Upcountry Hawaii Photoshoot

From afar, I was delighted to participate in a photoshoot by the talented photographer Rebecca Arthurs and coordinated by Vintage and Lace. The vibe was "island bohemian" and took place in the lush grassy plains of Hawaii.  I created several headpieces for the shoot to complement the gorgeous dresses by upoppy, said "bon voyage" and shipped them off across the Pacific.  Wish I could have hand-delivered them :)  So happy there are still places on earth that look like this! 

Huge thanks to Utterly Engaged for including this shoot in their latest issue, Wanderlust.  See all the delectable details from the shoot here!

All I can say is this model is FIERCE.  So strikingly gorgeous with those green eyes.

My friend Aime made that lovely bridal bracelet for the shoot!

This is one of my favorites!  Soft and ethereal with draping tulle and ribbons. 

Well Hello, gorgeous white stallion! 

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Slowly Embracing Fall

Summer is way paleo friendly, with all the salads and fresh fruit and barefoot outdoorsy fun.  But Fall?  Frankly, it's been hard to get in the mood.   Especially when the weather is still warm enough to do this...

Fall is all about back-to-school clothes, pumpkin spice lattes* and warm apple pie, right?   So what to you do when you don't have a real reason (or budget) for a new wardrobe, and all the autumnal sweets are off limits?

Pumpkin Spice Latte Nutrition Facts Per Serving (16 fl oz)

Calories 380	Calories from Fat 120
	% Daily Value*
Total Fat 13g	20%
Saturated Fat 8g	40%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 50mg	17%
Sodium 220mg	10%
Total Carbohydrate51g	18%
Dietary Fiber 0g	0%
Sugars 49g
Protein 14g
Vitamin A 15% Vitamin C 0% Calcium 50% Iron 0%
Caffeine 150mg
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

But I'm slowly embracing the season. Here are some simple Autumnal pleasures that don't involve crazy amounts of shopping, sugar or gluten :)

Really amazing tea:

Cozy new shoes (only $40!)

Boots that actually fit over my abnormally huge calves:

Squash! 

Acorn squash with butter and cinnamon; spaghetti squash sauteed with butter and parsley.

Fall placemats, and guilt-free pastries like Paleo Banana Bread!

 Time to switch to a black bag!  This Kirna Zabete bag from Target can be a shoulder or cross-body bag.

And of course, fall candles are the yummiest.

How are you embracing Fall??  

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1/2 Off Sale!

Big ol' sale going on right now in the Petal and Thorn etsy shop, including flower girl wands and ring bearer pillows.

Check it out!

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Siena is 20 Months!

 Anything small and round is a "chee chee" (berry),  anything square is a "bopp" (block), and anything furry with four legs is a "doggie".  It's amazing to see her categorizing her world in a way that makes sense to her.  My cog psych classes are all coming back to me.

Hold me, mama!!!

 These H&M overalls are still way too big, and the label says 12 months.  She'll be wearing these seersuckers until she's 5 I guess.  Turns out, even tantrums, whining, and fits are way cuter in overalls. 

I saw this shirt at forever 21, and couldn't resist buying it.  I have always loved being twinsies.

Seems the older she gets, the less drastic changes I see from month to month. I was told this would happen- that my little one would stop morphing into another kid in the blink of an eye. But here's what's new:

- she loves to walk the dogs!  she's quite good at it.  when she loses the leash, she scrambles around and scolds, "no no no no no!" until she recovers it.
-her hair is so long, i can put it in two princess leah hair buns.
-she's getting a little pickier with food- shrimp, oysters and other more obscure seafood gets thrown on the floor. thankfully, she still likes sardines, salmon and other fish.
-she's trying to dress/undress herself, take off her shoes, and take off her own diaper (which is annoying, but will be great when we try potty training again.)
-eyes are definitely turning more greenish blue.  i predict one day she'll have green or hazel eyes.

Sidenote: what an excellently sculpted sock bun, eh?

You bring me so much joy, Sisi!  I love you to pieces!!! 

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Instafriday 9/21/12

Here's what our family has been up to this past few weeks.

Dog sitting!  

Can someone tell me what I'm supposed to be listening for when I knock on a watermelon at the grocery store?  Anyway, I seem to get lucky. This one was almost perfect.

 Angel on her shoulder...

 Brass bee findings for hair combs.

Baby's first markers (then she bit off all the tips.  Not ready for markers yet, I suppose.)

 Beach at dusk.

 Koi Ponds at Fashion Island.

 TX Maxx is fun for the whole family.

Mommy and Baby toes.

A moment of peace, five minutes after a giant wave totally kicked my butt.  I almost died in the white water washing machine, I swear!

But alas, surfing is still fun and worth the near death incidents.

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5 questions

These are the questions I seem to be getting a lot lately at social functions. 

1.  How old is your little one? 
     A. Sisi is almost 20 months. 
Which leads promptly to...
2.  Are you going to add another little one to your clan soon? 
     A.  Not yet, but hopefully soon!  I'd like to be able to surf on our Costa Rica trip in January, and you can't do that with a baby bump!  Sounds like a stupid reason to postpone babymaking, but really, we're in no rush.   Also, I'm in 2 weddings in August, and it'd be nice to not be too pregnant to travel to them. 
3.  Now that you're on the paleo diet, what are you going to eat if you get pregnant again? 
     A. I have no idea!  I lived on pretzels and mac n' cheese during my first pregnancy.  I hope that even if meat makes me squeamish, fresh fruits and veggies and plantain chips will still be appealing.  Crossing fingers. 
4.  Would you do a natural birth again?  
     A.  Absolutely!  No doubt about that.  It was way more pain than I expected, but it was also a swift, smooth birth and I trusted my midwife completely.  I would love to have a similar birth experience next time, Lord willing.  Same midwives, same doula, and same hot tub in my living room :)
5.  Do you miss the flower business?
    A.  Yes, and No .  When I see the amazing work my industry friends continue to put out there in magazines and blogs, I miss it and wish I could join them. But I love being a stay at home mom way more.  It's my dream job, and  I keep striving to do it more excellently.  I get just as much pleasure doing a few floral arrangements for friends' baby showers  than I do making a huge flower-drenched wedding arch.  I now realize that I love flowers a lot more than I love owning a flower business.  Plus, my accessories boutique is the perfect outlet for my creativity.  I enjoy crafting just as much as I enjoy floral design. 

So there ya go!  In case you were at all curious :)

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Instafriday 9/8/12

Here is a glimpse at my week through my cell phone!

We started the week off on a sober note. It was the 2nd anniversary of my dad's death last Friday, so I had the family over for Korean food in honor of him.  I think I'll make it a tradition from now on.  In so many ways, I'm back to normal and have moved on with my life since his death.  But on rare days, I'm hit by it anew.  Most days, it's hard to look at pictures of my dad. I subconsciously turn away really quickly so I don't have to think about him.  Life can be so tragic and scary sometimes.  I'm so thankful my savior Christ is guiding and protecting me through it all!  Also, thank goodness for therapy!

 The next day we attended a coed baby shower for two of our dear friends.  I'm so not competitive with games, but I actually won this one!  The point is to get the little plastic baby out of the ice cube first without breaking the ice.  I like to think this book helped me think outside the box to find the least effortful but most effective way to get the baby out- pour my water bottle on it!  I felt like a genius.

The craft at the shower was to makea "touch and feel" book for the baby.  Joe and I made this very busy page together :)

At dusk, we played in this playground by the bay and got attacked by sand fleas.

  Delicate bridal combs...

Beach play date with friends!  How cute are little Rebecca and April in their fuchsia suits.  Sisi was a loner, opting to wander the beach looking for seaweed bubbles to squish.

Lastly, a quick flower mart trip to grab flowers for my good friend's baby shower!  Just a few sweet, girly arrangements in modern white cylinders.  Couldn't resist making a little heart with the lily grass, in honor of the sweet little baby girl who we already love!  Edit: Although I don't do flowers anymore as a business, I occasionally make arrangements for friends and family.  And boy, is it 10x harder with a toddler in tow!  Sisi was entertaining herself at the flower mart just fine, until I realized she was squishing little poisonous berries and saying "bye bye chee chee's" ("chee chee" is her word for berries :))  I don't even like to think about how many crazy pesticides are all over those "chee chee's". 

Have a splendid weekend!

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