Flowers and high fashion have always gone together. We are inspired by the Paris runways to create our seasonal floral designs.
And the designers of Paris, Milan and New York have always taken inspiration from flowers.
This year in honor and celebration of the British Mother's Day, classic couture met cart of creme de la creme corymb.
Chanel opened the chicest flower stall in Convent Garden! And only for three days.
How about this for a fantastic morning?!
We won the raffle from one of our favorite (ok, our definite favorite) vendors!!!!
The guys at Valley Mayesh Wholesale Flowers are the best!
They are professional, smart, funny, amazing, kind and great at what they do!
Thank you Rich, Francisco, Evelio, Jay, Freddie! And a special thanks to Deb who encouraged me to enter the raffle in the fist place.
My mini cooper Sheba filled with free flowers!
How great is this?!
A couple of the arrangements sent out today using my gift certificate flowers!
Now that the official Thanks has been Given, I am ready to start planning for Winter Celebrations!
I love the idea of the advent calender, although religious in it's origination, it's a wonderful way to celebrate the days leading up to the holiday of your choice, winter solstice or to the new year.
You can create your own countdown calender to any date you wish and with whatever supplies you have around the house. Extra gift boxes or bags, a little paper and string, as simple or complicated as you want to get!
Simply number your bags, boxes, paper cones, envelopes, homemade parchment paper sacs with your days, and fill with tiny momentos of the season!
Happy Holidays to You and Yours from Me and Mine!
Pumpkin time is here! And there a re so many options and inspiration for all things pumpkin!
Here are a few of my favorites:
Make a Pumpkin Planter
Easily follow the beginnings of creating a carved pumpkin~
Voila!
Did you know you can eat pumpkin blossoms? You can! And they are delicious!
Fried Pumpkin Blossom Fritters
Ingredients:
| 24 | pumpkin blossoms |
| 1/2 cup | milk |
| 2 | eggs |
| 1/2 cup | whole wheat flour (or corn meal) |
| 3-4 tablespoons | light cooking olive oil |
| dash | salt |
| as desired | fresh cracked black pepper to taste |
Make your pumpkin puree for incredibly tasty pumpkin bread topped with edible flowers!
Making your own fresh pumpkin puree:
It's easy and fun, and tastes waaaaaay better than the canned kind.
The best part is that it makes your house smell wonderful all day long! It's usually recommended that a sugar pumpkin be used (also called a pie pumpkin) but really any variety of pumpkin will work, organic if you can find one is best.
Using a sharp knife, cut off the stem of the pumpkin. Cut the pumpkin into several pieces.
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups white sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground allspice
1 1/2 tsps salt
2 tsps baking soda
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
1 cup packed homemade Pumpkin Puree
4 eggs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 1 large loaf pan. Sift together the dry ingredients. Combine the vegetable oil, water, canned pumpkin and eggs. Slowly add dry ingredients to egg mixture, (about 1/2 cup at a time) and mix until blended. Pour mixture into loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour and 30 - 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and top of bread is browned. Cool bread in loaf pan on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread by running a knife around the inside and turning loaf upside down to dislodge bread. Cool completely. Serve warm with butter, or slightly chilled with edible flower garnish!
We sell the jar of French Salade de Fleurs here in the shop, they make anything more charming and delectable!
Everything is better with flowers!
Travelled to Provence and Paris in September and was stunned by the beauty.
Here are few pictures for inspiration, reaffirmation and celebration!
...would be a better name for this little orb full of tiny stars!
"We are one species. We are star stuff." Carl Sagan
Meet the Scabiosa pod! Awful name right? Especially for something so unusual and pretty.
Scabiosa, a perrenial, is also known as Sweet scabious, starflower pincushions, or 'Paper Moon'~ perhaps, we should refer to these beauties as one of those...
'Say, it's only a paper moon
Sailing over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Yes, it's only a canvas sky
Hanging over a muslin tree
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Without your love
It's a honky-tonk parade
Without your love
It's a melody played in a penny arcade
It's a barnum and bailey world
Just as phony as it can be
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me'
A wonderful plant to have in the garden. Scabiosa attracts birds and butterflies. It also provides a source of nectar for bees and butterflies. I love how the pods give the plant an encore after the initial blooming.
They dry beautifully, but are a bit delicate. Their unique loveliness adds a special something to bouquets and arrangements. They are wonderful in boutonnieres!
"We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it's forever." Carl Sagan
Dahlias are in season, Darling... and they are delightful.
My favorites: The Cafe Au Lait Dinner Plate Dahlia! So Gorgeous!
The sumptuous and subtle coloring of espresso with lots of cream mingled with seashell pink is unexpected and lovely.
The dinner plate variety is what is sounds like with staggering and stunningly huge blooms averaging 6-10 inches!
It's a variety and shade worth contemplating.
And when given a fresh cut they release a sweet, peppery fragrance that smells like summer itself.
I mean, really, come on now! So pretty!
When given as a gift, the dahlia flower expresses sentiments of dignity and elegance. It is also the symbol of a commitment and a true bond that lasts forever. The dahlia flower is enjoyed in gardens and flower arrangements to celebrate love and marriage.
We can feel the sun shining a little longer, smell a crisp green edge in the air, and see the vibrant shoots and buds of Spring about to explode into the opening of this new season. Isn't it amazing that there is newness all the time?
It is easy to get caught up in routine and miss the clean slate we are offered daily. Well, really every second of every minute of everyday! The fact is your body isn't just keeping your existing cells alive. While it is doing that, it is also completely rebuilding new cells. Millions of them. In fact, your body makes between 11 and 13 million new cells every second or nearly 100 million new cells in the time it took you to read this sentence!!!!!
You are constantly regenerating yourself. Your skin regenerates itself every 4 weeks, your liver every 6 weeks, your blood every 16 weeks. Even your bones completely regenerate themselves.
In your internal landscape is it always Spring!
With each step we take we are regenerated, rebuilding and creating brand new energy.
It's the same with flowers. Although their season is so much shorter than ours, they are using photosynthesis and water for energy to grow and open to the sun.
I LOVE FLOWERS SO MUCH! They are such a treasure, such a celebration of newness, of transformation of aging gracefully, of the fleeting category of life itself. ( I know I'm getting a little esoteric and philosophical here, but did I mention, I LOVE FLOWERS?!!!!!!)
So happy Spring to you dear reader, customer, friend~ May you celebrate the newness of you!
We noticed during Thanksgiving week a marked rise in the number of customers who seemed really stressed out!
I guess the holidays aren't always happy. In fact they can be highly stressful. If you've got endless presents to buy, a budget to keep to, a houseful of guests and Christmas dinner for twelve, you may want to fast forward to January 1.
But there are many simple things experts recommend to have a relaxed and successful holiday!
Research from the Science University of Tokyo shows that classical music is helpful at reducing levels of anxiety and stress. It has been shown to slow down the heart beat, which helps people to relax and stimulates the part of the brain which is connected with emotional activity and sleep.
Being soothed in this way encourages our mind to concentrate on relaxing muscles and helps us to breathe evenly and more deeply. In contrast, livlier music speeds up the heart beat and encourages movement.
At Hereford General Hospital in the UK, doctors use Mozart flute music in the operating theatre as a way of soothing patients on the table.
If tension is running high - and a family fight is about to erupt on Christmas Day - suggest playing a game, or going outside for a family walk says stress consultant Carole Spiers.
Laughter is a great stress reliever, claims Spiers, because the simple action of laughter forces our muscles to relax, which in turn, gets rid of lactic acid which builds up under our muscles creating tension.
Being outdoors with fresh air and rapid movement causes the release of endorphins.
Scientific evidence shows that laughing keeps you healthy and can ward off heart disease. Research from the University of Maryland in Baltimore found that those patients with heart conditions were 40 per cent less likely to laugh than their healthy counterparts.
Several studies show that laughter produces endorphins, natural chemicals that ease pain and produce a feeling of euphoria, helping us cope with physical stress and chronic pain.
Here in Santa Monica we have ICE SKATING! http://iceatsantamonica.com/
Not my favorite suggestion, but I'll take it!
Did you know that caffeine accentuates the stress response? It increases the heart rate, blood pressure and ultimately makes it difficult to relax, which is what we need to do when we are stressed. You might think you need that chemical jolt to get you through your "to-do" list, but instead of reaching for that extra cup of Joe or can of jitter juice, choose hot apple cider, herbal teas or a decaffeinated version of your favorite warm beverage.
In fact, why not take an hour or two away from your hectic schedule to take a real English-style tea break, complete with finger sandwiches and chat-time with your friends!
All for Good is a great place to get a local list of volunteer options.
And have yourself a Merry Little Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza/Winter Solstice/Yule/Diwali/Sadeh/Saturnalia/Bodhi Day/Festivus
or whatever you celebrate this season!!!
Happy Holidays Every One!
Well, it's that time of year again when the air is crisp and metallic, and the windows shine with frost and the sparkle of holiday offerings.
I think most people find that extra moment now... to discover their patience, take the high road or rise to the occasion.
And that's my favorite part.
Do we think it's because they are reminded of the happiest part of their childhoods, divine intervention, cold weather causes the intellect to connect with emotion in a different more cohesive way, perhaps?
Whatever the inspiration, that is what it is: INSPIRED! We are inspired by this season to be nicer to one another, to offer the benefit of the doubt, to be our best selves.
And, once again, I am inspired by all of our amazing customers! Customers that have become good friends. What a joy that is!
We look forward to seeing you this season, sharing our daily cider and cookies, swapping stories and small gifts.
We look forward to participating in the best of the season with you, accenting your homes with festive florals, exciting your friends and family with a custom designed arrangement or one of kind gift from our shop!
Join us:
Friday, December 2nd
6-9pm
for The Annual Montana Ave. Holiday Walk!
We will have refreshments, art, florals, gifts, and
a Secret Surprise in the Garden!
We look forward to seeing you and celebrating this sensational season with you!
