At the beginning of the Summer we took a family trip back to North Carolina and stayed the week with our friends, Justin and Mary. When we arrived I noticed there was a cute bouquet of nice, but expired flowers in a mason jar. The next morning the flowers were gone, replaced with fresh new flowers from the local farmer's market. Turned out that was their routine, fresh flowers every Saturday. My husband liked this idea and implemented the routine in our house the week we returned from our vacation. It's a great way to bring something new but not permanent into the house every week. Another added and unexpected bonus is that the flowers provide me with a load of creative inspiration. The past few weeks I have felt compelled to illustrate Saturday's flowers. It's my way of keeping them around past their expiration. 

I've also been using these bouquets as an opportunity to explore two things I have a tendency to avoid mostly out of laziness; watercolors and still life. Here's a line I recently scribbled into my sketchbook while reflecting on the topic: 

"I used to avoid drawing from life. I found it limiting when in reality everywhere I look I see limitless inspiration. My eyes must have been closed. The beauty is in life."