DH used to buy me a bouquet of Carnations regularly. At first, I thanked him and put them in water. The last bouquet of Carnations he brought me were hurled (with attitude) into the sink. Then I went about my business. He eventually asked me if I planned to put my flowers in water. I replied that I had NO intentions to do anything with those flowers. He was surprised.
1. I had told him numerous times that I am not a fan of flower bouquets. They need the water changed and that is a chore. If the water doesn't get changed, they stink and that is gross.
2. I had told him numerous times AND very directly that I DO NOT LIKE - in fact DESPISE Carnations (they are funeral flowers).
3. Since he OBVIOUSLY had not listened to points 1 and 2, he therefore had OBVIOUSLY purchased those flowers in question for himself and therefore, he could put the [darn] things in water himself.
No more flowers - no more Carnations. Thank you very much!
Men sometimes only hear what they want to hear, and it takes a direct approach to drive a point home.
I have since added a caveat when I see something I like: "I really like [fill-in-the-blank] but I would not want to own one." OR "I really like [fill-in-the-blank] and boy would it be nice to have one."