Amy Backman set up her new shop, Spruce Flower & Home, to be the kind of place where you can pick up a bouquet of flowers, a scented candle or a decorative pillow.

"I wanted to create something where people felt comfortable walking in and got inspired by pictures and flowers and plants and shape," she said.

Backman (yes, she worked at Bachman's, as well as Room & Board and the Thymes Ltd.) always wanted to open her own shop, so when the spot on the bustling corner of 48th and Chicago became available, she grabbed it.

The store has a nice selection of blooming plants ($7 to $33) as well as cut flowers (around $3 each) from local Len Busch Roses. Customers are encouraged to walk into the cooler to pick the flowers they want; prices are marked on a chalkboard.

Home accessories include Tocca and Nest candles, lifestyle books, silk-screened prints ($40) by local artist Brad Surcey and pillows by local dress designer Joy Teiken. (Backman asked Teiken, who lives in the neighborhood, to make one-of-a-kind pillows from vintage kimonos, obis and silks.)

Later this month at its flower bar, the shop will have classes on floral design and wine and flower pairings.

Spruce, 4751 Chicago Av. S., Mpls., 612-767-1101, sprucemn.com.

SARA GLASSMAN

The "Get Organized" seminars by author Deniece Schofield promise "hundreds of no-nag ways to have a neat house, happy kids and calm parents." That may sound too good to be true, but Schofield knows what she's talking about. The home-management expert, who's written several books on the topic, will offer her secrets to achieving an orderly life.

The seminars will include how to organize every room, efficiently plan meals and recycle what you already have. The two-hour seminars are at 10 a.m. or 7 p.m. May 19 and 10 a.m. May 20, Holiday Inn Express, 1601 E. American Blvd., Bloomington. $25 at the door, includes a book. 1-800-835-8463.

LYNN UNDERWOOD

New from Minneapolis-based wallpaper purveyor Hygge & West: three designs for young consumers. "Circus Troupe," "Busy Town" and "Rabbit-tat-tat," pictured, were drawn for H&W by Brooklyn designer Emily Marie Cox. The 27-inch by 30-foot rolls cost $165 each. The $5 price for 8 1/2- by 11-inch samples is refundable upon purchase; paper is also sold by the yard for framing or other projects. See details or order at www.hyggeandwestshop.com.

KIM YEAGER