do you want to know what I did with all these beauties?

You'll find out soon.
A week and a half ago we had an amazing photo shoot with Beth from Beth Fletcher Photography.

Do you remember the giveaway she had? (which for some reason I cannot find the link to)

Well, I don't want to brag, but WE WON!! (trust me, there was a giveaway and we did legitimately win - because we all know "random.org" cannot be paid off. Believe me, I've tried. Multiple times.)

Anyway, you can get a sneak peek at what I made with these flowers and Beth's amazing photo skills right over here.
The nice thing is that this wonderful gift of a shoot came right when we began toying with going full steam ahead on my secret flower business. Oh, you didn't know I do flowers? No one does and I'm not going to talk about it.

And that's why it is a secret.

This business model has worked well for me, especially with Lois living with us. I could not manage everything at once. But now we are moving into a new chapter of our lives and the flowers are making more sense. Expect big things! Huge! Fantastic! Amazing! Or just pictures of flowers and my ramblings about them. What you can expect is that I will be dusting the cobwebs off the old Sugarfield blog and that my amazing husband will be trying his web design skillz out for the first time. In the very near future I will be offering some flower design/enjoyment classes, a brand new blog, some slightly less random posting, and just in general trying to be more open about my top secret business.

For starters, though, answer me this:
Would you prefer a Friday evening class or a Sunday evening class?

Flower Child in the making

The girls love it when I make arrangements. They love helping me pick out the flowers, they hover as I cut them and drop them in buckets, they anxiously watch as I use the flowers up. They choose "their" flowers long before the belong to them. They watch me use up all these beautiful flowers and worry that there will be none left over for them. But somehow there always seems to be a little bit left.
It's a miracle.

The Elia has been honing her flower skills for quite some time now. We lived in Chicago when she was born and I was still working at my favorite flower shop. When she was a few weeks old I went back to work three days a week. We would get up early, I would pack her in the maya, fold up her little portable swing, gather enough diapers and an outfit change or two, and hop on the red line all the way down to the store. At the time I didn't work at the main store, but managed our smaller south loop location. It was just me, Elia, Joana and Richie, hanging out all day.

She would spend her days in the maya, in her swing, being held by my co-workers and sleeping in empty flower boxes. She was so sweet and easy. Yes, there were moments of uncontrollable crying, but those were pretty rare, and thankfully she chose our off-peak hours for fussing. And if she started fussing and I couldn't get to her, my co-workers were always happy to hold a baby.

Man, I had the best boss ever.





I stopped working even part time, especially after moving to Indiana and popping out a couple more kids, but still managed to make it into the shop for holidays and occasional work. I have quite a few pictures of Elia and then Josie sleeping in little make shift toddler bed/boxes in the back room of LaSalle, or tucked under a counter. They were happy to play with scraps of flowers, watch shows on the computer in the office, and generally charm the pants off anyone they came across.

Again, best boss ever.

All that playing and sleeping in boxes is paying off. Elia made her very own arrangement this Easter. She cut the foam, found a dish, taped it in and arranged it all herself. We carried this lovely piece of work all the way to Grandma and Grandpa's house where it graced a table for Easter dinner. It even survived a little stomping by the Deli's feet in the car. She's just that good.

She's been bugging for a pocket knife like mine so she can carry it with her and make arrangements should the mood strike. I am not procuring said knife quickly enough for her liking. As soon as I go to the wholesaler, my dear, it will be yours. And then watch out, Northwest Indiana! Grand flower arrangements are coming your way!

Wicked Witches

This is what happens when your mama works at a flower shop. I brought home some of the wrappers that Birds of Paradise are shipped in and we suddenly had a house full of cackling, evil, wicked witches. I believe they were both named Maleficent. There was a prince too, but he only had three pointy fingers. And they kept falling off. So he spent the night crying in frustration. And being poked by his sisters.

Little Break

We apologize for the long break. I was busy working at my favorite flower shop for Valentine's Day, the kiddos were busy keeping Grandma entertained and Papi was busy working. We are now almost back to normal and will continue with pictures soon...

Thank you Grandma, for all your hard work. The kidlets had lots and lots of fun with you!