flowers – Hoots of a Night Al

Practice Self-care with a Lone Star Living Flower Delivery!

August 21, 2018 No Comments

This post was sponsored by Lone Star Living, and I am thrilled to share their summertime fresh flowers with you!

Did you know that August 27th is National Just Because Day? I’m a huge fan of doing things that bring you joy EVERY day, so I will be celebrating for sure! One of my favorite ways to treat myself is by picking up fresh flowers on my weekly grocery trip. They’re a beautiful, inexpensive way to brighten up my home, and since the H-E-B Blooms department is RIGHT when I walk in the store, I can never resist. 🙂

If I’m being honest though, I would rather curl up on the couch, read a book, and have my groceries and fresh flowers magically show up at my door thanks to an H-E-B Delivery. If only, right? GUESS WHAT? IT’S POSSIBLE. With H-E-B’s Curbside Service, you can order everything online, and they will deliver it to your home…INCLUDING beautiful flowers from Lone Star Living! A flower delivery feels like a luxurious treat to me, so I love that it can be part of my weekly routine now instead of just for special occasions.

If I can spend the few hours I would usually spend grocery shopping enjoying a book, I am a happy girl. At the moment, I can’t put down this series, and the August Bouquet from Lone Star Living is the perfect arrangement to admire while I’m reading. It is full of fun blooms like colorful lilies, yellow daisies, vibrant alstroemeria, and bright roses. This Lone Star Living Bouquet feels like the perfect combination of flowers to wave goodbye to summer. Plus, everyone knows what the end of summer means…the start of school, routines, and a deluge of holidays around the corner. Since I know the stress that lies ahead, I’m savoring these last summer days and taking time to indulge in some self-care.

I know self-care is a popular buzzword right now, and I think that’s because it’s extremely important but often neglected. Personally, I can feel myself relaxing as soon as I put down my phone, close my computer, and pick up a book. Everyone is different, but whether it’s exercising, taking a bubble bath, gardening, reading (like me!:)), or something else, you should always make time for activities you enjoy. Whatever you prefer though, I think everyone loves having fresh flowers (especially when someone brings them right to your door!). So make some time for yourself this month…even if it’s just taking time to stop and smell the Lone Star Living flowers. 😉

Leave me a comment letting me know your favorite self-care activity below!

Decor, DIY

Share the Joy of Summer with Lone Star Living Bouquets

July 22, 2018 5 Comments

This post was sponsored by Lone Star Living, and I am thrilled to share their summertime fresh flowers with you!

Summer holds so many celebrations for my family. My dad, mom, sister, and nephew all have summer birthdays, we have an annual 4th of July party, and we take our yearly beach trip to Galveston. Basically, the fun just keeps coming all season long, and summer 2018 has been no exception! We enjoy one gathering after another and each one is an opportunity to showcase Texas, southern hospitality. Want to know the number one rule for any southern celebration? Never show up empty-handed! Whether it’s food, gifts, or flowers, your host will always appreciate your kindness. And I can guarantee no hostess will turn you away if you show up with fresh flowers from Lone Star Living!

Our most recent get-together was to celebrate my dad’s birthday at my sister’s home, and I knew the Lone Star Living July summertime flowers were the perfect thing to bring. The bouquet is full of red and yellow roses, lilies, carnations, alstroemeria, and more! The vibrant colors instantly brighten up any space and provide major summer decor inspiration.

I wanted to use a wide-mouth vase to showcase the fresh flowers, but because of the wide opening, they looked sparse. An easy fix if you have the same issue is to loosely band the flowers together within the vase, and your bouquet instantly looks fuller! Lone Star Living also recommends holding your bouquet by the stems and twisting it around to fluff it. These simple tricks will give you a professional-looking centerpiece in no time!

In case you missed my last post about Lone Star Living, let me share what makes them special. They are a Texas-based floral brand that creates dynamic, stunning bouquets for each month of the year. Their fresh flowers are sold exclusively at H-E-B in the H-E-B Blooms department, and each bouquet comes beautifully packaged in craft paper with the flower food included! As you can see, their July summer 2018 bouquet created the perfect focal point on the table at our birthday party.

I can guarantee if you show up to your next summer gathering with these blooms, they’ll be equally loved by adults, kids, and pets alike! 😉

Hurry over to H-E-B to grab your own July Lone Star Living Bouquet before the month ends! I’m sure August’s unique bouquet will be just as stunning, but I can’t think of a reason why you shouldn’t enjoy them both. After all, now that you know to never show up empty-handed, you have the perfect “excuse” to purchase all the Lone Star Living Bouquets your heart desires! 😉

Decor, DIY

Beautiful Summer Flowers with Lone Star Living

June 28, 2018 2 Comments

Anyone who knows me, knows I love flowers. I can’t go into H-E-B without stopping by their floral department, and I rarely ever leave empty-handed! We’re officially one week into summertime, so lately I’ve been wanting vibrant, yellow bouquets to brighten up my home. Luckily for me, the Lone Star Living June bouquet satisfies all of my summer flower requirements! This post was sponsored by Lone Star Living, and I am thrilled to share their beautiful blooms with you!

Let me back up and tell you more about Lone Star Living. They share their love of Texas by crafting unique and dynamic bouquets that fit perfectly into any celebration from cookouts to birthdays to simply treating yourself on a weekly H-E-B trip. 😉 Speaking of H-E-B, Lone Star Living knows where loyal Texans shop, so they sell their fresh flowers there exclusively! Every month, they create a new bouquet theme that perfectly highlights the season.

For the first month of summer they combined sunflowers, alstroemerias, and more to create a yellow and green explosion of summertime fun! Their flower style stands out in the floral department, where their bouquets are sold in fun, craft paper packaging. I love that everything you need to make a vibrant centerpiece is already grouped together for you. They even include the flower food!

Once you get home, it’s easy to get your summer flowers prepped for display. All you have to do is remove any unwanted leaves, trim the stems at an angle, twist and fluff your bouquet, and place it in a vase that has fresh water and the included flower food. Lone Star Living also recommends placing your bouquet near sunlight. If you need extra flower care tips, feel free to check out their website as well.

As you can see, Lone Star Living bouquets easily brighten up any space and help bring the beauty of summertime inside! Utilizing all of the recommended tips, my fresh flowers are still looking perfect and are bringing me so much joy. Next time you visit H-E-B, pick up your own Lone Star Living bouquet, so you can bring some extra charm and loveliness into your home, too!

This post was sponsored by Lone Star Living, but, as always, all opinions are my own.

San Antonio

San Antonio Botanical Garden

March 1, 2017 No Comments

A couple of weeks ago, we ventured over to the San Antonio Botanical Garden. Let me say, I am so sad we have been missing out on this place since we moved here over four years ago. A low ticket cost of $10 provided us with a chance to explore the amazing gardens on a lovely Sunday. Read on to see some of the beauty we encountered.

We first explored the Fountain Plaza and Japanese Garden. Both were peaceful, scenic spaces perfect for journaling, sketching, or simply enjoying the scenery. The fountains and trickling water created such a relaxing vibe.

Next, we journeyed past the Overlook to spend some time in the various pavilions. Every path we took had no shortage of interesting plants and wildlife to observe.

The first room we explored was the Northrup Tropical Room. It was packed wall-to-ceiling with lush vegetation and colorful plants. It truly provided the sensation of walking through a rainforest.

As you can see, this room was literally overflowing with things to admire.

As native Houstonians, the humidity in the Tropical Room felt familiar, and the dry heat of Kleberg Desert Pavilion felt more like San Antonio. This pavilion held cacti, succulents, and even a tiny, growing pineapple pictured below.

It felt nice to escape the warm Desert Pavilion, and head into the breezy Palm & Cycad Pavilion. This amazing structure housed so many different palms and truly felt like a tropical destination.

Our final stop in the pavilion area was the Fern Grotto, and we may have saved the best for last! The lush green plants, impressive waterfall, and winding stone path provided a calm oasis that we spent a long time exploring.

We finally stepped outside to admire the Orangerie, where we resisted the urge to harvest some freshly grown limes. It was educational to see how many of the different fruits we enjoy are grown.

We used this shaded path to travel up past the Overlook again to peruse the Cactus and Succulent Garden. This expansive area was a landscape full of so many versions of cacti…some were even purple!

Near the end of the Cactus and Succulent Garden we happened upon the South Texas trail. Here we found this adorable adobe house, more cacti, and an excellent area for bird watching. I have never seen so many cardinals in one spot!

The East Texas Pineywoods section of the gardens welcomed us with the amazing sculpture below. It was made in San Antonio specifically for the Botanical Garden, and it looked stunning reflecting all of the greenery and nature surrounding it. This section of the garden had a lake full of ducks, several tall trees, and a quaint log cabin with light streaming in.

The final section of the garden we visited was the Hill Country. It was wonderful to see signs of spring starting to pop up here and there. I cannot wait to visit again in the springtime when I’m sure this section will be brimming with wildflowers! Our walk through the Schumacher House confirmed that Louis would have been considered a giant in the past. 🙂

We journeyed back towards the front of the garden, pausing to enjoy the tranquil Sacred Garden.

As you can see, the San Antonio Botanical Garden was already full of blooming tulips, colorful succulents, and more plants. I can only imagine how beautiful it will be in a few weeks when spring is in full swing!

If you’re looking for a fun, relaxing way to spend a day, I can’t recommend the San Antonio Botanical Garden enough! Have you ever visited? Did we miss any of your favorite parts?