Beating the Winter Blues

If there is one nice thing about winter, its taking a little walk after a snowstorm and seeing all the freshly fallen snow. I took Whiskey to the park yesterday and it was blindingly white, but also incredibly quiet and serene.

In the summer, this place is packed with people picnicking all day, but right now its quiet and empty. The only evidence of anyone coming through here is the tracks that go from the sidewalks over to the little hill that kids like to toboggan down.

All this grey and white winter weather can also make it easy to get a little down. While picking up groceries, I grabbed a $10 bouquet of flowers to add some colour to the apartment. Its amazing what a pick-me-up fresh flowers can be. Even Whiskey likes to stick his nose in and smell them.

I'm hoping to keep this tradition up for the next few months until the flowers in the garden are ready for clipping. Spending $5-10 a month on a small bouquet or a little houseplant isn't much, but its worth it to come home to it every day.

What do you do to help beat the winter blues?

Dreaming of Flowers

I had some leftover alstroemeria from the arrangement I did the other night, so I put together a sweet little arrangement for my bedside table.

I used pink and fushia alstroemerias, as well as some pink cosmos from a neighbour's yard, arranged in an a small jam jar washed out.

It a lovely thing to wake up and roll over to see beautiful blooms.

Nice way to start a day :)

I paired the arrangement with a beautiful Orrefors teardrop shaped glass votive holder that my father brought back for me from Sweden.

How is it that something as simple as a few fresh cut flowers can make a world of difference to your mood in a room?

Summer Blooms

While walking home from work the other day I saw a big beautiful bouquet of mixed flowers at a fruit market for only $7.99 and i just couldn't resist bringing them home to make a couple little arrangements.

It was full of white lilies, white, yellow and red daisies (my fav) and pink and fushia alstroemerias.

I've really been loving these turquoise mercury glass containers that I bought on clearance at Pottery Barn so I decided to use a couple of them. 

To make it easier to arrange the flowers, I made a grid over the top using clear scotch tape. Then it was just a matter of arranging the flowers in the containers and filling them up with water.

I placed them on top of the bookshelf, flanking my beloved Maltese Falcon. I took these photos just after I made the arrangements, but since then the lilies have really opened up and look really nice.

They are add a nice little punch of colour in the living room, and I love how the containers play off of the new turquoise and neutral striped cover I put on the couch for summer. I picked it up on sale from Tonic Living, a Toronto-based company that makes retro-inspired fabrics, covers and pillows.

And that lovely little glass lotus votive holder on the table? A beautiful birthday gift from my sister that she picked up at a store in Kingston. Its one of those pieces that I just know I'll love for years to come.

White, Black & Pink

What is it about the month of June that makes for such fantastic weddings? Nice weather. Fresh seasonal food. And of course, beautiful flowers. The varieties that you can get in these warm months makes it perfect for doing some amazing arrangements. Recently I was at a wedding for a friend's sister, and my job for the festivities was to join some of the other ladies to help make the flower arrangements. I was more than happy to oblige. Flowers are by far one of my favorite parts of a wedding (right up there with good food, dancing...and of course seeing the happy couple tie the knot!) This wedding had a fantastic colour scheme with white and black damask details, and fuchsia accents.

For these vibrant centerpieces, the bride's aunt picked this winning combination of fuchsia gerbera daisies, white roses and white hydrangea. Daisies are one of my all-time favorite flowers, so my heart melted a little when I saw these in the big florist buckets. To hold the arrangements, galvanized buckets were filled with river stones to act as not only a way to weigh down the buckets, but to also keep the flowers in place. The metallic surface of the buckets was great for reflecting the beautiful damask table cloths, especially in the evening when the tables were lit with elegant flickering candles.

The bride's aunt, our florist extraordinaire, came up with this lovely idea of making a pink carnation "pillow". She taught me to take a heart shaped glass container, fill it with clear stones, and then cut the carnations super short is that they could fit into the rocks, and just peek out over the edge of the dish. These looked incredibly sweet placed throughout the hall.

And of course the bride's lovable chocolate lab needed some flowers for walking down the aisle as well. How cute is his little wreath?

More gerbera and hydrangea were used in other bouquets around the venue. To hide the stems inside these tall clear vases, we lined the inside with large leaves leftover from the cut hydrangea.

The colour theme was continued on with a giant display of cupcakes in lieu of a wedding cake. Just standing this close to take the picture was a test of will power. It smelled absolutely phenomenal.

I'm starting to go into a sugar coma again looking at these photos.

Yum yum!

There was even more sugar at the large candy bar set up for guests to help themselves to some goodies to take home. To keep with the colour theme, all the sweets were variations of white, black and pink.

It was a beautiful wedding for an amazing couple, that I was lucky to be invited to. And I definitely came away with plenty of inspiration for flower arranging ideas for my own home. Those hydrangeas are calling to me!

an afternoon at cheekwood

Floral Tiered Dress - Urban Outfitters

Denim Motorcycle Jacket - Forever21

Vintage Black Strap Wood Wedges - Crafty Crow Vintage

Yesterday, Neil and I made a trip to Cheekwood Botanical Gardens, a lovely estate in the Belle Meade area of Nashville. A grand home, an Impressionism art exhibit, and plenty of flowers and sun.

Both Cheekwood and the Frist Center have free admission thru today (the Frist til Sunday, actually) to give Nashville a break from flood thoughts, so if you're around the area, take advantage of it!

How long until Spring?

Today it is absolutely bitter cold in Toronto. Its about -15°C right now (or 5°F for my friends south of the border) and Whiskey and I are curled up trying to keep warm (he is a living, breathing hot water bottle).

How long is it until Summer? Actually I don't even care about it being hot, I just would like some warmth...how long is it until Spring?

Despite the cold snap right now, last night I went up North to visit my parents and walked in to discover that Spring had come early to their house...

Tulips!

This reminds me that eventually the nice weather will be back, but I can't wait to see all the flowers bloom again. My mother put this together for next to nothing. She picked up the rectangular container for 50 cents from a florist shop that was downsizing (regularly $20!), the river stones are from a local dollar store and the tulips were only $7.00. A fresh flower arrangement for only $8.50!

I love the Spring colours and they really stand out with the new paint as a backdrop. I may just have to stop at the local fruit stand on the way home tonight and pick up some fresh blooms for myself.

Hope that you all have a wonderful weekend and keep out of the cold! Brrr....

putting together some pretty things in the name of lula

My latest crafting project! I, like most bloggers lately, have really fallen in love with the new Lula issue. I wanted to interpret the styles through some form of creation, so I decided to do my favorite thing - make hair pieces.

I made three hair pieces that were inspired by beautiful Lula photos (I'm actually working on another, but it's not so ready yet. Darth Vader is modeling it for now). Here is what I ended up with, from some of my favorite articles and shoots of Lula's latest issue..

Red feathers and vintage velvet bow. I sewed it onto a metallic hair clip in the back.

Soft pink bow headband with vintage lace.

Gold headband with royal blue rosettes. I made the little blue flowers by cutting thin scraps of fabric (from a nightgown I hemmed), rolling them into roses, and gluing them.

What do you guys think?

East And West. . . Home Is Best

In my mother's kitchen hung a sign, decorated with the Norwegian folk painting known
as Rosemaling. It read: Ost og vest, hjem er best. East and West, home is best.

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If the weather in California weren't so beautiful, it would be boring.
Howard and I were there for 9 days, and never had to turn on the rental car's windshield wipers.

We landed back in New Jersey in a chill drizzle.

But I am a confirmed East Coast kind of gal. Drizzle and all. It's good to be home.

Today it's the great outdoors, with our Southern Daydreamer, Susan, and her blog party for Outdoor Wednesday. You can click on any highlighted word, or the logo at the end of the post, to join all the other outdoor merrymakers!

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Howard and I stayed in Newport Beach -- an hour's drive from our daughter's apartment, but near the ocean.
You can't keep us away from the shore!

We explored a bit along the Pacific Coast Highway;

we had not been in that area for 20 years.

Mid-week, we went whale watching with Alida and her boyfriend,

and then to lunch at the cutest place in Newport Beach.

I've got a few pics of that for a food post later this week.

We didn't see any whales; it isn't the season. But we saw dolphins and sea lions, and the best part was just being out on that gorgeous ocean. There was a group of school children on the lower deck; listening to their giggles and shrieks was priceless.

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And now, we are home.
There have been a few changes at That Old House since we left on September 25th.

Remember we had some green tomatoes valiantly trying to blush up?

Well, this one is doing his level best to become sandwich-worthy.
Can't you just hear him? "I think I can, I think I can ...."

My rosemary plant is thriving still in its pot outside, but the thyme next to it has died.

Miss Rosemary will have to winter in the conservatory.

The grape vines are fading fast. Once the fruit is off, they seem to just give up the ghost.

And that rudbeckia that bloomed so enthusiastically all summer long has turned into seed pods --

rather Halloween-looking, don't you think? Definitely Addams Family material.

The Sedum plants have gone from pink, to a deep rusty red.

They are so large that they've collapsed outward from their middles.

We'll have to see about good strong girdles for next year.
A good foundation garment, ladies, can make all the difference.

But lookie here . . . along the sunroom walls the humble wax begonias are still pumping it out.

Most of the summer-blooming flowers have folded their tents for the season,

but the begonias just keep on keepin' on.

You have to admire a little plant like that.

I figure it's a kindred soul, and is also reluctant to let go of summer.

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I took some video with my camera in California, like this one of sea lions at the base of a buoy . . .

please excuse the shakiness -- I was on a rocking boat!

The voice is the docent's, speaking to the school children.

I even took a couple of videos by mistake, thinking I was taking still pictures. . .

and not checking the settings. I will be kind and not subject you to those.

I also have one of Howard snoring at the hotel, which is quite hilarious, but since I value
my 31 year marriage and would like to celebrate 32 years, I'll keep that one to myself.

Thanks to all who sent good wishes for a quick recovery from my cold. The viral gods must have been listening, as I am feeling just about all better now! -- Cass :-)