This Year I...

Played around with lots of flowers!

And learned more about them

Went to a Floret Workshop

Joined the Pastel Hair Club

Arranged the flowers for my first wedding

And my second!

And I turned 25!

This was a great year but I can't wait for 2015!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

We made it back to the conservatory in time to see it decorated for Christmas! They had one full house filled with poinsettias, a gorgeous tree and a train going around the center of it. Im really glad we made the time to go. And how amazing is this sweater?! I found it deep in my moms closet and just fell in love with it. I wish I could wear it all year. 

                                              I hope you all have a fun and relaxing day!

Outfit Details

Dress || Spool No. 72

Sweater || Borrowed from my Mom, Old Eddie Bauer

Shoes || Topshop via Nordstrom

Flora Focus || Poinsettia

Its been awhile since I have done one of these posts! I got really encouraged to share more florals here on Pretty Lovely after getting the results from the reader survey. Most everyone wanted to see more! Thanks everyone who took it! It was super helpful to me!
So with Christmas this week (!!!) I thought it would be fitting to share a little about the Christmas classic Poinsettias.

Poinsettia
Botanical Name: Euphorbia pulcherrima
Flower: The flowers are not actually the bright red, white or pink you clearly see on a Poinsettia. Those are called bracts, which are modified leaves. The flowers are the little yellow dots you see in the middle of the cluster of bracts. Very unshowy.
Leaves: Dark green leaves growing to about 7 inches long. The bracts, which need 12 hours of darkness for at least 5 days in a row to change color, come in red, pink, white, burgundy or marbled. The bracts are what make Poinsettias showy.
Meaning: To bring cheer

These plants are native to Mexico and grow as perennials (the same plant growing year after year) there. Our typical Christmas plant is actually a tropical one. I found that really interesting when I first learned that. They grow wild in the tropical forests!

I hope you are all ready for Christmas and not running around for last minute things! Enjoy the week!
xo

Our Christmas Tree

During this time of year, I love just sitting around the tree and looking at all of the lights and the ornaments and remembering the stories and times that go with each one. The only thing that would make it better is if there was snow falling outside, but we don't get much of that stuff here. I love the look of the trees with all of the same baubles and also love the trees that don't have 2 of the same ornaments. This tree has ornaments that are over 30 years old, each one bringing you back to a time before. I love that I can remember putting up the same ornaments back when I was five years old.

Outfit Details

Sweater || Kohls

Pants || American  Eagle

Socks || Target

Floret Floral Workshop Revisited

So I realized I never shared the photos I got from the floral workshop I attended in August with Floret. I was just reminded of these photos, because Erin just opened up registration for her 2015 workshops. One of them is going to be all about peonies. How amazing does that sound!? If you are thinking about a career in floral design, I highly recommend signing up for one of her workshops. I wish I could go again.
These are the photos, that Chris, her husband, took for us while we were there. I just love looking at them and going back to those 2 days.