<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489</id><updated>2012-02-12T00:41:12.114-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Sarasota Flowers</title><subtitle type='html'>Your Guide to Flowers, Weddings, Special Events, Birthdays, Funerals and Anniversaries in Sarasota, Siesta Key, Osprey, Nokomis, Lakewood Ranch and surrounding areas.</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>30</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-1005495391231266473</id><published>2008-04-14T10:18:00.004-04:00</published><updated>2008-04-14T10:28:37.554-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Sarasota's Favorite Mom</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLM4l4UXDxI/SANpi9dqt_I/AAAAAAAAAAk/_RLjlKrWo0Y/s1600-h/Email2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189107244996409330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLM4l4UXDxI/SANpi9dqt_I/AAAAAAAAAAk/_RLjlKrWo0Y/s400/Email2.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; Help us find Sarasota's Favorite Mom by &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;submitting&lt;/span&gt; your favorite Mom to &lt;a href="http://www.sarasotasfavoritemom.com/"&gt;www.sarasotasfavoritemom.com&lt;/a&gt;. Once your photo is uploaded simply contact your friends, family and co-workers to help vote your Mother as Sarasota's favorite!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-1005495391231266473?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/1005495391231266473/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=1005495391231266473&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/1005495391231266473'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/1005495391231266473'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2008/04/sarasotas-favorite-mom.html' title='Sarasota&apos;s Favorite Mom'/><author><name>DaveBeneva</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLM4l4UXDxI/SANpi9dqt_I/AAAAAAAAAAk/_RLjlKrWo0Y/s72-c/Email2.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-5920492884778622191</id><published>2008-04-03T11:20:00.004-04:00</published><updated>2008-04-03T11:32:35.221-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Announcing the Celebration Gift Bag</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3662"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185041230634518834" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLM4l4UXDxI/R_T3hxm5iTI/AAAAAAAAAAU/PBvc-R72WU0/s200/LenoxBagRoses-Background.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Beneva Flowers is very proud to be able to offer an exquisite collectible just in time for Mother's Day. A beautifully crafted gift bag designed exclusively for &lt;a href="http://www.conforticollection.com/"&gt;The Conforti Collection&lt;/a&gt; by Lenox artisans. This cherished heirloom is trimmed in 24 carat gold and is delivered in a beautiful Lenox gift box.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We are proud to offer this gift bag with a variety of elegant arrangements. For Mother's Day we offer a wonderful &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3662"&gt;Rose arrangement&lt;/a&gt; or an Upgrade arrangement with &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3632"&gt;Roses and Orchids&lt;/a&gt;. However Mother's Day isn't the only time for celebration; choose form &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3635"&gt;Anniversary&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3635"&gt;Birthday,&lt;/a&gt; Autumn or &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3635"&gt;Everyday &lt;/a&gt;designs.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3669"&gt;Lenox Celebration Gift Bag&lt;/a&gt; will be offered exclusively at Beneva Flowers all year long. Whenever an occasion calls for an addition touch of elegance, send &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3669"&gt;The Celebration Gift Bag&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-5920492884778622191?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3632' title='Announcing the Celebration Gift Bag'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/5920492884778622191/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=5920492884778622191&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/5920492884778622191'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/5920492884778622191'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2008/04/announcing-celebration-gift-bag.html' title='Announcing the Celebration Gift Bag'/><author><name>DaveBeneva</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jLM4l4UXDxI/R_T3hxm5iTI/AAAAAAAAAAU/PBvc-R72WU0/s72-c/LenoxBagRoses-Background.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-6489286597421578081</id><published>2008-03-07T13:13:00.002-05:00</published><updated>2008-03-07T13:22:52.934-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Beneva at the Ballpark</title><content type='html'>&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175066855379183698" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 122px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 179px" height="230" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLM4l4UXDxI/R9GH4uPGKFI/AAAAAAAAAAM/XfEWj53RRbo/s320/0306081413a.jpg" width="165" border="0" /&gt;We here at Beneva Flowers are proud to be an active part of the Sarasota community. Yesterday we were proud to be a featured sponsor at Ed Smith Stadium during the Yankees and Reds game. Beneva Flowers Owner Arthur Conforti presented the RED fan of the game with beautiful bouquet of flowers. &lt;a href="http://spotted.heraldtribune.com/pages/gallery.php?gallery=312995"&gt;Check here&lt;/a&gt; to see all our photos form the game.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-6489286597421578081?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://spotted.heraldtribune.com/pages/gallery.php?gallery=312995' title='Beneva at the Ballpark'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/6489286597421578081/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=6489286597421578081&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/6489286597421578081'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/6489286597421578081'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2008/03/beneva-at-ballpark.html' title='Beneva at the Ballpark'/><author><name>DaveBeneva</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jLM4l4UXDxI/R9GH4uPGKFI/AAAAAAAAAAM/XfEWj53RRbo/s72-c/0306081413a.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-7346081207267122641</id><published>2008-02-05T15:40:00.000-05:00</published><updated>2008-02-05T15:44:00.026-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Announcing our "Be Mine" Video Valentine Contest</title><content type='html'>&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5163599612787321490" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/R6jKfWqIapI/AAAAAAAAADc/QfDufjE1MZs/s320/Main.jpg" border="0" /&gt;Valentine’s Day is the time of year when you express how you really feel to those close to you. What better way to do that than with a romantic video! By entering Beneva’s “Be Mine” Valentine Video Contest you can make this Valentine’s Day extra special for your loved one.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Simply create a video message asking your would be Valentine to "BE MINE," remember to be creative, sincere and loving! All registered members of &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/"&gt;Beneva.com&lt;/a&gt; will have the opportunity to not only submit a video but also vote for the very best. You may only vote for each entry once. So get your family and friends over to &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/"&gt;Beneva.com&lt;/a&gt; and sign up to vote!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Prizes:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Grand Prize Winner&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;, One lucky participant will walk away with a &lt;strong&gt;$500 gift card to BedandBreakfast.com&lt;/strong&gt; - for use at any participating B&amp;amp;B WORLDWIDE!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;First Runner-Up&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;, One individual will be awarded a &lt;strong&gt;$250 Spa Package from SpaFinder.com.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Second Runner-Up&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;, Another participant will be awarded &lt;strong&gt;$100 Regal Theater Gift Card&lt;/strong&gt;, for use at any Regal Movie Theater.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-7346081207267122641?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.beneva.com/contests/valentine' title='Announcing our &quot;Be Mine&quot; Video Valentine Contest'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/7346081207267122641/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=7346081207267122641&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/7346081207267122641'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/7346081207267122641'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2008/02/announcing-our-be-mine-video-valentine.html' title='Announcing our &quot;Be Mine&quot; Video Valentine Contest'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/R6jKfWqIapI/AAAAAAAAADc/QfDufjE1MZs/s72-c/Main.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-6779394497788812246</id><published>2008-01-22T14:19:00.000-05:00</published><updated>2008-01-22T14:24:34.431-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Just when you thought you had seen it all...</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/R5ZCjhB61ZI/AAAAAAAAADU/2t53zwtiYJQ/s1600-h/Beneva-Elvis.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5158383601128756626" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/R5ZCjhB61ZI/AAAAAAAAADU/2t53zwtiYJQ/s200/Beneva-Elvis.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;This &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/category.cfm/catID/84"&gt;Valentine's Day&lt;/a&gt;, have a &lt;a href="http://www.dominiclive.com/"&gt;professional ELVIS impersonator&lt;/a&gt; hand deliver your roses and serenade your Valentine with favorites like, "Love Me Tender," "Can't Help Falling in Love With You," "All Shook Up," and a medley of "Teddy Bear" and "Don't be Cruel." Imagine the fun at the office or any place of business!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you really want to show your special someone how sweet you think they are, then have the Deluxe Package delivered by adding a decedent box of Godiva Chocolates.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Still not convinced your Valentine will be “All Shook Up?” Then go all out and send the Love Me Tender Ultimate Package that includes a bottle of wine, a box of Godiva Chocolates, and a Dozen roses all delivered by a serenading Elvis!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There are only a &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3524"&gt;limited amount of deliveries&lt;/a&gt; available for this special promotion. After all, there is only one "KING" right?&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-6779394497788812246?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3524' title='Just when you thought you had seen it all...'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/6779394497788812246/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=6779394497788812246&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/6779394497788812246'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/6779394497788812246'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2008/01/just-when-you-thought-you-had-seen-it.html' title='Just when you thought you had seen it all...'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/R5ZCjhB61ZI/AAAAAAAAADU/2t53zwtiYJQ/s72-c/Beneva-Elvis.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-7842729002207545414</id><published>2007-12-07T09:24:00.001-05:00</published><updated>2007-12-12T14:32:52.645-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Enter our Holiday Photo Contest and win over a $1,000 in prizes</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/contests/Holiday_Fun_Photo_Contest"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.crimsonmonkey.com/Beneva/Xmas-Photo-2.jpg" border="0"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-7842729002207545414?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.beneva.com/contests/Holiday_Fun_Photo_Contest' title='Enter our Holiday Photo Contest and win over a $1,000 in prizes'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/7842729002207545414/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=7842729002207545414&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/7842729002207545414'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/7842729002207545414'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2007/12/enter-our-holiday-photo-contest-and-win.html' title='Enter our Holiday Photo Contest and win over a $1,000 in prizes'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-40718909094274586</id><published>2007-12-03T09:11:00.000-05:00</published><updated>2007-12-03T09:23:54.225-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Boxed Flowers Ordered Online</title><content type='html'>At Beneva Flowers presentation and customer satisfaction is very important to everyone here. That's why we were amazed when it was brought to our attention how our competition from the "Big Name" online companies send out their product. Sure they offer discount prices for what appears to be beautiful arrangements. However once you watch this video you might begin to realize how much love and care local florist put into their products and that maybe that online price isn't really a deal after all.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;object width="425" height="355"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/brzya0F3sVw&amp;rel=1"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="wmode" value="transparent"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/brzya0F3sVw&amp;rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-40718909094274586?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brzya0F3sVw' title='Boxed Flowers Ordered Online'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/40718909094274586/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=40718909094274586&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/40718909094274586'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/40718909094274586'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2007/12/boxed-flowers-ordered-online.html' title='Boxed Flowers Ordered Online'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-2708281798079319725</id><published>2007-11-26T11:20:00.000-05:00</published><updated>2007-11-26T12:20:17.531-05:00</updated><title type='text'>The Holiday Season Has Arrived!</title><content type='html'>&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137198640701615106" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/R0r-8hejrAI/AAAAAAAAAC0/drTVoQ1HJ9o/s200/C716.jpg" border="0" /&gt;With Thanksgiving now officially over and "Black Friday" kicking off the Holiday Shopping Season we are now officially entering the most wonderful time of year. With the celebration Hanukkah and Christmas we are often looking for just the right gift to express our love to our friends and family, or even that perfect addition to our home that brings the Holidays to life. &lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/R0r_CxejrBI/AAAAAAAAAC8/t77cinZC1d0/s1600-h/BW901.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137198748075797522" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/R0r_CxejrBI/AAAAAAAAAC8/t77cinZC1d0/s200/BW901.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hanukkah starts December 5th this year and is a glorious is celebration for eight days and nights. T&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/R0r-vxejq_I/AAAAAAAAACs/9me2Zw2PwmA/s1600-h/C77.jpg"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;his beautiful festival of lights is an ancient tradition which celebrates dedication to God. This year we are offering beautiful &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/2710"&gt;centerpieces&lt;/a&gt;, appropriate &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3306"&gt;arrangements&lt;/a&gt;, and &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3431"&gt;treats&lt;/a&gt; for everyone.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/R0r_PxejrCI/AAAAAAAAADE/GPLh8YyzMOI/s1600-h/C77.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137198971414096930" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/R0r_PxejrCI/AAAAAAAAADE/GPLh8YyzMOI/s200/C77.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Christmas falls on a Tuesday this year and is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas is also meant to celebrate and spread goodwill and peace. This year we are offering an array of beautiful &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3464"&gt;arrangements&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3301"&gt;centerpieces&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3300"&gt;cubes&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3297"&gt;poinsettia plants&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/category.cfm/catID/25"&gt;much more&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/R0r_hRejrDI/AAAAAAAAADM/4bQOg11Ae3M/s1600-h/GM52X.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137199272061807666" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/R0r_hRejrDI/AAAAAAAAADM/4bQOg11Ae3M/s200/GM52X.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We also offer an array of holiday collectibles for gifts or your own home. Our 2007 gift selection features &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3260"&gt;Thomas Kinkade Collectables&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/2822"&gt;Lenox Keepsakes&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3266"&gt;Gund Talking Bears&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3461"&gt;Murano Italy Vases&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3265"&gt;delicious gift basket assortments&lt;/a&gt;. All gifts available for delivery across town or the USA.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The highlight of our Holiday offers is our exclusive Fitz and Floyd collectible, The Fitz and Floyd Snowy Sleigh Ride Bouquet. This one of a kind collectible is only available form Beneva Flowers and comes with a numbered certificate of authenticity and delivered in a collector’s box. This piece is limited to only 5,000 and will be retired on December 31st. Please check out the commercial below to see this holiday's must have collectible.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;object width="200" height="167"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rWbauxoNuYw&amp;rel=1"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="wmode" value="transparent"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rWbauxoNuYw&amp;rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-2708281798079319725?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.beneva.com/category.cfm/catID/25' title='The Holiday Season Has Arrived!'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/2708281798079319725/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=2708281798079319725&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/2708281798079319725'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/2708281798079319725'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2007/11/holiday-season-has-arrived.html' title='The Holiday Season Has Arrived!'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/R0r-8hejrAI/AAAAAAAAAC0/drTVoQ1HJ9o/s72-c/C716.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-4562390924897541600</id><published>2007-11-06T09:50:00.000-05:00</published><updated>2007-11-06T10:19:31.438-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Win a Nintendo Wii from Beneva Flowers</title><content type='html'>While the Wii, over the past year, has become the hardest console to find, we are proud to be offering them to our customers through, our &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/textMe.cfm"&gt;mobile text messaging service&lt;/a&gt;. Between now and December 14th, everyone who signs up has an opportunity to bring home a Wii to place under their Christmas tree!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/textMe.cfm"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RzCFbLx0TUI/AAAAAAAAACk/qB5beUmxZBE/s400/wiicopy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5129746677639695682" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-4562390924897541600?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.beneva.com/textMe.cfm' title='Win a Nintendo Wii from Beneva Flowers'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/4562390924897541600/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=4562390924897541600&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/4562390924897541600'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/4562390924897541600'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2007/11/win-nintendo-wii-from-beneva-flowers.html' title='Win a Nintendo Wii from Beneva Flowers'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RzCFbLx0TUI/AAAAAAAAACk/qB5beUmxZBE/s72-c/wiicopy.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-2974349851879009380</id><published>2007-10-10T13:43:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2007-10-10T13:50:08.771-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Autumn Pieces Spotlighted on ABC 7</title><content type='html'>We would like to take this opportunity to thank &lt;a href="http://www.mysuncoast.com/"&gt;ABC 7&lt;/a&gt; here in Sarasota for spotlighting a small sample of our &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/category.cfm/catID/26"&gt;Autumn Arrangmenets&lt;/a&gt;. As we continue to move closer and closer to the holiday season a lot of homes are getting ready to pick out just the right &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3308"&gt;centerpiece&lt;/a&gt; for Thanksgiving or to simply celebrate the colors of fall. For those of you who missed the segment, I have included the clip below for you all to enjoy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;object height="353" width="425"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dfTTsBLX4WY&amp;amp;rel=1"&gt;&lt;param name="wmode" value="transparent"&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dfTTsBLX4WY&amp;rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="353"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-2974349851879009380?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfTTsBLX4WY' title='Autumn Pieces Spotlighted on ABC 7'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/2974349851879009380/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=2974349851879009380&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/2974349851879009380'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/2974349851879009380'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2007/10/autumn-pieces-spotlighted-on-abc-7.html' title='Autumn Pieces Spotlighted on ABC 7'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-890087418254643025</id><published>2007-09-18T12:56:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2007-09-18T13:26:20.688-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Welcoming the Autumn Season</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RvAKNPwsS2I/AAAAAAAAACc/46jMEWMe-j8/s1600-h/800px-Autumn_colors.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5111596799750851426" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RvAKNPwsS2I/AAAAAAAAACc/46jMEWMe-j8/s200/800px-Autumn_colors.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;As the summer months have come to an end and our children are back in school, we welcome the &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/category.cfm/catID/26"&gt;Autumn season&lt;/a&gt; and all the &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/2763"&gt;beautiful colors&lt;/a&gt; that come with it. As most of us in Florida remember, Fall is the time trees shed their leaves, change their color to a reddish hue and fall to the ground. While most of us don't miss having to rake leaves, it's easy to miss the vibrant colors that are abundant up north this season. Such colored leaves have come to be colloquially called "&lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/2835"&gt;fall foliage&lt;/a&gt;."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The origin of the word 'autumn' comes from the French word automne and became popular in usage for the season since the 16th century. The term Fall however is said to have become a popular alternative due to the phrase, "&lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/2835"&gt;fall of the leaves&lt;/a&gt;."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Autumn is typically celebrated as beginning during the September equinox, which is September 23rd, this year. The season “officially” ends on the &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/category.cfm/catID/138"&gt;December&lt;/a&gt; solstice (around &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/category.cfm/catID/138"&gt;December&lt;/a&gt; 21). On the other hand, meteorologists count the entire months of September, October and November as autumn. Although the days begin to shorten after the summer solstice, it is typically the month of September when twilight becomes noticeably shorter.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Autumn's association with the transition from warm to cold weather, and its related status as the season of the primary &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3292"&gt;harvest&lt;/a&gt;, has dominated its themes and popular images. Images of autumn are usually soft elegant landscapes, &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3310"&gt;cornucopias&lt;/a&gt;, vegetables, grains and wheat that ripen at this time. Most ancient cultures featured autumnal celebrations of the harvest, often the most important on their calendars. Obviously this tradition is carried out today with our Thanksgiving celebrations.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We hope this season when you are decorating your home to reflect the beauty outside, or to honor the season that ends the summer heat and humidity here in Florida, that you'll honor us by placing one of our &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3292"&gt;Fall Baskets&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/370"&gt;autumn arrangements&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3310"&gt;cornucopias&lt;/a&gt; or elegant centerpieces into your home.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-890087418254643025?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.beneva.com/category.cfm/catID/26' title='Welcoming the Autumn Season'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/890087418254643025/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=890087418254643025&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/890087418254643025'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/890087418254643025'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2007/09/welcoming-autumn-season.html' title='Welcoming the Autumn Season'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RvAKNPwsS2I/AAAAAAAAACc/46jMEWMe-j8/s72-c/800px-Autumn_colors.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-4228418991391689068</id><published>2007-08-24T16:50:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2007-09-21T16:39:10.534-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Fitz and Floyd's Snowy Sleigh Ride</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/Rs9FAg4bx4I/AAAAAAAAACU/bNgpVLETv6I/s1600-h/C71-Background.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102372777963014018" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 118px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 127px" height="266" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/Rs9FAg4bx4I/AAAAAAAAACU/bNgpVLETv6I/s400/C71-Background.jpg" width="232" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;This Holiday Season I am proud to announce that we here at Beneva are doing something that has never been done in the floral industry before. We have partnered up with the world famous Fitz and Floyd to offer a collectible sleigh that is available only from a local florist like Beneva Flowers. You can not get this form FitzandFloyd.com, Teleflora, or any other retailer in the United States.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Fitz and Floyd’s Snowy Sleigh Ride will be supported by a number of national marketing strategies and will be available for you to send the gift around the entire United States via &lt;a href="http://www.localflowershop.com/"&gt;http://www.localflowershop.com/&lt;/a&gt;. The sleigh will be shown on billboards in metropolitan area across the US, showcased in network commercials, featured in our National Brochure, and supported by your favorite local florist.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is an exciting time for our industry as for the first time, we can offer you the consumer a unique and wonderful keepsake collectible that can be kept in your family for years to come. So please enjoy the video below to learn a little more about Fitz and Floyd’s Snow Sleigh Ride.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIYOUEQX2UQ"&gt;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIYOUEQX2UQ&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-4228418991391689068?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIYOUEQX2UQ' title='Fitz and Floyd&apos;s Snowy Sleigh Ride'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/4228418991391689068/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=4228418991391689068&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/4228418991391689068'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/4228418991391689068'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2007/08/fitz-and-floyds-snowy-sleigh-ride.html' title='Fitz and Floyd&apos;s Snowy Sleigh Ride'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/Rs9FAg4bx4I/AAAAAAAAACU/bNgpVLETv6I/s72-c/C71-Background.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-7166074416624366234</id><published>2007-08-20T14:02:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2007-08-20T14:09:41.365-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Voted #1 Florist in Sarasota thanks to you!</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RsnYuw4bx3I/AAAAAAAAACM/y0AFgLIKKjk/s1600-h/hearld.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100846350880982898" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RsnYuw4bx3I/AAAAAAAAACM/y0AFgLIKKjk/s400/hearld.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; The Sarasota Herald Tribune has awarded Beneva Flowers once again as the #1 Florist by the Reader's Choice Awards. Over 25,000 readers voted in the Reader's Choice Awards, giving Beneva Flowers the #1 Florist in the "Best of the Best Florist in Sarasota, FL" category for the 9th consecutive year.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for all their support. At Beneva Flowers, it is our goal to "Exceed your Expectations" with every purchase or request. Receiving an award like this, for nine consecutive years, shows that the hard work and dedication of not only myself but of the entire staff is worth every hour we put in.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;so I just want to say thank you to everyone in Sarasota for your votes and appreciation. I guarantee we'll continue to work just as hard to continue to "Exceed your Expectations!"&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-7166074416624366234?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.beneva.com' title='Voted #1 Florist in Sarasota thanks to you!'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/7166074416624366234/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=7166074416624366234&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/7166074416624366234'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/7166074416624366234'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2007/08/voted-1-florist-in-sarasota-thanks-to.html' title='Voted #1 Florist in Sarasota thanks to you!'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RsnYuw4bx3I/AAAAAAAAACM/y0AFgLIKKjk/s72-c/hearld.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-2725811016774963200</id><published>2007-08-10T15:22:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2007-08-10T15:39:03.341-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Back to School Already!?!?</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/Rry-eH2hVsI/AAAAAAAAACE/QDdc1z1a0sY/s1600-h/scool.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5097158302989637314" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/Rry-eH2hVsI/AAAAAAAAACE/QDdc1z1a0sY/s200/scool.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Being from the north, as are about 80% of Florida residents, I'm always surprised at how early the kids go back to school down here. Sarasota County goes back August 20th, while our family up north gets to wait until after Labor day before they go back. While I'm sure most of you are worried about getting the kids back to school week is the perfect time to let the teacher in your life, know how much you appreciate all their efforts in preparing for the school year. Send one of our delightful &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/category.cfm/catID/5"&gt;arrangements&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/category.cfm/catID/7"&gt;blooming plant&lt;/a&gt; or a &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/category.cfm/catID/22"&gt;gourmet basket&lt;/a&gt; to help them ease into the new school year. After all their job is one of the most important in the world.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-2725811016774963200?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.beneva.com/category.cfm/catID/142' title='Back to School Already!?!?'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/2725811016774963200/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=2725811016774963200&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/2725811016774963200'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/2725811016774963200'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2007/08/back-to-school-already.html' title='Back to School Already!?!?'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/Rry-eH2hVsI/AAAAAAAAACE/QDdc1z1a0sY/s72-c/scool.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-6535721199476274634</id><published>2007-08-03T16:43:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2007-08-03T16:44:58.494-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Photo Contest Extended!</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RrOTwX2hVrI/AAAAAAAAAB8/kgFZaV7ebpM/s1600-h/summer-PhotoContest-2007-2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5094578062731859634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RrOTwX2hVrI/AAAAAAAAAB8/kgFZaV7ebpM/s400/summer-PhotoContest-2007-2.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-6535721199476274634?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.beneva.com/photocontest' title='Photo Contest Extended!'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/6535721199476274634/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=6535721199476274634&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/6535721199476274634'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/6535721199476274634'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2007/08/photo-contest-extended.html' title='Photo Contest Extended!'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RrOTwX2hVrI/AAAAAAAAAB8/kgFZaV7ebpM/s72-c/summer-PhotoContest-2007-2.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-1725127367404718630</id><published>2007-07-24T15:53:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2007-07-24T16:06:46.774-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Last Week for our Photo Contest!</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RqZbvX2hVqI/AAAAAAAAAB0/xlvhA7Hm8hg/s1600-h/3.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5090857298203596450" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RqZbvX2hVqI/AAAAAAAAAB0/xlvhA7Hm8hg/s200/3.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; I would just like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who participated in Beneva's "&lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/photocontest"&gt;Fun in the Sun&lt;/a&gt;" photo contest. The entries have been un&lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/"&gt;BENEVA&lt;/a&gt;ble! I've included a couple samples here for everyone to see just a small sample of the many, funny, cute and breath taking summer photos we have recieved so far. In fact if you want to see all of the entries please take a second and click &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/photoContestView.cfm"&gt;HERE&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Are they not amazing? The response has been amazing. Unfortuanetly the last day for everyone to get their photos in will be this &lt;strong&gt;Friday, July 27th&lt;/strong&gt;. I just want to remind everyone that the Ggrand prize winner will recieve &lt;strong&gt;$100 American Express gift card&lt;/strong&gt;, that can be used anywhere! In addition to this you'll be awarded one of our &lt;strong&gt;Beneva Signature Design Sunflower&lt;/strong&gt; bouquets. Gorgeous flowers, a 100 dollars to spend and seieng your picture on &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/"&gt;Beneva.com&lt;/a&gt;. What more could you ask for!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-1725127367404718630?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.beneva.com/photocontest' title='Last Week for our Photo Contest!'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/1725127367404718630/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=1725127367404718630&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/1725127367404718630'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/1725127367404718630'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2007/07/last-week-for-our-photo-contest.html' title='Last Week for our Photo Contest!'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RqZbvX2hVqI/AAAAAAAAAB0/xlvhA7Hm8hg/s72-c/3.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-6464504777125006261</id><published>2007-07-19T14:56:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2007-07-19T15:18:53.846-04:00</updated><title type='text'>The Origins of Christmas in July</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/Rp-4mn3TYcI/AAAAAAAAABc/Q23P7WIBEJI/s1600-h/25offTentcard.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5088989077627429314" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/Rp-4mn3TYcI/AAAAAAAAABc/Q23P7WIBEJI/s200/25offTentcard.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;The term Christmas in July is usually thrown around for a &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/christmasinjuly"&gt;Summer Sale&lt;/a&gt; or an opportunity to purchase holiday items at discounted prices. While many stores are running this promotion, including &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/"&gt;Beneva Flowers&lt;/a&gt;, very few know the origins of the term.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Christmas in July is actually an unofficial holiday in the US. When celebrated, mostly by young people, it's generally on July 26, Saint Joachim and Saint Anne’s day, Jesus´ grandparents. Many people do not celebrate this time, however, and even among those that do, it is far less important than Christmas.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In some parts of Australia and New Zealand where Christmas typically occurs in their summer months, they use the term "Christmas in July" as an opportunity to celebrate traditional Christmas activities. Why some of you may think it’s just bizarre to think of Christmas without Snowman, cuddling by the fire, or big home cooked meals, here in Sarasota we're used to a "Sunny" Christmas.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;McMurdo Station in Antarctica also celebrates Christmas in July. The tradition started due to delivery problems. July is the middle of winter in Antarctic’s and the high winds and ice made it too dangerous for planes to land and deliver supplies. Instead planes would parachute deliveries, which of course reminded everyone at the station of "Santa" delivering Christmas gifts.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So when you're picking up a discounted &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/2738"&gt;singing snowman&lt;/a&gt;, an elegant &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/2822"&gt;Lenox Tree&lt;/a&gt;, or some beautiful &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/2823"&gt;Gorham votives&lt;/a&gt; remember to thank our friends from the other side of the globe for &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/christmasinjuly"&gt;Christmas in July&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-6464504777125006261?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.beneva.com/christmasinjuly' title='The Origins of Christmas in July'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/6464504777125006261/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=6464504777125006261&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/6464504777125006261'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/6464504777125006261'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2007/07/origins-of-christmas-in-july.html' title='The Origins of Christmas in July'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/Rp-4mn3TYcI/AAAAAAAAABc/Q23P7WIBEJI/s72-c/25offTentcard.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-6828882355190513327</id><published>2007-07-12T12:36:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2007-07-12T13:42:27.351-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Sunflowers: A Summer Specialty!</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RpZn_H3TYbI/AAAAAAAAABU/DKOzqDne9-o/s1600-h/SassySunflowers07060991150.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5086367163301978546" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RpZn_H3TYbI/AAAAAAAAABU/DKOzqDne9-o/s200/SassySunflowers07060991150.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3246"&gt;Sunflower arrangements&lt;/a&gt; are one of the most requested items for flower shops in the summer. These beautiful flowers are among the oldest to be grown in North America and have a wonderful history in our country.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Native Americans used &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/category.cfm?keyword=sunflowers"&gt;Sunflowers&lt;/a&gt; for food and oil, and often used the seeds to feed their livestock. Today we continue to use sunflower seeds to make oil and also as a form of a snack for both humans and birds. The plentiful supply of sunflower seeds can be attributed to the fact that each flower head consists of about 1,000 to 2,000 seeds.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The popularity of &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/category.cfm?keyword=sunflowers"&gt;Sunflowers&lt;/a&gt; comes from their reputation of being one of the fastest growing plants. Within a six month time span they can reach between 8 and 12 feet. The tallest recorded Sunflower was actually grown in The Netherlands. The Sunflower grew to an astonishing size of 25 feet and 5.5 inches.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The scientific name of sunflowers is Helianthus, Helia for sun and Anthus for flower. This name comes from the sunflowers well known characteristic of following the sun’s movement. This phenomenon is called heliotropism and is the main reason the flower received its name.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-6828882355190513327?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.beneva.com/category.cfm?keyword=sunflowers' title='Sunflowers: A Summer Specialty!'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/6828882355190513327/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=6828882355190513327&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/6828882355190513327'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/6828882355190513327'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2007/07/sunflowers-summer-specialty.html' title='Sunflowers: A Summer Specialty!'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RpZn_H3TYbI/AAAAAAAAABU/DKOzqDne9-o/s72-c/SassySunflowers07060991150.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-7611942026708887325</id><published>2007-07-05T15:09:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2007-07-06T09:30:43.790-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Do you really need a reason to say I love you?</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/Ro1FQXhfXMI/AAAAAAAAABM/GZsLaODLXvg/s1600-h/FlowerYear.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5083795701865864386" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/Ro1FQXhfXMI/AAAAAAAAABM/GZsLaODLXvg/s200/FlowerYear.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Most people tend to only buy flowers for important events during the year. Women expect flowers on Valentine's Day. Mom's tend to be dissapointed if there isn't something from their children for Mother's Day. Secretaries Week is an occasion meant for staffs to be rewarded with something beautiful. Wouldn't it be nice if we didn't need a holiday or anniversary to express our love? Shouldn't you show your love all year round?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Well now you can, thanks to &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/category.cfm/catID/136"&gt;Flowers Year Round&lt;/a&gt;! We have it set up that you can choose from a &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/442"&gt;seasonal bouquet&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3203"&gt;orchids&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3204"&gt;roses&lt;/a&gt;, or even a nice &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3202"&gt;blooming plant&lt;/a&gt;. Every month your loved one will receive a new arrangement or plant to enjoy. Why wait until you're "supposed" to express emotion? Let those close to you know that your love lasts all year round!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-7611942026708887325?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/7611942026708887325/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=7611942026708887325&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/7611942026708887325'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/7611942026708887325'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2007/07/do-you-really-need-reason-to-say-i-love.html' title='Do you really need a reason to say I love you?'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/Ro1FQXhfXMI/AAAAAAAAABM/GZsLaODLXvg/s72-c/FlowerYear.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-427583702389636240</id><published>2007-07-02T11:16:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2007-07-02T11:38:34.734-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Fun in the Sun!</title><content type='html'>I just want to say how incredibly excited I am about the response of our &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/photocontest"&gt;summer photo contest.&lt;/a&gt; There have been so many great entries so far, check them out &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/photoContestView.cfm"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;. The deadline for our contest is July 27th and I hope you all have the opportunity to submit a photo. Take the opportunity this &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/category.cfm/catID/102"&gt;Fourth of July&lt;/a&gt; to capture that perfect moment that will win you $100 dollar American Express Gift Card and a Beneva Signature Sunflower Bouquet.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-427583702389636240?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.beneva.com/photocontest' title='Fun in the Sun!'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/427583702389636240/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=427583702389636240&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/427583702389636240'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/427583702389636240'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2007/07/fun-in-sun.html' title='Fun in the Sun!'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-2879297361738325801</id><published>2007-06-28T11:25:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2007-06-28T11:40:50.273-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Celebrate Independence Day!</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RoPWO3hfXJI/AAAAAAAAAA0/bVnEEzcQpMY/s1600-h/Flag+with+fireworks.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5081140355514981522" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RoPWO3hfXJI/AAAAAAAAAA0/bVnEEzcQpMY/s200/Flag+with+fireworks.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;I know many of you are either planning on taking a long weekend or all of next week off to celebrate our nation's birth. For those of you who'll be in the Sarasota area, I've listed some of the celebration's that'll be going on this fourth of July. However if your just planning a family barbecue be sure to add a sense of patriotism with a &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/category.cfm/catID/102"&gt;Beneva Signature Bouquet&lt;/a&gt;, or treat the kids with some all &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3274"&gt;American cookies&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/2664"&gt;lollipops&lt;/a&gt;, or some gourmet &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/3276"&gt;chocolate covered strawberries&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;However if you are unable to be with your family and friends, then send them a &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/ecards"&gt;FREE eCard&lt;/a&gt; to show that they are still in your thoughts.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Stars and Stripes Performs&lt;br /&gt;The 15-member Sarasota Star Spangled Band that features singer Michelle Amato honors the armed forces. Tickets are $15 to $20 for the 7:30 p.m. show. The show is at Van Wezel Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Call 941-953-3368 or (800) 826-9303 or go to &lt;a href="http://www.vanwezel.org/"&gt;http://www.vanwezel.org/&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For the Veterans&lt;br /&gt;The American Brass performs at 5:30 p.m. in a veterans tribute to be held at Island Park in Sarasota. It takes place before the annual fireworks display. Veterans and military groups will be there, and seven color guards will participate. Food and beverages will be available. Visit &lt;a href="http://www.popsextras.org/"&gt;http://www.popsextras.org/&lt;/a&gt; or call 941-362-7632.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Fourth of July Celebration&lt;br /&gt;Gillespie Park in downtown Sarasota at 10th Street Gillespie Avenue, have an event from 9:30-11 a.m. There will be patriotic music, an honor guard and refreshments are part of the program. It's free. Call 941-377-5965.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Pre-Fourth Concert Set at Asolo&lt;br /&gt;On Sunday, July 1, the historic Asolo has a concert with Gloria Musicae. It has an afternoon performance of Sarasota's all-professional chamber vocal ensemble. The theater is at 5401 Bayshore Road. It starts at 4 p.m. Tickets are $15. Call 941-360-7399.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A Tropical Holiday at Selby&lt;br /&gt;Live Zydeco music highlights Marie Selby Botanical Gardens' Tropical Fourth of July celebration. It gets under way at 6 p.m. and has children's games, the Gumbo Boogie Band and prizes for the best patriotic costumes. Selby Gardens is at 811 S. Palm Ave. Tickets are $15 for Selby Gardens' members and $18 for nonmembers. Children 12 and younger are free. Call 941-366-5731 or go to &lt;a href="http://www.selby.org/"&gt;http://www.selby.org/&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-2879297361738325801?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.beneva.com/category.cfm/catID/102' title='Celebrate Independence Day!'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/2879297361738325801/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=2879297361738325801&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/2879297361738325801'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/2879297361738325801'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2007/06/celebrate-independence-day.html' title='Celebrate Independence Day!'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RoPWO3hfXJI/AAAAAAAAAA0/bVnEEzcQpMY/s72-c/Flag+with+fireworks.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-6804404748364494085</id><published>2007-06-25T15:49:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2007-06-25T15:52:42.743-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Earn Money for Having "Fun in the Sun!"</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/photocontest"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5080092093495089490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RoAc1_MLmVI/AAAAAAAAAAk/GKOx4V1M4LA/s400/Affiliate-1.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-6804404748364494085?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.beneva.com/photocontest' title='Earn Money for Having &quot;Fun in the Sun!&quot;'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/6804404748364494085/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=6804404748364494085&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/6804404748364494085'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/6804404748364494085'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2007/06/earn-money-for-having-fun-in-sun.html' title='Earn Money for Having &quot;Fun in the Sun!&quot;'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RoAc1_MLmVI/AAAAAAAAAAk/GKOx4V1M4LA/s72-c/Affiliate-1.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-6075403496868795191</id><published>2007-06-25T14:01:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2007-06-25T14:24:16.854-04:00</updated><title type='text'>32 Lives Saved!</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RoAGnfMLmSI/AAAAAAAAAAM/-NkHsoyNt5A/s1600-h/bloodDrive.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5080067655131175202" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RoAGnfMLmSI/AAAAAAAAAAM/-NkHsoyNt5A/s200/bloodDrive.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; Last month everyone here at Beneva Flowers learned the real value of giving after teaming with the &lt;a href="http://www.scbb.org/"&gt;Suncoast Communities Blood Bank&lt;/a&gt; to hold a Blood Drive on May 30th. With the help of Recruitment Specialist Vivian Steidel-Santiago and all our employees here we are pleased to anncounce we helped save 32 lives!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;It all started when sales employee, Annie Derry, dropped a note in the suggestion box encouraging a blood drive. The Management Team agreed it was a great idea and contacted the Blood Bank to set a date. On May 30th the Blood Bank bus pulled into the Beneva Flowers parking lot and began taking donations. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;For our first Blood drive we focused on a small advertising campaign, which still resulted in many community members giving blood. Each donor received coupons to local restaurants from the Blood Bank and a carnation with a &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/instantWinnerProgram.cfm"&gt;Lucky Stems™&lt;/a&gt; tag from Beneva Flowers. Several donors won prizes from local business when they logged on to &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/"&gt;http://www.beneva.com/&lt;/a&gt; to check the number on their &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/instantWinnerProgram.cfm"&gt;Lucky Stems™&lt;/a&gt; tags. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;The staff here really enjoyed the event and were eager to know how much their efforts had helped the Blood Bank. Needless to say, the employees were blown away to hear the real numbers and how their interest and participation were able to help their communities. Immediately, everyone was asking when they could schedule another Blood Drive. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;We have set two dates with the Blood Bank, &lt;strong&gt;August 29th&lt;/strong&gt; and &lt;strong&gt;October 31st&lt;/strong&gt;. Beneva's Marketing Department has already begun working on creative ways to reward community members for donating. You may see free giveaways for Labor Day donors or maybe even costumed contributors on Halloween donating and receiving a free floral arrangement! &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-6075403496868795191?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/6075403496868795191/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=6075403496868795191&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/6075403496868795191'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/6075403496868795191'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2007/06/32-lives-saved.html' title='32 Lives Saved!'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__1u3iUjrkCw/RoAGnfMLmSI/AAAAAAAAAAM/-NkHsoyNt5A/s72-c/bloodDrive.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-1187840106444004198</id><published>2007-06-05T11:49:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2007-06-05T11:54:18.939-04:00</updated><title type='text'>All about Father's Day</title><content type='html'>Sonora Dodd, of Washington, first had the idea of a "father's day." She thought of the idea for Father's Day while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sonora wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart. Smart, who was a Civil War veteran, was widowed when his wife died while giving birth to their sixth child. Mr. Smart was left to raise the newborn and his other five children by himself on a rural farm in eastern Washington state.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After Sonora became an adult she realized the selflessness her father had shown in raising his children as a single parent. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonora's father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father's Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;President Calvin Coolidge, in 1924, supported the idea of a national Father's Day. Then in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day. President Richard Nixon signed the law which finally made it permanent in 1972.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/father"&gt;This year, Father's Day will be celebrated on Sunday, June 17th!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-1187840106444004198?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.beneva.com/father' title='All about Father&apos;s Day'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/1187840106444004198/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=1187840106444004198&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/1187840106444004198'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/1187840106444004198'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2007/06/all-about-fathers-day.html' title='All about Father&apos;s Day'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-115920229724717714</id><published>2006-09-25T12:09:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2006-09-25T15:09:20.703-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Flowers for Health &amp; Wellness</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/398/1255/1600/dazzler.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 171px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 179px" height="179" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/398/1255/320/dazzler.jpg" width="199" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;em&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/26"&gt;‘Where flowers bloom so does hope.’&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt; - Lady Bird Johnson&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Hundreds of independent studies have confirmed it!&lt;/strong&gt; The flower is officially good for your &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/2634"&gt;health&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/634"&gt;well being&lt;/a&gt;. A study conducted by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, states;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. Flowers &lt;em&gt;immediately &amp; universally&lt;/em&gt; have a positive effect on happiness. All recipients expressed “&lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/1546"&gt;true&lt;/a&gt;” or “&lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/2674"&gt;excited&lt;/a&gt;” smiles and demonstrated extraordinary delight and gratitude.&lt;br /&gt;2. Flowers have a &lt;em&gt;long lasting positive effect&lt;/em&gt;. The positive effects felt by participants lasted anywhere from 5 – 21 days. Participants felt less &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/2192"&gt;depressed&lt;/a&gt;, anxious or agitated and demonstrated a higher sense of &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/1724"&gt;enjoyment&lt;/a&gt; and life satisfaction.&lt;br /&gt;3. Flowers &lt;em&gt;lead to increased social contact&lt;/em&gt;. Participants increased their contact with family and friends, and when friends or family were in the presence of the flowers those &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/467"&gt;positive&lt;/a&gt; effects were passed on to them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Another study by Dr. Roger Ulrich concluded that patients recovering in the hospital who were sent flowers had &lt;em&gt;shorter &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/2617"&gt;hospital&lt;/a&gt; stays&lt;/em&gt;, &lt;em&gt;took fewer prescription &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/2192"&gt;medicine&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt; for pain and whose &lt;em&gt;medical tests revealed &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/78"&gt;healthier&lt;/a&gt; and better results&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Diane Relf of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute determined;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. People &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/484"&gt;communicate better&lt;/a&gt; in the presence of flowers or plants&lt;br /&gt;2. They tend to eat slower when flowers are on the table.&lt;br /&gt;3. Flowers restore mental &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/2475"&gt;fatigue&lt;/a&gt; and enhance self-esteem.&lt;br /&gt;4. Some &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/category.cfm/catID/7"&gt;potted plants&lt;/a&gt; remove pollutants from a room’s atmosphere.&lt;br /&gt;5. Placing plants and flowers in a room significantly increases humidity, which reduces some of the effects of illnesses such as the &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/2632"&gt;common cold&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Another study conducted by Rutgers, geared more towards senior citizens &amp; flower effects, shows some great results.&lt;br /&gt;1. Flowers &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/1821"&gt;decreased&lt;/a&gt; depression in over 81% of seniors studied.&lt;br /&gt;2. Flowers helped to refresh recent &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/2127"&gt;memory&lt;/a&gt; &amp;amp; provided enriched personal memories in over 72% of participants.&lt;br /&gt;3. Flowers encouraged companionship in over 40%, by re-engaging with members of their communities and enlarged their &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/2222"&gt;social&lt;/a&gt; contacts to include more neighbors, religious support and even medical personnel.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sending flowers not only &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/1823"&gt;brightens&lt;/a&gt; the day of one person, but has an immediate effect on many people. Flowers in a nursing home can bring increased &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/2479"&gt;health&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/1629"&gt;happiness&lt;/a&gt; to all within the building &amp;amp; can brighten the day of someone who feels alone and forgotten, and this could be a person who is not even receiving the flowers!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Send flowers to your mom, dad, sisters, brothers, neighbors, friends, family, co-workers, or congregation members just to say, "&lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/1616"&gt;I'm Thinking of YOU&lt;/a&gt;!" and it will be a day no one will ever forget!!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-115920229724717714?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.beneva.com' title='Flowers for Health &amp; Wellness'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/115920229724717714/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=115920229724717714&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/115920229724717714'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/115920229724717714'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2006/09/flowers-for-health-wellness.html' title='Flowers for Health &amp; Wellness'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-115895240908708855</id><published>2006-09-22T14:38:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2006-09-25T11:09:15.996-04:00</updated><title type='text'>September Sunflowers</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/398/1255/1600/clytie.png"&gt;&lt;img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 159px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 149px" height="160" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/398/1255/320/clytie.png" width="161" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; As mom always said, staring into the sun will make you go blind.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Greek mythology teaches us the tragic tale of Clytie, a Roman water nymph, who was enamored with Apollo (also known as Helio), god of the sun. Their romance, to her dismay was short lived, and she soon found herself weeping and pining for her lost love. Clytie decided she could not sit by and do nothing, and so she went to the father of Apollo's new love, Leucothea, to tell her tale. Orhcamus, Leucothea's father, was so angry with what Apollo had done to Clytie and could possibly do to his own daughter he took Leucothea away to spite Apollo. Clytie took this opportunity to try and win back his &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/1946"&gt;love&lt;/a&gt;, but her actions had only hardened his heart.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As the legend goes Clytie sat alone crying for nine days. The hot sunny days went by quickly and the cold nights left her lonesome and angry. As the sun would rise every morning her eyes followed its solitary course through the sky at every hour without fail. She could see nothing else, as she was blinded by her love for one who could not see her, so small and petty sitting alone and crying. At the end of her nine days of suffering she was transformed into a &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/102"&gt;sunflower&lt;/a&gt;, destined to spend the rest of eternity turning her head longingly to watch Apollo's chariot of the sun.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"The heart that has truly loved never forgets,&lt;br /&gt;But as truly loves on to the close;&lt;br /&gt;As the sunflower turns on her god when he sets&lt;br /&gt;The same look that she turned when he rose."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ancient mythology is filled with stories explaining the names for &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com"&gt;flowers&lt;/a&gt; today. The word sunflower comes from the Latin word, Heliotropium (Helio = sun, Anthos = flower). Today the &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/294"&gt;sunflower&lt;/a&gt; symbolizes an undying love. It screams "I only have eyes for you!" A typical symbol of late summer and fall, the sunflower sends a bright and cheery message. Send a &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/367"&gt;sunflower&lt;/a&gt; arrangement nationwide today!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-115895240908708855?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/1821' title='September Sunflowers'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/115895240908708855/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=115895240908708855&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/115895240908708855'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/115895240908708855'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2006/09/september-sunflowers.html' title='September Sunflowers'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-112718717161481640</id><published>2005-09-19T22:17:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2005-10-15T13:54:40.060-04:00</updated><title type='text'>The Meaning of Wedding Flowers</title><content type='html'>Flowers were brought into weddings to represent purity, fertility, new life and never-ending love. Tradition often calls for the bride to carry a &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/weddingGallery.cfm"&gt;bouquet&lt;/a&gt; of flowers and the groom to wear a &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/weddingGallery.cfm/catID/20"&gt;boutonniere&lt;/a&gt; (a flower that appears in the bridal bouquet and represents his declaration of love).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;The history behind the bridal bouquet:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/weddingIntro.cfm"&gt;Wedding flowers&lt;/a&gt; have origins deep in history. The ancient Roman bride and groom wore garlands around their necks to symbolize long life and fertility. As history reveals, the bridal &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/weddingGallery.cfm/catID/17"&gt;bouquet&lt;/a&gt; symbolized a maid in bloom. The flowers were chosen based on scent, color and decoration. Later on, when the couple would come across the same fragrance, it would bring back memories of their happy day.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;The tossing of the bouquet:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tossing of the &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/weddingGallery.cfm/catID/17"&gt;bouquet&lt;/a&gt; comes from an English tradition where women would attempt to tear pieces of the bride´s dress and flowers to possibly obtain some of her good fortune. To escape from the women, the bride would toss her bouquet into the crowd and run away. It is believed today that the woman that catches the bouquet will be the next to marry!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;This year’s trends:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When it comes to selecting a &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/weddingGallery.cfm/catID/17"&gt;bouquet&lt;/a&gt;, brides often look for a bouquet that expresses their personality. Here are some trendy ideas for making your wedding special.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Do as the Romans did in times of celebration. Add stalks of herbs to your &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/weddingGallery.cfm/catID/17"&gt;bouquet&lt;/a&gt;, such as sweet-scented, pale purple lavender. Or take a bundle of typical white wedding blooms, like stephanotis or &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/1600"&gt;calla lilies&lt;/a&gt;, and tie the bouquet with a celadon-green wrap secured with a purple snap or button.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Colorful adornments -- from ribbons and fabric to beads and baubles -- will make any mundane bouquet meaningful.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Learn the meanings of these popular wedding flowers and incorporate a little bit of history into your wedding day:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/1818"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#cc66cc;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Calla lily&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; -- beauty&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/1613"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#cc66cc;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Freesia&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; -- innocence&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/category.cfm/catID/6"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color:#cc66cc;"&gt;Rose&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; -- love&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color:#cc66cc;"&gt;Lily of the valley&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; -- happiness&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#cc66cc;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Sweet pea&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt; -- pleasure&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#cc66cc;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Violet&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt; -- faithfulness&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Perhaps the most meaningful way to make the most of your wedding bouquet is to incorporate a part of yourself into it, whether you choose &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/154"&gt;yellow roses&lt;/a&gt; because you were born in Texas or bunch together &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/1877"&gt;peonies&lt;/a&gt;, grown in your mother's garden, for a homemade, homespun bouquet. Consider beading a relative's pearls around the soft &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/product.cfm/iteID/469"&gt;rose petals&lt;/a&gt; of your bouquet to include an added oomph of sophistication (as well as a personal touch) to your city-chic wedding. Another idea? Accent your traditional wedding bouquet with a few stems of the flowers that represent your and your fiance's birth months or wedding date.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-112718717161481640?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/112718717161481640/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=112718717161481640&amp;isPopup=true' title='6 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/112718717161481640'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/112718717161481640'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2005/09/meaning-of-wedding-flowers.html' title='The Meaning of Wedding Flowers'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><thr:total>6</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-111997963350553911</id><published>2005-06-28T13:27:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-09-19T23:38:50.690-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Sarasota Flowers</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com"&gt;Sarasota Flowers&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-111997963350553911?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/111997963350553911/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=111997963350553911&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/111997963350553911'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/111997963350553911'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2005/06/sarasota-flowers.html' title='Sarasota Flowers'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-111996487055029565</id><published>2005-06-28T09:15:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-06-28T10:10:25.993-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Flower Delivery for Any Occasion</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/398/1255/1600/Calla1.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 186px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 187px" height="245" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/398/1255/320/Calla1.jpg" width="237" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Send &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/category.cfm/catID/5"&gt;flowers&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/category.cfm/catID/73"&gt;orchids&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com/category.cfm/catID/6"&gt;roses&lt;/a&gt; and more anytime, to anyone in Sarasota today at &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com"&gt;http://www.beneva.com&lt;/a&gt;. Hand delivered gifts are our specialty in Sarasota.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Voted #1 florist in Sarasota, &lt;strong&gt;Beneva Flowers&lt;/strong&gt; specializes in custom designs and prompt service 7 days a week.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Imported flowers, such as the Calla Lilies pictured here, are always available.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-111996487055029565?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/111996487055029565/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=111996487055029565&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/111996487055029565'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/111996487055029565'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2005/06/flower-delivery-for-any-occasion.html' title='Flower Delivery for Any Occasion'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14014489.post-111993365830981945</id><published>2005-06-28T00:36:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-06-28T00:42:48.136-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Flowers for your wedding in Sarasota</title><content type='html'>While many see Sarasota as a tropical retreat, it is! However, most of the flowers here are imported. This means most any flower you can imagine is available.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Beneva Flowers&lt;/strong&gt; in Sarasota, FL specializes in weddings and special events. After all, we are proud to announce that we were voted #1 florist in Sarasota for 7 consecutive years running.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Visit our website at &lt;a href="http://www.beneva.com"&gt;http://www.beneva.com&lt;/a&gt; and click on weddings to see packages starting as low as 199.95.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Beneva Flowers&lt;/strong&gt; is always open 7 days a week. We look forward to exceeding your expectations when order flowers for weddings, a special event or anywhere across the USA.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14014489-111993365830981945?l=sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/feeds/111993365830981945/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14014489&amp;postID=111993365830981945&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/111993365830981945'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14014489/posts/default/111993365830981945'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://sarasotaflowers.blogspot.com/2005/06/flowers-for-your-wedding-in-sarasota.html' title='Flowers for your wedding in Sarasota'/><author><name>Artbeneva</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09342464229705363673</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='http://www.beneva.com/images/artpicturetribune07050795744.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry></feed>
