The 2 F's - Food & Flower

Yum, yum, and yum.
Well, as you can tell by the lack of blog activity, it's been a busy couple 'a weeks, so what better way to unwind than playing with your food?
An evening spent learning to cook a few dishes from the famed Marcela Valladolid- yes that's right, the young and lovely chef extraordinaire-

Our appetizer and entree-
Guero chiles stuffed with albacore and veggies to light that tongue on fire,
then Poblano chile cream sauce drizzled over ravioli's filled with- get this- corn fungus aka cuitlacoche, with a taste reminiscent of sauteed mushrooms.
D'lish, I swear!

Moving on to dessert, Marcela works her biceps whipping up cream and cajeta, a goat's milk version of caramel. The "plating" begins...

...and we have it folks- Napolean ala goats and gooseberries. Did you know that gooseberries are actually related to tomatillos, while tasting like a cross between a persimmon and a kiwi, and yet are often tossed in with the usual suspects of black-, rasp-, and strawberries.

The woman behind the amazingly well orchestrated class- Gabriela Dow. Her business Friends with Class has brought together the best of instructors with the most appealing of class subjects, all based on personal reference so it is very trustworthy that your money will be well spent.

And, of course, yours truly. I couldn't pass up the candid shot op :)
I had a great time, and now off to the studio- those wedding flowers are awaiting for me to get back to work!
Have a great Labor Day Holiday everyone!

Calla Curls

Aren't these the coolest pictures!?!!?

Could you even guess what this was if I didn't say? I feel like it's a Highlights or Ranger Rick photo that we have to identify and the correct answer is listed upside down at the bottom of the page. Apparently the calla's beauty isn't limited to it's color palette and top shape.

Calla lily stems split and curl up from the bottom as they sit in water. Of course, not all callas get this excited- this overachiever is a miniature calla lily. To avoid this happening all the way up the stem, we keep callas in a very shallow amount of water; plus the calla stem is prone to getting gummy skin when sitting in too much water, all around yuck.

Botany lesson for the day- check!

Red Glitz on the DL

In the world of event planning, it's never too early to talk flowers and colors; so while Christmas may seem far away to you, it's just around the corner to us. Hence, the new take on Red, Green, and the oh-so-currently-popular Purple (eggplant, excuse me) With a little sparkle thrown in for good measure this is a festive centerpiece that will play delightfully when encircled by candlelight. It's a nice way to say Holiday without screaming Santa Claus :) This is a sample sized for use on cocktail tables, but the idea is easily translated to a larger table setting or different color scheme. Linens are courtesy of Concepts Party Rentals - Thx!

Buttons for Becca

Just over a month ago Becca & Ben celebrated at the Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla, but it was over a year ago that we started planning for this funky fete. Becca and Ben hail from NY and love hitting up those famous New England flea markets for kitschy vintage flair, especially with the excuse of "it's for the wedding" :)

We started with daisies of every color, threw in some bright kermit mums and tied it all together with Miami Blue polkadot ribbon. Each bridesmaid bouquet featured gerberas in all one color and a single vintage button from Becca's collection.

Of course, Becca's bridal bouquet was button bedazzled with dots upon dots!

Appropriate for the bride... mixed white gerberas, miniature gerberas in each bridesmaid color and miniature chamomile feverfew blossoms for softness.. and yes, that does look like a Big Boy foot in the background.

Black linens with white napkins and sashes clean the slate for the colorful gerber daisies to Pop! Becca & Ben's collected vintage bottles were the perfect centerpiece vases- no two were the same.

Bringing the polka full circle, we tied the napkins with a mini version of the ribbon used on the Bride & Bridesmaid bouquets and added a single chamomile blossom just for fun.

Thanks, Jared!
Jared Bauman of Bauman Photographers gets the credit for these awesome photos, see more at www.baumanphotographers.com