Back to School Washi Works

I needed some small centerpieces for a back-to-school event and am very pleased with how they turned out.

The vase is from Dollar Tree.  The tape is the Scotch decorative masking tape (not actually washi, but same idea).  The royal blue and white one (our school colors) was already in my stash, but I purchased the school-themed tapes at Office Depot/Max.  As I always do, I purchased the market bunches of flowers at Jewel.  They didn't have the best offerings that day, but I still think the centerpieces turned out great.

Best news?  It took only minutes to wrap the tape around the vases and to cut and arrange the flowers.  For ten centerpieces, I spent $10 on vases, $25 or so on flowers, and maybe $10 on tape (with plenty leftover).

I used to wash out and save sauce jars for floral projects, but I may hold back on the hoarding in favor of these $1 vases.  I have a large collection of washi tape and can think of all kinds of cool combos for wrapping a vase.

It's very satisfying to be able to see a project to cute completion without a lot of turmoil or expense.

Grocery Flower Glory

I'm still buying grocery store flowers and arranging them at home.  Life's little pleasures and etc.  I've been particularly pleased with my latest arrangements.  I don't know the names of any of these flowers, but I like how they look with my Fiesta tablecloth and my Nora Fleming pineapple mini.

I liked this floral combo so much that I posed my latest BOTM Club read next to it and posted it on Instagram -- I'm @booksandcarbs.  The BOTM insta people (@bookofthemonthclub) commented "Gorgeous shot!" with two emojis so clearly I've had a real breakthrough moment in my bookish social media career.  As for the book?  I'm enjoying Taylor Jenkins Reid's The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo very much so far, but I haven't had as many opportunities to read as I'd like.  Most of my reading has been listening and stealing moments on my iphone ebook.  Still getting adjusted to the new summer schedule of shuttling three kids to their activities.  Note my Nora Fleming margarita mini.  I promise that none of my driving around town involves drinking anything but Diet Coke. 

If you have more reading time than I, I'd recommend Taylor Jenkins Reid as a great author of summer reads -- her books are highly readable without lacking substance.  I'd start with Maybe in Another Life or One True Loves.

Back to the flowers though.  I attended a luncheon on Friday and because my birthday was closer to the honoree's than anyone else's at my table, I won the frame with table number.  I'm enjoying how perfect the framed 8 looks next to my grocery store flowers. 

Almost a week in, these flowers are still looking fabulous.  However, they smell fairly horrible now.  Something is rotten around the stems.  I can smell it as soon as I enter the kitchen (though I have been accused of being overly sensitive about scents).  And yet, I can't bring myself to toss them when they still look so good.  Would it help if I used those powder packets that come with flowers?  I usually skip that step.  Maybe someone who knows the names of these flowers could answer that question.

BOTM -- January Selection Report

Still catching up after many weeks of no blogging.  I was very tempted by several of the January Book of the Month Club selections.  Lucky You--a Southern, female, buddy, fresh start story--really appealed to me, but it's not actually released until March and the idea of reading it early seemed risky.  I like to let the people speak a bit first.  When I went to read two of the books I had selected from summer BOTM offerings, I checked Goodreads and noted that each had under 3 stars (at the time).  It's sort of a bummer to crack the spine of a book you've paid for, knowing that many readers have been underwhelmed.  One of those books, The Fall Guy, I read anyway and liked well enough (3 star read for me).  The other one, Rich and Pretty, I still haven't been able to justify spending my reading time on.  Anyone want to sell me on it?

Back to January though.  I didn't place Lucky You in my book box, but it's on my radar.  I chose Janet McNally's Girls in the Moon and Kathleen Rooney's Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk.  McNally's book is about girls who sing, if I can recall.  I'll find out when I read it!  Rooney's Lillian Boxfish Takes A Walk was perfect for me!  Lillian Boxfish walks around NYC on NYE in 1984.  Not the safest course of action for an eighty-five year old!  As she walks, reflections on her career and marriage are interspersed with her interactions with new/old friends she encounters.  Loved Lillian's wit and spunk and that Rooney pulled that off without writing a gimmicky "feisty old lady" book.  Plenty to think about here with regard to gender, motherhood, marriage, aging, careers, desire, city life, and more.  Rooney teaches at DePaul University so I imagine if I pay attention, I could probably attend a Chicagoland reading.

Here's the pic I snapped of my January BOTM box when it arrived.  Gillian Flynn's The Grownup was a bonus!  Note that I am still brightening my kitchen with arrangements I put together with grocery store bunches.

Are you a BOTM Club member?  What did you choose in January?  Report on February's selections coming soon.

iPhone Pic Picking -- Pretty Stuff

I should be photographing these gorgeous Fall days, but there have been so many glorious ones, I'm starting to take them for granted.

Instead, I did some iPhone pic picking and want to share some of the prettiest things I found.

I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to travel to California last weekend with my husband for his work.  Our hotel was just across the street from the famous Bouchon Bakery so I had to visit (twice, ahem) and snap a pic of some of their pretty and delicious goods.  I forgot to photograph my favorite bakery treat because I was too eager to maul it.  It was called the Fuggedaboutit:  a huge rice kripsie treat with a thick layer of caramel, dipped in premium chocolate.  I'm not likely to fuggedaboutit.

This bouquet of decorative kale was $4.99.  Love, love, love it.  Do autumn brides know about this? 

NTB, but I think these cards are pretty pretty as well.  Like I've said before, you can make beautiful stationary in seconds with a little washi tape and some blank cards. 

Fall La La La La

I shared some fall spirit photos several weeks ago, but I forgot a few...

I'm obsessed with the Mrs. Meyer's cleaning products because they smell so dang good and look cute around the house.  Mrs. M is killing it this Fall.  The Apple Cider scent is bright, spicy, apple-y, just divine.  And the Mum scent?  My mother-in-law suggested I could actually wear it as a perfume.  That's how good it smells.  Don't ask questions if you see me with my multi-surface Mum spray before a night out.  I have seen these limited edition scents at Target and online from Grove Collaborative (formerly EPantry).  Perfect hostess gifts.  Holiday scents are probably out or arriving soon, but I've been staying out of Target like a good girl so I wouldn't know.

My middle guy was whining about how everyone else goes to a pumpkin patch and why don't we.  We had a five-day weekend around Columbus Day, and though I didn't have it in me to visit a pumpkin patch, we managed an outing to a lovely local garden center.  Who needs a corn maze or apple cider donut when your mom is all, "You can each pick a couple of strange-looking gourds or mini pumpkins.  Go wild."  See, I'm fun.  Gourds are displayed on my square Nora Fleming with acorn mini attached.  Not familiar with Nora Fleming?  Great gift idea for a friend who loves hosting and decorating!

Here's a little Fall vignette I put together near our garage.  The first year we lived in this house, I went wild with mums on the front porch.  When the cold weather came, I was going to toss them, but my mom encouraged me to re-plant.  I replanted the red ones, and they come back every Fall now and look so great.  Mind you, they look like boring-bordering-on-weedlike for 80% of the year, but for two months, they do shine!  Maybe I'll replant this year's mums near the back of the house where I don't have much going on.  Please note the cute green pumpkin which was my middle guy's chosen treasure at the garden center (fake pumpkin patch).  If I were to update this photo, you'd see the orange pumpkin decimated by squirrels (or worse?) and covered with flies.  I'm thinking you've seen similar in your own yard though so I'll spare you.

I'll close with a special announcement for my tens (?) of readers.  I'll be making my yearly November effort to post daily as part of National Blog Post Month (NaBloPoMo).  The quality of these daily posts is uneven, but I like the challenge of writing every day and actually find it fun and liberating.  Visit again soon!

Finally Fall

I sweated through my shirt as recently as Sunday afternoon whilst watching a fifth/sixth grade morning football game, but am happy to report that I've since been able to wear my new hoodie/cardi combo every day this week.  Fall seems to be here ... finally.

Here are some autumnal snapshots...

These fall-colored flowers were a hopeful gesture back in early September.  Whadya think of my fancy new vase from a clearance end cap at Target?

Yes, I love my grocery store flowers in fall colors.  And my oilcloth tablecloth, which is especially great in Fall (even though I use it throughout the year).

You can't have Fall without some Friday Night Lights or, in this case, Friday KNIGHT Lights.  My son plays on this field on Sunday afternoons, but I snapped this pic at a Friday night high school game.

I'm no gardener, but I usually manage to fill two pots for my porch.  This summer, I never got around to it.  I redeemed myself, I think, by putting together this little pot of autumnal delight (plus, its twin on other side of porch).  The kale, mums, and pink things were all purchased from a boutique nursery called Jewel-Osco.

When it comes to pumpkin spicery, I'm neither obsessed nor intolerant.  I am always up for testing a new KIND bar though so took a chance on this "limited batch."  I quite enjoyed the Caramel Almond Pumpkin Spice bar.  However, as with many KIND products, I'd love it if they included some more salt on the nuts as I really love the salty-sweet flavor sensation.

Don't hold your breath for apple picking or pumpkin patch photos. 

For now, that's all for Fall. 

Flowers from Jewel

It's 81 degrees today.  Glory, glory!  Spring took its good sweet time springing though.  Back in March, I started treating myself to fresh flowers.  Life's little pleasures and all that.  At Jewel, my grocery store, you can buy "market blooms" at the bargain price of 3 bunches for $12.  If it's just for my family, I choose three varieties.  If I'm providing decorations elsewhere, I'll spring for six bunches and more variety.

I'm not a professional (not even a little) and don't even know the names of most of the flowers.  Nevertheless, I've learned through trial and error which blooms last the longest and do the best I can with what's available.  It's been fun to choose and arrange the flowers the past few months. 

An early effort for my daughter's sixth birthday party.  And, how about my beautiful spring tablecloth from Kohl's?

I've shared this photo before.  Spaghetti sauce jar, scrapbook paper, and grocery store flowers.  Two solid reads to keep the flowers company.  Start with Julie Buxbaum's Tell Me Three Things.  Great YA novel.

Not a great angle, but this is one of the bouquets I made to decorate when we had guests during my son's First Communion weekend.  He loves green and bold colors!  If only I could find a non-ugly neutral tablecloth.

Some of the First Communion flowers kept kicking.  I consolidated the non-frail ones and think the stragglers looked pretty good together.  #filter  I've mentioned this on the blog before, but that chevron-printed burlap ribbon is from Dollar Tree. 

One of the centerpieces from last week's Cub Scout Blue and Gold Dinner.  Old jar wrapped in scout gift paper with gold washi tape accents.  This bouquet is actually the least attractive of the lot (I sent the others home with den leaders and volunteers), but it's still pretty cute.  Only took a fraction of the gift wrap roll to cover ten jars.  I have enough for many more Blue and Gold Dinners, but let's pray that I won't be planning too many more.

 My "just because" flowers.  Ten days in on these babies. 

Can't forget the flowers in my specialty Diet Coke bottles.  I bought these bottles over spring break and have changed out their blooms many times since.