Stop and Smell the Roses
This pregnancy has really flown by for me. Last time around I felt like those were the longest nine months of my life, waiting, and waiting for baby to arrive. This time, I feel like it was just yesterday we found out the good news and now I'm due at the end of next month! I blame it on being busy with a toddler (and work, and renovations, and blogging and....the list goes on).
The quote that keeps popping into my head is to make sure to 'stop and smell the roses.' It may be a little cliché, but it really rings true. This may be my last pregnancy and it is such a brief time in my life, I want to soak it all in and savour it before it's gone. I am constantly on the go and don't make time for the roses.
So for the past few weeks, I've made it a goal of mine to take time to enjoy myself. This might mean taking time for myself, spending one on one time with my daughter before she is no longer an only child, getting alone time with my husband, or hanging out with girlfriends. Basically just being mindful of my limited time and how I choose to spend it.
When I saw a local 'pick your own bouquet' event, I knew this would be a fun and relaxing evening to share with a few close girlfriends. So I invited my friends Desiree and Lindsay and we set off for a little weeknight workshop put on by City Girl Flowers YXE.
Chantelle (the hostess) is in the process of building her dream home, on a gorgeous lot about 5 minutes out of Saskatoon. She also planted an apple orchard and huge flower garden (where the class was taking place). She greeted the 10 attendees with a smile and instantly made us feel like old friends. Cute little picnic benches were set up with iced tea, scissors, and jars to use as vases, complete with personalized name tags.
Before we got to picking, Chantelle gave us a bit of background info on her passion for horticulture. Through university classes, her own research, and trial and error, she has built a beautiful and prosperous flower garden with more flowers than she knows what to do with- hence why she started hosting these bouquet making events!
We were provided with tips on how to select which flowers to cut, the best method for snipping, and a few tips on arranging a bouquet of fresh flowers. Then we pretty much had free reign of the garden; to admire the flowers, pick them, and take pictures with them. I was relieved to see our other classmates were also making sure to take advantage of the endless photo ops in the garden. We were all definitely snap happy.
It was fun to see how everyone's bouquets were different from each other, but all built from the same garden. I also found it surprising that even after everyone was done creating their arrangements, we hadn't even made a dent in the City Girl's garden! There were still soooo many gorgeous blooms just dying to be picked (is that a pun?).
I'm so glad I took some me/girl time to build my own bouquet, make new friends, and stop and smell the roses. Now I want to share this experience with one of my lucky readers! Head over to my instagram account, follow me @kelsikendel & @citygirlflowersyxe, and tag your friends in the comments on my post about the workshop. The winner will receive 2 tickets (1 for you & 1 for a friend) to attend the bouquet class of your choice!
A big thank you to my ride or die Desiree Martin Photography for these stunning photos.
Xo Kk
