Sending Smiles ~

They say there is a hurricane coming but for now this bright and sunny bridal bouquet that we created for bride Jennie this past weekend is a beacon of sunshine, don't you think? I love all the fall colors and monochromatic floral designs for events and everyday are super popular right now, with Yellow leading the pack. We've added lots of new arrangements to our website for Fall so if you know someone under the weather or having a birthday , be sure to check out what is new. Here's  hoping that Hurricane Sandy is more hype than wind and rain! 

What I love most about Balloon Decorations  is how visual they are for a relatively low cost. Take this event for example ~ this room at Green Acres Country Club is lovely but a bit plain. Now enter a "Global ~ Earth" themed event for the YMCA this past week, add a few well placed balloons and you have....  This! Simple, single balloon centerpieces - using a "Bubble Earth Balloon" attached onto a basic balloon weight. The smaller tables had just the balloon centerpieces while the larger tables had a 12" wide and low cylinder vase filled with glass gems, under water lights (green and blue, of course) and 5 floating candles. Imagine how magical this will look when the sun goes down and the lights really begin to show.    The extra floating candles really add a glow - I can only imagine what they looked like when they were lit!    Taking our inspiration from the invitation (which looked similar to these favors below) we went full on with the Earth...

I have to admit that there are a few very girlie items I adore. The first are pocket books. I just love them and it's so much fun now that we are stocking them in the Princeton store. Truth be told, 3 of them never made it to the shelves because Alanna and Sheryl "treated" themselves to some already. Hey, it's a benefit of working here at Monday Morning Flowers! These just arrived and we have many styles, shapes and colors available. I'm thinking they will sell quickly and I can't wait to restock. Lots of bright colors, animals prints and even a few Western styles. Aren't they pretty?  I also love these smaller clutch size purses. Even though they have shoulder straps, they are small enough to carry just the way they are. I especially love the zebra print "roses" on the fronts.    Although I like the more wild prints, these quilt style bags are a great size and have a someone more formal feel. This type of bag never goes out of style so...

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that more and more brides are going to be asking their floral designers to create cascade bouquets for their weddings. In the last 3 weeks alone, we have created 3 of these beauties and buzz on our Facebook page has been quite dramatic. Take the bouquet below ~ Bride Shedline was super pleased when Kevin arrived with her bouquet. Don't you just love the rich color in shades of purple. That in itself is an ongoing trend with many couple choosing purple as their wedding color. This bouquet was created using roses, mini callas, stock, lisianthus, carnations, limonium and touches of elegant foliage's. It's actually not that heavy and was super easy to hold (the biggest fear most bride's have when deciding on their bouquet is weight and ease of carrying it correctly). See my YouTube video that shows how easy these bouquets are to carry.  Another trend I'm noticing more of is the use of mixed plant material such as succu...

Don't you love doing crafts during the fall? There are just so many fun materials to work with. Take pumpkins for example: Who says you have to leave them orange? We love spray painting them with fun colors like purple, gold, bronze and even silver. Add a little touch of silk berries, a silk leaf or 2 and a fresh touch of seeded eucalyptus and you have a fun accent for the dining room table or mantle. Another fun project is to stack one pumpkin on top of another, 3 or 4 high. This can easily be done by securing with long wooden picks. Put the largest at the bottom (don't forget to remove the stem), then go smaller, smaller and end with the smallest at the top. What a fun way to add some decor with height just outside your front door on the side of your driveway. Lastly, why not carve out a mini or medium size pumpkin and add some floral foam and design a colorful floral arrangement inside? Add some fall leaves, dried wheat, foliage and some long lasting flowers for a...

Well, better late than never to mention that it's Boss's Week and it ends tomorrow. Never heard of the holiday? Well, you might think it was invented by Hallmark but actually it was "invented" by  Patricia Bays Haroski. She registered "National Boss' Day" with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 1958. She was working as a secretary for State Farm Insurance Company in Deerfield, Illinois at the time and chose October 8 because she forgot that the birthday of her boss, who was her father, was actually on the 16th. Four years later, in 1962, Illinois Governor  Otto Kerner  backed Haroski's registration and officially proclaimed the day. So there you have it! Boss's Day is October 16th but here at our shops we celebrate it the whole week and believe it or not, it's quite a busy week for us. With all those employees out there that who appreciate everything their Boss does for them (even I get Boss's Day gifts every year), it's the perfect ...

A Chance to Network:   Last week I was lucky enough to get away from the shop for a few hours and spend some time with some amazing and dynamic women. The Women's Business Alliance (an offshoot from the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce) held it's very first "Women's Leadership Conference" and I what a wonderful event it was. Over 300 ladies attended I personally left very inspired. In the photo above you'll see some of my friends, from left to right ~ Krystal Knapp of Plant Princeton, Debbie Schaeffer of Mrs. G's Appliances, me, Denise Taylor from Great Looks 4 Less, Ellen Kuznick of Career Finders and panelist Lynn Doyle from "It's Your Call with Lynn Doyle".  Let's face it, it would not be a women's event without flowers. We helped to sponsor the event by donating 25 floral centerpieces - pink roses, my favorite!  The Marriott did a great job and the Chamber Staff along with the WIBA committee of volunteers were t...