Fall Class are a Hit!

FALL CLASSES ARE A HIT!

We completed our first fall class and everyone raved. We've even had a couple of you try our your new skills and send us some pictures. Kudos to Sue & Matt for the beautiful arrangement on the right--and keep those pictures coming!

If you haven't booked your spot in our Creating Tablescapes, or our Florals, Fruits & Veggies classes, there are only a couple of days left-- and only a few spots left.

Grab your fiends and call us today at 242-9595 to reserve your spot!

Can't wait to see you there!
Doug & Steven

Creating Tablescapes: The Fall Dinner Party!This demonstration & class will illustrate several ideas for dressing up your fall table and taking it over the top. We will cover dressing the tabletop, amazing specialty lighting, using food as décor and some wild surprises.
DATE: Tuesday, October 5
TIME: 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
FEE: $30

Floral, Fruits & Veggies: Not So Traditional AlternativesFocusing on alternatives to traditional flowers, this class introduces some of our favorites fruits, vegetables & berries into the floral design in some new ways. Each participant will create his or her own beautiful tropical fall arrangement (in foam) in a dish to take home and enjoy.
DATE: Thursday, October 7
TIME: 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
FEE: $45

Harvest Table Arrangements: The Fall Spread
Featuring a variety of fall favorites, and rich autumn colors, this long lasting arrangement will make you thankful. This class will focus on centerpiece design & construction. Participants will create a beautiful long & low centerpiece to take home for their fall table.
DATE: Tuesday, October 12
TIME: 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
FEE: $45

A Grand Fall Entry: Decorating your Front DoorThe front door makes your home's first impression and in this class and demonstration, we will illustrate how just a few easy changes can make a big difference in creating a warm and gracious entry. Each participant will create a stunning fall wreath to take!
DATE: Thursday, October 14
TIME: 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
FEE: $45

Holiday Class Schedule
Coming Soon!

August Already?

Confessions of a Market shopper...

We just got back from Market and for those of you who are not familiar with that time of year, it's the equivalent of Fashion Week in Paris, but for retailers.

We found so many beautiful and unique things to bring in to the store, it was a real struggle to narrow the list!

Well, we suffered though and are extremely excited to be bringing you the crem de la crem this Fall!

While some of the new lines have already arrived, there are TONS more on the way, so now is definitely the time to take advantage of some great summer clearance sales as we make room for our most exciting Seasons ever!

Warmest Regards,
Doug & Steven

Time for the 4th of July BBQ!

July 4th is upon is and what's in your plans? If you are like me, not much, but I am going to change all of that this year!

I am break out the red, white & blue and taking to the patio for a BBQ to remember! In preperation we're inviteing you stop by early and share the fun. Not to my home BBQ, but to Seasons, June 26 from Noon - 3:00pm...

We're doing door prizes, food samples, sales and more, so mark your calendars and bring your appetite. This one is going to be big! Watch your email for more details...and a specail 40% off coupon!

Doug

Lemons, Blueberries & Peaches!

You won’t believe what we have in store for you. We’re stocking the shelves with all sorts of new goodies! Some have already arrived and some should be in over the next few weeks. What are these new goodies? Well, spring and summer make me think of fresh fruit, so let’s start there…

Blueberries -- Look for wonderful new treats like Stonewall Kitchen’s Wild Maine Blueberry Pancake & Waffle Mix and their Wild Maine Blueberry Drink Mix – look out Blueberry Martinis—I hear an excuse to have you all in to the store for cocktails!

Lemons—What can I say? The timeless smell of summer. Check out our Lemon trio of Hand Soap, Dish Soap and Lotion conveniently gift packaged! Or maybe some Stonewall Kitchen Lemon Pear Marmalade for brunch and some beautiful blue and yellow lemon placemats are right up your alley.

Peaches – Check out our new Tyler candle in Peach! The fragrance is so true that it practically makes your mouth water for some good ole Georgia Peaches! For those of you who know peaches, this is candle you will “cling” to!

Well, I hate to make this posting so short, but I have orders to place for giftware, cards, and décor, just to name a few…and don’t forget to give us your email address for all sorts of great invitations & sales.

Later!
Doug

A Few New Photos!

I'm working late at the store tonight and thought I'd share a few new photos. Lots of new goodies for Spring are appearing here and there, as well as some great sales! Stop in when you get a moment and see what's new!

Flowers 101

One of my customers stopped by the store today and mentioned this BLOG. For those of you who have never done this sort of thing before, let me say, what a surprise to find out someone is actually reading this. Well, hopefully it is more than someONE. Hopefully it is lots of someONEs.

All of my messages to date have avoided one topic in particular. FLOWERS. Interesting, since our primary business is flowers. When I started to think about this, I realized that the real reason is that it is difficult to reduce the beauty, delicacy and fragrance of a flower or an arrangement down to simple words. With that said, I realized I didn't have to. Instead I am going to share care and selection tips with you, so here is the first class in flowers 101. (And don't worry, I'll continue to add lots and lots about new products, events and generally random stuff!)

So, what are the top 5 most preferred flowers? Roses, Chrysanthemums, Tulips, Gerberas, and Lilies, in that order. Now, how do we take care of them, well first let me give you some science (watch out Alton Brown!)

Flowers drink water with a capillary action. Capillary action happens when water molecules are more attracted to the surface they travel on than to each other. In paper towels, the molecules move along tiny fibers. In plants, they move through narrow tubes that are actually called capillaries.

So imagine the stem of your flower as a bundle of straws. Water had rather stick to the walls of the straws than it had to itself, so it is sort of "sucked" up the inside surface of the straws.

So why do we tell you to change the water and cut off the bottom inch of the stems when you get fresh cut flowers ever few days? Well, because as the water in your vase ages, it grows bacteria and gets yucky. Now imagine these blobs of bacteria lodging in the bottom of the straws and clogging them like a half-blended strawberry in straw of your milkshake. Now the flower can't get water and of course, will soon die.

Ok, so now you know to cut the stems and change the water, what else can you do to prolong your vase life? Well, don't give them 7-up, or asprin. While these acidulate the water (make it more acid - good!) it unfortunately has other stuff in it that makes the water a better breeding ground for bacteria (BOO!). The best thing to use is the packet of flower food you got with your flowers. To give you an idea, this is a highly complex, very researched, and very expensive substance (kind of like cheesecake -- well maybe not, but that sounded good). It contains both flower food, and anti-bacterial for the water and can extend the vase life of your flowers by 4 or more days. Just be sure to follow the directions.

What else can you do? Well, consider placement of your flowers. Avoid placing them in warm spots, sunny spots, or drafty spots. Keep the vase full of water from the kitchen sink, and no, they do not prefer soft water. Why did I say FULL? Because sometimes the stems don't reach all the way to the bottom of the vase or container and although it still has some water, some of the flowers may be getting parched!

I bet you didn't know there was that much to know about watering your flowers. Don't worry, there is more, but I'm saving that for later. (Eat your heart out Alton!)

Later!
Doug

Mom's Easter Sunday Potluck REVISED - 3 dishes no time!

Easter is just about on us and I am thinking about the Easter Sunday Potluck and believe me, the heat is on. Owning Seasons can be a curse at times and any time there is a potluck is one of them.

My friends expect that whatever I bring will be spectacular, creative, and phenomenally wonderful. So what's the problem? I have no time to plan and virtually no time to cook. Whatever I do, it has to be fast and easy! I've turned my brain on "sideways" and here it is...something wonderful, somewhat traditional, and oh yes, it's EASY! (By the way, did I mention I have TWO potluck's to attend?)

First, the entrees-- traditional Easter Ham. Ham yes. Traditional no. So how am I going to dress it up and wow my friends? I'm going to toss the first ham in a liner in the crockpot with a jar of Perfect Pear's Cinnamon Clove Pear Preserve...and that's one down! For the second ham, same process, second crockpot, slather it in Stonewall Kitchen's Bourbon Molasses Mustard and that one is done too! That's "no-hams-down" two thumbs up and thanks to the crockpot liners, not a pan to wash!

While the hams cook, it is off to the side dishes. I'm thinking carrots--this is Easter after all. I hit Stonewallkitchen.com and found the perfect fast and easy recipe for Candied Baby Carrots using the Orange Cranberry marmalade. Doesn't that one sound incredible? To make it faster and easier, I'm using the Glad Microwave Zip & Steam bags to steam the carrots (did I mention I love these things? The texture and flavors are better than traditional steaming and there is no pan to wash--notice the recurring theme here?)

The second side? Well, if it aint broke, don't fix it. I hit Stonewall Kitchen.com again and found Glazed Green Beans with Crumpled Gorgonzola. This one uses the Roasted Garlic Onion Jam--AND GORGONZOLA. This one is all grown up and yummy!

Finally dessert! Nothing too fussy or formal. First, I'll get some Pillsbury slice & bake sugar cookies, slice them thin, and press them in mini tart pans. Bake 'em up fill them with Stonewall Kitchen Lemon Curd, and top with mint sprig! "BAM" instant mini-lemon tarts!

Dessert two takes me back home to Mom and the coconut cake she always made for Easter. She would dye the coconut green for the top of the cake to make fake grass and dot it with jelly bean Easter eggs. All right, so this is the point where I get nostalgic and a little corny, but isn't that what holidays are for? I'm making Barefoot Contessa Coconut Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. And yes, I'm going to dye the coconut green and add jelly bean Easter eggs--just don't tell my Mom!

Seasons - Going Green

Recently, one of you called it to my attention that you had noticed a change at Seasons that we hadn't mentioned. Coinciding with the move to our new location, we joined the effort to go Green!

We started with our construction in May. We were originally installing a beautiful eco-friendly bamboo floor, but decided to save the resources and re-use the dark hardwood from the previous tenant. Low VOC paint went on the walls, and all of the existing room lighting got updated with energy efficient florescent bulbs. We removed old light fixtures that used 4 halogen bulbs each and replaced them with our commercial track lighting, reducing the gross wattage while improving the overall lighting of the store.

Rather than add our old cooler shell to the landfill, we gave it a face lift with matching sheetrock and trim. We replaced the compressor with a new high efficiency unit to help out with those August electric bills.

Then it came to operations. We started with some of the simple things first...all of our bags, tissue, register tape, printer paper, and even our order tickets are now made (at least partially) from recycled post-consumer waste. We changed some of our computer settings and turned off some auto-print features as well--we were all surprised at how much paper that saved!

Finally, when we stocked the store, we examined our options before purchasing. We chose products that were manufactured as close as possible (reducing shipping fuel and carbon emissions), looked at organic alternatives, and carefully considered our options before ordering.

While we weren't able to go completely green with everything we did, we started down the path toward a greener tomorrow. We are thinking twice about what we do and are watching for new ways to do better everyday!

Fragrant Greenleaf

We've been searching for over 3 years for the perfect compliment to our Tyler Candles! Don't worry they aren't going away, we just needed something great to round them out.

It has been difficult. First we had to find something as fragrent as Tyler--that was hard. Then we had to make sure it had a soy base and burned well -- that brought us down to three finalists. The final criteria? Cost. We wanted it to be reasonable. With two of the three finalists weighing in at over $40 each, the final choice was easy-- a truly fragrant, long burning, soy candle at a reasonable cost-- GREENLEAF!


New fragrances include Banboo & Blossoms, Classic Linen, Eucaclyptus Mint, Orange & Honey, Roses, Sycamore Fig, Tuscan Vineyard & Valencia.


These candles are incredible! Whether you pick them up for you or a gift for a friend, at just $16.95 for a beautifully gift boxed candle we know you will love them!

Tyler & Tulip

Well, love was in the air and thanks to all of you, Valentine's Day 2010 went well! Roses were the of course the big hit, accompanied by chocolates and Teddy Bears.

As we transition to Spring we've had some new arrivals! Beautiful silk plants, stems & blooms, some amazing garden "candle-ieres" and new candle and La Tee Da Effusion fragrances to name just a few.

The store has a new resident as well. We were visited by a beautiful female Brewer's Blackbird with a broken wing. Steven tossed her a few animal crackers and the rest is history. Check out Tulip while you are in!

For those of you who love Tyler Candles, get ready. We are adding at least 8 new fragrances for Spring.

Well, that is all the time I have for now...
See ya in the shop!
Doug

Just Before V Day!

Valentine's Day is just about on us!

I finally completed all of the fresh flower orders and am excited to say our long stem red roses are going to be incredible! My grower from last year had a very exclusive client in Beverly Hills switch rose varieties at the last minute and so I was able to pickup the most incredible 70cm roses. You may not know, but the normal long stem rose is about 3 inches shorter than that!

While we currently have deliveries available, we are expecting to be fully booked on Friday, Saturday AND Sunday. And yes, while many florists are taking the day off on Sunday we will be in full stride getting those flowers out!

I was also able to get 200 fresh tulips in directly from Holland, so if your not a rose person, we've got ya covered too, not to mention Stargazer lilies, Freesia, Hydrangea, Lisianthus and Tropicals from Columbia.

If you want something I haven't ordered yet, be sure to give us a call as soon as you can, there is still time. This would include those speciality roses like Fire & Ice roses, Latin Lady, Sterling, Cool Water, and Brandywine.

Gotta run now, there are orders to make...
Doug

New Goodies!

Where is the time going? I can't believe it is already the end of January. The month has flown by for sure!

We've been hustling and not only did we get in all of the silks I mentioned last, lots of vaseware has also come in. We have some absolutely stunning HUGE glassware just in time for Valentine's Day. While some of these are over 4' tall, some are as small as 4", and all of them are georgious. My favorite is a series that is slight tinted and looks like lots of little sea anemones tilted every which way. We started getting them all out on the floor today, and HOPE to finish up tomorrow!

Speaking of Valentine's Day, watch for a special email from us next week...

Later!
Doug

Jamming Barefoot Contessa

Well, the new product has started coming in. We have lots of new goodies from Stonewall Kitchen and Barefoot Contessa, and we've already tried a few...

Steven loved the lemon pear marmalade. He ate the whole jar in 2 days. While I had to convince him to try the Strawberry Balsamic Jam, he didn't waste any time getting a jar for home.

I made the Barefoot Contessa Decadent Molten Chocolate Cakes for a dinner party this past week and they were perfect. I only wish I had made 12 so I could have had leftovers! Another great one was the Stonewall Mango Lime Salsa. I poured this over a whole chicken in the crock pot. When I came home for dinner, the aroma was to die for and eating it was even better!

Lots of new permanant botanicals, arrangements and loose flowers have arrived, just in time to brighten things up for Spring. Steven's in the process of making a number of these into permanant arrangments, and a little birdie told me that he'd be happy to take some custom requests while the selection is still good.

New Year, New Beginnings!

Well, the New Year is here! Like so many of you, we are glad to see 2009 pass and 2010 to come into being. Well, so here it is, our reflections on the last year and what's coming next...

Last Year...where to start? In May, we closed Seasons Floral Boutique at the old location, in a way, giving in to the decline of 2009. With great hope and dreams, we opened the new store.

We were lucky to find a place that so well suited our needs. The old Something Blue suite had beautiful hardwood floors, nice lighting, more space, and most importantly, a great location. We had been looking at the Rainbow Sunset Pavilion (at Rainbow & Sunset) since right after opening at the other location. With Starbucks, The Cracked Egg, Town & Country Bank, Nevada Federal Credit Union and Archie's Thai Bistro, we felt it would have a lot of traffic. Add to that the Boyd Gaming corporate headquarters right behind us, thousands of square foot of office space, and a new salon coming into the center and the place seemed perfect.

We were ready to open in a matter of a couple of weeks....or so we thought.

Permits, plans, ADA, codes...you name it...they were the bane of our existence. While we opened in July, it was early October before we got our final permits. Finally the sign went up and we were all set.

During the mean time, we got a bit of bad news. Our dear friends, Kathy and Terry, unfortunately closed their store Cosi Bella. While it saddened our hearts to see them go, they were kind enough to introduce us to many of you. You may have noticed a new addition to Seasons about the same time-- Tres Chic Boutique. With unique ladies jewelry, chic shirts, shoes and the like, Terry brought a bit of Cosi Bella to Seasons.

We saw record numbers of you come to visit for our grand opening. Every Saturday in December we had events and tastings, and every Saturday you, our loyal patrons, came to visit, helping to reinforce our hopes for the New Year.

2010 started with the dismantling of the Christmas displays, and a resetting of the store. It is always an interesting time, as you never know how much inventory is going to move over the holidays. The good news is, a LOT moved. Now it's time to scramble. I've been placing orders left and right.

We have lots of new Stonewall Kitchen and Barefoot Contessa products coming in this week. They both were huge hits over the holiday. Orders for a lot of decor from old and new vendor's alike went out as well as some new kitchen goodies, candles, and much more. I am hopeful all of this will be in over the next 5 - 10 days.

All of you already know the other owner, Steven, and many of you have now met Jake (the really tall guy that worked with us over the holidays). Jake comes to us with a lot of experience organizing large events, loads of interior design references and yes, he can do beautiful flowers as well!

Another new addition to the staff is Marcia. She is starting Tuesday and was formerly at Cosi Bella. We are excited to be able to bring her onboard and I am sure a lot of you will be excited to get to catch up with her.

And yes, I am behind on Valentine's Day. We are already in the scramble to buy the freshest, most beautiful flowers possible--but more on that next time. Steven is asking if I am writing a novel.

So, as I wrap this up, it is with thanks for last year and excitement for what is coming. I promise you all many more surprises in the year to come!

See you soon!
Doug