New Porch Furniture

We are finally finished with the front exterior of our house! It's taken about 8 months, but we are finally satisfied with how everything looks. We bought some new porch furniture a few weeks ago, which was the final touch.

New chairs and table:

We also got a new address plaque (which has been blurred, of course), and Michael painted our light fixture black:

If it weren't so dang hot, we would probably be spending a lot of time out here!

To recap, since November, we have landscaped the yard, painted the house, added a new porch swing and furniture, and added accessories. I think we're going to relax for a while!

Birthday Flowers

My birthday was last Thursday and I received two BEAUTIFUL flower arrangements. Fresh flowers are definitely one of my favorite indulgences; I always have to have one bouquet of fresh flowers somewhere in my house.

My best friend Alyssa sent me this beautiful hydrangea arrangement all the way from California!

My parents gave me this adorable arrangement:
My birthday was wonderful - very low key, since I had to work almost all weekend. My parents were able to visit on Saturday night, so we went to a nice dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant. My cute hubby gave me an amazing gift - he had our deck pressure washed and is almost finished staining it! I can't wait to share pictures with you. Have a great day!

Flower Arrangements!

I am the FIRST to say that I am not a huge fan of fake flowers...obviously, I prefer fresh, but that I also want to have flowers all over my home. I found this amazing floral designer, Sophie Dahy Designs, that makes these beautiful arrangements. I ordered this pretty hydrangea arrangement for my desk at work. Nothing brightens up your work space like some pretty flowers!

A few of my other favorite arrangements:

I can't wait to get my flowers on my new desk!

Wedding Flowers

Flowers are always one of the things I notice most at a wedding. I've always loved flowers and I think they can make such a large impact on the whole feel of a wedding. I knew I wanted pink and green as my wedding colors, and as soon as I decided on pink, I knew I would definitely be using some peonies! They're such a traditional and beautiful flower for weddings. Nothing says spring wedding to me like them.

I saw this picture in the Knot Wedding Magazine last spring (right after I got engaged). I LOVE this bouquet! I love the mix of bright and link pink peonies, with the green hydrangea accents. I also love the little snapdragons that add the little hint of white for the bridal bouquet. I gave this picture to my florist and I'm planning on having a smaller version of this for my bouquet. My bridesmaids will carry a smaller version of mine, but without the white accents. I hope it turns out as beautiful as this bouquet!

I also love this simple bouquet. I love how large the peonies are in this one.

And of course, the all light pink peonies look beautiful against the wedding gown here.

Unfortunately, I don't have any inspiration pictures for my centerpieces. It's all in my head! My centerpieces are supposed to be a low, round bowl with full limes in the bottom. The flowers will be the peonies and hydrangea mix. I'm doing a sit-down dinner, so I did not want the centerpieces to be so large that my guests wouldn't be able to talk over them.

Please tell me what you think!