NINETY-NINE.

We learn a lot of things from our mothers - how to cook, how to obsess, and how to navigate through a variety of choices and changes.

One of the habits that we've seemingly picked up (and as a result, we'd like to take the time to say thanks, Mom) is our love of flowers. It's not just a holiday thing, where we're predisposed to receiving some kind of rose with a box of supposedly-chewy chocolates. We're talking flowers, from tulips to lilies to Gerbera daisies to sunflowers - flowers that when they're put into a vase or are simply sighted in a small garden, they make you stop and look.

Now, we understand that with the wet and the wintry, flowers and fresh flowers, are some that goes against the grain for a variety of reasons. Some flowers are harder to find. Do you really want two dozen red roses before Valentine's day? It's not Christmas anymore, so poinsettias are really a major judgment call.

But when you do find flowers, fresh flowers at that, it's a great trick for adding a little life into the room. Whatever your preference maybe, that small (or large) splash of color that the flowers bring is something that almost instantly brightens the room. You can also get creative with how you put them into a room. Have an old wine bottle? Do you really use that extra glass pitcher? All it takes is that small initiative. So, yes, thanks Mom.