All Souls Day - A Catholic Holiday

As I hang some more decorations for Halloween and also for Thanksgiving, I suddenly remember that around this time most Catholics are preparing for another holiday - the observance of All Souls Day.
In contrast to halloween, All Souls Day is not about ghosts, ghouls, goblins or monsters or the dark, cold, gray skies and eery air. In the Philippines, a week or two before this holiday, my mother, my sisters and I would go to the cemetery and clean the gravesite of my brother and a niece. We pulled weeds, cleaned and repainted the graves in preparation for the day. A day before All Souls Day, we went to the market to buy flowers and candles and also ingredients for rice cake. On All Souls Day we first went to church and then head on to the cemetery with our flowers and candles and rice cake. The road to the cemetery was full of people, cars, jeepneys and the sidewalks had vendors selling flowers and candles. It was a day set aside to remember our dearly departed and this tradition is passed on to the next generation. Now, I realize that this holiday was observed by our parents and their parents to remember their loved ones, prayed for the souls of the dead and those of us that are living.

It's been years since I have celebrated this holiday. When I moved to the US, I had learned to celebrate halloween instead. My children have not seen the rituals that we in the Philippines observed and enjoyed. My sister and her family continue the tradition of going to the cemetery where my parents are buried. My excuse is - I live too far from the cemetery and before that, I lived in another state.

Now, I understand what the tradition was supposed to be. Prayers and masses are offered for the dearly departed's repose of their soul. Flowers serve as a living memory reminding us that once these people had remained close to us and they, like us, had once been fascinated by the beauty and color of life. Lighted candles likewise signify that the love, hope and joy they shared with people they had left behind shall be kept forever burning and alive even though they may have found their destiny somewhere or even in the arms of the Heavenly Father.

Flowers for a funeral

It is common knowledge that death is inevitable but when it comes, no one is ready for it's occurence specially for those that are left behind. Then, not all deaths is the same; some are logical and some are illogical. It seems it would be easier to cope when a loved one has lived a long and fruitful life and dies quietly in his/her sleep. If a death was so sudden and tragic, the love ones left behind will require more to cope with their loss. To express sympathy and sincere compassion, and respect for the deceased, sending flowers is very appropriate .

Flowers bring comfort to the loved ones left behind to grieve and commemorate the life of the deceased. They provide a beautiful and thoughtful distraction from the grief of survivors. They express gratitude for life and for the privilege of knowing the departed. And sympathy designs (flowers sent for a funeral) ought to be as special and unique as the life of the person they memorialize. To suggest that flowers are trivial or unimportant to the grieving process is to deny the truth of their message: life always goes on.

In some obituaries, the words "in lieu of flowers" are mentioned seemingly suggesting that flowers are not important. The same sentiment would never be expressed with respect to the dead. And while a contribution to charity in the name of the deceased is always a fitting tribute, the value and importance of flowers sent in sympathy can never be understated. Of course, you can rely on your local florist to help you express your sympathy; they will deliver flowers with your comforting message of condolence and your love and concern.

Joys of a Wedding, Sacramento Florist

The mother of the groom for one of the recent weddings we worked on last month came for a visit today with a thank you card, and a wedding favor and the wedding album.
She mentioned that the bride loved her bouquet and the guests expressed that they were very impressed with the flowers and the decorations for the wedding event and the reception.
There were a lot of pictures of the flowers and she promised to provide me with a copy of the disk so that I can use it as a portfolio. The result of a professional photography makes all the difference and shows the beauty of the professionally arranged bouquets. It makes for a happy closure to the week and helps keep the joys of being a Sacramento florist, and a small entrepreneur.

Surviving this Down Economy - Strategies of a Small Flower Shop

This year, instead of focusing on being succesful and profitable, we are striving to survive and outlast our new and old competitors. With this in mind, I am sharing our strategy so that small business owners like me also survive this down economy we are now in.

Our strategies:
- Provide superior products and services at very reasonable price
- Develop a bond with customers, and vendors,
- Celebrate milestones, and share not only with clients but also with vendors,
- Acknowledge and show appreciation to loyal customers and also to vendors
- Share our expertise in flower arranging, plant care, care of fresh flowers and knowledge of gift giving.

- Network with other business owners and know that each one can depend on one another for encouragement and the knowledge that we all exist in a very challending economic time.
- Donate flowers for charitable causes. Flowers bring out smiles, encouragement, motivation, and joy.
Bright Cheery Bouquet by A Vanity Fair Florist

Summer of Recovery?

Summer of recovery? It's a statement coming from the government, repeated by the POTUS and the VPOTUS as they stomp around the country campaigning and fund raising. Is it really a summer of recovery?

We made a delivery the other day to a small shop. My husband stayed a while to visit with the store manager and asked how business is going. He said that business is really slow and they have experienced several theft that they have a new policy that customers have to leave their handbag at the front desk. He also mentioned that there's another small business which now locks their doors and have their customers ring their doorbell to get in to get their service. The Teriyaki Place we loved to go for lunch didn't survive, they finally closed in June. I suspect another flowershop closed because I got 3 phone calls this week from people seeking employment. Ever since I was burglarized, I've started locking my doors and have customers ring the doorbell if they need flowers. Besides, most of my customers make their flower order over the phone or on the web.
Here in Sacramento, our economy depend so much on state and government employees. For small businesses like a flower shop, our fear is that business will be affected negatively with the impending furloughs. Furloughs ended in June but because of the inability of the legislators to come up with a budget on time, the governor uses the state employees as pawns.
So, is it a summer of recovery? Most small business owners don't think so, especially when you know personally someone who is laid off.

In the Loss of Life

Death is inevitable, but for those of us who are left behind, we are not always prepared when it happens. As a florist, we see a lot of death, from a distance. The bereaved come in to order flowers to honor their loved one or friends and relatives that are far away call for their flower order either for delivery to the family home or to the service at a church or a funeral home.

Last week, a sister of the deceased came in to order flowers for the memorial service. She mentioned that the family is raising funds for the funeral by doing car washes and appealing to their church for help. A church member came in the next day to put in a deposit. The living sister called and promised to pay the rest the next day. However, the day of the memorial, I called but there was no answer. Two hours before the memorial service, she called to say that her mother went to another florist and ordered flowers. She proceeded to say she'll come in to pay for the rest of her balance, but that we don't have to deliver the flowers. I told her, since we haven't yet delivered the flowers, she doesn't have to come in to pay for the flowers. I wonder what the family is going through and it seems that the loss of their loved one has created misunderstanding and hard feelings.

I usually go through the Obituary section of the paper. A week ago, I saw that one of our accounts lost her husband. I knew he was going through cancer treatments, yet, the news of his death still took me by surprise. Yesterday, I saw that another of our good customers just passed away. I know she's old and lost her husband last year. Her husband used to buy flowers for her and her children, now they're both gone and it saddens me because I have lost two dear friends.

What helps in the healing process is my faith in God and saying a prayer for the loved ones of the deceased. It also reminds me to be grateful of my living dear friends, relatives and loved ones.

Gentle Thoughts by Sacramento Florist

Sacramento Florist Going Green

Flowers bring the romance with all its fragrance - sweet, soft, or strong scent, and they come in really pretty colors, and in many shapes. This month of March brings the color GREEN for the St. Patrick's Day celebration. We use green carnations, green mums, green gladiola and lots of greenery in our arrangements.

St. Patrick's Day brings us all to wearing green even if we're not Irish. We celebrate it on Thursday, March 17, 2010. And to all the Patricks and Patricias or Patty's, we celebrate your day with you!
Let's drink Ale to that!

And speaking of green, we either put the stems and leaves cut off from our flowers and greens into the green pile and into the greens trash bin but mostly into our compost pile. We recycle all our newspaper and the paper wrappings that our flowers are wrapped with by the wholesalers and all the cardboard boxes that our vases come in. We try to be responsible stewards of our environment and our land.

Flowers from the Heart, Sacramento Florist delivers for you

Valentine's Day is over, Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday celebration has started and the joy that love brings continue. Actually, Mardi Gras is the day of merrymaking, outrageous parades and carnivals in New Orleans, Paris and other cities. For Catholics, it is a day before Lent - a time of penance, prayer, preparation for or recollection of baptism, and preparation for the celebration of Easter. For Christians, it is the love Of Jesus for all people that He suffered, was crucified and then resurrected on Easter.

For some of us, sending flowers to loved ones anytime of the year shows how special we think of them.

Whether it's pure joy or pure love, this gorgeous arrangement of white roses and lilies is surely the right choice.

Visit our shop today or online at www.avanityfairflorist.com. Fresh flowers at affordable prices, we hand deliver your order in a very timely manner in and around Sacramento, CA.

Open February 14 Valentines Day, Sunday

We will be open for deliveries on Sunday Valentine's Day. So, order your valentine flowers or valentine gifts early before we run out. Your loved ones will appreciate early deliveries to their workplace. Show your love and announce it to the world - with flowers!

We deliver promptly in Sacramento, call us directly or order online.

Wedding Celebrations

There are special occasions when people want to share the joy - holidays like Christmas, personal achievement celebration such as quinceneara or Bar mitzvah, or a grand occasion such as a wedding. In these occasions, we love to entertain family and friends and a floral centerpiece on the table provides a touch of elegance, color and sophistication.

The centerpiece could be simple but stunning.

This centerpiece relies on the magical combination of the soft light in the tall vase. This centerpiece is of white lilies, roses, delphinium, lisianthus, curly willow on a tall cylinder vase with submerged light that adds magic to a very wonderful evening of a joyful celebration of a new beginning.

Wedding in Sacramento California January 9, 2010

Winter weddings warm our hearts during these cold, cloudy, dark and dreary days. We haven't noticed the cloudy days the last few days because we were busy preparing for the wedding and the Martin Luther King celebration at the Convention Center. The wedding was about the same time as the MLK event but the flowers for the wedding party were needed in the morning for picture taking, and the flowers for the reception were delivered at the Commons Clubhouse on our way to St. Mark's Methodist Church to deliver the church decorations, pew bows, and unity candles. The flowers and decorations for MLK were needed at 2 p.m. for the 5:30 event. We helped set up the garlands, the centerpieces and the green plants and finally left after an hour and a half. It was an exhausting but a very fulfilled day.

Congratulations to Ruthie and Mark, our best wishes to you both. I am personally amazed at Becky for her work on the bouquets and was very glad to have her work with me. Becky came all the way from Atlantic City, New Jersey to help with her niece's wedding flowers. I met Becky on a forum for florists, and I feel blessed to have met her in person and help her out on this very special occasion, one which I am sure will be remembered by her family here in Sacramento.

New Year, New Decade, New beginnings, a New Way of Life

Happy New Year to everyone! As we look forward to a new year and a new decade, most of us resolve to improve our lives by making new year's resolutions either to quit bad habits or addictions, or a change of lifestyle for the better.

The year that's behind us seem to have gone so fast and the economy gone downhill and the only item going up was unemployment. And with that, we've had to adjust to a new way of life.

The author, H. Jackson Brown Jr. compiled and created over 500 axioms of counsel and personal observation that he hoped would provide a road map for his college bound son. Here are a few that seem particularly appropriate for us all to add to our new year's resolutions:

1. Complement 3 people every day.
2. Look people in the eye.
3. Say "thank you" a lot.
4. Live beneath your means.
5. Never refuse homemade brownies.
6. Surprise loved ones with little unexpected gifts.
7. Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring and integrity, they think of you.
8. Admit your mistakes.
9. Make it a habit to do nice things for people who will never find out.
10 Always have something beautiful in sight, even if it's just a daisy in a jelly glass!
11. Pray not for things, but for wisdom and courage.
12. Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.
13. Never eat the last cookie.
14. Call your mother.

Added to my own list: Be more informed about your government to make sure that democracy prevails and our freedoms preserved not taken away by the government.

Here's to a joyful, peaceful, and hopeful new decade.
Happy New Year!

A Vanity Fair is a Favorite Place on Google

We're so pleased to get a packet from Google declaring and congratulating us for being a favorite place that people searched for and requested driving directions and other information about us - a real local Sacramento florist.

We have a window decal with a special bar code that any customer can scan with their phone cameras, i.e., iphone or Droid to get more information about our flower shop. Better yet, after scanning our bar code, come on in and get a free gift from us. This offer is good beginning now 12/16/2009 until 12/31/2009.
We worked hard to get recognized, and we thank our customers and those who found us on Google. Our heartfelt thanks to Google for this recognition. This is truly an early Merry Christmas!

Flowers, Food and Celebrations

Holidays are special occasions for friends and family - our loved ones to get together and catch up. It seems, during these special occasion of family and close friends gathering, flowers, food and celebrations have always been old companions as well. Creative centerpieces adorning dining tables make the gathering more festive, lively and very inviting. You can pick up beautifully and professionally designed centerpiece at your local florist. In Sacramento, if you want to stay indoors during the cold and dreary rainy day, call your local Sacramento florist to deliver your flowers.

During the hustle and bustle of the holiday preparations, we wish you all peace, joy, and love. And remember, for last minute gifts, call your local florist who can artistically put together a gift for a host or a loved one.

Flowers brighten, lengthen, life

A small arrangement was sent to a "seasoned" lady, a mixture of lavender stock that gave the display a very sweet scent, purple iris, purple lisianthus, novii belgii, a touch of yellow with the solidaster and bupleurum. Her fellow residents shared in her joy of receiving the gift of flowers, and in their awe of the beauty of the gift. This joy was really appreciated that she was compelled to give us a call to express her thanks for a beautiful gift of flowers.

I can imagine how these seasoned residents reacted, just like in a favorite children's mother goose rhyme "ring a ring o' roses", in their wheelchair, surrounded the recipient to look at the gift of flowers she received. The visual is funny, and gives us joy, the rewards of our work as a florist.

The Little Way

The Little Way

To scatter flowers! -- that means sacrifice:
My lightest sighs and pains, my heaviest, saddest hours,
My hopes, my joys, my prayers -- I will not count the price,
Behold my flowers!
To scatter flowers! --behold my chosen sword
for saving sinners' souls and filling Heaven's bowers:
The victory is mine - yes, I disarm Thee, Lord,
With these, my flowers!
- St. Therese of Lisieux

Funerals - When Someone You Know Dies

The floral business for everyday occasion has slowed down because of the economy, but lately, there has been a lot of last minute orders for sympathy flowers. Some of the customers that ordered flowers were relatives who were unable to attend the service. Some of our customers after taking care of the funeral arrangements realize the very last minute that they did not take care of flowers; so they order flowers at 10 a.m. for the 12 noon service. We've dealt with a lot of funerals lately where people order on the last minute because they see that there are very few flowers. On these occasions, we do not feel very sympathetic and are very removed of any feeling except the thought of making the floral arrangement very attractive for the service in the amount of time we have to work with.

But when someone you know dies, it is very different. The initial shock and the feeling of sympathy for the loved one left behind is hard to express. Someone I barely knew died and circumstances around his death is something I can't fathom how his loved ones must have felt. The distance could have created a barrier in helping out the loved ones left behind cope with their grief and the burden of making the final funeral arrangements. One friend, a fraternity brother, volunteered to collect contributions and with his sister took care of facilitating financial help from the mainland US to the Philippines. Technology has bridged the gap, and I really appreciate that it took fraternity/sorority brothers and sisters share in the grief of the loss of a big brother, the founder of the fraternity.

The death has brought together long lost frat brothers and sisters. Thank you Manong Glen!

Sacramento Florist - Change with the Economy

The last few months have become very challenging for small businesses like florists. Driving to work, it is very discomforting to see empty commercial spaces and large 'For Lease' signs on windows, and on the side of roads. Next to our shop, there used to be no parking space to be had; trucks and cars used to park on the street. In March, a large construction painting company just closed their shop and now there's a lot of empty parking spaces.

Our flower business is down by at least 20% for the first quarter of the year and it looks like it would be the same for the second quarter. Brides have become very cost conscious - those that came to us ordered only the basic flowers they needed - bridal bouquet, small bridesmaids bouquets, small corsages and boutonnieres, and loose flowers or rose petals that they will use for table decorations. We've had a few nice wedding business, but a lot fewer this year than last. We particularly loved the wedding we did last month where we did centerpieces including the guest sign-in table, food table and the ladies' bathroom. The chuppah was a challenge to make but in a good way.

The funeral business has also slowed down. Families have also become more cost conscious in their flower purchases. We had one family order loose flowers and materials for a relative to arrange the flowers for the service. Fortunately, there are still a few that we were able to do, a recent one were tropical arrangements for a funeral.

We have hunkered down, downsized as much as we are able to, and still continue to operate the business without going into debt. We are still able to pay our bills, mortgage for the shop and our residence. Still, the economy does not look good. In Sacramento, our economy depend so much on the government - it is the biggest employer, and with Friday furloughs, not only are the government employees affected, a lot of businesses are affected - restaurants, gift shops, etc.

We are hoping the economy improves, but if not, we will continue to watch our expenses, market our business the most economical way and hopefully find ways to do it for free, and find additional corporate accounts. We look for best pricing in flowers so that we can offer the best price to our customers. Our best asset will still be our customer service and our same day delivery service.

Local Florist in Sacramento, CA

We are in a challenging economic environment. A Vanity Fair Florist used to be located in a leased space in a strip mall in Citrus Heights on the corner of Auburn and Greenback Lane. During those years we were there, we were burglarized several times, along with cash, our cash register was stolen, door lock broken and had to be repaired, windows needed to be replaced. Any plant or item left outside the shop would disappear and after our lease was up, our lease was about to go up. Burglary on other businesses nearby was occurring quite often.

The bad economy also discouraged people to walk into a flower shop. Because of all these problems, we decided to buy our own commercial property - a little old house in a commercial lot situated between an office building and an auto repair shop and facing the FBI and the Sacramento Sheriff's department. Unfortunately, we bought it at the height of the real estate boom. We are now upside down on the property and cannot find financing to update the property as of yet. However, we are still a running business because we are able to operate with lower overhead. There used to be a very nice shop called Conroy's located not too far from us on Madison Ave. Another shop rented a nice location not too far from us on Auburn Blvd. is also shut down.And yet another flower shop located on Garfield Ave. is also long gone. The economy forced us to move to our humble location, still serving our old customers and people sending flowers to funerals at East Lawn Sierra Hills Cemetery and to Calvary Catholic Cemetery. We also deliver to Reichert's Funeral and Price Funeral Home in Citrus Heights. We service Merrill Gardens in Citrus Heights, CA, the Carmichael Oaks Retirement Home in Carmichael, CA, the Atria El Camino Gardens also in Carmichael, and others. We provide weekly flowers and flowers for special occasions. Aside from flowers, we have balloons, plush toys, silk flowers, candles, greeting cards, plants, baskets, and floral supplies.

There is a real bad looking building that used to be a florist on the corner of Orange Grove and Auburn Blvd. It used to house a flower shop called Flower Station. It was abandoned in 2002 but remained listed in directories as Love N Touch until 2008. It has hand painted signs now faded that says - Roses, Valentines Flowers. I wonder if that is the building that Dina saw driving by and became passionate to write a review about A Vanity Fair Florist.

Sacramento Florist Helps you Celebrate your Secretary

Secretary is not the politically correct term anymore, but Administrative Assistant
or Administrative Professional is such a long term and the job entails basically the same skills and duties, that's why I used the short term for the title of this piece.

For every successful manager, success depends on the skillful and adept Administrative Assistant or Administrative Support Team.

Success starts with your Administrative Assistant. Share your success with your Assistant - Send Flowers, or plants!

Administrative Professional Week is celebrated the last week of April. This year it falls on the week of April 20th to the 26th. This holiday celebrates secretaries, administrative assistants, executive secretaries, receptionists, and all other administrative support staff. This holiday was started in 1952 to recognize those in the administrative support field, (in the old days were called secretarial staff) and encourage others to follow in that career path.

Show your support team how much they mean to you. Send them flowers to let them know you appreciate them. Flowers and balloons, and small plants are a great way to show your appreciation for that special person who supports you or your office. Your administrative professional would love to receive a beautiful floral arrangement to show your appreciation and give their busy desk a beautiful display.

Let them know how much you appreciate your support staff by sending them your gift of appreciation early in the week. If you decide to send flowers or plants, place your order on Monday for delivery on Monday or Tuesday. What ever you decide, use the services of local Sacramento businesses. If you need a florist, please give us a call and we'll take good care of your order and we will deliver promptly.