Happy New Year!! Welcome 2010!!

Happy New Year everyone!! Let me first say that I hope that you all have a very safe and blessed New Year celebration.

I was just reading a facebook post by Insight Marketing that said that "this is the last day of the last year of this decade..." Wow, that puts it in perspective!!! It never really occured to me that this New Year celebration was that momentus. But the last day of the last year of this decade!! That's pretty amazing!

Just think where this decade has taken you! The things we have seen in this world, the events that have occured, the change that has taken place. All pretty amazing stuff!!

I have experienced so much personal change in this decade. At the beginning of this decade in 2000 I was a college student at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. I was in my sophmore year and I was in the process of changing my current major to criminal justice.

I know, I know - how did I go from Criminal Justice to owning a flower shop? I get asked that question a lot whenever someone sees my diploma.

So here goes , in a nut shell -- I started off at Loras as a pre-physical therapy major because I had just closed my business as a licensed massage therapist. I chose to go back to school to further my education and help people. While at Loras, I stumbled upon Criminal Justice as a major and career path. I have always very much enjoyed taking a deeper look into the workings of the criminal justice system and the criminal mind. I had the opportunity, through my studies, to work with juvenile offenders, tour super maximum correctional facitilities, and go on "ride alongs" with the Iowa State Patrol, Minneapolis Police Department and the Manchester City Police Department. All from which I gained a great deal of knowledge and experience.

While going to school in Dubuque, I took a job working at Ben Franklin Crafts. I have always enjoyed arts and crafts, and as the daughter of a professional crafter I spent most all my summertime weekends traveling to craft shows to set up a booth and sell her wares. At Ben Franklin I gained a great deal of knowledge on almost every aspect of crafting. From scrapbooking to custom framing, craft painting to fine arts, I got to learn from customers on how things worked and what they were good for. I also started to dabble in silk flower design while at Ben Franklin.

In the fall of 2002, An opportunity arose to work with Hobby Lobby. I was happy to take on this new adventure, even though when I was hired they didn't have a job title for me quite yet (the store was brand new to Dubuque and was still being set up) so I was put in charge of assisting the wall designers. For a solid week I spent hours a day standing underneath a cherry picker lining up the wall paper to attatch to the peg boards. I bet you never noticed that at Hobby Lobby before, have you? :) Take a look sometime at their wall displays, and all the work that goes into them. Someone worked hard on them! :)

I was able to really flourish as a floral designer with Hobby Lobby. I was put in charge of the floral department which included not only design but customer service (in all departements), ordering and stocking.

Hobby Lobby was such a great place to work mostly in part to the magnitude of crafting supplies and knowledge I had at my fingertips! You've probably been in a Hobby Lobby, right? Aren't you just amazed when you walk in at the great selection and value they offer?

So, so wrap this up -- I came to love floral arranging to much at Hobby Lobby that I decided to venture out on my own. Thus how I came to this place that I have created, Sarah's Flowers & Gifts. I have so enjoyed the past five years being a part of peoples lives. As a florist you are able to be there for people in the greatest and saddest moments. You are brought in to assist people when they are suffering a great loss and other times when they are celebrating a major life milestone. That is one of the greatest things about being a florist.

This decade has also brought me many, many, many personal successes as well. In 2005 I met my husband Dan. In 2007 we were married. And in 2008 we joyfully welcomed our daughter Hannah in our family. All these things have brought me more joy and laughter than I can ever say.

So thank you 2009 and this decade for all the wonderul gifts and opportunities that you have brought to me! I look forward to the next decade and all its possibilities!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! First, I must apologize for the lapse in blogs.

Thanksgiving seems a blur and Christmas is now officially less than 2 weeks away! Where is time going?

The flower shop is looking more and more like Santa's workshop! It's not uncommon to stop by and find us knee deep in pine boughs or covered in glitter!

We have been creating a lot of unique fresh cut and silk pieces, as well as holiday crafts. Looking for something unique this holiday season? We have it!

How many times have you gone in search of the perfect gift for Aunt Maggie, the woman who has everything, and end up settling for the bubble bath/loofah basket because you know it's something she can use. Something she can use, not necessarily something she'll love!

Isn't that the whole point of gift giving? To wait in anticipation as the recipient opens your thoughtful gift that you spent a great deal of time finding? You watch their face as they tear open the box and look at their new gift in excitement!

And then they see...bubble bath! Frumph! :(

Well it doesn't have to be that way , and you don't have to spend oodles of your limited time searching the busy, packed malls. You don't have to park five football fields away from your destination and brave -5 degree wind chills to fight a crowd of people in the same aisle, because you're all there trying to find the perfect "norm" gift!

Come see us at Sarah's Flowers & Gifts!! We promise you'll find a huge selection of gifts that you won't find anywhere else!

We have so many handmade items: handpainted holiday stones, handpainted holiday wine bottles ( a very popular item), hand designed silk arrangements, handmade ornaments, I could go on and on and on and on :)

This holiday season, be sure to give someone what they want -- something they don't have!! When someone asks you what you want for Christmas, do you say "Well, I'd sure love a few more bottles of lotion to add to the twenty I have in the cupboard that I don't use because I don't want to go out in public smelling like a gingerbread cookie!" ?

And for the record, I love lotions and bubble baths!! In fact I am on my way to the mall to purchase some as a gift because that is what they told me they want. But I will dress it up a bit with a basket from the flower shop or maybe an ornament.

See! There's another great idea! Isn't it more fun to give bubble bath (if that is in fact the gift you are happily giving) presented in a beautiful basket with a keepsake ornament or christmas greens?

Don't forget -- flower shops aren't just great places to buy gifts -- you can also stock up on permanent silk flowers to use as accents for gift wrapping. Because as we all know, it's all about the wrap! :)

Merry Christmas to everyone and we hope all your Christmas shopping is going well. Don't forget too - take a few moments a day and remember what Christmas is all about. Because you can't spell Christmas without the first 5 letters!