floral friday: a new bloom + happy weekend.

hello! this week was a bit of a weird funk no? it really felt like we got two mondays and two fridays with new year's day falling on wednesday. not that i'm complaining! and last night we got dumped with snow so we woke up to quite a sight. 

i have been secretly waiting for today to roll around as quickly as possible because i'm pretty excited for this new photography project created by trishie over at under lock and key called floral fridays. it's a monthly challenge {every first friday of the month} to photograph and write about flowers with a set theme. and appropriately, since this month is all about fresh starts, the first floral friday centers on the theme "a new bloom." 

i was at trader joe's the other day and spotted pots of these beautiful zygo cacti. i usually buy weekly bouquets for our home, and was about to pick up some hydrangeas but something about these made me do a double take. i thought how different they were {i have never cared for them before}, i thought of my upcoming floral friday post {they should be neat to photograph}, i was thinking about 2014 and to new beginnings and this cactus just seemed like the right choice to take home with me. 

i think this cactus represents how i look at the new year. i don't know how the pretty little buds will bloom or what the big picture/whole cactus bloom will look like either, just as i don't know what each day of the year will bring me or what the entire year will look like. and while i may not have the greenest thumb, i am determined to care for it so that it may grow and bloom into a healthy, strong and beautiful cactus flower. i'm sure there may be some browning of petals, but that's kind of like life isn't it? not everything turns out pretty. some days are rougher than others. and while i care for this the best that i can, i certainly will make sure that i nurture myself and our family so that 2014 may turn out to be our best year yet. are you all with me on this? {yes? yes? yes?}

but before i look too far ahead, this weekend i'm hoping to enjoy some time taking photos outdoors and perhaps baking some cookies. yangkyu and i also started exercising last week and hope to continue it throughout the weekend. what are you all up to? hope it's a fun one. 

// Floral Fridays is a monthly photography project with different themes each month. This series is about fun and taking time out to smell the flowers. To play along, please email Trishie (trishie [at] underlockandkeyblog [dot] com) for next month's theme.

 // linkytools is going a little nuts on me so linking up with under lock and key's floral fridays photography project.