margarita glass. The students really had fun and Designer Nicole did a great job leading them through with tips and tricks.   As you can see, even the young girls had fun! Future designers perhaps?  Who wouldn't laugh during a class with such bright colored flowers. Well, the margarita's helped!   

Well, it's finally Friday again and we are gearing up for a big weekend of parties, weddings, you name it, we have it going on in the store this weekend. May is such a fun time here at our 2 flower shops but honestly quite exhausting too. What better way to recharge our batteries in time for the weekend than having Sunflowers for this weeks $5 Flower special.  Last weeks $5 Friday Flowers were violet plants and between our two stores we sold over 40 of them. This weeks sunflowers will most likely fly off the shelves (or out of the buckets) because Sunflowers are always so popular. Who wouldn't want a bouquet of these in time for the weekend? 

We love holidays here at the shop, not only because they can be a very busy time for us (which means business is good) but we love what our flowers "bring" to these special days. Even as florists we love having and sharing our floral designs with family over the holidays. Take my niece Mary Ann who absolutely adored this "bunny" floral arrangement. Not only did she carry it around but she was seen petting the "bunny" many times in the course of the Easter celebration. How gratifying it was for me to provide her with this first floral experience.  The holiday dinner table wouldn't be complete without a floral centerpiece and gauging by how many Easter centerpieces we sold this year, our customers felt that same way. Who says kids don't appreciate flowers? My nephew carefully staged this display which include not only the floral centerpiece but also his Transformer and his Enterprise model. :)    If you didn't have flowers on your din

Keeping with the St. Patrick's Day theme, this weeks $5 Flower Friday is a small Shamrock plant decorated for the holiday weekend. We also have very cool green flower bouquets... aren't they pretty?   Haven't heard about our $5 Flower Friday specials? Each Friday we offer (at both stores of course) a special flower deal for only $5. Last week we had bouquets of iris and the week before that we had bouquets of freesia.  We know the supermarket has cheap flowers but what we try to offer are flowers you won't see in the market and ones we usually sell for $15, $20 or even $30 on other days. It's our way of making it worth your while to stop in, say hi and buy flowers from us instead of picking them up when you go shopping. In doing so, we hope you remember us for all those other special times when flowers are the perfect fit to the occasion. These little cutie of a plant are limited but we hope to see you at either of our stores ~ Princeton Forrestal Village

With Valentine's Day behind us we look forward to all the Spring flowers that will soon be filling the shop such as hyacinths, sweet peas, tulips and other fun blooms such as lavender statice, daffodils, lisianthus and more. My personal favorite colors are the pinks and purples and don't you just love those huge Japanese Sweet Pea that Kristin is holding? They are enormous and very long lasting.  Soon the Spring weddings will begin and it's been fun seeing the colors and flowers that are in demand for Spring weddings. I'll be sure to post them as the year moves along! For now, let's just breath deep and wait for Spring to arrive. 

Need a reason to use a local florist for your Valentine's Day floral gift delivery? Well, here you go!!  We deliver 7 days a week to over 70 zip codes in all of Mercer and parts of Somerset, Middlesex and Hunterdon County - New Jersey and Lower Bucks, Pennsylvania. Visit our website at www.sendingsmiles.com to shop our holiday selection! 

Wow, imagine seeing these beauties growing in a field? What are they, you ask? These are a Lily that bloom in a vibrant orange.  Each stem has 3 to 5 flowers on each stem that will measure a full 4 or 5 inches across. This particular variety is named "Bursa" and it's a newer variety here at our store. They are available year round and are grown in Mexico.  As floral designers we love creating arrangements with lilies of all sizes and colors. Lilies are commercially available in 4 major types, Asiatic, Oriental Hybrids, LA Hybrids (Longiflorum X Asiatic and Longiflorum (Easter Lilies).  These Bursa Lilies are long lasting La Hybrid. They have almost no fragrance (compared to their "cousin" lily the Oriental Hybrid) and bloom from bottom to top. They do put off a bit of pollen so be sure to remove them as they open being they can stain your hands, clothing, etc.   Lilies come in Yellow, Orange, Pink , Red, White and even 2 tones!  To s

It may be Christmas around her but if you are within 50 miles of Princeton University, you are bound to see some Black and Orange, like at this event we just created centerpieces for. We love working with the folks at the University ~ both Staff and Students and it's we are always looking for creative and affordable ways to do up the Tiger theme of Black and Orange.  These centerpieces were designed in plastic black footed bowls using roses, berries, lotus bods and cat tails with a few unusual painted craspedia and pin cushion proteas. Designed with a touch of boxwood, they look seasonal while still being well within the Princeton zone!   Nope it's not Halloween - it's an event at Princeton University!  To see this and more of our event decor for businesses, school and social ~ Be sure to check out event website at www.mondaymorningballoons.com  

I'm always adding cute little gift items to the website, especially around major holidays like Christmas. Isn't this adorable? A tiny 4" poinsettia plant tucked away in a keepsake " Ornament Candy Jar ". What a sweet gift to send to the hospital or the office, perfect to sit bedside or on some one's desk.  Available within our local delivery area of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, I'm thinking they won't last long priced at only $39.95. To see this and all our custom floral and gift arrangements, be sure to check out our website at www.sendingsmiles.com   ~ Happy Holidays everyone! 

Last week we held another fun class at our Princeton shop and Designer Norman, Shop Coordinator Sheryl and 7 amazing ladies had fun learning to make boxwood trees. As with all our classes, the night started with laughter, wine and yummy cheese from Tre Piani Restaurant, located next to us here in Princeton Forrestal Village. After a half hour and full bellies, the ladies move over into the design area to begin their lesson!  Below Norman works one on with Melissa (who works at the Windrows just up from our shop). As time goes on the trees begin to take shape!  Jean, Melissa and Jan all work on forming their trees. Next step is to decorate them!     Fast friends through our classes, Jean and Martha pose for a photo during the class.  Well ladies, you must all be very proud of your creations. After the class ended at 8 pm, the ladies moved back into the shop and enjoyed savings of 25% off everything in the shop! Each left with a goody bag with cookies, a Yankee candle and

What an weekend! Three weddings and all so colorful and lovely! First up, bride Jackie chose these super cool green and ivory bouquets for her maids. Green buttons, orchids and berries along with ivory roses. Loops of lily grass make for an interesting combination, don't you think?   Bride Jackie's bouquet was a stunner for sure. Deep blue thistle, ivory roses, white mini gerbers, arabicum, hydrangea and anemone's combine to make for a very textured bouquet.  Ah, I'm in love with cascade bouquets lately and this one is amazing. White and purple picasso mini calls with white stephanotis, white tea rose and deep burnt orange spray roses accented with green berries and ivy for bride Gia.  Gia's maids will carry these amazing burnt orange roses, ivory spray roses and brown berries. What a pretty combination for a fall wedding, don't you think?  Bride Melissa went for the softer, romantic side of a fall wedding. Very pale blush pink roses, silvery lav

We love getting rare and unusual flowers here at the shop and Banksia is one of them!  Banksia is a genus of around 170 species plant family Proteacea. If you have ever seen our very cool Pincushino Proteas at the shop, they are from the same plant family. These Australian wildflowers are easily recognized by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads.  Heavy producers of nectar, Banksias form a vital part of the food chain in the Australian bush. They are an important food source for all sorts of nectariferous animals, including birds, bats, rats, possums, sting less bees and a host of invertebrates. Furthermore, they are of economic importance to Australia's nursery and cut flower industries.  When we purchase these super cool flowers, they come by way of the Dutch Flower Market. Long lasting and quite large, our designers love making arrangements with them. If you are looking for something a bit unusual, perhaps ask us to add a few

My last blog showed the bouquets we made for bride Kate's brides maids to carry, so I thought I'd follow up with a quick blog and photo of Kate's Wedding Bouquet. A combination of red tea and garden roses, carnations and also red ranunculus, the bouquet is multi textured and shaded. I can only imagine how pretty this is going to look held up against her wedding gown.  Have you seen our new wedding website ? If not, you should hop on over and take note that we now have photos broken down into color themes and season ! The new layout makes it much easier to search for flowers that you need! Let us know what you think about our new website !