Sending Smiles ~

Well, I'm about a month away from my 45th birthday and my loving husband has yet again surprised me with a trip away in honor of my special day. He told me about it in advance because it's got to be squeeked in between the weddings we do and our employees vacations. A birthday card in March or April (being my birthday is in early July) usually is a sign of a birthday trip!! Last trip was a romantic journey through Italy and Austria, complete with flowers at each stop. It was a wonderful 40th birthday that just seemed to go on and on. This time it's off to the Florida keys, never been there and have always wanted to go. Being a Cancerian and now finding out that the Keys are located in the tropic of Cancer, what else could a little crab want? Isn't it funny how much we look forward to vacation but how amazingly good it feels to get back home? I think going away to far (and not so far) away lands is always a wonderful reminder of how important it is to appreciate what we ...

We've all heard that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and boy if that isn't the truth, I don't know what it. Being in the business of floral design puts me in the center of this truism just about every day. We've all had this happen. Someone in your life gives you this gift for your birthday or maybe Christmas. They watch you intently as you open the package, bit by bit. They have this look on their face that says "she's gonna love it, I hope she loves it" and of course, you really want to love this gift you are opening. You have all these preconceived notions of what this gift could be. Is it those cool jeans you saw in American Eagle or maybe one of those soft and fuzzy terry cloth robes you saw at Victoria Secrets. The tension mounts. Them looking at you and you intently digging inside the gift box and then it happens.... you unfold the ugliest blouse you have ever seen in your life. You look up into the eyes of the person who's obviously excite...

Why, you might ask, would a florist who has worked 90 hours this week, be taking the time to write a blog? Surely, I deserve a rest! I must confess, that a glass of wine and a warm bubble bath sounds wonderful right about now. The truth is that Mother's Day is an emotional day for me. With no time to really process my feelings and being responsible for helping to make other peoples mother's happy, my thoughts constantly turn towards my own mother. I've noticed over the years that Mother's Day is a very emotional holiday. It's amazing the look on a woman's face when you hand her those flowers! It's what inspires me most in this business. But with all the good and honorable feelings, sometimes negative and discouraging feelings arise. I remember about 6 years ago a woman called me late on Sunday afternoon and wanted me to know that she was most displeased with the flowers she had received from her daughter. I was, of course, very upset and offered to redelive...

When you really think about it, we all have Assistants in our lives. They might not have the title of Professional Administrative Assistant but there are those people, both at work and at home, that help to make our lives easier. It might be a simple as someone who you can assign duties to at work, or who makes dinner for you at home but we all have those people that sometimes go unappreciated. What would be do without them? I don't even want to think about it! So, as a florist, knowing that this week is Professional Administrative Assistants Week or Secretary's Week, whatever you want to call it, it makes me think that we should all take a few minutes to thank the people in our lives.

Twenty years ago, when I didn’t have two nickels to rub together and I was trying to market myself and my business, networking was there to the rescue. I would meet people who needed what I had to offer and offered me what I needed. All these years later I still call these people customers, vendors and friends. How wonderful is that? To this day, networking is an important part of my business life. A few business cards and a chance to mingle with other business people still goes a long way. The last networking meeting that my staff and I attended resulted in a sale of over $1,000.00. True story and what a return!! How can you beat that. To that end, I’m helping to coordinate a Networking and Business Card Event on April 17th at the Yardley Country Club, hosted by the Yardley Business Association. The folks on the board wonder why I’m so passionate about networking but I’m a true believer. So if you happen to be available on that night and are going to be anywhere near Yardley, PA conta...

This morning, as I was driving to the shop after a meeting, I started thinking about the floral seminar that I attended at the beginning of the month. Our speaker had called flowers a "Gift" and he was trying to have all of us (florists) think of our product as a "gift option". I knew what he was getting at and I agreed that sometimes we forget that flowers are one of many gift giving choices. Sometimes in my mind, I have set us apart from other gift retailers but the truth is that our product is one of many options that gift givers can choose from. Now this got me to thinking how do flowers rank as gift? I’ve been in the business so long that sometimes it’s hard to think like a consumer or even a recipient of flowers. In an instant, I was 5 years old again. It was my first dance recital and my mom had given me a sweet little nosegay of carnations and babies breath, tied with a pink bow. If I close my eyes, I can still smell those flowers and I feel instantly h...

I'm surrounded each and every day with beautiful flowers and green plants at work but I still enjoy having a bundle of fresh flowers at home. I ususally keep a vase of posies in my living room, another in my dining room and sometimes a small vase in my bathroom. I don't have a ton of plants but a long draping pothos perched high on a wooden plant stand in my living room and an ivy in my foyer. They really make the place feel peaceful and fresh. My husband faithfully checks them for water and adds a touch here and dash there. I guess when you think about it, it's even the routine of watering the plants, checking their foliage and admiring your green thumb that give your life purpose. It truly is the little things that can bring you the most pleasure.