new in shop: celeste

A peek at my Mother's Day 2011 line. This year I've decided to name the line after the beautiful mother's in my life. First up is my own mother. I named this design of soft creams after her middle name Celeste. Fitting I feel considering it is made with soft pure dried hydrangea and skeletonized angel wings. Celeste can be found in my shop here.

take me here

flower owls found on flickr here. Taken in Nantou County, Taiwan in a garden called 九族文化村.

Also i've been working on mother's day 2011 line. Appearing in my shop very soon!

1987

This is me, when I was three in 1987. I'm the one on the left, nose deep in a rose with one of my sisters Annie. I love this photo. You see, my head has always been stuck in flowers, one way or another. I've been in love with them since birth. Probably due to the fact that I was given the middle name Rose.

I have vivid memories of my mother's garden roses. Especially their sweet and potent scent. Rarely will any florist rose have the pure scent as a true garden rose. The rich scent of garden roses are bred out of a florist rose on purpose to lengthen their vase life leaving their smell weak and dull. But once in a while, a certain variety will smell so pure and sweet that instantly I am 3 again with my nose deep in fresh garden petals.

I now have a cute, flower happy three year old with a little sister in toe and another girl on the way. Remind me to plant a rosebush for my three year old. Her middle name is Rose.

found friday: hanging wall pods

Porcelain pod wall vases by etsy artist Wendy Jung. Simple, pure and elegant. I would love to have a cluster of these displayed on my wall with a few of my dried flowers poking out.

Feliz fin de semana! -christina

some pinky pink ranunculus

Here are some pinky pink ranunculus I need to stare at for a while today to get my mind off the ridiculous snow falling from the sky in spring! These flowers are so beautiful and even better to see and touch their thick and soft texture in person. So luscious!

feliz primavera (happy spring!)

I found these flower scans on the blog Ellis Hollow over the weekend and I couldn't help but post them as soon as possible. Especially now that it is officially spring, primavera (such a pretty name in spanish no?), I think it's appropriate. It was 75 here on Friday! And now out my window it's snowing? Crazy March. In like a lion, lets hope it goes out like a lamb :)

my thoughts are in japan

Inspiring prints by Jen Renninger from her etsy shop pleasebestill.

I feel as though my thoughts are constantly turned to the suffering in Japan. My heart aches for them. Especially the stories of small children ripped from their mother's arms by the rushing waters. That hits too close to home. What a miraculous story this is of a 4 month old baby girl found in a pile of debris and returned to her parents 3 days later.

Tomorrow many bloggers will be holding a Bloggers Day of Silence for Japan and I will be joining them. For more information on how you can join the silence and donate visit forjapanwithlove.

the winner of the moss mound giveaway is taylormade. congrats!

flower ID: globe thistles

globe thistle or echinops

globe thistle or echinops
Lovely round globes of textured bliss! Not only can you grow them outdoors in a garden fairly easy, they also last for a few weeks as a cut flower and dry great too. I love using them in arrangements because of their unique and eye catching textures. Silvery blue tones that are soft and subtle. I'm not completely sure why God cursed the ground with thistles after the fall of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:17-18). I find them a pretty curse.

Don't be deceived though. These cute little globes are quite vicious. They have large prickers on their leaves which makes designing with them on the difficult side. I always end up with tiny prickers stuck in my fingertips or somehow nestled in my socks. It's worth it though. These little trouble makers make quite the statement.

photo credits: 1-3 floresdelsol, pintrest, ethanollie, design sponge

perfect getaway.

via here

Last night for dinner my Chilean husband made some amazing Chilean completos. I ate 3. No joke. Normally I can only scarf down one. I'm blaming my pregnancy and sudden expanding belly. We got to talking about how we need to plan another trip to Chile (sans kids) in the future. And stay at this dreamy Hotel Montana Magica in Huilo Huilo, Chile.

happy fin de semana :)


dont forget about the floresdelsol spring giveaway going on until wednesday!

etsy finds: living fences

Tight urban New Jersey living comes with its toll. Ugly fences. My fence? Sure it hides the neighbors but please, looking at their lawn might be a prettier sight. Unless of course I had a living fence like this! What a vibrant and creative use of space.

Must
get
for
summer...

living fences here

floresdelsol spring giveaway!

Good monday morning friends! I am kicking off this week with another flores del sol giveaway!

Moss mound, a mound of dried mood moss in a a distressed terracotta garden planter. Intended simple to brighten up where it sits.



How to enter:
It's easy! Just leave a comment on this post. Tell me your favorite thing about spring. Make sure you have a link to your email or leave it in your comment for me to contact you.

Get more chances of winning by becoming a follower of this blog, liking us on facebook, tweeting, posting on your facebook and blogging this giveaway. Just leave a separate comment with each thing you've done.

--Contest open to US and Canada only. Winner will be chosen by random.org. Giveaway ends and winner will be chosen March 16th, 2011.

want it now? moss mound is for sale in the shop here.

found friday: lucie everett

ok, I promise this is the last post with houseplants in it...... this week :)
I thought this was a lovely painting by Lucie Everett. Via {frolic!}.


Hey! It's friday! Happy weekend.

10 houseplants for cleaner air

Spring cleaning on your up and coming to do list? Don't forget about the air in your home! Here is a list according to a study done by NASA of the top houseplants that help fight indoor air pollution, specifically in removing Formaldehyde, Benzene, and Carbon Monoxide from the air.

1- Mother-In-law's tongue- Sansavieria Laurenetii
2-Chinese Evergreen- Aglaonema Modestum
3- Marginata- Dracaena Marginata
4-English Ivy- Hedera Helix
5-Bamboo Palm- Chamaedorea Seifritzii
6- Mum- Chrysantheium morifolium
7- Peace Lily- Spathiphyllum
8- Corn Plant- Dracaena Massangeana
not pictured:
9- Dracaena "warneckii"
10- Janet Craig- Dracaena Janet Craig

Each of these plants are not too exotic and fairly common to find where houseplants are sold!

nasa article from here. Illustrations from my vintage book The Woman's Day Book of House Plants.

houseplants 101

One of my favorite classes in college was plant ID. Yes. I loved the fact that I was being forced to memorize the common and scientific names of all houseplants. Strange, I know but I'm infatuated with plants. I know it stems from my mom who had plants around our house growing up and was always rooting cuttings on the windowsill. She also threw plant parties (you know like Tupperware parties) in the 70's before I came along.

Our bedroom was lacking umph so my husband and I picked out a couple little fellas to pot up and cleanse the air in our room. How happy they make me! Not only are these plants good for the air you breathe, but they are good for your soul too. A bit of living green inside has always brightened my spirits.

Have I inspired you to go get some houseplants yet?

Stay tuned, I will show some of the best plants for natural air purification in your home!