A nice floral arrangement can transform a living space and transform my mood.  However, these days I’m ballin’ on a budget–and flowers definitely fall on the side of expendable luxury.  The solution:  by shopping at my local florist, I’ve found a way to get my flowers on the cheap.

Chevy Chase Florist has an amazing weekend deal:  from Friday afternoon through closing on Sunday, all cut flowers are 50% off.  They range in price but some of the less expensive flowers are as low as $1 or $2 per stem.

Around my birthday, I went in to the shop twice.  Both times I picked out the flowers I liked from the cooler, with help from the staff, and the men who helped me were nice enough to tie up my flowers into a pretty bouquet.  One visit my total was about $11, the other visit I spent even less.  You can’t beat a custom bouquet for $10!  And I will gladly move away from my go-to grocery store flowers for something a little more personalized.

Something as simple as sitting on my couch feels at least 5x more sophisticated when I have a beautiful vase of flowers on the coffee table.  I don’t know the magic of it, that’s just how it is!

My floral tip:  whether I’m working with real flowers or sugar flowers, I always include some white in my arrangement.  It just pops!  I find white incredibly chic, plus it usually makes for a beautiful contrast with the dark green and the more brightly pigmented flowers.