Well, at least the 2009 wedding season. This weekend marked the last wedding of 2009. It has been a great season that started with our first annual Sherbondy Flowers Wedding Fair. We have 2 months off and then will start our 2010 season in January. We have a lot of exciting things in the works for our 2010 Wedding Fair. Stay tuned for more photos!
www.sherbondyflowers.com
You know that lovely, luxurious foaming soap? I love it! But, did you know that those foaming soap containers are reusable? You simply fill the container 1/3 full (or less!) with regular liquid soap and fill to the top with water. Give it a little shake and there you go! I used my Dr. Bronner’s soap (you could even use antibacterial if you must). Speaking of Dr. Bronner’s…it is pretty cool stuff. You can use it for practically anything! Just don’t try to read the label 
My wonderful mother-in-law was kind enough to donate 2 foaming bottles to the Lee household and we have been fabulously foamy ever since.
Here are some photos from the wedding we worked on this weekend. It was all about rhinestones!!
The flowers are blooming and it is so much fun to be able to cut flowers from your own garden! Here are a few tips to insure success
*Cut your flowers in early morning or in the evening. When it is still dark is best. The blooms will be nice and closed and will last longer once cut.
*Cut the stems at an angle with very sharp shears. The cleaner the cut the better the flowers will be able to “drink” once placed in water.
*Remove all greenery that would be under the water line on your vase. Greenery under water encourages bacteria growth and the flowers will not last as long.
* Make sure the stems reach all the way to the bottom of the vase. This will look better and you won’t have to change the water as often.
* Add enough flowers so that the arrangement is at least 1 1/2 times the height of whatever vase or container you are using. A common mistake is to choose a vase that is too large and then just have a few flowers peeking out over the top of the vase.
* Change the water every couple of days, recutting the stems each time.
Enjoy!
Most of you know, I really LOVE to make things. A couple of days ago I made a sugar body scrub.
And I am in love with it!! I’ve heard of people (including my sister) using salt, but since I have florists’ hands, that could be very painful
SUGAR BODY SCRUB
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. olive oil (or more as needed)
1/4 c. water (or more as needed)
5 drops essential oil of your choice (I used geranium)
Use any container with a lid. Pour sugar into container. Add olive oil and essential oil. Use knife to swirl the oil down through the sugar. Add more water or oil as needed until sugar is saturated. Store indefinitely.
I have a fabulous job! First of all, I work for the most wonderful, caring people you can imagine. I am able to bring BOTH kids to work with me. If the kids are sick or the roads are bad…I don’t have to go in to work. They even allow me to come in to work after the kids wake up in the morning and we all get ready (whenever that may be). This job has been an enormous blessing to our family AND did I mention I get to work with flowers?!?!
This past weekend, we held a wedding fair at the flower shop I work at. It was our “first annual” and it was so exciting to see everything come together. All of the vendors were so great to work with and it sounds like ti was a successful endeavor for everyone involved! Here are some photos of the event (and our flowers). I’ve participated in many wedding fairs over the years, but it was so much fun to host our own. And there was just something magical about having it in the greenhouse!
We do not do Santa at our house. Yes, we are weirdos. Growing up, Joe and I both believed in Santa. For me, Santa and the idea of lots and lots of presents definitely overshadowed the real Christmas story; which of course is the story of Jesus coming to this earth as a baby to redeem our souls. We decided that for our family, we did not want the focus of our Christmas to be anything other than the anticipation and celebration of Christ’s birth.
Anyway, the way that Greta reacts to Santa is has become quite funny. Last year, she saw Santa on some wrapping paper and called him a pirate! To her defense, he did have black boots and a big belt on- I can kind of understand what she was talking about. A couple of days a week, the kids come with me to work at the flower shop. They have a life sized Santa that talks and dances if you press the button. Greta is TERRIFIED of him! She literally runs away screaming and crying. At the bank today she told me, “Mommy, I’m scared of the Christmas guy. I don’t like to press the button.”
It’s cute and funny now, but I am really looking forward to explaining to her why we do not use Santa to celebrate Christmas when she is a little older. To me, Christmas is so much more than simplistic reindeer and elves. In celebration of the birth of Jesus, I have made some ornaments for our tree. My dear friend, Dorene, had the idea of making ornaments with the some of the different names of Jesus. I promptly STOLE that idea Hers turned out so beautiful and classy. Black and silver…so crisp and classic. Mine are—well, “me”. Sloppy and colorful. We had fun making our ornaments and I love what they add to our tree. Now when I pass by our tree and see one of the names- I am reminded of songs and Bible verses. How cool is that?!?!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Greta as excited as she was today. For months now, she has been asking me, “is it Christmastime?”. She has become utterly obsessed with Christmas trees and all things related. Well, today was the day! I drug that old, dusty, rickety tree out of the garage and hoisted it up in the living room. Normally, I wouldn never dream of putting up a tree before Thanksgiving, but I am so excited for Christmas this year…I can hardly contain myself! Last year we did not put our tree up. I was VERY pregnant and the thought of putting up and taking down the 10′ tree sounded like a dangerous task.
When we found out that Miles had hydrocephalus, the Dr.’s told us that he might not be “compatible with life” and we’d find out when he was born if he would make it. So, we didn’t know if there would be a baby’s first Christmas. BUT, he is here and he is a miracle. Words can not express how overjoyed I will be to see my little boy sitting side by side with his big sister opening presents for the first time! Tears fill my eyes just to think of it!
I am definitely not alone in my excitement. Every time Greta would leave the living room to go get a toy or to go to the bathroom, it was as if she’d temporarily forgotten about the tree and each time she came back into the room, she would exclaim, “It’s Christmastime! Look at our beautiful tree!” or my personal favorite, “this tree makes me so happy!”.
Here’s a sneak peek at our decorating and soon I’ll be sharing with you the ornaments that I made for our tree this year. I just have to finish them!!
I don’t usually take photos of the weddings that I do, but I just realized I only have 5 more weddings to go. We have decided that 2008 will be our last wedding season and while I’m mostly excited to have the extra time on the weekends and space in the garage…I must admit- I’m a little sad. Anyway, here are some photos again. This was a really fun one to work on because the bride wanted each bridesmaid’s bouquet to have it’s own style. The cool looking curly stuff is called fiddle head fern.
