Siena's Au Natural Baby Shower

Last weekend I was showered- no, DRENCHED!!! with love.  My dear friend, Angel Swanson, my wonderful sis Jennylyn, and my neighbor and friend, Chie, threw me the most lovely and thoughtful baby shower.  Eye candy, girl talk, and sugary sweets galore.  Good friends from every nook and cranny of life- church, family, high school, college, the wedding biz- were there to support me and Siena.

Since I'm doing a natural birth at home, they went with an "earth mama" woodsy feel for the decor.  Basically, I walked into my house and saw a mini Anthropologie store.  Angel had most of my furniture removed, and replaced it with gorgeous vintage furniture from Found Vintage Rentals (THE place to go for all sorts of vintage decor). She displayed her sweet Anne Wood bird collection in the most lovely bell jars, and even did all the flowers herself.  I was super impressed with her flower-design skills!  Angel promised me she'd "keep it simple" but deep in my heart I knew this would be impossible for her.  Her talent and gift is putting on heart-felt events, and now I have a little taste of the star-treatment her brides must receive from her. I am sure Angel will blog about the design process in detail, so I'll just show off the pictures.

Trista Lerit, who has now captured my wedding and maternity pics, was there working her magic at the shower.  Thank you Trista for always blessing us with your talent at such important life events!

 I wouldn't have minded keeping all that radical furniture.  It actually worked quite well in my house.  Thanks Found!

 All the peonies from the shower still look ruffly and gorgeous, 1 whole week later.

 I got to take sticker pics with each guest (here with my high school friend Rachel from Heart of Light!)

 and then guests affixed the pictures to a special card for Siena.

Generous gifts overflowed from an antique baby crib.

Some of my favorite flowers- it's amazing what you can get in the dead of Winter these days!

 My sister Jennylyn created the most delicious food spread- everything organic and all-natural, of course!  It was all so healthy and yummy!

 I almost had Joe rake and mow the lawn before the shower, but he ran out of time.  I'm so glad he did!  The leaves were a beautiful backdrop for the desserts.

 My sweet friend Mercy and her adorable babygirl.  I hope to be as chill and happy a mom as Mercy is.  She takes Leila everywhere (even on marathons in the jogging stroller!)

 Of course Trista picked out the most stylish, luxe baby dress ever. 

 Look familiar?  I wore practically the same sweater in mustard yellow for my maternity shoot. Twinsies!

 Melody from Sweet and Saucy Shop creates the most beautiful and mouth-watering treats.  Her hand-formed sugar gloriosa lily (my FAVORITE flower) blew my mind, it was so realistic.  The fondant was etched all over it to look like wood grain.  It even sparkled!  Melody also sells beautiful cake stands at her Sweet and Saucy Supply store.

 Cake in a jar, folks!  Perfect for a nutritious breakfast on the go :)  Bad Kristin!

 Chie's genius craft idea- decorating onesies and bibs for Siena.  She even made sure to get all different sized onesies so we'll be well-stocked for the first year.

 Our hapa trio- Trista, me and Angel :)  Although there were at least 7 hapas in attendance that day.  Birds of a feather flock together?

 

Some of my wonderful friends in the wedding industry- Christina, Trista, Courtney, Angel and Anna.

 
Thank you so much Jennylyn, Angel and Chie for planning the most unforgettable shower.  Praise God for all my friends who were able to make it- Siena will have no shortage of awesome female role-models ;)

Note:  Exactly 1 MONTH until Siena's "guess date" (I don't like the word "due date."  I want her to come whenever she's ready.)

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My Wish List

I don't expect to see all of these things under the tree (I'm not THAT greedy), but if a certain husband of mine reads this, here are the things that have caught my eye lately...

knit necklace by evahandmade

Convertable Diaper Satchel by Petunia Pickle Bottom

I cheated, and already bought myself an early gift.  These Dr. Scholl's Arch boots in both tan and brown are so sturdy and comfortable for the price.  Will examine my wardrobe and see which ones will go with the most stuff (I think tan?) and then return the other ones.

Just based on the name alone (Rumpled Cake- doesn't that sound yummy?) I want this new perfume by Twigs and Honey.  It's all natural, oil based, and made for people with sensitive skin.

3 stone ring by toosis made with jade, mother of pearl, and quartz.

***OTHER DESIRED ITEMS***

• Sonicare replacement heads (my blue strip is worn down)
• Thai pregnancy massage
• Gourmet mac n' cheese from the Island Hotel in Newport Beach (been craving this throughout the pregnancy)
• Replacement spoons and forks (I've lost most of the ones we received for our wedding somehow)
• A new surfboard (mine is embarassingly ghetto and dinged, and I plan on surfing again after the baby is born)

And of course, a healthy baby and a calm labor!!!!!!

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Edgy Desert Pics

How captivating are these desert portraits, photographed by The Image Is Found, and styled by Angel of Events of Love and Splendor?

 

I was asked to create a bouquet for the shoot.  Something a bit rough and "desertish".  

I envisioned something dry and spiky, so I gathered various dried pods, dried fungi, twigs, and balsa wood flowers into a wild bouquet, and wrapped it all up with rope. I also strung some pearls onto the twigs to make the whole thing just a little bit bridal.  Yay for bouquets that never wilt!  BTW, how awesome is that bolero tie that Angel made in my garage at the last minute? 

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PRE-BABY HOLIDAY SALE!

In an attempt to crank out as many orders as possible before the baby comes next month, I'm offering a 15% OFF SALE on ALL Petal and Thorn pieces between 12/7 and 1/31!  After that, I'll be on my "babymoon" for as long as I darn well please, and won't be taking any orders for a while. 

Here is a funky blue masquerade mask I just listed. 

It's perfect for New Year's party or masquerade ball (Yes, these do still occur.  I attended one last year and wore this mask!)

And here is the mercury glass headband that I think is so perfect for a vintage-loving bride, especially one who is incorporating mercury glass into her decor.

 

I stabbed myself with wires about 5 times when I made this, but it's worth it!

Have a lovely season, filled with warmth and comfort!  And Happy Christmas Shopping!

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Serene California Wedding, Featured!

Wow, 2 posts in one day.  But I can't resist!  Thanks to Style Me Pretty for featuring Dawn and Joe's laid-back beachy wedding today.  I actually had no idea it was being featured, so it was kind of fun to stumble across it on my daily blog patrol.  I saw the bouquet and thought, "Hey, that one looks familiar!" :)

I really really loved this couple and this wedding.  Seeing these pics (by the talented JAC Photography) makes it even harder to say goodbye to the flower business... 

 

 We had fun playing around with textures in these centerpieces.  Gorgeous tropical greenery and succulents were tucked into the lush florals and stuffed into beachy boxes.  Perfection!

NOTE:  I hope you don't think it's weird or lame that I'm still posting wedding florals on the Petal and Thorn blog.  There are so many awesome weddings from last year that I haven't been able to show off yet.  Flowers will always be an important part of my daily life, even if I'm not doing huge weddings anymore. I'll still be picking them from my garden, decorating my dinner table, and doing weddings for friends. And my experiences with The Treasured Petal are for sure the biggest inspiration for the creations on Petal and Thorn. 

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These shoes, this hat!

I saw these gorgeous Banana Republic chiffon ruffle shoes on one of my brides...

And attempted to create something just as fluttery and playful, but for the head.  

 Chiffon Swirl Hat

Head to toe ruffles. How divine! 

Photos by my sweet hubby, Joe!

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Holiday Advice- Curbing Sugar Cravings

I'm a sugar addict.  Always have been.  As a kid, I used to eat all my Halloween candy in less than a week (I'd sneak 5 fun size candy bars into bed with me each night).  In adulthood, the addiction manifested itself in the form of daily iced mochas, cokes, and frozen yogurt covered in oreos and crushed snickers. And don't get me started on those chocolate covered Jo Jo's from Trader Joes!

Then I got pregnant, and didn't feel like poisoning my baby with insane amounts of sugar. I asked my sister for some tips on curbing cravings, and this is what she emailed to me.  Note: she is not a physician, she's just a former sugar-holic who through research and  trial and error has finally freed herself from this addiction.

1. "EAT CINNAMON!"

2. A spoonful of cocunut oil STRAIT or add it to whatever."

3. 1 chromium tablet a day

4. 1-2 l-glutamine tablets on an emtpy stomach per day

5. Eating more protein and meat in general!!!

6. Just cutting out sugar will take your desire away MOST (not all) of the time. At first you will be miserable and depressed for 1 week... then you wont care.

7. A basic multivitamin
8. Drink Kefir milk (basically liquid yogurt with a ton of probiotics in it)

I am going on over a month now with no sugar (other than a few planned deviations - which I will continue to do from time to time as there is no reason to never enjoy such a wonderful thing God has made).

Love, JEN"

So far, I've tried the cinnamon trick (tip #1).  It definitely works!  I simply add a big spoonful to my applesauce each morning and find that I don't want anything sweet for at least several hours. My sister adds cinnamon to green tea.  Cinnamon lowers blood sugar, and it's soooo good for you.

I've also upped my protein intake (tip #5) simply by cooking paleo diet dinners for Joe's sake.  It feels really good to end the day on a carb-free note, and I am less tempted to snack on sweets at night.  I however am not a paleo chick.  It's too hard when you're pregnant and sometimes you just want/need some toast or pancakes.

Recently I've started drinking Kefir everyday (tip #8).  I have to add a bit of raw honey to it or else it's just too tart for me to guzzle down.  I'm not sure if it's affecting my sugar cravings, but I know it's good for me so I drink it!

Any other tips to share?

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