As most of you know, every month we like to enjoy one inexpensive (and even free) bouquet to keep things feeling fresh around here (the idea actually stemmed from a super sweet Christmas present from the hubs a while back). But somehow I actually ended up with two months of blooms overlapping here at Casa Petersik this month. Remember when I shared February’s $5 blooms? Well those suckers are still alive. Well into March. All of them. Gotta love carnations. And I’m not doing anything special (just changing the water every week or so and reclipping the stems at an angle every two weeks or so). Crazy, huh?
But that didn’t stop my favorite/only hubby from walking in the door after work on my birthday last Friday with a big smile and this pretty surprise birthday bouquet full of lilies, alstroemeria, and a few sprigs of plum colored heather in honor of March (and me I guess).
I’m not used to having a big professional arrangement around the house (especially since we usually clip things from our yard or spend, at most, $5 at the grocery store for our monthly bouquets) so maybe that’s why it feels so special. Seriously I’m still permasmiling a week later. But perhaps I should elaborate in John’s defense. It’s not that he never comes home with flowers, it’s just that he does it just rarely enough to totally catch me off guard and make me giddy. As an example, he had a bouquet delivered when we moved into our house so I would answer the door and see something pretty to bring inside in hopes of making this old ranch feel more like home. And he usually heeds my I’m-a-cheapo-so-just-buy-me-a-single-white-rose advice since I don’t want him to break the bank every month on giant special occasion bouquets.
Possibly the cutest thing is that John excitedly explained that he specifically directed the guy at the flower shop when it came to my bouquet (saying things like “she likes similar tones that are sort of layered so nothing is too high contrast” and “nope, not too much filler” and “yeah, I think she likes lilies” and “no tulips because they remind her of a certain annoying ex”). In short: the whole thing was adorable and I was a very happy birthday girl indeed.
I also love that John picked them up over lunch, which meant that when he brought them back to the office everyone was curious about the giant bounty of blooms so he started telling people that he won a pageant over lunch. He cracks me up. And he even sat them in a cup of water on his desk until it was time to bring them home to me, just to keep them happy. I’m telling you, he’s the man.
So although this month’s bouquet is less of the free-or-five-dollar-variety, it’s truly special to me and I just wanted to share the birthday eye candy. And did I mention I also awoke to find this cute homemade birthday banner (complete with little love notes on each letter/number) hanging in the doorway between the kitchen and the den?
I love birthdays. But enough about my big turning-two-eight adventures. Have you guys ever been surprised with flowers? And what do you like when it comes to big pro bouquets? It was so interesting to hear John directing the guy at the flower shop because he was better at articulating my preferences than I could ever be. Does anyone know you better than you know yourself in the flower department? What would you say if you were asked to describe the perfect bouquet for you?
Wanna see our first grocery store bouquet from last January? Itching to check out February, March, April, May, June, July, August, and September too? How about this year’s January and February bouquets? Just follow the links for some pretty sweet cheap-o (and even free) bouquets.
Lisa says
My best flower surprise from hubs wasn’t for anything in particular other than he loved me. We both left for work in the morning travelling our separate ways when I realised I’d forgotten something, so back home I went, opened the door and there waiting for me was a gorgeous single stemmed rose. He’s such a sweetie.
Samantha says
My hubs isn’t much of a flower guy, unfortunately for me. :) But I think that’s sooo cute that John was so particular about your flowers. Most guys would’ve just picked up something prearranged and hoped for the best!
Also – soooo adorable the love notes & the banner! I am totally stealing that to do for my husband.
You got yourself a good catch, Sherry! :)
Noni says
I don’t get flowers often–not because my hubby is stingy, though! I rather like to be surprised by flowers–not expect them on every major holiday. That takes away the “specialness” of them, ya know?
Ashley @ Mutschler Family, Dallas Edition says
My husband surprised me yesterday with a beautiful Lily plant. It was so sweet!! Happy Birthday, Sherry!! 28 is not so bad!
Mrs. G says
Just a few days ago, my husband’s parents were staying with us on their way to the airport. I asked him to bring home one of those $5 grocery store bouquets and I was planning on sprucing it up.
He walked through the door with the most beautiful bouquet of yellow lilies. The kicker? I said, “aw, hun, you didn’t need to do that,” as in spend extra on a big bouquet. He said, “I didn’t.” That huge bouquet was on the $5 stand! I couldn’t believe it. They are still bloomin’ away!
Laura@JourneyChic says
Happy (belated) birthday! Your hubby is such a sweetie. Mine so rarely brings me flowers, but he often cooks dinner for me so I can’t complain! In professional bouquets I always say “no” to baby’s breath, ferns, and carnations (because they remind me of an ex!). I love orchids – the first bouquet my man got me had lovely purple orchids and they’ve been a favorite ever since.
Austyn says
Not n answer to your questions, but…Just had to share that I just got home from Whole Foods where I picked up 10 stem daffodil bouquets at 3 for $5. 30 stems for 5 smackers! They’re brightening my kitchen right now ;o) Maybe others will find similar specials at their local Whole Foods stores. Happy Birthday!
Caroline says
This is absolutely adorable!! You guys make me smile. :)
My boyfriend is the same way, in that flowers come rarely enough so that I’m completely surprised…when I got my wisdom teeth out a couple years ago, he came over with a huge bouquet of roses/carnations/lilies (my favorite!) and soft foods, which is really the perfect combination at that point…
Chelsea says
Out of all the other blogs/designers out there. Who would you say has the most similar style to yours? What would you describe the style of your home as?
As a new mom, just curious of your plans to “hide” toys, high chairs, swings, etc… I’m very conscious of what is “aesthetically” pleasing in our home but haven’t been able to escape having those items around that don’t match our home.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Chelsea,
Hmm, it’s hard to “label” our style but we often refer to our aesthetic as “light and airy with a lot of natural accents.” It’s really a tough thing to pin down because we like a mixture of modern and traditional along with lots and lots of texture and tons of white. As for how we’ll be hiding and storing all of our toys and baby clutter, we’ll definitely tackle that as we go, so stay tuned for posts on that subject. And when it comes to designers that we love, almost everything that Sarah Richardson does appeals to us (along with Candice Olson, Thom Filicia, and Nate Berkus). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
travis says
Happy belated Birthday!
I’m not going to weigh in on which flowers I like to receive (not something that really get’s me going ;)). I do love to get my wife flowers, however, and she tends to like non-mixed flowers other than some filler (but like you not too much filler). She also really loves non-traditional color roses. You know…such as the red with a marbling of yellow or cream. She also like the way I arrange them so I like to buy the cheaper grocery store type and take ’em home and arrange myself.
Jessica @ How Sweet says
Gorgeous flowers!
My hubby just surprised me with flowers just the other night. :)
Heather says
That’s a beautiful bouquet. Great job picking them out John! My almost husband likes to surprise me with flowers every once in a while too. A secret I never told him is that before we met I didn’t really like roses (I thought they were too commonplace and not unique enough). But now I love them after he surprised with a big bouquet of them for Valentine’s day after we first started dating. I’d have to say they’re my favourite now and always make me think of how sweet he is.
Pam @ Design Fanatic says
Love your bouquet with all the lilies! So pretty! I don’t care what kind my husband brings me as long as he doesn’t spend an arm & a leg. He usually goes to Costco where they have ginormous bouquets. Trader Joe’s is also a good choice. He bought me red roses for Valentines day that lasted a very long time.
Kristin says
There is something about flowers that can really just make your day isn’t there :)
Take care-
Kristin
JenWoodhouse.com says
Beautiful! And Happy Birthday, Sherry!
While Adam was deployed in Iraq for 15 months, he surprised me with a huge bouquet of orchids (my favorite). It made me miss him so much I cried like a little girl.
Meg says
Happy Belated Birthday! We don’t do many flowers around our house but mostly by choice. We have adopted “I Love you gifts” usually a fav candy from the grocery store or a book that the other has been talking about for weeks. I also like to be surprised!
I LOVE the birthday banner and will def be stealing that idea. My husband turned 30 in Jan and I bought construction paper and wrote down 30 reasons I loved him and cleared a wall to post them. That really made his day and we left it up for a while to enjoy!
Susan says
I love your blog and belated Happy Birthday!
My husband surprised me with a beautiful long stem rose for no reason at all. When I asked what it was for, he replied”just because”. I then asked what he meant. He said “just because you are still the only one for me”. Not bad after 37 years, huh!
erica says
awww, what a great birthday! i love the flowers and the banner. so sweet and thoughtful! :)
i’m amazed that your carnations are still alive and kickin…i feel like my apartment is a death trap for plants. nothing lasts longer than a few days! i don’t know why!!! a week was the longest any flowers lasted. so sad.
Kathy says
My boyfriend doesn’t like “wasting” money on flowers, so I usually tend to buy the on-sale-at-the-grocery-store variety like you guys. But if I had to guess, he’d be way better at guessing my flower likes and dislikes than I would be! What John did at the florist sounds just like something my Ben would do.
But you never know…it’s my 28th birthday on Sunday…so maybe I WILL get a flower suprise!
Happy birthday Sherry!
jessica says
My husband is probably the best at picking out flowers for me, like for our 4th anniversary, I came home to 3 different types of sunflowers that he picked up at the grocery store! It was funny because, as much as I love sunflowers, I often don’t think of them for bouquets, but he had me pegged on that one. I love that he surprises me with flowers here & there, so I never know when I’m going to get some ! :D Thanks for reminding me how wonderful my husband is!
Shannon says
I’m not too traditional. I don’t like chocolates and stuffed animals for gifts. But even I get giddy for a bouquet of flowers. My boyfriend does the random flowers, to keep it unpredictable. My fave are Tigerlilies. I love the combo of orange and green together in bright tones or muted tones. But on our patio for our apartment, we have some built in planters so I’m going to fill them up with flowers, grasses and herbs and enjoy beautiful flowers all summer.
Sarah says
Happy Birthday Sherry! Was your birthday March 19th? Mine was March 20th, and I too, turned 28! Hope this year brings much joy and many more fabulous DIY projects!
On a side note, since you are a fellow March baby, have you found that quality non-tacky aquamarine jewelry is in short supply? I am always on the lookout for classy looking pieces with aquamarine stones. Let me know if you have found any “jems” (pun intended).
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Sarah,
Yup, March 19th was the big day. And as for the aquamarine jewelry, I actually saw the most beautiful ring the other day at Kay jewelers of all places. It was cushion cut and just super light and classic looking (read: not all themey and gemstone-ish). It actually looked sort of like this (but was around $200 I think). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Claire says
Wonderful Flowers and very cute message! My husband got me flowers so we could spruce up our house to sell. We are still waiting for someone to make an offer but it was nice that he remembered that I had mentioned the flowers a few weeks earlier.
I am also a March Birthday and also just turned 28! Its a good age! (although I seem to feel that about every age I have been so far!)
Lauren says
Who knew? We share a birthday, but you’re a year younger! Happy Birthday, little momma!
I received some beautiful tulips from my cousin for my birthday this year and last year. Pink and orangey-yellow. Lovely!
Rebecca P says
Happy Birthday! I will be turning 28 in may and I’m just not sure how I feel about it. I like getting older because I feel like I’m another year wiser…how do you feel? Do you take birthday’s really seriously or are you more laid back about putting another candle on the cake?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Rebecca,
The funny thing about me and birthdays is that I forget how old I am all the time. And I’m usually wrong in the older direction (ex: I was telling people I was 28 for months but then March came along and John reminded me that on the 19th I would be 28, so I was rounding up for a while). I guess that means that I definitely don’t take them very seriously (I’m never depressed about getting older and I really don’t think about b-days very much (I like to plan parties for other people and find them the perfect gift, but when it comes to mine I almost always forget about it until my sweet hubby reminds me). I just try to be thankful for the life I have and the people who are there to share every b-day with me. That’s what matters most!
xo,
s
Jean says
Happy belated birthday!
If I were to describe my ideal bouquet it would be a mixture of flowers with bold colors that do NOT come in a vase supplied by the florist. Whenever I buy flowers from the florist (which isn’t very often!), the salespeople are often pitching the bouquets that come in their own vase. For the money I’m spending, I’d rather get extra flowers that I can put in my own vase than pay for an accompanying vase. I mean, doesn’t everyone have at least 2 or 3 vases lying around the house?
Leah says
Happy belated birthday! Thanks for brightening a dreary afternoon. What an adorable husband you have.
I’m quite spoiled when it comes to flower surprises. On my birthday my husband snuck home from work early to make carrot cake cupcakes from scratch and arrange them on my cake stand with a bottle of bubbly and bouquet of roses for me to find when I came home. I always seem to gravitate toward bouquets all of the same flower.
Misty says
This has absolutely nothing to do with your beautiful flowers, but….I have a question! lol
I have two black metal lamps that are great, but I’d love to paint them lighter. Do I need a special metal spray paint primer? Ir can I use my regular ol’ Kilz primer? And do you HAVE to use spray paint? Have you ever used regular paint?
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Misty,
Just grab Kilz spray primer and some high quality Rustoleum spray paint (the kind that’s arounf 6-7 bucks with a trigger for easy application) from your local home improvement center. Two thin coats of primer followed by two or three super thin and even coats of spray paint should do the trick. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Gracia says
Happy Birthday Sherry! I love those flowers, they look great!
I’m trying to plan a surprise birthday party for Eric (he’s turning 28 on April 20th) but he’s SO depressed about his birthday that I don’t know what to do!!
I’m glad to see that not everybody thinks 28 is the end of the world! (because all of our friends who are past that number keep telling me “you’ll see when you get there”…
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Gracia,
No way! I’m like “bring on 30! bring on 40!” I just read a survey that said the average age that women considered to be “the best ever” was 45. So I’m excited to see what the future holds!
xo,
s
Katie says
Oh I LOVE Lilies!
I had a crappy day the a couple months ago and my wonderful hubby tried to console me by telling me tomorrow was “a new day.” And it was! I came home to beautiful bouquet of flowers!
My favorite bouquet was the one I carried at my wedding, large white lilies with pink roses and pink ribbon. I LOVED it!
Happy Birthday!
Kim S says
My husband is also an every-once-in-a-while flower giver (just enough to make it special every time!). This past February I felt like I hit the flower jackpot because our anniversary was February 7th and I got beautiful red roses and certainly didn’t expect another bouquet a week later for Valentine’s Day. But the day before Valentine’s we were out to lunch and Keenan asked what my favorite flower was. I thought and thought and said “maybe lilies…no…maybe daisies…no…I guess I don’t really have a favorite.” As we drove home from lunch he made a detour into a florist near our house and said for me to pick out whatever I liked best and we’d make a bouquet. As I walked around I realized that I DID in fact have a favorite (tulips!) and when I told him he said “That’s what I thought! But when you didn’t say it earlier I thought maybe I was wrong.” So anyway, that was my long-winded flower story to show that yes, he does know better than I do what my favorites are! :o)
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so cute Kim! See, sometimes guys do pay attention… even to things like flowers!
xo,
s
Carissa says
So cute! And happy belated birthday!
John reminds me of my hubby — flowers often enough to be surprised and delighted! But I love your card banner best — VERY cute!
I hate to discount my hubby’s efforts, because they’re always so wonderful and a great surprise, but my biggest flower surprise was the beautiful bouquet of white lilies and peachy-pink roses (very similar to your birthday bouquet, actually) one of our dear friends sent us for our first wedding anniversary. She also sent it as we were in the process of moving and our apartment was, ahem, less-than-photoshoot-worthy. Having that bright spot of calm in our chaos, not to mention the fact that she remembered, was so sweet!
Meg says
im so glad that your hubs remembers your birthday and does it well!
i too just turned 28 and also got awesome flowers by my fiancee!! my favorite flowers came in january when he arrived during the blizzard, dropped off the flowers and then went to shovel his grandparents driveway. i loveh him
Krystal D. says
Growing up with both my parents being obsessed with gardening (and having them drag me to countless garden walks and shows during the summer), I have learned that flowers are a sacred thing. My mom and I both share a love for peach roses and a breed of azaleas called white virginias (the hearty roses and delicate azaleas really look divine when arranged together!), but my stepdad is the real flower expert. He was actually the one in charge of ordering my bouquets for both my high school proms. My junior year he picked large stargazer lillies with ivory and mauve roses…just beautiful. My senior year he chose orange roses mixed with small white blossoms (no idea what they were), and each flower had a rhinestone placed in the center of it. I think I have more pictures of the flowers than my date and I!
krys72599 says
I love any flowers – with one strange exception.
Whenever I get a bouquet of anything, no carnations are allowed. They remind me of funerals!
And my florist knows – no carnations in any of my bouquets (or in any that I send!), not even for filler! – and all bouquest MUST include irises, my all-time favorite flower!
And I’m lucky to live only a few miles from the Presby Memorial Iris Garden in Montclair, NJ – I go all the time, once they start blooming, to see the beautiful irises!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Krys,
You should plant iris bulbs to enjoy them at home! We have some in our backyard and I looooove them! Here’s a link for ya: https://www.younghouselove.com/budgetblooms-backyard-beauties/
xo,
s
Loren says
My favorite flowers have always been carnations, because my mother used to grow these beautiful, fragrant heirloom ones. And they would cross breed with the other flowers in her garden and turn out these marvelous color combination. And the whole house would smell sweet and delicious when she brought some inside.
My boyfriend doesn’t buy me many bouquets, but when we go out on the town with friends he always buys me a rose or carnation from the walking street vendor guy who tries to talk the bar goers into buying a flower for their sweetie.
No mater how often he does it, I am still surprised every time. (I not-so-secretly love those street vendors.)
Chelsea says
Aw, how sweet! And I absolutely love that banner he made for you. It’s just so cute. :)
I love getting unexpected flowers, too! A week ago I came home to some red carnations, to remind me of how we had caught a red carnation that was thrown during a show (Le Reve) in Vegas. And not too long before that, I was really sick and he brought me a beautiful, bright cheery bouquet, some ice cream and Nyquil. I was about as happy as a sick girl could be. :)
Happy Birthday!
Lori says
Beautiful bouquet! Great job, John.
My husband surprised me with flowers a few days ago – tulips (haha). The brought my cheer to my living room :)
Jennifer says
My boyfriend seems to think I don’t appreciate flowers, but really it just makes me sad to see such a pretty gift wilt and die over the course of a week or two. We just celebrated our 3 year anniversary and he came home from work that day with a bunch of petunias to plant now that it’s finally warm. It was such a sweet surprise and I love that we can enjoy them a lot longer than a bouquet. We planted them together last night. It’s so nice to have some color in our yard after a long winter!
Allyson says
Happy Belated Birthday, Sherry :)
My fiance is great…he often sends me “Edible Arrangements”.
Fruit that LOOKS LIKE flowers. Best of both worlds! YUM :)
Carol N. says
I’ve only gotten flower from hubby on the 1st anniversary and the 25th but he does other special things for me so I don’t mind too much. But all this talk of flowers and I think I’ll pick up some tomorrow while I’m out. The sun is finally out and I think some pretty bright flowers are in order for the house. Happy Belated Birthday!
Dana @ House*Tweaking says
I love your birthday bouquet! John really put a lot of thought into that…what a guy! Handy Hubby and I have a little flower-giving tradition. Our first son was born right before Valentine’s Day (a day we don’t usually celebrate) and we got home from the hospital on Vday. Handy Hubby found a coupon for a FREE single rose, so that’s what he gave me as a ‘welcome home’ gift. Now, every Vday, he hunts down a FREE single rose deal. Sometimes it takes a lot of effort, but that makes it fun. I love it!
Marissa says
My husband used to bring me flowers all the time when we were dating, I lived near a bodega that always had them on the street and he’d always stop to buy some! I lived next door to his brother, and he used to be embarassed to show up with them incase his brother would see! The first time we went on a date he brought me a single gerba daisy, and I used those in my wedding flowers :) I always said I’d probably marry the first man who brought me flowers for no reason, and I did! He still suprises me occasionally because he knows I love it.
Cristina says
“Aleeeee” (I’m calling my husband Alessandro)
“Come here please”
“Read this post, look (and learn ;-) what John has done..”
My husband is adorable but he lucks (sorry don’t know if it’s the correct verb) in those things! :-(
Well.. nobody is perfect! ;-D
Jill says
Awww…that’s so sweet! Happy belated bday, Sherry! John is the man!
My favorite flowers (not grown in our garden) are fire and ice roses and birds of paradise. They both remind me of my husband surprising me back in the day (when we were dating). The fire and ice rose was the first flower he gave me…it was one long stemmed rose that he hand delivered to my work after our first real date (we were friends for a year before dating). I was shocked and embarrassed but totally smitten. Both types of flowers were incorporated into our wedding…so special.
As for “free” flowers from our own garden, I love our pink and white cosmos. They are plentiful, long lasting, low maintenance, and the birds go crazy over the seeds in the fall.
Kara says
Once when my husband and I were dating, he was visiting me while I was interning in D.C. for the summer. While I was at work, he wandered around the neighborhood, and when I got back to my summer dorm, he had a bouquet from a street vendor for me. The simplest, most beautiful flowers I’ve ever seen.
I didn’t have anything like a vase with me, so we ended up buying a cheap pitcher from the Crate and Barrel down the street. When we got married, we registered for and received glasses that match that pitcher, which is still my go-to vase.
stylefyles says
I told my boyfriend to send flowers to work for me this Valentines Day (even though V-Day was on a Sunday). On our wall calendar, I wrote our offices address in the box for Friday, the 12th. But we don’t really use our calendar the way we should, and I had long forgotten my special instructions, since they were given to him over a month beforehand. Turns out, I was SUPER busy at work on Friday, and seriously surprised when they showed up. Everyone was so curious why I was getting flowers two days early. haha, it was really great and funny. He actually has surprised me on his own in much cuter ways, but this was the most recent, funniest and probably most indicative of our relationship.
Tracey says
Flowers!! About 20 years ago I dated a boy who was a delivery boy for a very high end florist. I used to get surprise bouquets all the time. Hands down the best he ever gave me were 20 long stemmed white tulips flown in the night before from Holland. That was $3000 worth of flowers! The customer cancelled his order last minute.
But the ultimate flower gift were the flowers at my wedding. My husband understood how important the floral element was to me so he significantly upped the budget so that I could go with the florist I wanted.
They were phenomenal!
Now when I buy flowers I try to buy mass quantities of a less expensive bloom like carnations or alstroemerias. I love a monochromatic look for my home and they tend to last a lot longer than roses.
Now If I could only get the cat to stop drinking the water in the vase!!
Anna says
Awww, that was very sweet of your hubby. Since I do most of the grocery shopping and we both work at home I usually only get “surprise” flowers on special occasions. I tried not to wake up too early so that way its give my hub a chance to get his surprise ready. Happy 28th birthday and congratulations on your pregnancy!
Kate V says
What a sweet hubby…I got flowers one year for V-day that the hubs went to the flower shop and picked out each one based on the meaning of the flower. He had them all individually wrapped and when I got home were waiting for me with a card on each with the meaning and how it related to me/us. The most romantic thing anyone as ever done for me! Even if it was V-day, I’ll never forget that. Love that man !