Flowers 101

{spray roses and eucalyptus in a brass bowl}

{hydrangea, spray roses and eucalyptus in a silver bowl}

{hydrangea and winter berries}

{mariana roses and winter berries}

We've had a lot of visitors to the house lately, which has given me a nice excuse to put together flower arrangements. I'm always surprised by the endorphin boost flower shopping and arranging brings me, not to mention the joy I feel by just seeing the flowers on a table or windowsill.

For the past couple of weeks, I've gone to Central Market on Tuesday evening to pick up the prettiest flowers and greenery I can find for a total of less than $20 (tip: CM sells long-stem roses in all colors for $1 each on Tuesdays!). Then I go home after class and turn them into two or three sweet arrangements.

My favorites above are the two in bowls. I thrifted those bowls over the weekend in East Dallas -- the brass bowl is about the size of a salad plate, while the silver one is huge, bigger than a dinner plate. The bowls cost me about $5 all together. The bright green of the eucalyptus, the whisper pink of the spray roses and the lacy look of the hydrangea gives it such an antique feeling, and the colors are just right for spring. They look Easter-y to me, actually. I'm not usually a pink person, but this works.

A couple of tips from an amateur, if you'd like to try your hand at flower arranging:

• Get floral foam from your craft store. Neither of the bowl arrangements would be possible without floral foam to hold them in place.
• Use unusual containers. Vases are fine, but even when I use vases, I like to use a big leaf to go around the inside so you're not seeing stems. I have a basket carved out of a tree root I want to use (fingers crossed that it's waterproof) and a vintage silver gravy boat. I also hang on to interesting bottles to use as bud vases.
• Don't underestimate the power of greenery. Berries, ornamental grasses, curly foliage... I've even re-used hydrangea leaves, which are gorgeous, in arrangements with other flowers. The greenery adds texture, depth and interest that you can't get from blooms alone. It makes arrangements feel organic while hiding imperfections and gaps.
• When in doubt, monochrome works. I think people get themselves in trouble by trying to make colorful vases of flowers. Keeping more or less to one palette and adding interest by different types of flowers always looks classic and polished.
• Change the water and re-cut the stems. I've heard all kinds of old wives' tales about adding baby aspirin or a penny to the water to make the flowers last longer. Don't know if there's any truth to those, but I can tell you that clean water and fresh cut stems keep my flowers perky.

Let me know if you do try it! I'd love to see what you come up with. I'll keep posting my pictures too.

I'm Alive, Plus a Web Site Crush

A few of you have chastised me for not blogging about my recent trips. I know, I know. Scold me all you want, you're right. I was so busy catching up from travels that I didn't sit down to just write about them... and then wow, about a month has passed since I returned. I can't make excuses. Here are the ONLY photos I have edited (from Morocco... the souks and Majorelle Gardens).



I've been working up a post in my head with some really out-of-this-world recipes for you, including my variations on Anna's comforting, homey Sweet Nest "Sweet Buns" and Texas Oncology's Holly Jolly Biscotti (cute recipe card, nutrition and video demo). I have a little list going; in addition to my kitchen exploits, I plan to write a post on handwriting. Exciting, no?

Until I get it together and write about those, I encourage you to check out my newest Web site crush, the sweeterie, a "creative confectionery." It's brought to you by the t.ruffles girls, Karey Mackin and Mary Swenson. Gah, the talent these women have.

Since I've been talking about baking/cooking, I should warn you, you can't actually purchase bon bons from this sweeterie. You'll find a virtual display case of tantalizing photos and delectable wordplay. As a writer, I am floored by Karey's wordsmithery. Very jealous, actually, but in a "good for her" kind of way. And she lived in the Middle East before returning recently to the States. How cool is that?

{it's blurrier when I import it to Blogger, for some reason...}

Anyway, stop by for some visual and emotional indulgence. It may not make your taste buds sing the way a hand-rolled, 72-percent dark chocolate truffle will. But I, for one, could probably spare myself the calories and go for a bite of "candy for the soul," as the T.Ruffles girls call it.

Cinque Pommes, or Apples and a Dish Rag on a Table

I've had three blissful weeks off of school, and this week will mark my return to SMU. "Le Sigh," as fellow Mustang Steffy Lou would say.

Really, I'm excited to go back. I'm taking a contemporary art course, a deep dive on the works of Edgar Allen Poe, and a class on a single painting -- Manet's Bar at the Folies-Bergère. Scintillating (I'm serious!)!!!

Édouard Manet's Bar at the Folies-Bergère, c. 1882, oil on canvas

But I really have loved this little break. I read (for leisure!) till my eye muscles were tired, enjoyed happy hours with girlfriends, figured out what this thing they call "Thursday night TV" was, and painted!

That's right, I painted.

Ohhh, what a release! Those of you who know me well know how much I love art, but it seems that finding the time to do it is rare. Even when I'm not in classes, it seems there has been some practical consideration (work, wedding planning, work, moving, WORK) to stifle the creative juices. So I decided that in order to feel like I had really made the most of this three week hiatus, I needed to do something really artistic. (Brad was DELIGHTED to come home from school and see me painting. He is a huge encourager and tells me frequently that I shouldn't waste my gifts because of "busyness." He's right. It's too easy to make excuses.)

My preferred medium is pencil -- love the detail that I can achieve. I always shy away from color because I don't feel like I have a great grasp of it. But in studying Michelangelo last semester, I grew to really admire his facility and imagination when it came to colors.

Until the Sistine Chapel's restoration was complete in 1994, art historians thought the Renaissance master painted in browns, greys, and tans because he was primarily a sculptor and thus wanted to render in stony-looking figures and scenes.

One of Michelangelo's Sistine frescoes before restoration

But as experts worked to remove centuries of smoke and grime from the ceiling, they uncovered lemon yellows, cherry reds, tangerine oranges, and lime greens. He was not only a colorist, but one of the premier colorists of his time! Imagine how shocked art history students of the 1970s and before must have been to realize everything that was printed in their books and taught in their lectures was based on a giant misconception about Michelangelo's vision.

One of Michelangelo's frescoes of a sybil on the Sistine ceiling, post-restoration

But I digress. Seeking to challenge myself, I chose the most brightly colored green apples (Golden Delicious, to be exact) apples the grocery store offered and arranged them on my dining room table. I love that they are mottled with hints of red and orange too. I added a little dish rag to provide depth and visual interest -- though let's be honest, how interesting are apples on a table?

Here's the finished work:

I've been toying with a name for this painting (about 16" x 20", oil on canvas). Anything from the uber artsy, like Cinque, Cinque Pommes, or Charis -- Greek for "grace," which the number five symbolizes; to the obvious, Apples and a Dish Rag on a Table; to the playful, like 'Dem Apples. I think it shall just remain unnamed. :)

I will readily admit it's not inventive or daring, but it was a fantastic exercise for me as I get outside my artistic comfort zone. All in all, the investment was some yellow and green oil paints (I had the other colors), a canvas, a Saturday morning, and two evenings after work. The thing about working with oils, it seems, is that you have to wait for them to set a bit if you want to do a lot of layering. Not a happy reality for this impatient girl.

Meanwhile, my fellow artsy kindred spirit was painting this streetscape in Portland (one of my top five favorite cities in the world):

Stephanie painted this as a Mother's Day gift for her sweet mom, Carol. Please pray for Stephanie's dad, who was in a terrible car accident on Saturday, May 23, and is recovering. The Wanderlusters have put their wanderlusting on hold and are in San Antonio until Andy is able to make significant progress.

I'm envious of how personal and painterly it is. You can really see her hand in it, and the way she has interpreted the shadows, reflections, and the depth of the clouds just wows me! And of course as kindred spirits we WOULD be doing paintings at the same time -- unbeknownst to each other.

Here's thanking the Creator for art and lovers of art everywhere!

The Love Editor

The verdict is in: virus, but not flu (my fever isn't high enough for it to be flu); bronchitis; middle ear infection.

But my doctor hooked me up with a prescription for a Z Pak, and as wary as I am of antibiotics, I'm feeling loads better already! So praise God! And thanks truly for all your well wishes. :-)

On to other, non-sickness tidbits...

My brothers are awesome. I love them both as brothers and friends, and my younger brother Brett brings so much fun to our family. He's the trends editor of his college newspaper, and apparently he's moonlighting as a broadcast reporter too. My dad just sent me a video to Brett's first installment as The University Star's "Love Editor -- first name Love, last name Editor." It's fantastic! I'm so proud.

I've excerpted Brett's segment here:



All I can say is, Stephanie Kusy-Wilson and Summer Ratliff better keep their hands off my baby bro's "luscious locks!"

You can watch the full broadcast here, if you're really interested in SG's rejection of an on-campus concealed carry bill:

Sweet Weekend

If only all weekends could be this simple and sweet. 'Twas a weekend of:

• Listening to presidential debates on radio (old-school)
• Grilled turkey-guacamole-swiss sandwiches
• Driving around Dallas helping Brad take pictures of gas stations (work)
• No makeup
• Messy hair
• Banana crumb muffins, straight out of the oven
• Working in the backyard with Brad
• Gardening
• 11-month anniversary
• Cleaning the house
• Netflix
• Relevant church and fellowship
• Laundry (even though I missed a pen in Brad's pocket with unfortunate consequences...)
• Sore muscles
• Fixing a leak
• Soothing my soul with David Crowder Band
• Speedwalking with hand weights
• Drawing
• "Mad Men" on AMC

Tomorrow I have to wear a suit. :-(

Bloom Where You’re Planted

In my constant search for new forms of creative expression, I took up gardening last spring.

(NB: I refuse to admit that “gardening” means I’m becoming domesticated. I’m not a Lands End-wearing, Tupperware-collecting Stepford wife… I’m just a nutty gal who dabbles.)

Anyway, I was interested to see if I had a green thumb. My roommate Meagan and I had a corn plant in college. We named him Cornelius. He died over Christmas break when I left him out on the balcony and he turned into a gelatinous blob of gray goop after a freeze. All of this to say, my hopes weren’t high that I would be the next blue-ribbon rose grower.

Nevertheless, I carefully planned my garden, did my research on Texas hardy perennials (NOT annuals… I refuse to start from scratch every year!), and planted everything following the directions exactly. I opted to go with purples, pinks and blues. I had to deal with a nasty little yellow lantana plant that was already there when I started. It was the only flowering plant existing at the house when we bought it.

Anyway, my garden was pretty awesome for a few months, and I was encouraged. I planted a lot from seed and I was eager to see my photosynthetic babies pop up over the soil. I also planted sunflowers along all of the fences in our backyard, but they met a sad fate at the sharp blades of Brad’s lawnmower… there were tears (mine).

BUT THEN. Despite all my care and keeping. The lantana plant grew to have tendrils SIX FEET LONG, and it covered up and choked out all of my plants, except a purple sage, a hymenocallis Brad gave me (this bulb could withstand ANYTHING) and my basil. I was SO MAD.

So two weekends ago I went out and cut the Lantana to the ground. I filled two trash bags with the carcasses, then sprayed Round Up all over the open wounds. That plant WILL die.

(NB: In my research to find the best way to kill this diabolical plant, beloved for its heat-hardiness and appearing in landscapes all over Texas, I discovered that lantana is considered a noxious weed in many parts of the world. You can be fined thousands of dollars for growing it in Australia! It’s harmful to the ecology.)

I mentioned that the purple sage, bulb and basil escaped the evil clutches of the lantana. I neglected to write that there was also a super tall plant that sprung up in my garden and resembled bamboo because of its thick, straight stalk – but it had these funny, frizzy leaves. I thought it was probably a strange weed, but I didn’t pull it because I was intrigued by its height.

I walked out this morning and it had BLOOMED over the weekend! I had no idea this was a flowering plant! Look at its amazing pinky-purple daisy blooms!

I'm including a photo of it next to Brad's ginormous truck too, so that you can have an idea of its unusual height. So tall!


The only thing I can think of as far as its origin is that I had a packet of wildflower seeds I bought in Ireland a couple of years ago and scattered them early this spring. This has to be the lone remnant from the packet.

It may sound cheesy, but that this sweet, vibrant daisy survived the hardship the lantana brought it reminded me of God’s goodness and grace in the midst of adversity. We really have the ability to thrive in difficulty because of the hope we have in Christ Jesus and his ability to carry us through. My mom has always encouraged me to “bloom where I’m planted,” meaning that no matter what situation I’m plopped into, I have the choice to become the best “whatever” I can be, and bring glory to God.

What a precious reminder that little flower was to me today!

Jeremiah 17:7-8
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord.
For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads its roots by the river,
And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

Distractions and Creativity

We’re near the end of summer, and I find myself taking stock of my life and my day-to-day. Fall is undoubtedly my favorite time of year – and summer my least favorite. I’m happy to be moving on to a happier season.

Through my seasonal self-assessment, I have realized that in my “settling down,” I’ve become a little lazy. I’ve never liked to exercise. And I’ve always loved TV (I’m one of the few people I know who will admit that I really do love TV). Law and Order, anything on Food Network, Project Runway, news, House Hunters… I can usually find something on the tube that I don’t mind vegging out to.

But I’m starting to think it’s gone a little too far.

I wrote in my journal four years ago a list of life goals. The list goes on and on, with plenty of dos and don’ts to last several pages – some trivial and some profound. One of the items on the list was this:

Never lose the art of conversation. Don’t spend your married nights in front of the TV.

Sadly, I think I’m headed that direction. Brad doesn’t really enjoy sitting still, especially to watch television. But he does like spending time with me. So after a crazy day, I’ll arrive home and my head will be spinning, and all I want to do is make a quick dinner, eat it in front of the TV, watch a few shows and go to sleep. And Brad, being a sweet husband, will sit with me while I do nothing.

Anyway, I’m trying an experiment. For the past couple of weeks, after a hectic and/or frustrating day (and there have been several of those lately), I come home, eat dinner with my husband at the dinner table – TV off – and then do something productive. I may do some housework, do something artistic, read a magazine or a book, pull weeds in the backyard, ride the stationary bike (ugh!), talk to a friend on the phone…

This is a good exercise for me. Brad started his MBA program this past Thursday, so I ought to be spending a little more time alone as he goes to class and study groups.

I painted a watercolor of a eucalyptus tree line the other night. It came out all right, but it was missing something. So I stuck it in the oven and baked it:



Ha! I discovered this technique after my last move. I had painted a little watercolor of a Tuscan villa, and I really liked it. But I didn’t take great care of it. In my haste to pack everything up, somehow this little watercolor got stuck to the back of a baking sheet. I didn’t know what had happened until I was baking cookies one night and smelled something smoky… Sure enough, I had baked my little landscape!

It yields some interesting lighting effects. Stay tuned for more “baked art.” And I’ll let you know if I come up with anything interesting in my quest for productivity and creativity.

What's Your Decorating Style?

I'm Kitsch Chic.

Stephanie, a designer and LEED AP, discovered this fun quiz that helps determine what decorating style you gravitate toward.

She was Fatale Attraction -- glamorous, romantic and sophisticated, with an emphasis on texture.

My dear Abby is Classic Chic -- just like it sounds, her style is elegant and traditional.

When I found out I was Kitsch Chic, at first I got a little mad. This makes me think of Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic, which was popular a couple of years ago but now just strikes me as worn and cluttered and dull. But then I read the description and a few lovely words popped out at me -- such as Europhile, cocktail, whimsical and cheeky -- and I decided this is RIGHT ON:

KITSCH CHIC

You're a real magpie, always on the look-out for retro-style things that will add happiness and personality to your home. You love to mix old and new to create an interior design cocktail that's easy, fun and whimsical.

Living Room

Your outlook is shaped by a love of design from the recent past. The Europhile living room revels in style icons from the not-too-distant past. It's almost modern, but recreates a perfect mythical ideal of our parents' youth - of picket fences and bubblegum pop, ice-cream sodas and sleek classic cars with elegant tail fins. All of these details are useful design references for furnishing your living room: this is a look that is fun and optimistic, but also streamlined and knowingly nostalgic. Accessorising the room with modern pieces is a practical and easy solution to the potential pitfalls of the room becoming camp or kitsch. Occasionally, there's nothing wrong with form following function. Fresh, bright colours at the 'cool' end of the spectrum are welcoming and airy, while glamorous prints and patterns are fun and stylish. Having worked wonders in the kitchen, you deserve a bit of quality time in the living room where you can relax and unwind.

Bedroom

You like it rugged and rustic in the bedroom. Sleep is fundamentally important to our well being. In busy towns and cities, noise can often hamper a good night's sleep. Soft furnishings really do absorb sound, and touch is such an important sense in the bedroom, from crisp, linen sheets to wool or even sheepskin underfoot. You favour an almost elemental approach to interior design in your bedroom, using rich, chocolate browns to create a warm and cosy escape from the rest of the world.

Dining Room

You're a maestro of minimalism using carefully chosen ingredients. At home, 'less-is-more' simplicity appears effortlessly stylish. With so little on show, every single item comes under scrutiny, so it's important that you give time and thought to your choice of china, glass and cutlery. Try to avoid the 'designer cliche' trap, whereby every single piece has impeccable provenance: at best this looks like showing off, at worst it's sadly predictable. When it comes to entertaining, you like to make an effort for family and friends.

Home Office

You draw inspiration from unlikely people and places. These days, almost all of us have a home office: a desk and a chair in one corner of the living room with adjustable task lighting and adequate filing is all it takes (and might be all the space you can afford). Keep things simple when it comes to the actual desk/work area: too many visual distractions can clutter the mind just as nick-knacks clutter a desk.

Conclusion

Your home reveals your fun-loving, whimsical side - the look is nostalgically modern and elegant with a cheeky twist.

So what IS your style?

Birds of a Feather

The friendship shared by me and my kindred spirit, Stephanie Gahm, is legendary. We live parallel lives and know each other backwards and forwards. I could go on and on about how much I love this lady and why she’s so very precious, but instead I’ll focus on one of our mutual affinities: feathers.

Feathers? With all Stephanie and I have a common zeal for – Paris, Austin, Urban Outfitters, trying new things, men with last names beginning in “G” – I’m going to write about feathers?!

Well, yes. You see, feathers are one small piece of a litany of evidences showing how this girl and I just get each other. I have to give credit where credit is due. Stephanie actually pioneered a feather trend, fixating upon peacock feathers and incorporating them them into her wardrobe and accessories, design aesthetic, and more. She even considered working peacock feathers into the floral arrangements and bouquets at her wedding, which I still think would have been brilliant. Here’s a photo of Stephanie sporting her fabulous peacock earrings as we waged a chopstick war:



Stephanie knows about my recent fascination with vintage half-hats and clips. I scour eBay for these lovely little sartorial wonders about once weekly, usually sans success. Recently I’ve marveled at the ability that Kenley from Project Runway has for scooping up and sporting similar pieces, and I’m trying not to be annoyed with her for stealing my next great fashion statement… Sequins, feathers, knit or mesh – I LOVE half-hats.

I found on my doorstep today the most delightful little package with the most delightful contents: an Urban Outfitters headband with feathers on one side, very much resembling a vintage hat!!! And of course, my kindred spirit Stephanie sent it to me. I turned the feathers up on one end to give it some added "oomph" and proceeded to execute an impromptu photo shoot. Forgive the salmon cardigan that clashes with my wondrous headband.




Now trying to channel the mystique of a silver screen hussy:



I LOVE it!

Let Them Eat Cake – and Pies, and Tarts…

I’m a big believer in the joy of cooking. I have to be! Goodness knows I’m not the tidiest housekeeper ever. Both of my parents are meticulously organized keep their house spotless to the point that the tops of their ceiling fans could pass a white-glove test any day of the week.

In fact, I have a bit of a complex about how I inexplicably missed the cleanliness gene. The moderate germaphobe gene, however, I got. It doesn't compute. Elevator buttons, shopping cart handles, laminated menus and the like give me the heeby-jeebies because of all the pernicious microbes undoubtedly harbored by these surfaces. Then I found out from my colleague Alison yesterday that even my own wet laundry could be a disease carrier.

But I digress.

My point is, since my house never seems to be as spic-and-span as I’d like it to be, I have to play up my strengths. Baking happens to be one of them, and cakes are a particular forte. Brad and I celebrated his mother’s birthday yesterday at Mattito’s in Uptown, and the birthday-cake-baking honor fell to me. I’m not a huge chocoholic unless it’s DARK chocolate. The darker the better. So knowing Teresa’s love for the dark master, the cocoa bean, I created my most chocolatey confection to date. It was a dark chocolate layer cake with real fudge icing, chocolate ganache filling, and chocolate-covered cocoa beans on top. (The word "ganache" always makes me think of Stephanie's wedding, since Taylor's groom's cake was covered in chocolate ganache, which Stephanie described as "magic chocolate icing." So true.) I hope you don’t mind allowing me to indulge in a little show-and-tell:

(Love the Crate and Barrel cake dome and foot too. A wedding gift, naturally.)

The night before my birthday last year, I determined to make my own birthday cake. Pathetic? Perhaps. But it gets worse. I had decided on a pineapple cheesecake (combining two of God’s greatest inventions) and set about my mise en place. I had gotten no further than melting the butter when, through an uncanny series of events, I ended up with second-degree burns across my abdomen. I won’t go into details except to say that scalding butter + laundry night = pas bon.


This year I had more luck. Here’s my birthday cake from last month, before I dressed it with gobs and gobs of cream cheese frosting. The photo was taken from my phone. This was my own recipe, three layers of yellow cake with a pastry cream filling and chopped fresh strawberries mixed in:

Now the birthday cake I made my mom. It was a coconut cake with white lemon buttercream frosting and strawberries for garnish:

Last winter I got a case of cabin fever and decided to make a super summery cake. I love coming up with my own recipes, as I did with my birthday cake this year. The next photo shows one of my more successful dabblings. To fight some cold weather blues, I created this lemon cake with raspberry filling and orange zest buttercream icing. Summer heaven:

And a final Katie-penned recipe. This pear and almond tart had the richest, most gloriously spicy glaze and a chewy cream cheese dough crust. The perfect fall comfort food:

I owe much of my lovin’ of the oven to the Thorne women. Three generations of bakers: