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Camellias & Copper

A Southern Girl's Blog About Life

On Making Flower Arrangements : Bloom

by Filed Under: Decorating/Remodeling, Gardening, Party Ideas 2 Comments

I have always had a love of flowers.  From the time I was a littler girl following my NaMaw around her back yard watering Azaleas and learning about Touch-Me-Nots to seeing my Grandfather’s Camellia garden {where this blog gets part of it’s name} and massive Gladiolus growing every year.

So when the leader of our Moms Blog group messaged me a couple of weeks ago about making flower arrangements for our event, Bloom: An Event for New & Expecting Moms, I told her ‘Yes’!  I knew it wouldn’t be that hard…I just needed a vision.

So of course I took to Pinterest.  On the way to Shelton Vineyards {that lovely weekend getaway!}, I was pinning flower arrangements that I thought fit the profile of what we wanted.  I messaged a few to our leader for her approval.

As the event drew near I got a little nervous…wondering how I was going to pull this off I recruited a couple of gal-pals who are much more creative than I am to see if they would be willing to spend a Friday night helping me create these arrangements that I had so willingly committed to.

With Dana and Breanna “in” for Friday night I came up with a quick plan of action.  Wednesday I squeezed in some time to go to Carolina Pottery to purchase my mercury glass vases.  Friday afternoon I had planned on Andrew getting the kids so I could run my flower-picking-up errands without the wild banshees.  That didn’t happen.  They tagged along and were fantastic about it!  Their reward for helping mommy pick out flowers?  A cookie at Publix {thank you, Publix!!}.

We ordered take out salads and pizza and Breanna brought over some home-made Sangria.

We ate as three crazy families would on a Friday night – casually and loudly…  then we sent the men and children into the den so we could get to work!

We brought in our bounty to assess the situation.

Breanna said to me…”So…what was your vision?”

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I think she doubted the vision.  I doubted the vision myself, mainly because there were NO GOOD FLOWERS ANYWHERE!!!  I really wanted something pretty and pink.  Not like baby girl shower or bridal shower, but something really sweet to celebrate moms.  I purchased all of the bunches of Eucalyptus at Trader Joe’s, the Snapdragons and Hydrangeas came from Fresh Market.   Truth be told, I really wanted Peonies.  REALLY wanted them.  But they’re not quite in season.  The one bunch F-M had was like $15 and I just couldn’t do it.

So here we were with all these bunches of flowers, that on their own were ‘ok’…

I tried to explain my vision to Dana and Breanna…and they agreed by saying, “let’s just all make an arrangement and see what happens.” :)
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If nothing else, we had a great time!

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And at the end of the night…I think we came out looking pretty fantastic!

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They were really pretty.  Simple, elegant, classic.  Everything I had wanted.  They were lovely.

Transporting Saturday morning was fun.  I used a laundry basket, that would hold 6 vases at a time {carrying from the bottom, of course}, and I drove the slowest I’ve ever driven in my entire life during that 3 mile drive.

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The larger vase was a little trickier.  I looked at Andrew and explained to him that I was already planning to drive like a 90-year-old lady, so I would just hold the vase with one hand.  That didn’t fly with him.  He said, why don’t we just buckle it into one of the kids’ carseats?  Er, yeah, that’s what I was going to do…20160430_075045

They all made it safe and sound.  Even on the way back home after our event. :-DIMG_20160430_124324

While I’m no master centerpiece maker or floral arranger, I felt pretty great about what we were able to create for all of these new and expectant moms who were attending Bloom.  I hope they had as much fun attending the event as I did in helping with it!

Blog-tember Challenge: Day 8

by Filed Under: Gardening, Life, Outside 5 Comments

We’re starting week 2 of the Blog-tember Challenge this week!  Today’s challenge is to tell y’all about my favorite season.  Why it’s my favorite season and what does it say about me?

Well, I have an appreciation for all the seasons, for without one, you can’t have the others!  There’s a cycle you know…

I really enjoy Fall because with it comes cooler temperatures, the beautiful changes in tree colors AND college football season!

But, if I had to choose a most favorite season, which is today’s challenge, I choose Spring.

Spring is the breaking forth of newness.  Spring shows me a new year, a new beginning and newness of life. Daffodils and Forsythia burst forth from the dreariness of Winter, promising something new.  Flowers of all brightness and color pop out to show their glory.  And cheerfulness takes over the hum-drum that can often result from clouds and cold.

These photos are of the flowers and plants I planted this Spring in Lily’s flower bed {read about that post here}.   All reminders to me of the beauty of Spring and what I have to look forward to next year when that flower bed is in full bloom!

Spring Flowers

How about you?  What’s your favorite season and why?

A Clay Paw

by Filed Under: Being a Mom, Gardening, Life Leave a Comment

I really don’t want this post to be terribly sad, so bear with me for just a moment.

Several weeks ago, during all the grieving, a dear friend sort of tossed the idea out to me to write a book.  {HA!}

I came home that night, or maybe it was the next night, sat down at my computer and got it all out.  Within two and half-ish hours I had typed 26 pages of a word document.

I got it all out.

All the details.  All the conversations.  All the raw emotions.  And I put it down on paper {the electronic version}.

So I referred back to it tonight for this post.

Here’s the excerpt, talking about the amazing Veterinary Hospital that was caring for Lily in her last days and the precious gift they gave us as we kissed her goodbye:

“They made a claw print for us to bring home and put in the oven, to harden, and then keep for all of forever.  It even has a couple of her hairs in it.  They used a little flower stamp around the border and then stamped her name into the side.  It sits in a plastic bag today, on a shelf in Lily’s room.  Until I find a shadow box frame I like, I am keeping it in this bag.”

Lily paw 1

Well, today I found the shadow box.  I knew Michael’s would have something, and as Providence would have it, shadow box frames were on sale!  {I may have purchased two because they were BOGO!}

After the kids were down {because all projects happen AFTER the kids go down…for the second or third time!!}, I pulled out the new shadow box and carefully removed Lily’s clay paw from the Ziploc bag.  I used some heavy-duty command strips to adhere the paw to the fabric, because those pretty little pearl-pins that come with the box surely weren’t going to hold this thing into place!

Lily paw 2

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We decided quickly that it needed to hang on the wall near the back door….with a view of Lily’s flower bed.

Lily paw 4

 

This was going to be the end of my post for tonight.  Until I received a sursy on my front porch today.  I already posted on Instagram and Facebook that Lily’s third set of grandparents sent a precious gift to us today.

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The little white bone on the card actually has seeds of a plant in it, so it will be planted in Lily’s flower bed this weekend.

The beautiful little statue already has a home.

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I am reminded about the loveliness of life.  Even the life of a dog.  Each life touches the lives of so many others.  It’s not just us who grieve Lily’s passing, but also those who knew and loved her.

Lily’s Flower Bed

by Filed Under: Gardening, Life, Outside 2 Comments

It’s been a full month, I think, since I first posted about cutting our new flower bed.  When we first got the news of Lily, I sort of put the flower bed on the back-burner.

I finished it tonight.  {Though I may add a border at some point…}

I’m not going to go into a full out drama about the whole thing, but I will tell you just a few facts:

1.  Lily was my our companion.  She was always by either mine or Andrew’s side when we were outside.

2.  She was ALWAYS in my flower beds.  ALWAYS.  Whether at our last home in Camden or in this yard, the girl was forever laying all over newly planted and established plants.

3.  When I started working on this flower bed, she was there.

So last week, after our dr’s appointment where we learned we’d lost Baby Lucas, Andrew and I ate lunch together and he said, “Let’s go to Woodley’s.”  The man knows my soul is healed by being in God’s creation so he took me to a plant nursery.  It was beautiful and peaceful.

We purchased the last few plants, after careful consideration, for the flower bed and then came home to put them into it.  After standing back and looking at everything, Andrew said, “I think we should dedicate this flower bed to Lily…and Baby Lucas.”

So here you have it.

As a refresher, we started out with a million daffodil bulbs and some loropetalum -> that we planted last Spring.  We had also added in a Weeping Cherry Tree just a couple of months ago. {Reynolds Plants A Tree…and see, Lily is right there…laying in the fresh dirt.}

Added into our new flower bed are a Mock Orange…I looked for this plant for 2 years.  No lie.  We found it last Thursday at Woodley’s.  Then, our neighbor, who is native Hawaiian, told me that they use the flowers from the Mock Orange in the Haku Lei (the crown of flowers)….

Mock Orange

Super Bells

Super Bell

Wave Petunias

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Salvia

Salvia

Asiatic Lilies {of course, and these were insanely gorgeous when they bloomed}

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Calla Lilies {from which Lily got her name}…and I don’t have a picture of them blooming because I planted bulbs with just a little greenery on them.

And anchoring the end is a Georgia Belle Peach Tree.  I mean, being from Georgia, what else did you expect?!  This tree is a self-fertile tree, meaning we didn’t need a second tree in order for it to produce fruit!  And bonus! we already have some tiny little peaches…

Peach Tree

 

Last, but certainly not least, is a sweet little flower that I got from Reynolds for Mother’s Day {his daycare did these}

Reynolds plant

flower bed

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It’s a little fuzzy tonight {I’m sure we’re going to have a major storm any minute..} and a wise man told me this weekend to give it a year or two, and it will be glorious.

 

I hope you, my friend, have had a lovely Monday….and thanks again for reading my blog…it’s been a huge blessing for me to be able to have this outlet, especially over the last month.

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