happy monday

tuesday morning

this is the part of winter that feels long and dark, isn't it? this morning felt like the kind of morning where a bunch of flowers goes a long way. i'm a fan of grouping them by color for display...part because i love all things monochromatic, but also because the simple act of grouping and arranging and putting like with like can feel calming. there's something orderly about it that we just don't get very often in the chaos of real life. agree?

i'm listening to this song this morning as i write and sip my coffee and it makes me smile and feel happy. happy tuesday.

fiesta flowers

i couldn't be a bigger fan of flowers for centerpieces, nighttable accents, really any old thing. but sometimes flowers just aren't the thing - whether it's a budget restriction or just not the mood of the gathering, i like to have some other ideas at the ready and i really love this mexican paper flower idea. 

dare i say it, but i actually feel like i could create something that looks somewhat like this with no instructions (famous last words...) , but i might end up needing a tutorial. or a xanax. or both! and if craftyness fails me, they're also available to buy pretty inexpensively here. 

i think they look really pretty in a multi-color bunch like above, but i'd also love them in a two-tone bundle...like light and dark blue or lime green and a grapey purple. thoughts?

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a flowery idea

i mean - can you believe the size of this hibiscus flower? my parents have a couple of bushes of them at the foot of their driveway and they are RIDICULOUS. they're HUGE and so perfect and gorgeous!  here is my car key next to it so you can really get a sense of their out of control size.

the sad thing about them, like many amazing and wonderful things, is that they're incredibly short-lived. they seem to wither and crumble up after just a day or so, but the upshot is that there are so many blooms always coming and going that the bushes always look full and healthy - it's just the lifespan of each tissuey, gauzy one that's short.

so my big idea? how beautiful would it be to have each dinner-plate-sized bloom atop a dinner plate at a party? imagine everyone arriving at the table, greeted by their very own hibiscus...and imagine how totally stunning that table would look. you wouldn't even need floral arrangements, and could go just with simple votives, or perhaps interesting little objects like my aunt louisa brilliantly did here. it would be amazing on a table dressed all in white linens, a wood table with no linens at all, or a cacophony of floral, striped and patterned linens. if i were doing this, i'd probably want to ditch the dinner party and just play around with options all night!

in the same way a charger is used under a plate and then removed when it's time to eat, the top plate holding the bloom would be removed, revealing the dinner plate beneath it when it's time to eat. 

wild flowers

it's so gorgeous out today isn't it? yesterday too. i always love it when mother nature gives us something like that after a weekend like we had. it's like a wink from the bright blue sky...what wind? what rain?

of course i wouldn't be feeling so flowery if i didn't have power back yet like my parents and so many other unlucky, unhappy people. i hope you get your power back as soon as humanly possible.

a sweet farewell

i'm sad to see peony season come to a close...are you? it's too short! this year, i bought one bunch of them and kept them in my bathroom in little blue and white porecelain cups. i added some sprigs of fresh lavender from my balcony and enjoyed the little bunches' sweet presence for almost a month. 

i know people say that all good things end and i know that's part of what makes them special, but i think peonies would still be special, even if they stuck around just a little while longer...


alas, we know they'll be back next year no matter how things in life might change. there's a certain comfort in that, don't you think? still, i'm sad to see them go.

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from the country

hi lovelies. you know those days where you just can't quite get it together? today is one of them for me. i traveled all weekend and thoroughly enjoyed the amazing catskills and one of my favorites places on earth...and on the way home, we stopped at a dirt-cheap farmstand where i got a veritable bevvy of things for next to nothing, my fear of produce pressure be damned. i have to tend to them all tonight...washing, prepping, cooking, cutting, repotting, etc. i don't know how i'll also unpack and tidy up, but it all needs to get done so it will. you know when the only reason you know someone will get done is because it has to? that's where i am.

here's what i got:

-box of apricots

-box of shallots

-box of shitake mushrooms

-box of oyster mushrooms

-scallions

-green lettuce

-romaine hearts

-block of cheddar cheese

-bunch of radishes (going to try them in salads - any pointers?)

-8 or 9 four-cell packs of pansies, petunias, phlox and some other pretty flowers for my balcony and another special planting project i'll share next week

grand total? $30. i love the catskills.

summer parties are coming!

the coming of memorial day weekend always makes me think of entertaining, parties and time spent outside (hopefully the weather will cooperate). given my love of mismatching chairs (and really chairs in any form), this picture makes my heart sing. i love the tolix style chairs in all their timeworn glory, mixed with the sweet and shabby chic tableware, and even some painted wood chairs thrown in. it seems like this was a party that just came together on its own and those can be the best kinds of parties.

and how about this spread? definitely a little more planned out looking, and charming in its own way. i always love the way a bevvy of glasses look on a table...they bring a certain sparkle and shine that suggests a party and a little elegance. and the potted herbs and plants as centerpieces? yes please!! these would be amazing centerpieces to send guests home with since they won't wilt or die and can add something to their summer garden, kitchen or balcony.

and this...so simple and so sweet. you know i love baby's breath en masse (like here and here), and sticking it in a coffee can that's charming but not too vintagey in an overplayed way...there's that impromptu charm that is perfection all in itself.

are you planning any parties or entertaining this weekend? are you going detailed and planned out or free form and casual? i'd love to hear!

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holy tulips!

all weekend i was blown away by the huge, gorgeous tulips i was seeing everywhere. i tried to take some pictures to share, but i was going to be risking the lives of other motorists, so i had to lay off the camera. i did get this one and i just adore the vibrant, intense color combo of red and purple. another favorite combination i saw was red, yellow and orange. i'm going to do my best to take a picture of that display so i can post it here. so many color stories to love...

on the subject of tulips, martha's tip of the day is a particularly clever one. she puts the tulips stems in a narrow vase and places that vase inside a larger one. a turducken of tulips. obsessed.

in tiny bloom

 i love little floral arrangements like this, if you could even really call them that. they're simple, inexpensive and surprisingly impactful in settings ranging from your desk at work to your dinner table at home to even a wedding.

i always think that a single bloom in a simple vase or even a drinking glass looks so charming and understated at restaurants, and really there's no reason we can't do that on our own, all the time. you can get a bouquet at the grocery store for around $5 and create a few single-bloom vases like these, or you could go into a florist and treat yourself to s single gorgeous specimen and put it in your prettiest glass.

i think a lot of times people shy away from doing things like this, especially for weddings and big events, because they don't want to look cheap, but really, if you do them tastefully and with confidence, i think they make a strong, classy statement. in some ways, their stark and subtle appearance speaks volumes. 

if i were doing this for a party, i'd probably go with mono-chromatic blooms (like i did here) and perhaps mix and match simple glass vases or glasses. for a wedding, the go-to would be white, but for a christmas dinner i'd use red, and for a spring brunch, definitely pink....i would split up the single blooms in these pictures and place them in a row down a long table or stagger three of them in the center of a round one.


playing with flowers is so cathartic and lovely feeling, isn't it? my favorite flower moment so far was when i got home from the hospital after my surgery, i reworked all the beautiful flowers that had been sent to me so i could have them all over and enjoy them for the weeks to come while i was home. they are a true moodlifter.


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spring it on

how excited are you at the prospect of spring? i can honestly say that before the holidays, i was enjoying the season so much that i couldn't conceive of the idea of being ready for the inevitable rush of spring in the stores and all over the web that would pretty much immediately follow new years. but i have to tell you - i'm ready like a banshee, and i'm sure you are too. i am moved almost to tears by the appearance of little baby birds and the hint, really a whisper, of a warmer air moving through. nothing could be sweeter than that, even on valentine's day.

is there anyone out there in the frozen tundra that is still having fun?

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you know the drill

what did you do over the weekend, my friends?

on friday, we had dinner here with one of my good friends from high school and her new husband, and their newlywed love and enjoyment was palpable - so sweet. we talked and laughed about lots of things, including saved by the bell and how miss bliss was so screwed after the first couple years, and the impenetrably cool dylan mckay, especially his much-imitated voicemail message..."you know the drill." it's always so fun to be with people who have the exact same memories you do, isn't it?

want to walk down memory lane? enjoy. and what about this one? it's like a parody! ah, they just don't make 'em like they used to. though let's be real, i die for pretty little liars and gossip girl, and those opening themes are pretty well-executed too. take a look.

then on saturday, my eyes flew open with the thought that i needed a haircut, and within moments i was out the door, on my way to get one - no appointment! i went to a really nice little place on main street in port washington and it was a great experience. they tended to all the little details (you know how i feel about that) and i really enjoyed it. the man washing my hair had his own special technique rather than just phoning it in. he did a whole vigorous head grabbing situation while using conditioner, and he gave me a temple massage. when he dried my hair, he tied it all up in a tight little cloth - so neat and tidy. and then he even dried out my ears - total bonus, right?

by the time i got to the chair where they cut, there was a stack of current magazines and two men worked on the hair at once, while of course only one did the cutting. when i needed something from my coat and got up to get it, they sat me back down and went and brought my coat over to me, rather than just reaching into the pocket of it like i suggested. then when they blew it out, they both worked together and i had a backstage model moment. it was just a really nice morning, overall. i love when something turns from an errand into an experience.

so between the haircut and my home life, i read a ton of magazines this weekend, wrote a bunch and we ran lots of errands. i discovered a few deals along the way you should know about...really cheap frames at walmart that made me able to frame three pieces that required large (read: expensive) frames. well unfortunately, they're not online, but they're simple black box frames (like the black is only on the sides and the glass pops out and back in) and in all sizes they were $4 each. definitely worth a trip to walmart if you can bear it.

also, homegoods is rocking a serious collection of stuff from africa right now. you should probably go there immediately. like, now. you'll thank me.


and then yesterday i got a manicure and i had her try six different colors before i made a decision. i ended up with midnight in moscow, but it wasn't an easy road. i'm a little obsessed with cuckoo for this color - but it just didn't feel right on me. it's like i want everything in the world to be that color, except my nails.

so pretty, isn't it? other strong contenders were opi ink and good old russian navy.


most importantly of all, it was sunny for several hours this weekend and the snow began to melt while the birds began to sing. you can almost believe spring is coming, can't you? treat yourself to a glimpse into a warmer, brighter moment by picking up a bunch of colorful flowers just for you. i did, and i'm already feeling springier.

flowers, african baskets, midnight in moscow, cuckoo for this color, russian navy, dylan mckay,magazines

shower the people you love with love

isn't this a sweet idea for tables at a bridal or baby shower? i love the thought of threading the "showering with love" theme throughout, starting with an invitation like this one...then you could accessorize all the drinks with cocktail umbrellas (i love the retro charm of these), and give out seed packets like these with a note that says "shower these with water (and love!) and they will grow into beautiful flowers" (or something like that).

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thankful for fall

i know we're all already amping up for christmas and channukah (which comes scandalously early this year), but since it is thanksgiving week, let's take a moment to be thankful for fall and for the bounty of beauty that it brings.

i've been admiring the fiery orange mums and pumpkins that are gracing the front steps at my parents' house and i'm pleasantly surprised to find that some things are constant - i admired a very similar spread right here (and pictured below) more than a year ago. i don't know who's more consistent - my parents for gravitating towards the same combination or me for being smitten with it.

on my walks around our neighborhood, i've enjoyed the beautiful vibrance of the trees and they way they seem to glow against the periwinkle sky.

and i've been struck by how i've seen more than a few signs of supersized autumn. take for example the ginormo leaf below, pictured next to a normal sized leaf.

and a normal sized apple, left, cowering in the shadow of the godzilla apple to its right. guess nature didn't get the memo about it being a lean year.

i'm also loving how fall inspires people to be creative with color combinations...

i see it in the selection of mums and cabbages on peoples' lawns, warm earthtone wardrobes mixed with punches of rich jeweltones...even the bakers at whole foods created an inspiring palette - magenta, yellow, cream and brown. i'd love a party in those colors, or a piece of jewelry, or a room...
funny, the frosting has always been my favorite part, so this year i can just admire their color scheme. works for me.

what's inspiring you this fall?

top image from HBU, 7th image from flickr

once and again

when i was in the hospital having my surgery, i got such beautiful flowers sent to me, (my phone's camera clearly doesn't do them justice) and they were a real moodlifter once i got home as well. i loved how almost all the arrangments had red berries in them, like florists everywhere were in silent agreement that it was full-fledged fall. i was also particularly excited about one arrangement in a stainless steel cylinder (great for future arrangements!)



of course after a couple days, several of the stems started to shrivel but i wasn't ready to throw the baby out with the bathwater, so the first day i felt up to it, i got rid of all the dead stems and after a couple bags of floral waste, i set out to create new arrangements for all over the house.

with the lighter colored blooms, i started out just putting the good stems in fresh water in a couple vases, but i actually liked the way they looked, so i ended up leaving them as is.



i so enjoyed them on my vanity, my desk and in the bathroom. then i made deeper colored arrangements for the key table and the living room, which we enjoyed in the evenings.



i was so flattered to receive them at first, and even more thrilled to be able to enjoy them for a full two weeks by repurposing them.

bringing it to the table

i'm starting to think about thanksgiving decor thanks to my expert hostess mother who's letting me do the flowers...my head is dancing with images of pumpkins and fruits and flowers...oh my!

in the last issue of real simple, they had a great story on different holiday tablescapes based on the dishes you already have. i thought it was so useful and savvy - just like the mag itself. here are the ideas they offered.

if you have white dishes, go mostly monochromatic but add a pop of an energizing color:

if you have blue and white dishes, mix two different patterns and throw in soft, nubby textural pieces for an unexpected twist, then add some gilded fruit for added glam. this whole look would work just as nicely with the more traditional spode-style blue and white set.

if you have gilded china, real simple suggests mixing it with dark and moody textiles and "undone" autumnal elements like loose squash and indian corn.

for earthy ceramics, they suggest layering organics to achieve a warmed-up scandinavian aesthetic.

and for a "vintage mishmash," just embrace it and go with the chaos, toning it down by having the backdrop be crisp white linens. they're all gorgeous, but this tablescape just makes my heart sing.

to me, that's what holiday decor is about...finding the exact combination of elements that embraces tradition but brings new excitement and joy to the table as well.

top image from martha stewart, all others from real simple