On February 3, 2011 I woke up at 6:45 to get ready for work.  I had my first OTH job.

A couple weekends ago I was at brunch with a group of ladies I was meeting for the first time.  They were a wonderfully sweet and a great group of women.  During the conversation it came out that one of the ladies, Michelle, owns a flower company Flora Couture by Flora 2000.  “OH! HOW WONDERFUL!!”  I squealed!  “I have ALWAY wanted to work in a flower shop!”  The idea of it is so romantic.  Creating gorgeous, decorative pieces of floral art for someone’s lover, friend or mother.  My fingers were laced and my hands under my chin as I dreamed of myself in a flower shop, a French woman singing on the radio and a little bell above the door ringing every time a man in a top hat walked in to pick up roses…

When I came back to reality I heard Michelle extend the offer: “Come to my shop, I’ll put you to work.”  A little too loud I inquired if she was serious (“FOR REAL?!?”)  Yes, but she wanted me to be clear that it is not the same as the fantasy that I had just had –it’s work she said. “Yeah right!”  I though… “Yeah, I know.” I said with a smile.

After a few days of planning we settled on a Wednesday for my first and only day of work.   Alarm set, I cozied into Matt, closed my eyes and waited… and waited… and waited to fall asleep.  It was just so frickin’ cold.  Plus I had downed a huge glass of water right before I climbed in bed.  So I was laying there in the freezing cold, with a strong urge to pee, and my tummy was a bit disturbed from the massive amounts of water.  At 3:30 I decided to get up to pee and charge my phone. (TMI? Calm down, everyone charges their phone sometimes) ;)

At about 3:45 I decided that working the following day would be a huge mistake.  So I texted to ask for the day off.

I crossed my fingers that Michelle would be understanding.  I tried to text-convey that I really really REALLY wanted to truly be able to enjoy my time there, not to mention that I really wanted to do a good job for her and her team.  I also let her know that I was aware that calling in sick on my first (and only) day of work was really crappy.  I was praying that she would not question my work ethic as I hit send.

When my alarm went off at 6:45 I saw that she had texted back “no worries” and “Thursday is fine”.  With that settled I turned off my alarm and finally had some blissful sleep.

That brings us to Thursday, the morning of my first OTH job.  At 6:45 sharp, after a night of solid sleep, I awoke to prep for work.  Michelle was kind enough to pick me up and we arrived at her shop Flora Couture by Floral 2000 around 8:30am.  First things first, I needed to fill out some emergency contact info JIC.  Once that was done it was off to be introduced.  There was some general confusion as to  why I was there, but after an hour or so the day was in full effect and nobody had the time to worry about me anymore.  Nobody except Lisa, sweet Lisa, who was responsible for training me and keeping me busy all day.  Fortunately, with Valentines day only just over a week away there was plenty of work to do.  I started by pricing some of the goodies they sell: chocolate covered deliciousnesses, edible wearables, and the rows of crackers, spreads and meats.

I was dying to get my hands on some flowers, but was gently informed that the Designers were the ones that put together the arrangments.  Okay, so I’d have to work my way toward that.  The more pressing job was that a box of about a million teddy bears had come in and needed to be priced and displayed.  I loved immersing myself in a world of Teddy Bears for a bit and by the time I was finished it was lunch.

Lunch with Michelle gave me some time to discover how she got into the flower business.  Turns out she was always in it (a common thread of the people that I spoke to that day).  Her mom worked in the industry in LA and though she moved away for a bit, she found her way to Vegas and back to flowers.

Lunch was over and I was able to help prep some of the arrangements for VDay, YAY!  My job was to cut soaking wet foam (coolest stuff ever!  it’s just like cutting cake) and wrapping it in ribbon.  Place that in a small vase and surround that with marbles or stones.  Then I put these big leaves around the top of the foam to cover it completly.  I must say that I was quite proud of my work.  I think they looked fantastic. (My beauties can be seen on the table in the right of the photo)

My time spent with the decorators, William, Lisa, & Jessica, aka Will-a-lis-ica, allowed me to get to know them a bit more.  (William created the amazing arrangement that is in the post picture. Sorry I had to chop the top off of the picture!) Willalisica are a very funny and fun bunch!  There was dancing, singing and joking all day.  I have a feeling they were trying to be more behaved since I was there.  I had such a wonderful time with them!

Flora Couture is unique.  They are not the place you go to when you want a dozen blah roses mixed with plain jane babies breath.  No no no!  These Designers are incorporating wood, metal, leave, stones, moss and almost anything they fancy into their arrangements.  I loved the unique and gorgeous arrangements that I saw there.  I was impressed each time someone finished a new work of art.

It was a delight to get to spend the day with them.  I asked if I could come back and was given a thumbs up.  Sadly, there was not another opportunity.  I will always be grateful to Michelle for allowing me to spend the day playing in her floral shop.  And to Willalisica for letting me make-believe “Designer” with them for a day. Especially thanks to Lisa who took the time all day to keep me busy and entertained.

Till next time!

xoxo

Rosy Posy Breezy.