Bella Italia

I've developed a growing relationship with the sender of this particular arrangement. Harking from Rome, Gail was particular to the sort of bouquet she wanted to send her friend. We found this Italian vase from ebay and patiently waited for it to arrive. I filled the unusual container with sage, lavender, blue parrot tulips, and bearded irisus with one pink peony for pop. It smells the way I think Italy will feel.

Meanwhile in this post wedding bliss I have begun the best task of all; researching my honeymoon next month- Rome, Capri & Positano

Gail we are really looking forward to seeing you in June! 

Mom, this bouquet is for you- If only I could send it your way!

I am a married woman and it feels so great

Thank you all around to my unwaveringly incredible friends who helped me tirelessly with my wedding,  and in my life. April, Heather, and Jessica your photographs are mesmerizing. Doan your magnetic beauty transforms into breathtaking floral arrangements. To all of you thank you, we love you. 

If you would like to see more images from the wedding weekend please do. 

www.lealovesbrad.com

Bouquet of the Day

I am at my limit with wedding planning. I'm on my way 8:30 am tomorrow to Tucson, from that moment forward I ride like the wind.

In the meantime I made this bouquet at Sprout for a couples 50th wedding anniversary.  The same day we got hitched down at city hall here in NYC. Good Friday.

Please, take a look at our wedding if you are so inclined, we don't mind. www.lealovesbrad.com

 

Scratch & Sniff

The next order of wedding prep events is this:

While dragging myself to give my accountant my taxes I went ahead and treated myself. Yes, I knew it was danger zone to walk in, but I also thought this would be good "research" for our upcoming honeymoon.

 My fiance would think it's great, i'm finding spots to explore in Italy! The place I am speaking of is

Santa Maria Novella. I feel as though I should say this in hushed tones because this was a near religious experience. Actually, being one the oldest pharmacies in the world, founded by Dominican Friars in the year 1221, it has been located since its inception in the Piazza di Santa Maria Novella in Florence, Italy

It's New York location, only one second to it's first in Itay is located on Lafaytte St. near Bleecker. 

I splurged and bought myself a small sealed bag of potpourri, it comes in a package similar to what you recieve a freshly ground bag of coffee beans. When I opened the seal I nearly fell into a dream like bliss. It's rich, dark, with all of the right masculine touches, and being the same secret recipe from 1221; it smells like Italy.

Let's just say without giving the secret away, my girlfriends, you know who you are, come next week you will be smelling something pretty memorable.

Thank you for the thoughtful perfume advice Anne!



Rosemary

Sadly my rosemary kicked the bucket. I must of had it for 7 months or so. What makes it all the more disheartining is what this herb symbolizes for marriage.

"Rosemary is the symbol of remembrance and fidelity and has been used for centuries in weddings. During the middle ages all elegant weddings used rosemary as a favor for the wedding guests. Sprigs were dipped in gold, tied with a ribbon and presented to guests. It symbolized that although the bride and groom were leaving their friends and family to start a new life, they would never forget their loved ones."

The trick with rosemary is it needs to stay moist, it likes the sun, but you let it fry out and it's a goner; misting it, touching it and caring is what rosemary needs. I had the intentions of cooking all winter long with the stuff, but never really got much of doing anything with it.

Not too surprising, here is what I ended up with.   

I nearly dumped it in the trash but got to thinking, i'm not ready to give up on this one. 

So I pruned off the dried rosemary. 

I gave one big whiff of my hand,  and sure as before I nearly trashed this mess, but ended up saving a bunch of dried rosemary for my cabinet.

"Dried rosemary was laid in the bed linen to ensure faithfulness, and a bride who gave her husband a sprig to hold on their wedding night would ensure that he remained faithful...
Napoleon is said to have loved rosemary...and Josephine is said to have asked Napoleon to wash in rosemary water before entering her bedchamber. Napoleon obediently used 162 bottles of rosemary in the first three months of marriage."
from "Book of Rosemary" (HarperCollins Publishers)
Jackie French, Author

Seedlings & Monogramming

As if planning a wedding 3,000 miles away two weeks from today is not enough,  I'm going to try my hand at growing from seed. My gal pal Heather from "I Grew This" and I are trading seeds these early Spring days. She has a bunch of one thing, I hope to have a bunch of other seeds for her. Together we hope to complete our little city gardens, I put a little (lot) less faith in my own green responsibilities-but what the heck...

On another note I couldn't be more excited about my thank you cards!! 

I had Jenna, my most magical calligrapher from "Love Jenna" my make our initials <BWL> which I then had made into a plate for an engraved copper foil stamp. 

 Here is the finished card! Now don't you totally want to gift me something so you can get one of these pretties in the mail? 

Crazy Cactus Update!

Look at this thing! I started chronicling this cactus back in November and check out how much it's changed! I think it has something to do with my wedding being in Arizona, 3.5 weeks to go!

Our Glimmer of Spring

...has passed for the moment, but you can evoke Spring with one of these.

Whitney Biennial 2010

I had the opportunity to attend the opening for the Whitney Biennial this year. It was fun to say the very least- seeing the art, the artists, with drinks in tote and dance moves to match we enjoyed....

A few of the pieces really caught my eye and left me wanting more. Dreamy and expertly crafted I fell for the work of Roland Flexner. These small sumi ink drawings look like dark landscapes.

I suggest going when one of the schedualed performances will be going on. Also, there will be a couple nights when the Whitney will be open for 24 hours, a great way to beat the crowds and make a crazy night of it.

Hello Gorgeous

Wedding bouqet and table arrangements I made for Sprout.

Hummingbird & Cactus Flower

Since we will be getting married in my home town in Arizona, I thought to have a signature hummingbird and desert flower motif throughout our wedding.

The inspiration for this  design was spurred from my friend April and 100 Proof Press rubber stamp catalog. This couple in Ohio has been building their stamp business together for the past 29 years! That my friend is love, and if you are anything like me this catalog is craft porn. While i'm not a big stamper like April, she has a growing card business called Imagine Card Crafts, I definitely got into stamping and embossing my place cards. 

Did I Mention I'm Getting Married?

Yes! It's true and with 8 weeks away I thought I would give you sneak previews into the wonderful world of wedding planning. I will share with you the bits and bobs I have been making, great resources and ideas, and all of it will lead to the big day which will be bursting with florals.

To begin I got the most  a m a z i n g  calligrapher to dip her quill in ink and personalize each of our guests address. 

 * Jenna's great, google her at "Love Jenna." If you are in the NY area I suggest booking her soon because she is one busy lady and has been spotted by the very likes of Martha Stewart. 

For Your Sweetie

What Jewel from Tiffany's is more beautiful than these!

P.S. I'm teaching a Valentine Bouquet making class 6pm tonight at Sprout Home Brooklyn. Give us a call to sign up! 718-388-4440

if these walls could talk

I had one of those New York moments, and while it doesn't fit with my floral endeavors it has a nice place in my buildings tab. 

My neighborhood bodega, one of the most important spots for us city dwellers. The place where you walk around your corner for just about anything; cold beer, a sandwich, the junk food you would never keep in your kitchen -it's all bought here.  I can be seen lurking the aisles in my pajammas at all hours of the day and night because this place is an extension of my own apartment.  

While half watching one of the zillion documentries on Andy Warhol and his factory stars- I saw it. I saw my very own corner of the city, recognizing where my bodega is now. A place that 40 years ago was the hottest spot, Max's Kansas City it's where Nico & The Velvet Underground got it's start, The New York Dolls, countless other bands and where Andy and his stars were spotted daily. 

I'm not one to get oogely eyed over Andy and all of that, but I was struck- that place and time is now my corner deli. New York City, like a lot of places is chuck full with this stuff, and while say I know that, when it becomes this real, it does something funny to you. I guess one would call that a New York moment.  

Read this blog if you want to explore further. 

http://thisaintthesummeroflove.blogspot.com/2009/10/maxs-kansas-city-dates.html

Max's Kansas City closed in '81 (the year I was born) Bad Brains was on the lineup but they never played, it closed before. 

Yoga Vida NYC

I received a special request from a mother looking to send a box of near blooming narcissus bulbs to her daughter; a celebration for the opening of her daughters Yoga Vida Studio . Kathryn said her daughter Hilaria and I shared similar philosophies, and I was touched by the note she included for her daughter. She said, "...the young growth of these bulbs reflects the promise of the new year and your endeavors, which we hope will grow and mature over time. as winter hibernation allows for spring awakening."

Yoga Vida's studios are airy and open, warm and welcoming.  

Located at 99 University Place at 12th Street 66th floor

$10.00 gives you unlimited yoga for 1 week and 1 free mat rental.  

I'll be going!  

Poppies

I have strayed away from naming my favorite flowers, trying my best to say that I have love them all equally like a litter of my very own children. This time I have to break my rule to tell you about one of my favorites, the poppy. 

These poppies I purchased came from Italy. When you get a fresh bunch of poppies the buds are tightly sealed in a green fuzzy shell that you have to delicately peel off to reveal the orange, red, pink, and white papery petals. The centers are dark purple blue and the fuzzy stems grow in every which direction like a bold cursive letter. 

While being a delicate and finicky flower I have no problem saving poppies after they have wilted, the flower remains eerily beautiful. Poppies are the Greek symbol for eternal sleep and oblivion, imagination and dreaminess.

 

In the Wizard of Oz while on their way to the Emerald City, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion walk through a field of poppies, and both Dorothy and the Lion mysteriously fall asleep, as if from the opium of poppies. The Scarecrow and the Tin Man, not being made of flesh and blood, are unaffected. They carry Dorothy to safety and place her on the ground beyond the poppy field.

Regardless of the history of poppies and its dangerous uses, this flower remains one of the most beautiful buds I have seen. It is not common to find these flowers in the market which add to their intrigue and mystery, and the pods are just as unusually beautiful to see. 

Brooklyn Charm Christmas Love

Yes Yes I live in Manhattan in the village of Gramercy but I can't get enough of my home away from home in Williamsburg. This reason alone: The mean streets. 

...but I love to come home to my yummy abode & xmas charm. 

OK-I take it back

My blogging friend Heather from I grew This made an excellent point about my previous post about the Rockefeller Christmas tree .  She wrote,"Please don't hate me, but I don't think it's that bad... "After being taken down, the tree was used to furnish lumber for Habitat for Humanity house construction."..pines grow really fast on the tree spectrum, it's not like they are cutting down a red wood. I would gander that the environmental impact of fabricating a fake tree that size would be more detrimental than cutting down a new one every year."

Thanks for the feedback-that's exactly what I was looking for! 

It's midnight and I really need to get some sleep now. 

Rockefeller Christmas Tree Lighting

Ceremony is tonight which I will avoid at all costs for fear of the touristy crowd. While this annual celebration kicks off the holiday spirit here in New York I have hesitation towards enjoying it.

I think it's really sad that every year all around the world we chop down beautiful trees only to be thrown out one month later. Especially one so grand as this 75 feet tall! How old was this tree?

While this could be a contradiction of sorts being that I work with cut flowers it IS different! Look at the age it takes to grow these, the oxygen it creates! Now that you think I am completely agro- together we can create a petition to make Rockefeller's tree artificial. Serioulsy you can't even smell it-it's outside! I googled this exact issue and have yet to find the petition. Unless we can find this petition we can all make one together. 

Dolce & Gabbana Holiday Window

What better way to kick off the holiday season than feasting your eyes on this Sicilian spread.

I was honored with creating Dolce & Gabbana's holiday window for a second year.

Located on Madison Avenue and 68th street it's worth a look in person. Every fruit, flower and desert is real.

The vases, candelabras and glasses are authentic French Louis XV pieces from the 19th Century. 

Happy Holidays!!