Inspiration, wreaths, and dates

Don't you just love this magnolia wreath? 

I love the natural colors and the faded green shades. 

But what is not to love is the price! It is $95.00, a little steep for a wreath, don't you think? 

So what could be easier than DIY a wreath like this? 

After reading Lisa's post , I was inspired to kidnap Kateri and take her along to scout it out.

These were the closest leaves that would work at Michael's, and as you can see, they are really mehhhh and almost downright ugly.

So, what other place has nice silk flowers? 

Of course, fresh in my mind was mom's post describing a fun trip to Merrifield. I had to return something at a store in Gainesville, and, we all know, the Gainesville Merrifield has the most lovely silk flowers around. So off we went! 

Now, this was a lot more fun! Honestly, this place is absolutely perfect for a date with a little person (as opposed to a date with little personS,)

Kateri got to pick out one little thing to buy, and she picked a little duckling statue.

Free popcorn is all it takes to elevate this to a grand experience!

And, they had magnolia leaves! Very realistic looking and feeling! Score!

Aaannnnd, they cost $13.00 for about 8 leaves . . .

And, after quickly guestimating the amount of leaves needed for the wreath, I figured it would cost me about $130 just for the leaf portion of the wreath. No can do! 

But we didn't let that deter us, and enjoyed the rest of the trip. 

We figured that Pat's favorite miniature garden would be this one:

And Kateri felt sure that this little angel was Sebastian. 

For the life of me, I can't keep indoor plants (other than orchids) alive, but I AM tempted to try one of these. 

(Too big of a risk considering my indoor black thumb?)

As we kept walking, 

we saw some party preparations!

And found what happened to all that sand Mom described in her post.

A lovely indoor beach! 

Kateri was exceptionally behaved, and only touched the sand once.

There was even a beach-fire.

Kateri's favorite part of Merrifield Nursery is the koi.

Which we studied for a long time. It was such a treat to have just Kateri because we had the leisure to go at her pace and not chase after any eager explorers who are off on the next adventure every moment (cough*Sebastian*cough).

Were these up for grabs?

I almost took one, but resisted the urge!

Kateri climbed up on a stool for this shot . . .

And I should have climbed on one for this one! 

The shot I wish that I had was Kateri taking the picture! She looked so darling and was so happy. 

All in all, it was such a lovely trip. On the way home, Kateri was quiet, and then she said, "Next time, I want you to kidnap Daddy, Bashy and Kia, too."

And then a few minutes later, she said, "I am going kidnap Sebastian when we get home and give him my duckling."

And, thanks to aunt Betty's post, I made some of her delicious bread. I didn't double the recipe so *only* ended up with 4 loaves. No after pics, but it is delicious and the perfect whole wheat/white combo. Thank you aunt Betty!