Fresh Flowers = Fresh Mind

There's a rose garden on our apartment grounds and it's open to all tenants: anyone can use their key to open the gate & clip a bunch of roses for free, any time.

Up until this past week, I haven't taken full advantage of it, because I always forget my scissors when I'm out on a walk (Kari, my neighbor/friend and I always joke that we need scissor keychains), or I just plain forget there's a garden blooming just yards away, rivaling the Queen of Hearts'.

There's something refreshing about having flowers in the house. It kind of clears my mind. Brings the outdoors in. Adds some unexpected color to the landscape of my apartment. (Asylum-white walls can get to you after awhile. Yes, I could paint, but I kind of hate painting. It's a catch 22 I live with.)

Sorry to go all HGTV on you.

I went small and dramatic for this little arrangement, since it's on my computer desk and space is limited. I love the big/small combination - both the mixture of the two sized roses, and the fact that that over-sized rose is in an old salt shaker.

And one for the dining room table. One of the best things about flowers (and having a rose garden at your disposal) is that you can always try new colors, and combine all shapes and sizes:

Just some pretties for your Tuesday morning!