Good Morning Tulips

Blouse: LOFT (similar style); Skirt: H&M (similar); Shoes: BCBG via TJ Maxx

I tried three different shirts on with the skirt and the first two were rejected by sleepy-Ben, the Ben that makes outfit calls in the early morning hours before I head off to work. Apparently black and navy is still not okay and my green military style blouse looked "just meh." This blouse got a pass, but that might have been because I really needed to get out the door and into the car.

Behind me are some gorgeous tulips I bought last week for my desk at work. I ended up taking them home for the weekend because tulips are short-lived and look so beautiful in the morning, when they just start to open up and reach for the sun. Don't they look so eager to greet the day? I try to take inspiration from tulips with their friendly faces and open petals - they make the mornings look like something to welcome, rather than to shun. 

In the same vein, I really love having a fresh bouquet of flowers on the table, or sill. They make every single day just a bit more beautiful, and it's a pretty affordable expense. I'd recommend tulips in the winter (these were three five-stem bunches for $12), roses after Valentine's day ($12.99 for 18 roses at Safeway), carnations when the budget is tight (a bunch will run $6.99 at Safeway and last upwards of a month), and then farmer's market bouquets in the summer. The bouquet at a farmer's market will cost about $8-$12, where the same bouquet from a florist would be in the high $30's.

P.S. See the post below for 20% of dresses at eShakti!