Bring in the Spring!~

Does anyone else crave to see just about anything that is green and fragrant at this time of the year? The past 2 winters in Michigan have been quite mild. The inland lake that we live on never even fully froze over. This year however, winter has shown up in all of it's glory and has been behaving like the Michigan I knew growing up. Frozen lakes, snow that never fully melts, occasional temps in the single and negative digits. Beautiful and so very COLD!~

I just stepped outside to take this photo from the front porch...

Just a slightly different view compared to the beautiful sky, water and view that we were able to enjoy for a week while in Cabo San Lucas just 3 short weeks ago!~ 

(photo taken while on a zodiac boat whale watching excursion)

Back to the greenery. After we returned from Cabo at the end of January, I popped into Trader Joe's to pick up a few staples that we like to get from there. I can't resist lingering by the floral areas and pursuing the latest selections whenever I'm there. What caught my eye on this trip were the spring bulb containers. I picked up 2 simple containers that each held the promise of 3 white hyacinths making a show in the future. At $3.99 each, I knew that even if the blooms were a flop for this season, I could plant the bulbs and enjoy the fragrant white blooms for many Michigan springs to come. 

With a quick stop at our Forrester Farm studio on the way back home, I picked up a couple of our vintage containers and a pack of reindeer moss. I knew just how I wanted to display these sweet sprouts plus adding some personal touches into our "work in progress" home space was just what I was craving. 

I placed little trays at the base of each container for the sake of catching the water and keeping the vintage containers a bit protected - even thought they are totally water proof. I placed the unwrapped floral pots right inside and used the paper wrappers that came on each pot to add a little stability and "filler" around the pot. I've used reindeer moss for years and happened to have a few packages on hand. It really didn't take much at all to cover the exposed soil and filler paper that was surrounding the pot.

 With occasional watering, it didn't take long at all for these fun sprouts to grow taller and then BLOOM!~ The fragrance in our home is heavenly!

These hyacinth blooms from Trader Joe's were such a perfect purchase for this time of the year. I thought I might get 6 blooms, but I just counted and there are a total of 10 blooms between the 2 containers. Once the snow melts and the blooms fade, I know just where I'll plant the bulbs in the garden for springtime enjoyment for years to come too!~ 

Just a by the way side note, the carnations were also from Trader Joe's and they are about a month old in this photo!~ They were purchased mid January to add a touch of color to the music themed table designs at a surprise party that my siblings and I threw for my mom. The color was perfect in our decor and the longevity of these particular blooms is absolutely outstanding.