I am taking a bit of a left hand turn today. I normally post gorgeous photographs to inspire you-but today I want to blog about yesterday. Yesterday I had the pleasure of appearing on the Big Idea with Donny Deutsch (proof to my mother that I have made it) and attending the Modern Bride Trendsetters Awards Dinner at the Palace Hotel in New York city. It was such an inspiring day to be around so many talented and fun people and I thought it would be fun to share a few snippets with you.
After getting my hat blown out at Louis Licari with Arsen-my guilty pleasure-a car picked me up and whisked me over the George Washington Bridge (my favorite view in Manhattan by the by) to the CNBC studios in Englewood Cliffs New Jersey to do a taping on the Big Idea. Got my make-up done next to Suzy Orman and Joely Fischer-two smart and funny woman. I was a panelist with Trista Sutter-Trista baby and Maureen Kelly-owner of Tarte Cosmetics. We critiqued a very interesting company called The Original Runner Company. It was so much fun and yes mom Donny was very nice.
Right after the taping I jumped back in the car and headed to The Palace Hotel on Madison Avenue for the Trendsetter Dinner. In 2004 I was honored by Modern Bride as a Trendsetter in design. Last year I was the planner for the event but this year past and current Trendsetters were asked to design 2 tables. It was much more relaxing to wonder around and chat everybody up while walking around to see the creations of my peers. Some of this year’s honorees that I love and want to congratulate again are Cheryl Kleinman of Cheryl Kleinman Cakes, Matthew Robbins of Artfool and Peter Callahan of Peter Callahan Catering. Some of the presenters were Daisy Fuentes, Sara Ramirez, and Trista Sutter. The gift bag was the bomb ziggity (thank you Modern Bride). I brought it in for my team to raid this morning and they had a ball. Well enough of being Cinderella and back to reality.
This is a photo of my beautiful mother on her wedding day. She was 19 years old (wow!). Today is my birthday (forget it-I’m not telling) and I thought it would be nice to tell her-before Mother’s Day-how much I love her and how lucky I am. She is a very unique and indomitable spirit.
Whether reading Sir Gwain and the Green Knight, watching Barbara Streisand movies or teaching us how to sail-my mother has always told my sister Pamela and I, we could do anything-be anything. I am truly blessed.
Love you Mama.
These elements are some of my personal favorites. I gravitate to them again and again like old friends.
Pussywillows are fantastic branch around the holiday season.
Ferns are like natures delicate feathers. They mix beautifully in so many many stories.
Bittersweet is vibrant and dramatic for large arrangements.
Stones are so versatile. They are earthy, modern or gardeny.
This girl loves anything that sparkles and twinkles. Love a crystal.
Feathers are soooo fun. They have polka dots, stripes and add wonderful texture especially to bouquets.
Nature’s paper. These days you can get birch in curls and flat panels which make it a great paper-like material to cover boxes, petal toss cones or incorporate into boutonnieres.
Fruit can stand on it’s own or be a great addition to flowers and foliage.
Okay…. I admit it-I have snuck off for 3 days for a little R&R. Talk about the ultimate Destination Friday!! I hopped on a Jetblue plane from JFK at 6:50 a.m. and arrived in Nassau at 9:50 a.m. Next step-grab a taxi to the private terminal and board Rosie’s shuttle to North Eleuthera, Bahamas. Final destination- the Rock House on Harbour Island. You will hear me mention the Rock House a lot. It is one of my favorite places to sneak off to. If I could camp out here for 2 months a year-I would.
After going through customs on North Eleuthera-which takes five minutes, I caught a cab to the dock and boarded a boat to Harbour Island.
I got dropped off at the dock. Careful not to trip, or into the water you go with your luggage.
By 11:45 a.m.- well you do the math! The perfect remedy for a busy wedding season.
Gorgeous!!
It’s a dog’s life. Cameron keeps watch over the golf carts.
I hate to be corny-BUT-wild horses could’t drag me away.
What an amazing destination for a wedding……….
April 30th, 2008 · 1 Comment
The centerpiece is at the heart of your design and can be composed of a single flower or a mix of many different blooms. The container or vessel you use can greatly influence the final design. I often like to have a slightly taller center arrangement surrounded by smaller satellite arrangements. Remember that good lighting is essential to bring your centerpiece to center stage.
I love glass vases for centerpieces as they reflect the light and feel light and airy. Here we have dahlias, plumose, bittersweet, Isle de France tulips, apples, pears, and four varieties of roses: Black Magic (Red), Abracadabra (red with yellow flecks), Gypsy Curiosa (yellow with red tips), and Lemonaide Spray roses.
Although in general I tend not to do a lot of tall centerpieces-they are show stoppers. This striking centerpiece is mounted on a three foot vase with a grapevine and cymbidium spiral inside. At its base are six smaller satellite arrangements in pink pearlized vases of roses wired with pink crystals.
