Three cheers for Cherry blossoms and a giveaway!!

Hi there! I have sooooo missed being in blogland, making my rounds and really missed all my readers! My little getaway was wonderful and I came back to an overflowing mailbox, and lots of orders to get out. No rest for the weary...but I love every minute:) We are off again later today on a mini road trip for the next three days to do some college visits so I am thrilled to share with you a post I had put together a week or so ago, I will be back on Sunday and just in case I do not have the chance to post want to wish everyone a very happy Easter! Next week.....everything goes back to normal!

I looooove cherry blossoms. I can still remember the first time we attended a cherry blossom festival in Washington DC when I was a kid, I was totally transfixed in a way I cannot quite explain. As a young girl, we were also in Japan for the cherry blossom festival and have lots of pictures of my sister and I standing against natures most spectacular backdrop. Perhaps this was the very beginning of my love for flowers and nature in general, without my even knowing it. They are as beautiful and elegant as they are dramatic. Only downside is that they don't last as long as would be ideal (forever would be ideal).

I  have searched high and low for a very realistic looking cherry blossom and finally found them! I am soon going to be offering them  on  my online site,  under new arrivals. These blossoms are exceptional! Best part, they really do last forever!!

 I am also offering up a wonderful giveaway from Madhouse by Michael Aram, the maker of beautiful and sophisticated melamine and paper dinnerware.  Love the line....all details below.

 So first a look at all the beautiful ways cherry blossoms can be enjoyed both indoors and outdoors........

 Simply breathtaking! The public Asian

 Japan cherry blossom festival, Artsonearth

 DC in all its cherry blossom glory! Jennings and Gates

 Nothing quite like the wow factor that cherry blossoms always bring to a table! Theknot

 Walking underneath a huge canopy of cherry blossoms is like walking down heavens path.......

 

Florie Hupert

 Stunning cherry blossom inspired wallpaper in this gorgeous bathroom is so fresh, Houzz

WOW!!! Themetapicture.com

 They certainly make a beautiful wedding cake! The cake girls

What room doesnt' look instantly spectacular with a huge spray of cherry blossoms?

Love them as inspiration for beautiful cookies, Callmecupcake.com

Preston Bailey has proven over and over again he knows how to create total fairytales out of flowers!

 And can a party table look any prettier than one set with an explosion of cherry blossoms? Collection 26

 Love the idea of spring-y dinnerware with a cherry blossom theme, Macys

 Against the all white, the effect of the pale pink blossoms is simply breathtaking! Elizabeth

 Stunning cherry blossoms cake Let them eat cake

 Cherry blossom festival in Tokyo, Japan

They make a lovely card even lovelier....Mujka

Bellaink

Adore this bathroom! So elegant and refreshing with the pink cherry blossom paper!

How incredible are these etched glasses with cherry blossoms!! I love them! Branca

Wow.....this just takes my breath away! Calligraphy by Jennifer

Now to show I practice what I preach, here they are in my own home.............

Love them! They add such elegance and a bit of drama to any room they are used in. The height does magic.......I love real of course but a good faux is hard to beat as they last forever! How about you? Do you love them as much as I do?


Now onto this wonderful giveaway from The Madhouse Collection by Michael Aram . The giveaway is for a dinnerware setting for 8. They make beautiful papergoods and melamine dinnerware, looks really expensive but the prices are amazing! Their designs are simply gorgeous, so unique and really sophisticated. The lucky winner will get to choose their pattern. I will announce a winner on Monday. To enter simply visit Madhouse by clicking here, come back and tell me your favorite collection. Simple as that. So much to love!

Good luck and thanks as always for stopping in! Thanks Madhouse for your giveaway.  Hope alls well over in your corner of the world and once again wishing everyone a happy and healthy Easter!

Spring is in the air.....at least in my house!

Last day to be eligible to win the beautiful silver tray for my one year celebration! Click here to visit that post for details...winner to be chosen tomorrow!

OK yes after a ridiculous amount of snow this season we have finally been having some milder days! At last we are hitting the 50's...and it feels positively balmy out there! No complaints form me, when I see the temps creeping up and the sun blazing, I am a really happy girl. However I am not so naive as to think its over...we have been known to get one last blast of winter when our guard is down, so I am not discounting even more snow or frigid temps.

 However just because I can't control what goes on outside doesn't mean I can't let things feel "spring-y" indoors and that is exactly what I am doing! I went to my favorite nursery and filled my cart to the brim with the prettiest array of spring flowers that I could find and came home and had fun filling all my containers with them. Then I got really ambitious and took on a little do it yourself project and from afar they look pretty darn good....blue and white Easter eggs! So here's what I have been up to.....

It all started with this  innocent darling basket of spring beauty that a friend who stopped over dropped off....

 And soon my "spring flower bug" bit and off to the nursery I went.......

And then I got busy choosing various containers for all the flowers......

 Love the way the pale pink hydrangeas look in the blue and whites...so fresh!

 Added these beautiful double ball topiaires to my black tole planters

 

And these pretty white azalea topiaries in my blue and whites

Isn't this planter a beauty? Brand new style soon to be listed in my shop...just got it in!

 More topiaries looking for a place other than my breakfast room table..I SOOO NEED a  greenhouse!

These are tall about 3 feet so need a special place.........

Gardenias  require a  lot of sun so hoping their new spot will get them blooming again!

 Beautiful pink hydrangeas fill my oversized blue and white bowl

 Love this pair near my sink....they just make me happy

 

I did not forget about my powder room, here a pretty pink hydrangea plant graces my newest silver planter

And finally I am not exactly a "do it yourselfer" but every now and then I do enjoy trying to tackle a project here and there.....so I tried my hand at making blue and white Easter eggs, they came out very pretty, as long as you don't look too close!

 I cut napkins into mini triangles, got some mod podge with a paint brush and started pasting them on, a final coating all over the egg seals the deal, let them dry for about an hour and you are set!

And then when dry I put some in my small William Yeoward dish and some in my spring flower arrangemtnets...

And when added to my flower arrangements, they were the perfect touch of spring!

And I was experimenting for a small spring lunch I might be hosting....think this is a neat idea. I put waterwith some baby spinach leaves a few fresh flowers (or whatever you have in the house) in a square container and froze it, I ended up with a "frozen plate" on which to put my salad....isn't that a neat idea? I will use a round mold for this next time, as I think it will sit better on the plate. I think it would be beautiful for shrimp cocktail or some kind of seafood appetizer.....

So....has the spring bug bit you yet? I have to say though I actually like winter, this year I have had more than my fill! I really love the idea of flowers blooming, crave the smell of fresh cut green grass and cannot wait to fling open the windows while belting out a spring-y tune (OK for my kids sake, I will not do the last thing) but you get what I am saying.....I am ready for spring to arrive! Enjoy your day.........