All About Flowers

February 24, 2016 Callie Cagney

So we all know that I have a bit of a flower habit. Okay, so that is actually the understatement of the year….I have a MAJOR flower habit. I really just cannot get enough of them! There is just something about adding flowers to a space in my home that immediately transforms it from a house to a home. They are just a very lovely and welcoming addition. So for today's post, I wanted to address a few of my best flower strategies for purchasing, arranging and maintaining fresh blooms.

The Cost of Flowers

One question/comment I seem to constantly hear from people is: "Flowers are so expensive! How can you afford to constantly support this habit?" Well the truth is that flowers can be very affordable if you are strategic about what you buy and where you buy your flowers. My #1 go-to flower store is Trader Joes. Without a doubt, I consistently find the best selection of beautiful blooms ranging from a bouquet of roses for $4.99 to 10 Ranunculus Stems for $5.69! There really isn't another floral retailer in my immediate area that can compete with these prices. Well, that is with the exception of my second favorite flower retailer…Costco! A gorgeous bouquet of the most exquisite garden roses can be purchased at Costco for a mere $9.99! I mean that is practically unheard of when it comes to finding a dozen flawless garden roses.

If you are in the market for flowers that are inexpensive, low maintenance and will last for weeks, I would suggest any of the following:

Alstroemeria ($3.99/bunch at Trader Joe's)
Carnations (50 cents/stem at Sam's Club)
Hydrangeas ($5.99/3 stems at Trader Joe's -- See this post for my Hydrangea Tips)
Sunflowers ($3.99/bunch at Trader Joe's)

Flower Vases

As my love for fresh flowers has continued to grow over the years, I have started to gain a deeper appreciation for the importance of using the right vase for each type of flower. I tend to favor using whatever flowers are in season at the moment, which means that I am needing to use vases that can accommodate a variety of flowers in order to ensure that the blooms look their best when displayed.

For instance, when I am arranging ranunculus, I like to use a vase with a smaller opening. Reason being, ranunculus tend to have heavy heads and weak stems, so the added support of the narrow vase opening provides additional strength needed to help the flower stand straight, which will also aid in prolonging its lifespan. In addition, when I am arranging flowers with very voluminous blooms (like hydrangeas) or those flowers with the potential to open into larger blooms (like roses), I opt for a vase that has a wider opening to provide the flowers with ample space to accommodate the blooms. Here are a few of my favorite vases at the moment:

Arranging Flowers

While I tend to stay monochromatic when it comes to arranging flowers for my home, I know that there are many of you who probably enjoy mixed bouquets. While there really isn't a whole lot to arranging a monochromatic bouquet, a mixed bouquet can be rather complex.

This past Christmas, my mother in law gave me the most fabulous book called "The Flower Recipe." This book really does take the guesswork out of flower arranging by providing you with a breakdown of exactly what you will need to create each of the 100 arrangements featured in this book, as well as step by step tutorial for recreating each piece. If you are interested in learning about the art of arranging flowers, I highly recommend checking out this book.

Flowers can most definitely be an affordable decorative addition to any room in your home. The options available really can fit any budget and using the right type of vase for your floral arrangement can make all the difference. If you have any questions regarding topics covered in today's post, you are more than welcome to send me an email. I always love to hear from you all!

How to Make a Beautiful Holiday Wreath

November 9, 2015 Callie Cagney

Over the weekend I spent some time working on seating and tablescaping for my upcoming Thanksgiving dinner. It sounds crazy, but logistics for hosting a dinner party of this size and complexity requires lots of prep work weeks in advance.

I am in the final stages of fine tuning my Thanksgiving tablescape (sharing the big reveal on the blog next week!), but have been struggling with one major component...the centerpiece! One concept I had been strongly considering was a fresh wreath made of mixed greenery encircling a big hurricane with a three-wick candle in the center. In my mind this sounded like a great idea, but I needed to test it out before committing.

The results? Let me just say that I am so glad that I took the time to test out this concept. It was obvious as soon as I placed the wreath on the table that it most definitely was not going to work as a centerpiece for this tablescape, however it did look fabulous on my front door.

Why am I sharing this DIY? The holiday season is pretty much here and wreaths tend to be a decor essential. While I am constantly wishing that I could buy one of the many luxe wreaths sold in some of my favorite home stores, there is no way that I can justify spending $130 on something that will be dead in a few months. DIY wreaths are not hard to make and cost a fraction of the price of those fancy store bought wreaths. In addition, you have the ability to customize your wreath to meet your exact aesthetic specifications. Here is how you can make your own beautiful wreath to adorn your home this holiday season.

Materials:

Trader Joe's Grapevine Wreath for $3.99! (Similar here)
22 Gauge Paddle Wire
Wire Cutters
Sharp Scissors or Branch Clippers
Greenery: Myrtle, Eucalyptus, Fern, Pine, etc.
Wreath Embellishments (Similar here)

Instructions:

Gather approximately 4-5 pieces of an assortment of greenery that has been trimmed to between 6-8inches in length
Using a piece of 6inch green wire, wrap the base of the greenery bunch tightly
To secure the greenery onto the wreath, cut an additional 6 inch piece of green wire and weave it through the grapevine wreath, then place your greenery bunch base over the piece of wire that has been woven through the wreath and use the wire to secure the bunch by twisting it tightly on top of the bunch (see image below).
Continue steps 1-3 until the entire wreath is covered with greenery bunches, making sure to overlap each bunch as you go around the wreath in order to hide the wiring.
Once your wreath is covered in greenery, insert desired embellishments. My embellishments did not require additional wiring to secure. I merely inserted them into the desired locations and both the greenery and grapevine base held them in place.
Your wreath will only last a few days, however, if you mist it every other day with a little water, a wreath of eucalyptus will dry beautifully and last for a few months.

Healthy Butternut Squash Soup

October 12, 2015 Callie Cagney

Over the weekend I had been on a serious hunt for white pumpkins in very specific size. My primary resource for gourds has and continues to be Trader Joes, which I have been diligently visiting for the past few weeks (multiple times each week) hoping those pumpkins would come into stock. In the process of regularly checking for pumpkins (which did end up coming in this past weekend- see my latest instagram post here), Trader Joe's gourd selection caught my eye. Yes, they have a very robust and diverse selection, but what I found most exciting was that they were charging by the unit and not by the pound! $1.99 per gourd regardless of size!! If you have ever bought a butternut squash or spaghetti squash from a grocery store, you know how annoying it can be to see a price tag of sometimes $12 for a really large squash. I mean come on! Well of course I had to take advantage of this insanely great deal and ended up purchasing a number of different gourds (*Note-they can keep for up to 3 months if left unopened).

Since we are only at the very beginning of soup season, I was going to hold off on sharing this recipe for a few more weeks, however in light of my recent findings at Trader Joes, I felt it was necessary to bump up the debut date for my Healthy Butternut Squash Soup recipe. This recipe can be made to be vegan friendly, it's easy to make and full of both flavor and lots of vitamins. There are a few equipment essentials that have made this recipe infinitely easier to make:

An Immersion Blender (regular blender works too, but an immersion blender is my recommendation)
A very sharp chef's knife for cutting up the squash (like this one- currently on sale!)
A good peeler (see my post here, for my favorite peeler)
A Dutch Oven (a big pot with lid works fine too)

All-in-all, this healthy soup is a must try recipe during the chilly fall and winter months.

Ingredients

6c Vegetable Broth
1c Water
3 lbs Butternut Squash (Peeled and diced into 1" cubes)
4 Stalks Celery (Diced)
4 Carrots (Peeled and Diced)
1 Medium Yellow Onion (Diced)
3 Cloves of Garlic (Minced)
1 Large Sweet Potato (Cooked, Peeled and Diced)
1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
1/4 tsp Fresh Ground Pepper
2 tsp Salt (+ more as needed to taste)
3 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Dried Bay Leaves
Creme Fraiche (Garnish)
Fresh Thyme Leaves (Garnish)

Instructions

Heat the Olive Oil on Medium high heat
Add garlic and cook until it starts to brown (about 2 minutes)
Add the diced onion, carrots and celery
Sweat the mirepoix on medium high for approximately 10 minutes
Add the vegetable stock, water and bay leafs to the pot and bring to a boil
Then add the butternut squash, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover with lid and cook for approximately 20-25min until squash is fork tender
Once squash is cooked through, turn off heat, remove bay leaves and with your immersion blender, blend contents until completely smooth
Add cooked sweet potato pieces to soup and use immersion blender to incorporate sweet potato into the soup until smooth. (*The sweet potato will give the soup some additional body)
Stir in Cinnamon, Cumin, Pepper and Salt. (*Note- taste to see if more salt is needed and add accordingly)
Garnish soup with Creme Fraiche and Fresh Thyme Leaves. This soup is great to serve with toasted baguette slices.

5 Tips to Keep in Mind When Buying Flowers

July 13, 2015 Callie Cagney

If you have had the opportunity to check out my instagram page or even my weekly blog posts, you know that I have a bit of a fresh flower habit. I absolutely love the way fresh flowers look in my house. I love the versatility of an arrangement and the variety of floral types and colors available. Flowers are a wonderful way to experiment with different pops of color in a room/space without ever having to fully commit. In addition, flowers add a thoughtful (and domestic!) touch and are an entertaining staple for me both on tablescapes and bedside tables when I am hosting house guests.

A question I am frequently asked is "Where do you buy your flowers and how often?" Since I do not have access to a local flower market (a luxury I often dream of), I buy the majority of my flowers from my local grocery stores. I do live near a florist, but the flowers sold there are not economical for maintaining on a weekly basis. My absolute favorite flower source would have to be Trader Joe's. Whether I am looking for roses, hydrangeas, lilies, ranunculus, peonies or tulips, Trader Joe's always offers a fabulous assortment at very competitive prices.

Inspect the Petals

When buying flowers, its extremely important to check the petals. You want to make sure you do not see any dried black ends or brown spots. Dried black ends are an indication that the flowers are past their prime and brown spots are an indication that the flowers were cut improperly (see my post on flower care for more information on cutting flowers properly). In a nutshell, dried black ends or brown spots on your petals are indications of shortened flower lifespans (i.e. they will die relatively quickly post purchase).

Check the Stems and Bulbs

Stems should be wet at the time of purchase, indicating that they have been stored in water (thus properly preserving them). In addition, you want to look for flowers that have not yet bloomed. Tightly closed bulbs indicate that the flowers have been freshly cut and have not yet peaked. Flowers that have opened their bloom have been sitting for a while and will most likely not last very long once you take them home. The only exception to this rule is if you need to buy flowers for a party you are hosting that same day, then I would endorse the purchase of blooms that have already opened.

Don't make a purchase based on color

One of the worst things you can do when going to buy flowers is to already have determined the flower color you plan on purchasing. Flowers are not a predictable product, meaning that there are days at the store when the red roses are looking awesome and other days when the white hydrangeas are riddled with brown spots on their petals. You will set yourself up for floral disappointment if you try to force a purchase decision based strictly on color. Go into the store with an open mind and ALWAYS buy whatever looks best. Flowers are beautiful regardless of color and its much easier to work with a beautiful bouquet of yellow sunflowers than it is to work with limp snapdragons.

Seasonal is best

Just like produce, try to buy flowers that are in season (Links to 2 great resources - here and here). Purchasing a flower during the peak of it's season will not only yield the most aesthetically pleasing version of that bloom, but the floral varietal is also most affordable during it's peak because it is currently in abundance. Sure, you can find peonies to purchase in September (at a cost of $8.99/stem), or you can wait until late May/early June for your peonies fix and pay between $8.99-$12 for 5 stems! Of course the best/most affordable option is to grow peonies in your backyard, but if you are without a yard (like me) then this seasonal purchasing strategy is the way to go.

Always consider the vase

Flower arranging most certainly involves a degree of planning. When selecting flowers for an arrangement, considering the vases you have at home is critical. Color, shape and size are all necessary components to factor into your decision. From my experience with flowers thus far, I know I have certain vases that work best for hydrangeas and certain vases that I can only use to arrange ranunculus. In order to ensure that your flowers look their best when you arrange them at home, have a vase in mind at the time of your flower purchase. This will also ensure that the flowers are trimmed and transferred shortly after arriving home, thus increasing their longevity as well.

Flowers can be a wonderful addition to your home. Keeping in mind these 5 tips when purchasing your next bouquet can make all of the difference in having flowers last for 1-2 weeks (i.e. major floral success). For more ideas on a few of my favorite budget friendly flowers, check out this post. For any questions not answered in today's post, please feel free to contact me at redefiningdomestics@gmail.com.