just the little things

flowers just make me happy

Well, receiving them do… not necessarily prepping them and trying to come up with a creative and beautiful arrangement!

Thankfully, I stopped by to visit with Grace, from Vale of Enna, a few days ago and she had some leftover flowers from Valentine’s Day. So I took them, made a very amateur arrangement and took a few shots.

I sort of like this, even though it’s VERY overexposed.

I’m hoping to snap more photos in 2011. Obviously nothing professional, but just want to capture more moments and memories!

Lyndie Dourthe

I really wished I retained more of the 7 years of French I took so that I could understand her site more. Wouldn’t these beautiful creations made of paper + fabric be wonderful for boutonnieres or centerpieces?

 

images courtesy of Lyndie Dourthe

fleurs de papier

when you can’t have real live flowers… paper is the next best thing!

[images from Eloise Corr Danch]

And if you want to make your own, you can purchase a set from Paper-Source.

 

springtime flowers

I was at the mall last week killing some time and the wind was picking up. I saw these flowers... not sure what they are, but they just looked like they were dancing with the wind. The picture doesn't do justice, but I'll have to look back here and there this week with the exciting sunshine-less days we'll be facing.

I saw a Magnolia tree today and I must say, they are quite beautiful: such full flowers with a soft pink petal. My sister's boyfriend was kind enough to pick one off of his neighbor's tree. It looks like they are already dying though... :(

But they reminded me of the Cherry Blossoms. I've always wanted to go and see them in DC. I'm marking my calendar for next year and hope I can visit some dear friends while I'm out there!

[image via national geographic]

Speaking of flowers, I'm thinking of taking this class at Home Depot... it's free and my front porch area can definitely use some gardening to spruce it up especially on a low-budget.

perks...

One of the many perks of working with Grace is that she lets me take home any leftover flowers! I love having flowers in the house, especially these ranunculus. They are so sweet to look at because they are little but very full flowers when they open up.

She also gave me these dogwood branches - waiting for them to open up. [I did stick them in some hot water, but I want them to last for a long time!] I'm very fond of branches... Not sure why because they should remind me of winter, but I like how clean they look. 

 

I'm really tempted to buy some seeds and plant some flowers this Spring... there's a patch of dirt where a dead bush resided. I had some seeds that I planted but I'm guessing the seeds were too old. It's been a few weeks now and nothing's sprouted.

vale of enna!

I'm WAY behind on blogging and even more behind on a few projects... but I thought I would interrupt my crazy work schedule to write about this. :)

On Friday, I met with one of my brides at her venue and picked up a copy of the latest Brides Chicago magazine. I'm not sure if this is even out on the stands yet... but I was waiting for a call and perused through the magazine when I stumbled on to page 250!

I immediately called Grace from Vale of Enna and read the script to her. She was ecstatic and said - I'm going to go get a copy RIGHT NOW!

I can't gush enough about this florist! I think she does AMAZING work and this just proves it! :) As David Won says, you're going to get famous really fast Grace! I agree! I love your work...

[Unfortunately, I don't have my scanner right now, but here you go! courtesy of Brides Chicago - Fall/Winter 2008]

  

happy belated mother's day

grace is sweet and lets me take home any leftover flowers... i am shameless now and take as much as i can. haha. why? bc she said i can take them AND they are so pretty to just pass up!

if my mama lived in the area, she would have received some lovely bouquets. but i'm enjoying them all over the house. the kitchen, bathroom, dining room, and my desk!

and my knife skills are slowly improving. i'm still scared of slicing my thumb like i did last year, but i feel a bit more comfortable with a swiss army knife!

i'm really digging the red peonies. something about them just look SO pretty! oh and yellow/redranunculus have been added to my favorites...

more to come... those sticks in the background were leftovers from willow branches. she gathered them together and thought they would be a nice simple centerpiece and then threw them out. i'm shameless, i dug them out of the garbage and placed them in a vase for now. i think i'll bundle them together and give them somewhat of a modern look!

flower power

It was a busy weekend as usual...

This time, I had the pleasure of working with Vale of Enna again and she just simply makes beautiful  flower arrangements. Here's a peek at what she created.

I wasn't too fond of the hanging orchids at first, but after we placed them on the branches, I took a step back and looked at the room full of these arrangements and noticed that the orchids began to look like butterflies floating around the piece. [that's the look she was going for!]

Each time I work with a florist, I appreciate flowers MUCH more. haha... and love certain types of flowers more and more!

The best part? I took home some leftover flowers and made some arrangements around the house. I mean, who doesn't love fresh flowers? :)

Will post some more pictures shortly...

simple and elegant

At the Sofitel, there were several amazing displays...

Here's a simple piece of wheatgrass and a beautiful orchid at one end.

Need to elevate your candles or arrangements? Buy different heights of the same vase and stack the smaller vase on top of the taller one. Place the taller one upside down so there's a sturdier base.