1.) beautiful love n' fresh arrangement

2.) rad flower crowns from Holly over at the flowerdrum

Did you have a lovely Thanksgiving? I sure hope so. I certainly did, and even though the food was divine and perfectly prepared, and the plethora of desserts took me over the limit to Fullsville-in-Heaven, and the almond champagne that we washed everything down with was perfectly part bubbly/part refreshing and a wee bit intoxicating, and the host & hostess were exceptionally wonderful and their home equally sensational, I have to say, my favorite part is always getting to be with the people I love the most! That is surely my quintessential slice of paradise. It just makes me realize how utterly grand life is.

OK, 2 things here (all thanks to Design*Sponge): you must check out Love 'n Fresh Flowers and see what that treasure of a floral studio is doing with all their fresh flowers from seed to centerpieces for truly special events.

And then meander over to The Flower Drum and be prepared to get swept up in one of Holly's wild flower adventures! So much fun!

Black Thumb

If you have a black thumb, then here is your lovely solution! Knitted terrariums & plants by Holly & Shannon! Haha! How great are these? So sweet and impossible to kill! Voila! :)

Oh, and the bottom sketches are from Holly's daily night drawings (her form of meditation). I found them very sweet and it reminded me that drawing every day is so important to keep up with. Even if it isn't perfect, draw anyway! That and by now I hope you recognize my obsession with nature & feathers and such, so I just thought I'd put that up too. Hey, are you all ready for Thanksgiving tomorrow?! I'm so excited...

Jungle Reading Room

Dennis Reid has an amazing plant and book-filled home! It's all pretty dreamy. A nice cup of tea, a good book and the company of plants in Dennis' library/living room and I could disappear for days...Read more here.

some inspiration flow...there is so much good stuff out there, huh? ;)

I realized today that I haven't done a post on what I don't like. It seems a bit strange, but I figure there should be a balance, right? A healthy dose of what I like and a dose every once in a while of what I don't...I received this catalog in the mail the other day and the cover really annoyed me, actually. I don't want to sound pretentious or say anything that would upset feelings, but if you see something that I don't with the model sporting kale on her head, let me know. I feel like the idea could have been manifested in a least half a dozen other ways. I don't know. What do you think?

I love her hair. I love her crown. I love her dress.

There is something so familiar and breathtaking about Ramis Kim's work. So whimsical and prepossessing that I find something new to get lost in every time I look at her work.

Beautiful peonies from New Zealand.

Floral stylist extraordinaire at work...(btw amazing locks, no?)

Ready for the shoot.

What magic she spins with magnolia branches, polo roses & hydrangea.

Here is the rest of our hectic and productive Friday! It's such a fantastic learning experience getting to work under such a talented lady! I learn from her constantly and she pushes me to see more than just wildflowers.

Under the watchful eye of the insanely talented Ariana Smeraldo, I got to create some pretty grand arrangements yesterday. Not really wildflowers, but I got to re-create a wild rosebush (first pic) which was really fun and actually looked rather elegant and unrestrained when I was finished. I have lots more to post but have to run so I'll do the rest tomorrow. Hope everyone is having a nice weekend.

CM of Scout Holiday

Have you seen the delicate and beautifully crafted work of artist Cheri Messerli? This is her collection of flag necklaces that she makes individually and laboriously by hand. They are such a treasure to possess and make for the most perfect gift. I have one in all white leather and one in all black leather, and it is always the perfect finishing piece for whatever I am wearing! I love them so and I think you will too. But I have to tell you, go quickly and buy them now here because her line is quickly and quietly soaring off...oh, and while shopping, check out her incredible paper crane mobiles, also made individually by hand. Makes my heart swoon...

*Don't forget to check out her winsome blog too...you're all gonna love me for this one*

Dahlia season is coming to an end, and these dinner-plate sized ones, although majestic, were not as perky as some of their other dahlia comrades, so sadly, they didn't make the cut for the arrangements (but hey, they did make my cut, hence this post)! I was especially fond of the big white ones with yellow centers that look a lot like their cousins, the daisy. Did you know that the dahlias are of Mexican origin and come in all sorts of bright colors and sizes?