up : date :: all's fair in crafts and arts

here are some booth pics from the Holiday Handmade Market here in bloomington! it was a few weekends ago, but for not doing craft fairs hardly ever, i thought i macgyvered together a nice little setup. I covered large boxes that our flowers get delivered in with red tablecloth...this made it really easy to use pushpins to display my prints and mini arts (note: no art was harmed in doing this!). i think the oriental runner really pulled it all together. 

thanks to everyone who came out! 

le : sigh

short : sweet :: Gobble Gobble

Happy Turkey Day! 

learn how to give a turkey high five here!

1 : 3 :: cornucopias

ok, cornucopias are possibly the cheesiest thanksgiving decor! case in point:

But i think there is hope for the cornucopia. First some interesting wikipedia background:

In Greek mythology, Amalthea was a goat who raised Zeus on her breast milk, in a cave, on Mount Ida of Crete. Her horn was accidentally broken off by Zeus while playing together. The god Zeus, in remorse, gave her back her horn with supernatural powers, which would give whoever possessed it whatever they wished for. The original depictions were of the goat's horn filled with fruits and flowers: deities, especially Fortuna, were depicted with the horn of plenty. The cornucopia was also a symbol for a woman's fertility. ....In modern depictions, the cornucopia is typically a hollow, horn-shaped wicker basket filled with various kinds of festive fruit and vegetables. In North America, the cornucopia has come to be associated with Thanksgiving and the harvest....The horn of plenty is used on body art and at Christmas, as it is a symbol of fertility, fortune and abundance. Some evangelical Christians warn against wearing the symbol, or the similar Italian horn symbol of male fertility, saying it is actually demon-infested or unlucky, and equating it to the "little horn", a figure described in the Christian Bible sometimes considered to be the Antichrist.

Now onto a few cornucopias that are all right by me!

the edible coruncopia! mmmm berries.

the modern coruncopia! mmmm simple.

the tasteful traditional cornucopia! mmmm martha.

stuffs : things :: thanksgiving

I am loving this fall fabric flower garland from Pretty Swell. i think it would be pretty on a wall, a door, a table, or draped on a chandelier! 

up : date :: my favorite holiday!

Thanksgiving is by far my fave holiday. It's based on (hopefully) good food, good friends/family, and good feelings of thanks. Never mind that the pilgrim/indian backstory might be a bit shady...and turkey has a tendency to end up dry...and people ruin sweet potatoes with marshmallows. My feeling is that hopefully you have at least one of the 3 (food, friends/fam, thanks)...and if you do, you have something to celebrate! I am super thankful (that's 1!) this year to be having thanksgiving in Chicago with both my fam and my in-laws (that's 2!!). Dinner will be at the in-laws' and the hubs and i are hoping to contribute a few dishes...maybe mussels...maybe gluten-free coconut cream pie...maybe sausage stuffed acorn squash...maybe grain-free rosemary pecan cookies. (that's 3!!!)

i am one lucky lady.

le : sigh

do you have memories of the perfect cup of hot cocoa? was it made with a powder mix? syrup? melted chocolate? with water? milk? on the stove? in the microwave. My childhood hot cocoa was milk with hershey's syrup heated in the microwave. with two large marshmallows. you had to make sure the mallows didn't explode, and you'd always have a bit of a chewy-crusty mallow rim on your mug. Of course it always tasted best after some snow fort building or sledding!
These days my cups of cocoa usually include a shot of baileys or are powdered mixes when im out camping. I might just have to make a cup Mom's way to sip on some sweet memories!

then : now :: green tea

So this is not as much then:now as it might be before:after. Anyhoo, it's all about green tea! from the plant to the dried loose leaves, to the tea bag and finally to the beautiful tea flowers via Cook Almost Anything. Maybe i would drink more green tea if my tea balls burst into gorgeous flowers when i brewed them. probably not, but i have been trying to make a conscious effort to drink at least a few cups daily. Green tea has a crazy amount of antioxidants and has been shown to be helpful especially for people with RA. drink up people!

stuffs : things :: coffee and tea

I think this week will be devoted to my favorite hot drinks. I am sitting in a coffee shop presently and am inspired by my americano with a half pump of cinnamon and a splash of half and half. It is so delicious. i love the americano...not as milky as the latte and when the coffee shop you are in has terrible drip coffee, it works out quite well. I've also been trying to more drink green tea...more on that later this week!
In the meantime, i came across these sweet little botanical mugs at Barker and Stonehouse:

up : date :: the streep!

Last week we were able to make arrangements for a few big events. One of them was for a dinner at which Meryl Streep and Jane Pauly were in attendance! Since we were creating the arrangements we were given tickets to "An Evening of Conversation with Meryl Streep and Jane Pauley." It was so great! Meryl was everything you'd hope she'd be and it all felt very honest and casual. Anyhoo, check out andrea's posts over at her blog about the event flowers!
part one
part two

le : sigh

Wheat : a haiku

pretty to look at

delicious in a cookie

why can't i eat you?

then : now :: glass

I haven't done a 'then : now' in a while mainly because they're hard to do. it requires much more research and thought than most of my other posts. But for this one i started off with a set 'then' piece. It is a Lalique perfume bottle that i actually own. It was originally my grandmother-in-law's and now it sits on my dresser. i kinda love it. it's so simple and elegant and classes up the joint a bit!

I had to reach a bit for this 'now' counterpart, bit i think it works. These repurposed lightbulb vases have such a modern simplicity and are elegant in their own eco-way. 

short : sweet :: 10yr reunion coming up!

my 10 yr high school reunion is at the end of the month and basically, i want to wear this skirt from anthropologie...

...or maybe i will make one kind of like it

...or more likely i will find something at good will

stuffs : things :: 2011 calendar

this calendar by Amy Marcella was featured on Design*Sponge last week, but i couldn't resist posting it in all of it's flowery goodness. I also love the set-up for this calendar....simple and more list-like than calendar like.

up : date :: wintery hedgey

created a new more wintery hedge for this past weekend's holiday handmade market. The remaining will be going up on my etsy site asap!

le : sigh

needed some order in my life today. and one day i need some white pumpkins.

via thestir.cafemom.com

to : do :: asclepia pods aka scrot pods

a week and a half ago (or so) i was sitting at Farm and thought that Dan Savage was sitting at a table right next to me. After hearing his voice it was confirmed that yes...it was indeed the host of the Savage Love podcast and sex-columnist for the Stranger. I knew he was in Bloomington and just that afternoon had been talking with andrea (who's the one who got me listening to his podcast) about if we would run into him. 7hrs later i was sitting next to him and after a quick text, 7mins later andrea is sitting next to me and getting ready to introduce herself.

It got me thinking that if anyone would appreciate an asclepia pod arrangement, it would be Mr. Savage.  Scrot pods don't work for just any event....although i did see a few in a fancy restaurant bathroom here in btown....i got so excited it stuck one in my purse....i think it was the first time i stole something since i was 6 or so and stole some rubber ants (i have no idea why).

Enjoy your scrot pods Dan Savage! 

...just remembered, i took a knife that had a fish tail from a restaurant once....i had to have the merknife!

1 : 3 :: marigolds

I thought it appropriate to use marigolds as the flower this week since they are a significant symbol in day of the dead festivities. Their scent is thought to attract the souls of the dead and draw them back.

first we have a traditional marigold garland for a day of the dead celebration. Next we have a marigold and feather bouquet by tulip floral...check out the post, i love that each bridesmaid had a different single variety orange bouquet accented with the same feathers. Next is one by andrea at peppertree floral...such a nice mix of dahlias, marigolds, and ranunculus!

stuffs : things :: day of the dead

i always loved celebrating dia de los muertos in spanish classes...and i like the holiday and what it stands for much more than halloween (though i had a pretty awesome cave woman costume this year!). I like that day of the dead is about remembrance of loved ones who have passed and that there is a greater sense of celebration and humor surrounding death. It's fun to think about making food and shrines as a way to entice the dead to come back and visit. (it also kinda freaks me out because ghosts give me the jibblies). anyhoo, Happy Dia de los Muertos! enjoy this sweet little flower and skull pin!

up : date :: fall!

yay! i love that it actually feels like fall now! the down comforter has been busted out, slippers are a daily occurrence, i can wear my hair down without overheating, and squash and soups are in abundance. This past week i have been scrambling to get ready for a holiday handmade market here in btown on Nov. 6th...lots of prints, cards, and a few originals to be sold! i don't do craft fairs normally so i feel like it's a major production to get ready for one. from displays to signage to products it's all a bit much for me to wrap my head around. But i'm feeling ok about this one....i have my friend mary to man the space with me,  and i have finished up my custom projects i was working on. Here is a web banner i did for an aspiring floral designer...she had great ideas all along the way and i just love how it turned out!