flores del sol

exploring princeton university

A 1/2 day for my husband, a craigslist find in Princeton and an hour car ride later we found ourselves in South Jersey walking the campus and admiring the architecture of one of the countries oldest universities, Princeton.

Ivy, ivy, ivy! It's not called Ivy Leauge for nothing. Ivy creeps and crawls everywhere throughout the campus. It is trimmed and taken care of properly to show how gorgeous it can be on brick buildings. Graduating Princeton seniors started the custom of planting ivy at the university building, Nassau Hall, in 1866 as seen above. It became part of each graduating class’s tradition and they also placed a plaque on the wall with the date of their graduation.

My girls had a great time exploring all the different "castles". Good thing the campus was pretty empty as we were pretty loud everywhere we went.

ivy hill

snack time:

I am so glad we made this little day trip. Princeton is a breathtakingly old and intriguing campus. Moreno girls, class of 2028, 2030 and 2032.

walking the high line, nyc

We took an afternoon as a family in the city and walked the High Line! I have been wanting to do it for ages and I don't know why it took so long to go. It was gorgeous, very windy, but oh so worth it. The High Line is a modern park made from the old, elevated New York Central Railroad on the lower west side of Manhattan.

Peekaboo empire state building:

The old rail lines have been repurposed into an ever growing luscious flowering wonderland in the bustle of the city. Recycling at its best. I love how they kept some of the rail lines intact though and planted in and amongst them.

It's neat to walk elevated through all of the buildings while still in a park that is a mile and a half long.

If you are planning a trip to NYC anytime soon, I highly recommend walking the High Line! It was great to walk with kids too. My girls loved looking at the flowers, climbing on the benches and just plain old people watching. We can't wait to go back!

ps- if you are planning on going with kids, check out this book, The Curious Garden by Peter Brown and read it before you go. It is a children's book inspired by the High Line and now one of our favorites.

new york botanical garden horticultural classes

I get asked a lot of where/how do you start if you want to learn floral design?

I started young, always picking wildflowers at my country farmhouse as a little girl. I would make posies of my mother's peonies in early june, flox in mid summer and wildflowers from the fields during late Indian summers. I wanted to learn more though, the design mechanics that books can not teach. I chose to study horticulture at BYU-Idaho and took many floral design classes along with it as I earned my bachelors degree. But that doesn't help those who are ask me and live local, now that I live in the NYC metro area.

I've come across New York Botanical Gardens adult horticultural education classes. In-depth summer classes taught by top notch professionals in Floral Design, Landscape design or Gardening with a NYBG Certificate at the end of the class. They sound ideal for the person looking to change careers or just learn the floral design art. For me the landscape design classes sound intriguing, and I took basic ones in college, I would love to further my knowledge. Summer classes start July 8th! More information here.

all images copyright of NYBG

floral corsages with anthropologie

I had the honor of hosting a DIY Mother's Day workshop at Anthropologie in Montclair, New Jersey last Thursday evening! In honor of Mother's Day, we made some lovely dried floral corsages. The team at the Montclair location went above and beyond to set the scene for a great group of ladies who attended. We sat cozy on their second floor surrounded by large old pained windows, exposed brick and anthro merchandise eyecandy.

First I demonstrated how to use and twist florist tape onto a stem. Then the ladies were given free reign to choose focal flowers, accent flowers, and greens for added texture to their corsages. They also had different ribbons and twine to choose from to wrap their stems and tie bows with.

The finished corsages were placed in a box and adorned with homemade tags the ladies made.

Gorgeous photos, no?!

To say that I enjoyed myself is an understatement. It was such a fun and intimate evening! Thank you to all of the Ladies who came out and also to those at the Anthropologie store and headquarters who worked hard to bring this event to life.

All of the dreamy photos were taken by talented Casey McDaniel Photography, thank you Casey!

For more photos from the event, check out my facebook page here.

a flores del sol and anthropologie event!

I have some big and exciting news to share today, I will be hosting a Mother's Day DIY event with Anthropologie! It will be held at their Montclair, New Jersey location on May 9th. It is free, but spaces are limited so sign up quick! We will be making dried floral corsages just in time for mother's day. Please come, I'd love to meet you!

trumpet tree

I just got back from a little vacation down south in Florida and Georgia. I kept noticing these pretty tabebuia trees that were flowering in Florida. The yellow trumpet like blooms were dropping from the trees in the wind littering the grass with eye candy. This is my little Penny enjoying the dropped blossoms. I can't wait for the trees to start blooming here soon!

new in shop: dried plumosa fern wreath

new in the shop is a dried plumosa fern wreath! Soft to the touch, plumosa fern wreath has a natural organic feel. Professionally preserved to keep the texture, feel and softness. This would look perfect in a farmhouse kitchen, mid century modern living room or an indie bedroom. Can be found in the shop here.