Life is sweet today -- I've got a mason jar full of blooming lilacs on my desk. I clipped them fresh from the bush in my front yard this morning.

I love lilacs. Nothing says spring, to me, like lilacs. It was a major selling point when we bought our house ("OMG, honey..that's a lilac bush!").

Just a whiff of lilacs takes me back to childhood May days -- when school was winding down, summer was winding up and there were lots and lots of lazy days to come. The house I grew up in had a gigantic lilac bush just ouside the kitchen window. In the spring, when it was warm enough to open the windows, the scent of those lilacs would fill the house -- blowing through the kitchen curtains billowing in the breeze.

I imagine it's what my Heaven will smell like some day. By the way...if you've never read "The Five People You Meet In Heaven" -- you should add it to your summer reading list (and you'll know what I mean about "my" Heaven).

Here are a few tips for keeping cut lilacs hydrated
(from Martha Stewart Living Magazine):

1. Smash the last few inches of each cut lilac's stem with a hammer and it will be easier for the lilac to draw water up.
2. Keep them out of direct sunlight
3. Change the water every three days