Blooming Wonderful

Test arrangement for Nellie's upcoming wedding

I can hardly believe it’s “that” time of year again but yes, yes it is indeed! Wedding season snuck up on me in the form of lovely Anel “Nellie” Resendez and her upcoming uber colorful and equally large wedding. While the actual event is still a month away, I’ve been busily testing (and re-testing) color arrangements until I come up with one that I feel suitably embodies her exuberant, creative and fun spirit. Regardless of the outcome, bright pink peonies will be the star flower in that bouquet!

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How to Fix Horrible Holiday Decor

Although I love this time of year, from an interior design perspective, it also happens to be the most terrifying for me. People are just downright out-of-control. I’ll forgive the lawn full of disparate lighted animals (llamas, and penguins?!). I’ll overlook the retina-burning-blue-Hanukkah-lights. I’ll even give you a pass for the inflatable anything folks have decided is festive. I know that people get excited about the holidays. I get that. What harms me is the Every-single-red-Santa-sparkle-deer-snowman-tree-fugliness approach to holiday decorating. Stop it.

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Harvest Time!

Last week I was out in my garden looking for interesting things to incorporate into my shop arrangements and it occurred to me that I hadn’t really explored my various succulents or other garden greenery beyond the obvious (rosettes wired on a floral stem or long pieces of Jasmine branches) so I grabbed my shears and got to harvesting the weird and the wonderful!

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Finding Tiny Joys

Today an artist friend stopped by in hopes of brightening her mood. Although the weather is gorgeous, and things are relatively okay, things just seemed a little overwhelming and out of nowhere the dread crept in. I’m happy we were here for her to lose herself in. I have those days. When nothing feels “right” and I start to despair, I try to surround myself with people and things that I know make me feel safe, warm, and in a beautiful place – emotionally and physically.

This time of year, when the evenings are still warm and the sun doesn’t set right away, I like to sit in the garden and observe the life outside. It’s tiny joys like this that can lift my spirits, put things back in perspective, and give me the energy to try again tomorrow.

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Floral Wonderland

One of the things I most enjoy about floral design is coming up with unexpected arrangements. I have always had a little love affair with the baby artichoke as used in floral design but only recently decided that it is perfectly married to the hydrangea. Combining the two in a striking blue and white Chinese vase and popping in some blue berries and meadow grass made the whole thing feel kind of otherworldly to me. Something I would have on my own mantel or dressing table. I don’t tend to veer toward arrangements that are too soft or feminine. I like them to be weird. That’s really my number one criteria. If it’s pretty and weird, I’m sure to love it.

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