Welcome

Remember how I wrote yesterday about knowing JUST the place to find a bucket for my mums? Well, if you don't, go back and read it and then catch up!

This place used to do business as University Floral. They closed their doors several months ago, sold their name and customer list to Owen's Floral {on 9th}, and have been slowly liquidating their inventory since.

Most of the items are discounted 60%, but a few--just a few--are discounted further to just 25% of their original cost. The owner assured me they'll be having a few more open days before it's gone for good on January 1.

The bucket o'mums found their way here. They never quite made it past the threshold. Can you imagine why? Isn't their lushness to die for?

And now you can see the rest of the entrance.

I think the entrance to your home is the most telling. It sets the tone for what your guests could imagine inside. Bleak and bare might suggest a minimalist approach to decorating or a love for clean lines and lightness. Running over with plants would denote the occupant has a penchant for botany and clean, oxygen-enriching life. But I strive to be in between. A little messy, willy-nilly, and mostly clean and put together. I like to mix antiquated and neoteric sensibly. Perfect, but not painstakingly so. Does this make sense?

It's a work in progress, as it typically is for any homemaker, but I am reveling in the process. Ryan...well, maybe not as much, but he appreciates the finished product and wants to be proud of his home. So, this would bring me to my welcome sign wreath holder. It hangs over the top of the door and reminds me of a collar. My new door collar.

I picked it up for a fraction of its marked cost and the more I look at it, the more I realize it was worth every penny. The wreath is just a place marker for the time being.

This week I have a few improvements planned for the entrance: new porch light {purchased for $10 at a yard sale--score!}, new door color {black}, and possibly a new doormat. And the tippy top of the swirly-spiraly evergreen will, sadly, be chopped. I lost the fight against the mites in saving it or killing them. Actually, lose-lose {losing the top for me, lost life for them}.

Coming soon: I made a few stops yesterday to pick up supplies so I could start on a number of seasonal wreaths.