Spring Flowers: Violets and (shhh) Store-Bought

I can't help it. I love fresh flowers in the house. If I don't have enough in bloom to fill my vases, I scout the mark-down flowers at the grocery store. I am quite happy to pay a couple dollars for blooms to brighten my days.

Right now our little wild violets are in bloom. I keep some small milk glass pitchers just for this time of year and for the violets. Is anything so pretty as their purple faces against white?

I have made jelly with violets before, but this year I am content to just enjoy their simple beauty.

I did some changing-up in the log room, just bringing a lighter springtime feel to the room with a milk glass lamp, the violets and other touches.

 I changed out the twig lamp that was on this table for another milk glass lamp. The nice thing about buying and selling is that I always have a variety of lamps and other decor items to choose from! I might use them for a little while, then put them in a booth and try something else. The milk glass heart, which I believe is quite old, probably early 1900's, is a keeper though.

The daffodils have faded away and although I plant them every year, there are never enough tulips to pick--I think the chipmunks (Larry calls them ground squirrels) dig them up and eat the bulbs. I have not given up, and here and there are a few blossoms, but I will never have the bounteous beds my mother had. But the grocery store had some nice carnations marked down and they look nice in milk glass too.

I even put a small vase in the bathroom--love that dark pink against the blue. I actually bought rose-colored towels and deep turquoise ones for the bathroom when we finished redecorating in there earlier this year.

The ever-changing kitchen windowsill got some carnations too,

and so did the kitchen table. Recently Country Living magazine featured milk glass in an article, and I hope that inspires more people to use and collect it. The clean whiteness of it is just so pretty, and yet little vintage vases like these can often be picked up for a dollar or less. Under-appreciated, in my opinion!

I still have the Hazel Atlas amethyst and milk glass punch bowl on display. It's for sale but I'm not in a hurry to sell it really. The baby's breath in the vase is left over from last month's flowers--they dry just beautifully.

No flowers or milk glass in this last photo, just a quick look at another change-up in the log room, taking off the red tablecloth and red and amber glass, and adding a pale yellow damask cloth and some other light color touches.

It was fun to make some changes. The house feels brighter and fresher. I did some spring-cleaning while I was at it, getting ready for the coming of warm weather and being outdoors with not as much time to clean. Of course, the forecast for this week is for more cold, possibly freezing temperatures and maybe even snow. I say begone winter! It's time to move on out and let us enjoy the beauty of April as it should be.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.