Blossoming

Do I really get paid to do this? It has been a fun and productive week, and I am happy to have some lovely photos to share!

As I mentioned a few days ago, I have been asked to arrange the flowers for a friend's upcoming wedding...so off to the flower distributor I went, and home I came with all kinds of beautiful buds to experiment with.

It has been a real treat to have all of the flowers in the house, and this morning with the fresh snow and bright sunshine outside there was a wonderful light in my dining room to get some pictures.

I am very pleased with the way things are coming together. Sheri, the bride, has chosen to go with collections of antique bottles and canning jars on each table, which I think will be perfect for the farm setting where the event will take place this April. So Exciting!

April and Spring will be here soon. Can't wait!

The Perfect Thing To Be Researching Now

I am so excited! I have been asked to design the tablescapes and flowers for a friend's wedding this April~ I can't wait! And I have to say that there is nothing better to be researching than flowers on these cold, dreary days of February.  It has been a little breath of fresh air to be taking in all these beautiful pictures of colorful blooms and pretty tables as I generate ideas for the event. Tomorrow I am venturing to the wholesale flower market and plan on sticking my nose deep in every fragrant blossom. What a mood elevator that should be!

I will keep you posted as things come together.....know you probably could use a big bouquet right about now too!

Hibernation

I had very little energy over the weekend.  I guess when I look at the pictures I took early Saturday morning, I am not surprised.

It was beautiful to look at, all that ice and snow, and I really enjoyed peering out the windows and taking it all in, hot coffee in hand, fuzzy slippers on my feet.

Everyone else in the house was energized by the snow, and all went out bright and early to go sledding. And I didn't mind....

nothing like a quiet house in which to hibernate.

Walk Through That Door

Have you seen the movie Temple Grandin, about the "different--not less," brilliant woman by the same  name?  Ms. Grandin is autistic, and because of  amazing ability to see things unlike anyone else,  she has developed revolutionary systems and machines improving the lives of cattle, making their lives, and eventual deaths, far more humane.

Many people had recommended the movie to me, especially because my son is also on the Autism Spectrum.  We watched it as a family last year, and we were riveted. Here is a clip that shows some of her revolutionary designs, and her ability to help many, many people have a different understanding of what it means to be Autistic.

I have been thinking a lot about that movie this week. Ms. Grandin thinks in pictures--something that, as a visual thinker myself, I totally can relate to. At times when faced with a major challenge, a terrifying next step she would have to take (something so difficult not only due to her diagnosis, but also due to the time period, and her gender), she would picture a door  in front of her, and then imagine herself walking through it.

"A door opened! And I went through it."

There is a door in front of me now too, as I explore new avenues and things that I want to develop in this business of mine. God, please grant me the courage to go through it.

Black & White & "Just Right"

Because of recent family events, lots of old family photos and memorabilia have surfaced around here. It started me thinking.... The pictures below are of one of my favorite places on earth, even though to my knowledge, I was only there once. The house no longer exists, but in my mind's eye it still sits quiet and proud on the quaint Santa Monica street where I visited my Great Aunt Margret when I was only 5 years old.

Aunt Margret's House 2

Margret, an avid gardener, lived in this house with her brother, my Great Uncle Dave, who was a landscape architect. The fact that these pictures even exist shows how much these transplanted midwesterners loved their little bungalow, and the gardens around it. Each picture has some type of notation on it...such as the numbers above listing the plants in the photo (on the back: "#2--sweet peas--way high now").

Aunt Margret's House 6

My experience visiting here as a child left a lasting impression on me, to say the least. It was a magical place the likes of which I had never seen in my five oh-so-long years of life, with its fragrant, blossoming grounds, the simple and uncluttered rooms, and the good feelings that seemed to reside there.

Aunt Margret's House 4

Aunt Margret's House 5

Finding these pictures helped me to see how this special place profoundly influenced me when searching for and creating the spaces I would live in as an adult.

Aunt Margret's House 8

In Winifred Gallagher's book House Thinking, she writes of research connecting the recognition of meaningful places in a person's past, and the ability to then create a "just-right home" that provides a "deep, gut-level feeling of identification and comfort." Have you been able to make that connection?

So, what are the rooms, homes and gardens of your past--environments in which you felt truly yourself, truly alive? These are spaces that Gallagher refers to as your "best places." Take some time to reflect, and you may find some clues to help you create a very meaningful, special, and comfortable place in which to live and thrive today.