Lovely snapdragons and such

I know I'm constantly singing the praises of Trader Joe's, but there's a reason for that. One big reason (besides their wonderful pretzel bread) are the gorgeous flowers. Every time I go there, I find a new selection to choose from. I've gotten everything from irises to carnations, and have never been dissatisfied with the quality. Plus the prices are great—these snapdragons were $5.59 per bunch (I have a bunch of white and a bunch of pink here). Most of the flowers run around $5 a bunch, and even the pricier ones, like lilies, are still a deal at $7 and some change per bunch.



And yes, that's this print...



...in the background on my living room wall. I love looking at its pretty colors whenever I walk in the room.



And I just finished placing an order at Michael's for this print (above) to be custom framed as well. It's going to look like this.



It's an odd size and large, so unfortunately I can't just grab a frame and mat off the shelf and do it up nicely.



These lilies were on my display table for over a week, but were starting to lose petals, hence the purchase of the snapdragons. But then I realized there were a few flowers that hadn't opened yet and the lilies had some more life in them, so I just swapped the lilies over to the tv stand, and the snapdragons to the display table.



And of course these mums were on the tv stand, so they had to move upstairs to our bedroom. Pete probably wonders why I've gone so flower crazy, but they're cheap and pretty and I have lots o' vases for them.



But I couldn't resist this pretty iridescent vase from Target. The color in the very first photo in this post is more accurate. It's normally a $40 vase (which I would never spend on a vase like this) but it was marked down to $9.98. Quite a bargain, eh? And the custom framing job on the black and white image was half off. Oh yes, I am forever finding great deals on the clearance shelves at various stores, as well as having become a coupon-weilding fiend!

Off to Michael's

I don't know about you, but I like to hit Michael's for my basic framing and craft needs. They don't have the biggest selection of frames, but I do like that I get a 40% coupon for a single item every time I buy something. And then they're constantly having sales, so you can often get a nice frame (or other item) for up to 50% off. That's where I'm headed today, to frame my vintage magazines.



I think I need a document frame for them because some are rather thick. Or perhaps a shadow box?




Oh yeah, and I have to mow the lawn, do laundry, get serious about a veggie and herb garden, too. Holiday weekend? What holiday!? I've been cleaning up a storm since Friday night. Oh well, at least it's been beautiful so far, and I have been able to spend some good quality time with my hubby, family, and pets.

Happy rest-of-the-weekend, everyone!

Framed handmade paper

I saved the beautiful handmade paper that wrapped the shower gift from Georgia last summer, always intending to do something with it. Last weekend I decided to go ahead and frame it as a little work of art, since it's truly gorgeous and deserves to be preserved. I think it turned out nicely, although I'd like to get a nicer frame someday when I have a little more money to spend. It looks great in my house, and it reminds me of Georgia and our summer of wedded bliss last year.