Sisi the Flower Girl (again!)

I absolutely treasure these pictures captured by Orange Turtle Photography of my dear friends Helen and Jordan's wedding.  I am having a hard time picking which ones to frame.   Orange Turtle is so so so good.  They also photographed my friend Kim's wedding (which was featured in The Knot Magazine!)

This dreamy sequence of me getting Sisi ready makes me daydream about the day when I'll be buttoning up her very own wedding dress and creating a special bridal bouquet just for her.  I'm sure the time will fly by faster than I can even imagine.

Helen wore a Petal and Thorn cathedral length veil, sprinkled with handmade hydrangea blossoms.  She looked beautiful!

I also got to put together some bouquets for the wedding in soft dusty pinks and purples.  It really was a joy!  The only stressful part was waiting for Joe to inch his way to San Diego in crazy traffic with a truck full of flowers on a very hot day.  I was worried Helen would have to walk down the aisle holding Sisi's flower girl wand :/  Thankfully, Joe made it just in time.  Thank you hubby!

juliet roses, blush lisianthus, blue scabiosa, lavender, hydrangea, eucalyptus and brunia

Sisi's walk down the aisle didn't go nearly as well as her first walk back in May.  She was pretty worn out from the drive down, and just wanted mommy to hold her.  But I was a bridesmaid, so I couldn't hold her. Then she had a meltdown during the entire ceremony and Joe had to lock themselves in the bathroom so as not to disrupt the ceremony.  Sheesh.

Luckily, the reception went pretty smoothly.  We toasted, we boogied, and we watched the cake cutting with great expectation. 

"mmmm cake!"

"mmmm cake!"

Thank you Helen and Jordan for sharing these images with me!  Helen, you have been the most supportive, loyal and protective friend these past 12 years. We are total opposites in many ways, but we have formed a lasting and true friendship.  I know you guys don't like your faces plastered all over the internet, so I tried to keep it vain and posted mostly pics of Sisi and me.  Just in case anyone is wondering why there are no pictures of the darling couple.  They are totally darling, just take my word for it. 

Such a happy day!  Thanks to Orange Turtle for capturing it so perfectly!

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East Coast Trip Part 1: Montauk, NY

We kicked off our East Coast trip with 3 lovely days in Montauk, NY, for my dear friend Julie's wedding. We took my mom, and I declare she's the best travel buddy. She was cheerful, helpful, and I don't think she uttered one complaint the whole trip. So many of my friends gasp when I tell them this, because travelling with their moms would be a nightmare.  We brought her with us not only to help with Sisi (so I could focus on my bridesmaid duties) but to treat my mom to a much deserved getaway.

I can definitely see why Julie loves Montauk and chose it for her wedding- it's like a little slice of California. I fell in love right away! There are beautiful sandy beaches and even surfing!  No time to hang ten this trip, but I definitely want to try surfing Atlantic waters someday.

The rehearsal dinner was on a dock at sunset.  Big fat lobsters with drawn butter.  Absolutely incredible!

 

And now, the highlight of the trip- the actual wedding day!  The crafty bride did all the decorations, signage, and florals herself with no wedding planner.  She was probably really stressed, but she never showed it. She even arranged a yoga class with the bridesmaids the morning of the wedding.  It really set the tone for the rest of the day.  

(The following pics I stole from my friend Stephanie...Thanks Steph!)

One of the many adorable handmade touches.

 I think the camera stretched out our foreheads.  No way are our heads are that massive!

 The high school gang, reunited for the nuptials.  

The bride sang a tribute to her hubby and I was one of the background singers :)

 Me and my baby doll, looking a bit worn out already.  Once the band started playing Katy Perry and Beyonce, she livened up a bit.  Then she had a crazy meltdown and I knew it was time to bring her up to Nana's room so I could continue dancing the night away.

Next stop- The Berkshires, Massachusetts!  Coming soon!

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Pink Masquerade Themed Wedding Inspiration

Photo by Juneberry Photo.  

 Yippee! Masquerade season is finally approaching!  I get a lot of orders for bridal masquerade masks, and it makes me wish I were invited to these fabulous affairs.  What might a masquerade wedding look like? Definitely glamorous and mysterious, with lots of moody candlelight, bubbly champagne, and guests donning sparkly masks of their own. Of course, the bride's mask must be the most spectacular of all. I think a gilded pink color palette would pair perfectly with our delicate watercolor masquerade mask.  

Placesetting via icing designs.
Earrings via.
Stationary via one to wed.
Dress with pink sash via style me pretty.
Wedding shoes via.
Floral cake via emmaline bride.
Masquerade mask via petal and thorn.

Note:  I feel like a masquerade wedding could definitely go the "wrong way."  Avoid Party City's masquerade section and you should be go to go!  Was that snobby?  Hope not ;)

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Thoughts on Being a Housewife

A special rose and scabiosa bouquet I made for a friend.

I retired from the floral business almost 3 years ago for many reasons.  I'm still asked often if I regret my decision or if I miss it at all.

I do miss it. I am and will always be *obsessed* with flowers. Fortunately, I am able to fiddle with flowers on a regular basis, whether it's putting together a few arrangements for a friends' wedding or the many baby showers I've hosted since retiring.  Also, we just had a brand new landscape put in, which includes some gorgeous passion flower vines and wildflowers that Sisi and I can pick and leave in bud vases all over the house.  It's divine!  So I still get my flower fix, just in much smaller doses.  I think the act of picking and savoring flowers, and getting to enjoy their entire life cycle, makes me appreciate them even more than I did when they were my business. My commodity. There is nothing more disillusioning than cramming a 500 rose arch into a hefty bag at the end of the wedding just because it's served it's purpose for the 20 minute ceremony.  That part of the business always rubbed me the wrong way.  

Now for the other question: do I regret my decision? Not at all.  Quite frankly, I'm living my dream.  How is that?

•  I've always been domestically inclined. While my siblings were out cruising the neighborhood with friends, I was in my room drawing, rearranging my room, or baking cornbread from a box, my specialty :)  I can't say that I love every moment of cooking, errand-running, cleaning, and childrearing, but I see the incredible value of those tasks and the way my actions are directly contributing to our well-run, happy home.  I am constantly growing in my housewifey abilities, and becoming more and more passionate about them. 

• I love setting the pace of my day.  As an introvert, this is important to my sanity.  Too much rushing around and back-to-back commitments (even fun social visits) stresses the heck out of me.  I have come to accept that my own ideal pace of life is a little slower, more deliberate, more planned out than most people need.  As a florist, I was constantly running from the flower mart to appointment to consultation to industry networking event to the studio and if I was lucky, to bed at the end of the night.  On wedding days, I was usually a shaky mess because I was on such a tight schedule and so many things (traffic, weather, if the flowers were holding up) were out of my hands.  Every business has it's stressors, but I think floristry has particular stressors that really did not compliment my introverted, conscientious, over-thinking personality.  In the 4 years I was a florist, I was totally stressed out for all 4 of them.  I did hide it well though.  

• In ending one business, I was able to start another.  Petal and Thorn is my dream business. I will never tire of making beautiful wearable art.  I can take my time with each stitch.  When I'm making a cocktail hat, the rest of the world disappears.  I also love the process of photographing each piece, telling it's story on the website, and shipping it out to each excited bride. Working with non-perishables and selling via my website is infinitely less stressful than working with perishable flowers on a time limit.  Best of all, I can usually manage to complete my work during Sisi's naptime, leaving the rest of the day for family time. 

• I have time to think. When I was a florist, I didn't have a moment to reflect.  I look back now and realize there were so many ways I could have run a better, tighter, more profitable business. But in the thick of running a business, I didn't have time to strategize.  It was always tyranny of the urgent.  I'd do one wedding, and then dive into the next without 5 seconds to reflect on what went right or wrong.  Now, I have sooooo much time to think.  As an introvert, thinking is totally my strong suit :)  I think about all sorts of things- business, health, marriage, parenting, God, my ancestors, my childhood... all the most important stuff that usually gets shoved to the back of our jam-packed brains.  

Some people say they are SAHMs because there is no other way to raise good kids in this corruptible world.  I totally do not agree with that! I do adore being with my child all day and every day, and I do think it's been good for her.  But this blog post is about how it's been good for ME!  I have found a job that suits me and my talents, and provides that perfect level of stimulation for me to be energized but not stressed.

I remember telling a coworker in Berkeley that I hoped to be a stay-at-home-mom one day, and he literally said, "I feel really sorry for you.  That's all you want to do with your life and your education?"  Ouch. Would he have the audicity to tell a housekeeper, nanny, chef, or teacher that they are wasting their lives?  Probably not, but he felt he could bash me for wanting to be all of the above, and then some.  Not everyone can be a stay at home mom.  Not everyone even wants to be a stay at home mom.  But I'm blessed to be one, and am loving it thoroughly.  No regrets!  No shame!

Simple centerpieces for a friend's wedding, boxed up and ready to go.

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Wind In the Willows Themed Baby Shower

I wasn't the hostess this time, but I did provide some simple flowers and decor for my friend Shaun's Wind in the Willows baby shower.  She's expecting her first baby this summer, and I can't wait to meet little Abigail!   

So, I'm one of those weirdos who has no idea what Wind in the Willows is about.  After a quick google image search, I found out it stars a toad and a badger and other woodland creatures.  And there's a canoe in it. So I decorated accordingly with little woodland touches and lots of wildflowers.

I'd been eyeing this froggy vase for awhile, and this party was the perfect excuse to buy it.

How gorgeous is that pink beronia?  Like hundreds of tiny fuchsia lanterns.

I found some cute garden statuary to use as decorative accents.  I fell in love with them, but sadly, they didn't survive my latest decluttering session and were all sold at my garage sale.  Honestly, what was I to do with all those mushrooms and hedgehogs?  (I did keep the frog.)

I made a cute paper canoe garland using an origami tutorial that I just can't seem to track down right now.   Sorry!  I'll add it here if I find it.  The little oars are made of bamboo skewers, too.  

My friend Aime created a cute onesie stamping station.  How genius is that toilet paper roll heart stamp?  

I added to the project by making some foam shape stamps.  I happened to have a bag of mini corks in my stash, so I glued on some pre-cut foam flowers.  I even cut out my own shapes (stars, water drops, triangles, etc.) out of a sheet of foam and the stamps turned out great!  It's my favorite way to decorate fabric now.  I'll post a more detailed DIY on that later.

A sweet and simple shower for a beautiful mommy. Congrats, Shaun!!!

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Berry Crafty!

I hosted a Jamberry themed baby shower for my good friend Aime yesterday.  What a sweet time!  I'll share pictures soon, but here is a sneak peek at some of the decor.

This first project was something I pinned on my Fun DIY Projects board (check me out on Pinterest!)  Supposedly people use these painted rocks to deter birds from eating their real strawberries.  I just thought they were cute.  

Sisi insisted on painting her own rocks!

Then I put my Silhouette Cameo to work and cut little strawberry blossoms.  I used some spray painted thumb tacks as the centers and hot glued them to twigs.  I also added some adorable felt blueberries.  I figured the more non-perishable decor I could make ahead of time, the less stressed I'd be on the day of the shower.  All these projects were super cheap, too.

And of course, no ex-florist is gonna leave out fresh flowers.  I chose country flowers in bright berry shades.  

Decorating for parties (especially for wonderful, appreciative friends!) is super fulfilling, and so much less stressful than decorating for weddings.  

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