How to Revive Wilted Hydrangeas

"Flowers whisper beauty to the world, even as they fade, wilt, fall." ~ Dr. SunWolf

Over the weekend, we honored the graduating seniors from our congregation with two very special events: a Saturday-evening banquet and a Sunday-morning reception. Friday afternoon and evening, I whiled away the hours blissfully arranging centerpieces with friends. To coordinate with our silver-rimmed plates and patterned napkins of gray, yellow and white, I filled glass vases with sliced lemons and snowy white hydrangeas. When we turned off the lights to head home, everything looked beautiful and the cold, dark room was fresh and fragrant.

So imagine my heartbreak to return to the church building on Saturday evening, ready to light candles and capture a few photos of our tablescapes before dinner, only to discover that most of the blooms had wilted. Whether it was the acids in the citrus or the unexpected heat and humidity caused by the air conditioning turning off during the night, or a combination of both, my beautiful bouquets were a shadow of their former glory. I had planned to repurpose the centerpieces for our reception the next morning, but the blossoms looked so sad that as tables were cleared after the party, many of the blooms were immediately thrown away.

But not so fast! I rescued a few blooms from the trash heap to see if they could be revived. I filled a bowl with tepid water, turned the stems upside down, and let the clusters of petals soak for a while. Then I clipped the stems shorter (at an angle) and arranged them in smaller vases of fresh water. As you can see from the photos in this post, we were treated to a Sunday-morning resurrection story, and the flowers look as lush and healthy as ever! In fact, they are now doing triple duty, after suffering through the banquet and looking lovely during the reception, by giving us a poignant reminder that you never know where beauty might flourish, if only we will offer a little tender loving care.

"Flowers don't worry about how they're going to bloom. They just open up and turn toward the light and that makes them beautiful." ~ Jim Carrey  

10 Years of Teacher Gift Ideas

One year we surprised our teachers with lush bouquets of peonies in crystal vases, but when the children were in elementary school, our usual tradition was to present a gift of flowers in a container that can be used long after the blossoms fade. In honor of Teacher Appreciation Day, here are a few of my favorite ideas from the past decade.

We all scream for ice cream with this festive arrangement, a sundae-inspired gathering of flowers tucked into a parfait glass.

This presentation included a gift card to a favorite local spot for frozen yogurt.

For months I collected creamware pitchers and teapots for these gifts of white. The posies looked so lovely clustered in my sitting room.

I love this shapely creamer and hope it is still used often.

One of my favorite springtime gifts is a structured tote with a vase of tulips tucked inside. I have done these for teachers and graduates over the years.

A monogrammed gift tag adds the finishing touch to this favor. This gift can also be customized for a bride or mother-to-be.

Cheery bouquets of hydrangeas offered a ray of sunshine paired with sliced lemons.

Purchasing acrylic pitchers at a discount store and taking them to a local engraver to be monogrammed was an easy, economical option for this vessel.

Rustic garden buckets made charming vases -- especially when accompanied by handmade cards featuring photos of the children taken during a trip to a local garden.

Glass canisters finished with chalkboard labels made clever containers for fresh-cut bouquets.

Whether used in the classroom or pantry, these should have a long shelf life.

Finally, for a peek at periodicals tucked into magazine racks, see this post.

What could make a gift of flowers even more refreshing? Tucking the blossoms into a box of lunchtime treats. Visit this post to learn more about the menu included in this decorative hinged box. If you have creative floral gift ideas, please share them in the comments! 

"Teachers believe they have a gift for giving; it drives them with the same irrepressible drive that drives others to create a work of art or a market or a building." ~ A. Bartlett Giamatti

Savor a Simple French Country Salad

"Take time enough for your meals, and eat them in company whenever you can." ~ Edward Everett

Not too long ago, I put together a salad using leftovers from our dinner the night before. This easy weekend lunch was so tasty, it seemed worthy of a streetside Parisian cafe. It's a recipe I want to remember for sharing with a friend, so I'm providing the full details here!

Simple French Country Salad

Prepare this refreshing mix to enjoy individually or to serve when entertaining.

Chicken breast(s) 

Lemon-garlic marinade* 

Sea salt 

Black pepper 

Thin asparagus spears, trimmed 

Olive oil 

Shredded Parmesan 

Spring mix lettuces 

Fresh strawberries 

Goat cheese crumbles* 

Honey-roasted pecans*

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil.

2. Butterfly chicken. Brush with lemon-garlic marinade, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Saute over medium-high heat until cooked through, and set aside to let cool slightly.

3. Meanwhile, on prepared baking sheet, toss asparagus with a little olive oil and season to taste with salt, pepper and Parmesan. Bake in one layer until stalks are tender and edges are slightly charred, 12 to 15 minutes. Set aside to let cool slightly.

4. Slice chicken into strips, chop asparagus, and slice strawberries.

5. Divide lettuces among plates. Top with sliced chicken, chopped asparagus, sliced strawberries, goat cheese crumbles, and pecans. Drizzle with lemon-garlic dressing, and serve.

*I used Tessemae's Organic Lemon Garlic Dressing & Marinade and Fresh Gourmet Honey Roasted Pecan Pieces. For the salad pictured, we were out of goat cheese, so I used shredded Parmesan, which also provided a nice complement to the other flavors.

This delicious recipe demonstrates that sometimes the best culinary surprises come about from using what you have on hand. Chocolate croissants from a local bakery provided a perfect end to this healthful bistro meal!

"There is no need for hurry in life -- least of all when we are eating." ~ Edward Everett

10 Favorite Easter Ideas from a Decade of A Little Loveliness

"Easter spells out beauty, the rare beauty of new life." ~ S.D. Gordon

Over the years, we have shared some beautiful Easter memories. Looking back through ten years of posts, I am feeling so nostalgic for the many special springtime traditions, parties and creative projects we enjoyed when all my chicks were in the nest. (Or should I say that my bunnies were in the basket?) Thankfully, we will get to celebrate the holiday this year with Carson, our college boy. All four children are still willing to coordinate for church on Easter morning, so look for family pictures commemorating our time together. I will be the beaming mama, feeling so happy and blessed to enjoy another year with my precious ones! 





Nestling a smaller vase inside a larger one creates a space for filling with rows of pastel jellybeans. I made the original arrangement for Easter but kept the candy vase intact for quite a while and refilled it for several occasions.

My little bunnies loved these cabbage cupcakes, made by piping green icing on with an angled cake-decorating tip.

Photographing this bunny topiary, I could picture it as the crowning touch for a spring tea party. Find directions here.

Visit this post for a recipe for White Chocolate Nests.

For many years, one of my favorite springtime traditions was taking the children to paint Easter eggs at a local paint-your-own-pottery studio. Surveying our collection today, I am reminded of those precious times, such as this outing ten years ago.

This season is a wonderful time to bless others. Find ideas for Easter basket lunches for teachers here.

To share the love with friends, revisit this post to see how my friend Stacey treated the girls and me to an Easter tree party. Our daughters were all preschool age. How I miss those days!

For a sweet favor, how about this precious bunny in a jar? My sister-in-law Shannon made these for all the grandchildren at Easter one year.

Take a peek at this vibrant centerpiece, a whimsical Peeps arrangement.

And finally, this easy basket takes the cake! Find the how-to for this charming and versatile dessert in this post.

"For I remember it is Easter morn, And life and love and peace are all new born." ~ Alice Freeman Palmer

Celebrating Autumn Pumpkins

"October, ruddy-cheeked, comes o'er the plains,

And as with rustling step it speeds along,

Its feet beat music to the harvest song ... ."

~Albert Laighton

During autumn, my heart quickens with the thought of gathering a cornucopia of pumpkins, gourds and fall flowers. Last year I did not find the array of seasonal colors that I love, so I asked our Victoria stylist if she could recommend a local farmers' market or shop worth exploring. She led me to Andy's Garden Center, with several locations in Birmingham. I began counting down the days to a weekend visit to the company's Hoover nursery. Take a peek at the fall finery just waiting to add harvest beauty to your home!

"October, I lo'e thee! Thy whisper is soothing;

There is Lore in thy face, there is wealth in thy bowers:

Thy pensiveness adds but a charm to my musing—

And sweet are my dreams through thy fast ebbing hours!

~ James Rigg

More Paper Lantern Hot-Air Balloons

"The balloons only have one life, and the only way of finding out whether they work is to attempt to fly around the world." ~ Richard Branson

In my last post, I offered a how-to on making hot-air balloons from paper lanterns -- decorations we used for my sister-in-law's recent baby shower. Along with the larger pale blue balloons I showed you in that tutorial, I also made a smaller size in light apple green.

For the bases on this style, I cut the handles from straw baskets from Hobby Lobby. Crocheted trim hot glued around the rim added an extra detail.

Contrasting patterns of scrapbook paper, also from Hobby Lobby, made festive bunting.

We hung our blue and green hot-air balloons from the ceiling indoors, and placed several on tables with a candle tucked into the basket, but these adornments would look lovely swaying in the breeze at an outdoor party.

Several of these beauties are now hanging in the baby's nursery. Let's hope they bring happy dreams of beautiful adventures! To learn more about this project, visit this tutorial.

"We should all have personal hot air balloons and drift serenely through the clouds." ~ Rhys Brown