Stop and Smell the Roses

My favorite season is fall, followed by winter, then summer, and lastly spring. Normally, spring is just not my jam. It's nothing more than a lay-over from skiing to sunbathing. And we're all so pale. But this year, I'm craving it. Everything about it. Hell, I'm decorating with pastels.

There's one picture on Pinterest that has sparked a change in me. This one picture has made me want flowers in my home beyond special occasions. I've never been a flower person.

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The backdrop looks like our kitchen: white backsplash, black counters. It makes it look so easy to add some color. Just what I needed.

Now allow me to go on a small tangent...who am I kidding, you can't stop me; this is my blog.

Does anyone else remember that scene in He's Just Not That Into You where Jennifer Connelly and (super-gross, cheating, smoking d-bag) Bradley Cooper go floor shopping?

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He wanted cost-effective laminate and she wanted high priced hardwoods even though she couldn't tell a difference. Why? In a jab that unknowingly gets the least attractive of Bradley Cooper's characters (and he was in I Want to Marry Ryan Banks)to confess to cheating: "I don't like the way it's pretending to be wood. If you're not wood, don't try and look like wood...this is a lie."

In that moment, I knew Jennifer Connelly (or at least her character) and I are the same person.

"But Katie, why are we talking about a 2009 rom-com in a post about flowers?"

Because that's how I feel about fake flowers. And apparently the way the rest of the blogosphere feels about them too, judging by all the "aren't fresh flowers the best!?" gushing.

But as much as I hate the way fake flowers pretend to be real flowers (you're not and never will be), I'm also a realist. I know that I won't go to the farmer's market every Saturday to get a couple bouquets. I know I'd begrudge myself every time I tallied up how much I spent on a plant that would flourish for a week, tops. And I know, once they stop flourishing, it'd be another week before I actually got around to throwing out my dead flowers. Honestly, fake flowers are the only way I could go.

So I decided to take the plunge. I bought fake flowers.

Ironically, I didn't place either of my arrangements in the kitchen, a la inspiration photo. One went in the new "sitting area mock-up."

 

The other ended up in the foyer.

I know, my spring vignette still leaves a little to be desired.

I'm not sure how I feel about these yet: they immediately made the house feel more loved and homey, but at the same time they're not fooling anyone. The color is a great balance to all my neutrals without seeming like it's trying too hard, but I do feel like somewhere there's a clown with an empty sleeve.

And I have no idea what to do with the vases. Do I put water in them or leave them empty? Yes, I've seen the gel, but I don't want to do anything too permanent; I like the idea of being able to remix my flowers into different arrangements.

Basically, the consensus is I wish I was responsible enough to handle fresh flowers. I want to be able to have arrangements like this all the time without the fake flower guilt. The funniest part is I'm masquerading as a person with fresh flowers. I'm such a hypocrite; it's the same reason why Jennifer Connelly hates laminate flooring: "if you [can't handle] fresh stems, don't try and look like someone who can."