Flowers: Faux vs. Fresh

For most of my adult life,  I've been all about fresh flowers. Almost every week I would be loading up on some beautiful stems from the grocery store or clipping some hydrangeas from my yard - season permitting - to make a fresh arrangement for my dining room. Nothing too fancy or formal, just a little something simple and pretty to brighten up the space. For so long, it was just one of those simple pleasures that brought me joy!

However, somewhere along the way this joyful activity started to feel more like a CHORE! I think I'm in a season of my life where I have a lot of day-to-day responsibilities to keep my household moving and having the extra task of cutting stems, arranging flowers, refilling water, washing vases, and deadheading bouquets just became another small, stressful task on my weekly to-do list. I've been trying to find ways to simplify my life and make the most of the time, and surprising even myself - this task just isn't making the list! (At least not every single week anymore!) After all, what good are fresh flowers if you don't even get the chance to really take a deep breath and enjoy them? 

So anyway, I'm back on the faux flower wagon and have been searching for some beautiful, realistic looking flowers. As I mentioned, my arrangements are usually very simple, so I want something that isn't too overly arranged. I want them to look natural and real- like I picked them myself! Here are some AMAZING faux flowers that I found online that have just the look/feel I'm going for. They are from a company in the UK, Fox Flowers. Their tagline is "unbelievable Realistic Faux Flowers" and it is the TRUTH! (Not sponsored, just LOVE what I see here!)

Fox Flower Spring Gift Bunch

Fox Flowers Lilac

Fox Flowers Pansy

Fox Flowers Summer Gift Bunch

Fox Flowers Cotswold Roses

Fox Flowers Eucalyptus

They look pretty real, don't they? 

Of course I'm on a 100-day no shopping spree, so I'm not buying anything yet, but that doesn't mean I can't search and find the perfect ones in the meantime! 

What do you prefer in your home? Faux vs. Real, or a mix of both?

White Painted Dining Room Chairs and a White Pumpkin Centerpiece

The project that I thought would take a day but actually ended up taking a month is FINALLY DONE! Yes, my dining room chairs are finally 100% painted white, and I LOVE them! Totally worth the wait. 

Why did it take so long? I think we started this project a month ago with plans to finish them in a weekend. We got them sanded right away and planned to spray paint them that day, but the wind was so bad it kept blowing back in my husband's face so we had to stop. The next days we had planned to paint them called for rain, so we couldn't bring the chairs out. The weekend after that I was not feeling well and had my scare with the baby, so it went on the back burner again. Finally this past weekend, it was beautiful and we got them 100% done! They ended up needing three light coats of spray paint and some final touch ups. For less than $100, it definitely was a project with a big impact!

(Yes, you may have noticed in my recent fall home tour that the chairs desperately needed another coat of paint... I tried to photoshop and angle the photos the best I could! I just couldn't get them done in time... that's life for you sometimes!) 

They absolutely achieve what I wanted to achieve in terms of giving the dining room a new look and brightening things up! 

The classic black was nice too, but sometimes you just need a change and I was definitely at that point!

I also realized that for my last few dining room shoots (here,  here, and here) I used the same vase for my centerpiece, so I decided to totally switch that up too and go with something completely different. Usually I prefer tall vases and big flowers, but I am kind of liking the understated and low arrangement this time! I also think I'm in super nesting mode (36 weeks, 6 days!) so I am decorating/organizing like a mad woman. 

What do you think? Do you like the change as much as I do? My only question is whether I should put a coat of poly on them... any avid furniture painters have any advice? I think it might help with the durability (though we did use a high gloss paint!) but I'm afraid of them eventually yellowing. I'd love your feedback!

Company Crush: Farmgirl Flowers

I am a huge sucker for fresh flowers! They instantly brighten any room and anyone's day. I always have a vase or two around my house and I love sending bouquets to friends as a "thank you" or for special occasions. I recently stumbled upon Farmgirl Flowers. Their bouquets are BEAUTIFUL and I love their philosophy behind having a single type of bouquet available at a time and eliminating waste. Also, they wrap the flowers in burlap bags reused from local coffee roasters. How awesome is that?

I haven't actually tried the company yet... but my birthday is coming up in just two weeks so maybe that will change soon!  (Hint Hint, Evan!)

All photos from Farmgirl Flowers incredibly beautiful website!

Any companys you've been "crushing" on lately?

Easter Table Setting 2016

Easter Sunday was my last day of maternity leave and I could not have asked for a better day! It was the most beautiful warm, sunny day and filled with quality family time! We got up and dug into our Easter baskets, went to mass, watched Miles as he embarked on his first Easter egg hunt (he was in heaven, saying "oooooh!" with each egg he found!), had Easter dinner with Evan's family, and played outside until the sun set. Perfect day in my book!

Here are some shots of our Easter table setting and our wonderful day: