i'm still here...

happy new year.  it's been 6 months to the day since my last post and, being that i like even numbers, i thought that it was a good time to start her back up.  as far as i can ascertain the reason for my absence is twofold.  one, we finally made our move into san francisco in september and it rattled me more than i had expected.  i had been looking forward to moving back into the city for some time and i thought that it would be all happy-happy, but i found it jarring to move after living in our last place for 10 years - the longest that i'd ever lived in one place.  so getting, or more to the point "feeling",  settled took a while and there were a lot of days that i felt like my wheels were spinning and nothing (e.g. all of the boxes that needed unpacking) was getting done.  and, so, the blog was sort of one of the last things on my mind.  and it wasn't just the blog but all of the other things that make me feel good and whole - my walk/runs in the park, my visits to trusted advisors (my therapist), working with the flowers - those sorts of things - they all went by the wayside.  i guess it really is true what they say about moving.

the other part of it was that i was feeling a little uninspired.  the DIY's and the like are nice but i'm feeling ready to do something that feels a little more meaningful and authentic.  i'm not totally clear on what that is yet but i'm looking forward to taking things in new direction.  

anyhow, i'm glad that the funk has lifted and that i'm feeling good (great actually) about where i am, both geographically and mentally.    

i hope to be back here very soon.  have a great weekend!

xo, c

floral snapshot

what ~ flowers for a project that I'm working on this week - hydrangea, roses and japanese maple branches (snipped from my yard).

where ~ on my work table.

when ~ yesterday morning.

why ~  because even though i've been super busy with non-blog related stuff, i really do find this place to be a great creative outlet so i WILL MAKE TIME to work on these projects.

have a fabulous and productive day!

xo, c

a special bridal shower

last month i had the distinct pleasure of helping to host and design a bridal shower for my baby sister.  it took place at a restaurant in walnut creek, near the town where my sister lives.  

for the food and drinks we had some great italian passed hors d'oeuvres, cocktails (including some delicious and pretty specialty cocktails) and, for dessert, cupcakes from kara's cupcakes.

and, for the flowers, i used roses, spray roses, cherry blossom branches, carnations (a go-to lately) and a bit of greenery.  i also used a wide black and white grosgrain ribbon band around all of the vases.

the lovely guest of honor.

the guests left with tasty cookies, monogrammed with the bride-to-be's initial, from pink frosting cookies (the gift tag stickers were from wedding paper divas).

it was a really special day for a beautiful girl and i couldn't be happier for her upcoming nuptials. 

this weekend the celebrating continues:  we're off to scottsdale for some bachelorette fun! so i'm signing off for now.

hope everyone has a great weekend!

xo, c

floral snapshot

what ~ rive gauche garden roses.

where ~ my local flower shop.

when ~ earlier today.

why ~ because they're so unique and lovely in such a strange mutant way.  wierd can be pretty too!

xo, c

simple DIY flowers: anemone bouquet

wedding season is upon us so i thought that it would be fun to do a series of wedding flower posts.  

i've been loving anemones lately, so when i was at the flower mart looking for something to use in a bridal bouquet post and saw these lovely jewel toned numbers i knew that they were it.

i chose these hot pink spray roses and deep purple sweet peas to complement the anemones.

i removed most of the lateral branches from the spray roses so that they didn't create too much bulk.  then i started with a stem of the roses in the center and added a couple of anemones...

...then a stem of the  sweet peas.  then i gave the whole thing a little turn (for more on how to put together a hand-tied bouquet see this post).

i continued on, adding flowers 2-3 at a time, making sure that i was keeping a rounded shape (looking in a mirror can help with this).

when i was happy with the fullness of the bouquet, i trimmed the stems to the length that i wanted (i wanted a smallish bouquet so i trimmed them pretty short).  

at this point, if your bouquet isn't for a wedding, you could just plop them in a vase...

...OR, if you want this to be a hand-held bouquet, you can wrap the stems with floral tape.  the tape is stretchy and sticks to itself so it's pretty easy to work with.  i taped about 2 1/2 inches of the stems to keep the whole thing secure.

i then took my ribbon (in this case black grosgrain but, as usual, use what works with your colors/style) and pinned it at the bottom of the taped area and wrapped it around until all of the tape was covered.  i then put two more pins in to keep the ribbon in place.

after that i took another length of the ribbon and tied a bow around the bouquet, covering the pins.  and that was it!

anemones come in a variety of colors and i think that they have a chic and interesting look with their ruffly petals and their black centers.  consider them to add a bit of cool to a bridal (or any) bouquet.

xo, c

modern garden-inspired shower

i'm back, after a two week break, with some photos from a very special baby shower that i helped to style last month.  it was for a dear friend of mine from college (and fellow horticulturist) and i had a great time helping to plan and design her shower.  

we had the shower at this awesome venue called 18 reasons in the mission in sf.  it's a cozy spot with sort of a modern industrial feel.  because of the mom-to-be's horticultural roots, we wanted a bit of a garden theme, but wanted to do it in a way that wasn't too cutesy.  i chose an array of garden flowers (roses, hydrangeas, scabiosa) in a variety of vintage glass bottles and mason jars, and placed them in groupings on each table.  there happened to be a really cool art installation (which i'm standing in front of, above) that had been put in for another event a few days prior.  we were lucky...the colors looked great with the flowers and it added an interesting and contemporary element to the event.  the favors were potted succulents - a favorite of the showeree.  

everyone seemed to have a lovely time, especially the guest of honor...which was the most important thing.

xo, c

(photos by my talented friend nancy.  the menu written on the chalkboard is her handy work, as well)