(Hello again to Rachel from St. Louis, trying out for a spot on the AT:Chicago editorial team. Her first post is here. Comments welcome.)

Recently we received a gift of several vintage bud vases from a friend. These lovely little vessels have been a wonderful addition to our home and have got us thinking about the many pros of the bud vase...

Since bud vases are small we can fill several of them with a small amount of flowers, and then place them in several different place in our home; thus stretching our weekly fresh flower purchase. Also, because of their size there is less need for masterful flower arranging skills.

And they look nice empty, so when our flowers inevitably wilt we can still leave them on display.

-Rachel