80's Night

Last night was 80's night at my favorite pub, The Irish Pub on Washington Street. Everyone dressed up and listened to 80's music all night. They even had an atari set up to play pacman. It was totally radical! I made the hair piece below to go with my outfit, and yes, I wore those rad sunglasses ;)

That's Barb (my hair model)

My girl, Madiline, and I

"Green" Flowers

So, I finally finished reading Flower Confidential and realized there's alot of wonderful yet scary things going on in the cut flower industry today. On the bad side, learning about the over abundance of pesticide sprays and dips on the flowers coming from South America and how bad the workers are treated really made me stop and wonder if I really want to work with these flowers every day. And the carbon footprint of a box of flowers traveling from South America to Miami to the wholesaler to the florist to the consumer.....

On the postive side, I discovered an environmentally friendly cut flower company, Organic Bouquet. It's an online based company out of Florida selling cut flower arrangements, potted plants, gourmet items, wreaths, etc. , and these are actually sold at reasonable prices!! The flowers and gift items are certified by the USDA and Fair Trade, and the flowers are grown organically and come in biodegradable packaging. The flowers are also bought from growers who provide safe and just working conditions. Here are a few of their items:

Gerber Daisy Bouquet

Grape Bonsai - Love this!

Save the Planet Gourmet Cookies

Flower of the Week: Fringed Polygala

As I was taking my dog, Saspar, for a hike in the woods yesterday, I came upon a delightful little flower peering out through dead leaves that almost looked like a mini orchid. So, today, I was curious and looked for the flower in my wildflower field guide and found it to be a Fringed Polygala.

-derived from "poly" meaning many and "gala" meaning milk

-also called bird-on-the-wing

-resembles Wintergreen but leaves are not edible

-supposed to increase milk production in nursing mammals

-used to cure abscesses, boils, and sores

-perennial which thrives in moist coniferous forests

-blooms May to June (early for this year)

-blossoms only 3/4 of an inch long

It's all about the tie...

One of my favorite things about designing custom accessories for weddings is getting inspiration pictures from brides and creating unique yet beautiful designs for their wedding party to wear. I get pictures of groomsmen ties, bridesmaid dresses, bridal gowns, reception centerpieces, invitations, jewelry, and the list goes on. So, I wanted to share with you a few of my favorite inspiration pictures as well as the pieces I created for them.

Flower of the Week

I have been totally slacking with my blog lately! Tis' the season for weddings and nice weather :) So, I've decided to have a 'Flower of the Week' post each week describing a flower giving it's origin, meaning, growing life, medicinal purposes, aesthetic uses, etc. I will also be taking pictures of the flowers myself and sharing them with you. So, for this week, I chose a beautiful and delicate flower, the anemone.

-comes from anemos, the Greek word for wind

-is also called wind flower which signifies the wind

that blows the petal open will eventually blow the petal away

-120 different species which grow as tubers

-3 different types of anemones: spring, Mediterranean, and fall

-like sun to partial shade

-used for treatment of aches and emotional distress

-used commonly as a cut flower for arrangements and wedding bouquets

These poor little guys were being thrown away today at work so I gave them a home!

I designed this bouquet a while back, and it's made with crepe paper anemones.