Happy FRIDAY, the first Friday in December - and

w e l c o m e to Monday Morning Blooms! I know, it's Friday, but this is a special edition of our Monday Morning Blooms.

In celebration of our inaugural Monday Morning Blooms series, I'm kicking it off with this fabulous

GIVE AWAY for this beautiful

BRONZE MAGNOLIA WREATH

THE GIVE AWAY IS NOW OVER. Sorry!

Our Floral Friday has changed into Monday Morning Blooms - and our posts will be the 1st and 3d Monday of every month.

We have a few treats up our sleeves, the first of which is that our friend Yvonne of StoneGable has joined our circle of flower loving friends. I know you will all love Yvonne, and give her a warm welcome!

We are collaborating with Lynch Creek Farm, each of my blogging friends {ME, too!} is sharing their beautiful home with more decorating inspiration.

I hung my beautiful wreath on my office window in the front garden.

To decorate our front garden for Christmas, I hung the beautiful Bronze Magnolia wreath from Lynch Creek Farm! Lynch Creek Farm wreaths are so fresh, they cut the evergreens from the forests in their "backyard" of the great Pacific Northwest.

Each handcrafted holiday wreath is full and lush, they smell divine!

Care instructions are included on the box for wreath longevity. In colder climates or northern states, wreaths will last about 6-8 weeks. In dry climates or southern states, wreaths will last about 4 weeks.

To help your wreath last as long as it possibly can, be sure to mist the back of the wreath with water every two to three days. The evergreens will drink the water, making them more fragrant and live longer.

After unpacking, I placed the wreath on our little wood table to put the batteries in the lantern. It's what sold me on this particular wreath, how charming is that light?? You can adjust the level of light from a low glowing light, to a high beacon of holiday cheer, too.

This Bronze Magnolia Wreath combines Southern magnolia leaves, bay leaves, white pine, noble fir, cedar, champagne ornament clusters, and ponderosa pine cones. The gorgeous gilt edged and sparkling bow adds just the right finishing touch.

I love how this little bronze lantern shines at night, it has such a cheerful glow! I really wanted to hang this beautiful wreath there, on our front bay window, right by our little wood garden set. Since I didn't want to climb on the roof {last year I managed to get two black eyes for Christmas!!} I used one of those handy removable "Command" hooks from the hardware store and it works great on the glass pane.

This little seating area is the perfect spot to curl up under a wooly throw blanket, drink some hot chocolate and have some holiday treats. Our weather is often temperate enough even in December to sit out here mid-day with a cup of holiday coffee and get some inspiration from my favorite holiday books.

This little chocolate cake is faux - because unless you are joining me, I'd eat it all by myself! I love these "fun" cakes, they look so great in my holiday kitchen on display with my antique cake stands and glass dome covers.

And unlike the real thing, there is zero chance of me cutting "just one tiny slice" and then giving myself a side-eyed look in the mirror when that tiny slice morphed into the whole cake! { there are still a few of them on sale here. }

Now, please join me inside the living room so I can show you how I created a stunning focal point on the French commode where I serve holiday tea. I was inspired by the beautiful GOLDEN MAGNOLIA CENTERPIECE arrangement. It was so easy, I'm surprised I never thought of this before.

This pretty centerpiece was made with a pre-made fresh Christmas arrangement from Lynch Creek Farm.

It came boxed and ready to be used, it smells divine! The beautiful glowing gold pillar candle was included too.

I placed the arrangement on an antique French ironstone compote, and set that on my silver tray. A few glass ornaments in silver, white and gold on the tray is all it needed to give this area holiday magic!

I added the mercury glass hurricane to play up the silver of our antique silver tea set that is displayed on the same commode.

This Christmas centerpiece was put together in no time. And if you water the greens, it will stay this beautiful for the whole Christmas season. Really, how easy is that?

You can create a centerpiece as easy as this one, too, just order your favorite centerpiece from

Lynch Creek Farm, find a container to put it in and add flowers, ornaments, or ribbon, place it on a tray with other elements, and you've created holiday magic!

Easy. Beautiful.

GIVE AWAY NOW CLOSED. CONGRATULATIONS TO JUNE S in Idaho!

The Monday Morning Blooms with Lynch Creek Farm tour line up is:

MONDAY

MARY ~ ~ ~ HOME IS WHERE THE BOAT IS

TUESDAY

SHIRLEY -Housepitality Designs

WEDNESDAY

PAM ~ ~ ~ EVERYDAY LIVING

THURSDAY

YVONNE ~ ~ ~ STONEGABLE

FRIDAY

ME ~ ~ ~ FrenchGardenHouse

à bientôt