Farm Fresh Floral Arrangement Part II

Hey everyone!  So here's the second part of my farm fresh floral arrangement post.  As I mentioned earlier, I purchased some celosia along with some other beauties from Reinhardt Blooms at a local farmer's market.  Today, I'm showing you what I created with the celosia.  This flower is so amazing for fall arrangements.  I love it's shape and softness.  I also adore the purplish hue of the leaves, so I left the leaves on to allow them to show through.  Along with the celosia I added some dahlias from my sister-in-law's garden and some Japanese maple branches and sedum from my own garden.    

    

 

Farm Fresh Floral Arrangement Part I

Hey Friends!  Over Labor Day weekend I went to a local farmers' market and picked up some fabulous fresh flowers grown by the amazing Reinhardt Blooms and I also had the pleasure of meeting their floral designer, Katie.  Reinhardt Blooms is a 30 plus acre flower farm here in Michigan that has been run by five generations. Pretty amazing, right? They grow and sell flowers and also offer floral design services for weddings and events.  You must check out their site and blog to see pics.  It's absolutely dreamy.  Katie uses ingredients from their farm for her gorgeous and dramatic, garden style designs.  It's a style I'm trying to master.  I love garden style floral arrangements and the way it allows the natural beauty and shape of blooms to show through the design. 

I purchased scabiosa pods, celosia and cosmos to create two different floral arrangements.  I'm sharing this one with you today.  Stay tuned for the second one next week.  It's not as spectacular as Katie's designs, but I hope with some hard work and practice, that I'll get there.  I used three ingredients all grown at local farms in this arrangement.  The cosmos and scabiosa pods are from Reinhardt Blooms and the beautiful peach colored dahlias are from farm owned by a family friend.  I love the sunny, happy feeling of the arrangement and I hope you do too.  Have a wonderful week friends!  

      

   

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving is tomorrow!  Are you ready?  Thankfully, I don't do too much cooking, just a couple appetizers. Everyone else does the cooking.  I start off the day with watching the Detroit Thanksgiving parade, then I will head to my parents house for brunch.  My husband and I will then head home to put the girls down for naps and then it's off to my in-laws for dinner.  The calorie count for the day?  I don't even want to know.  I will head home for snuggle and story time with the kids and my husband and I will fall exhausted on the couch for a few precious moments of alone time with our stomachs full from a day of thanks.  Tell me, how do you spend your Thanksgiving? 

(Source)

Stylish Thanksgiving Tables

Are you still trying to figure out how to set the table for Thanksgiving?  Here are some super stylish tables we found.  We love how a few simple but well put together details can change a setting, in addition to some unexpected colors like orange and blue.  Hope you find this as inspiring as we do.

1.Centsational Girl 2.The Decoist via The Studio Blog
3. Camillie Styles

Accents for the Thanksgiving Table

We're not sure what happened, but all of the sudden we looked up and suddenly it's almost Thanksgiving.  Here are some fun accents we found to dress up your tabletop.

West Elm//One King's Lane
Jayson Home//Pottery Barn//Wisteria

Autumn Dinner

Taste the warm and rich flavors of fall with these delicious finds.  Start your meal with a harvest salad with a warm maple bacon vinaigrette.  This harvest pasta e fagiole soup with parmesan crisps will ward off any cold chill.  Of course a lovely cocktail like this pear cinnamon spiced martini makes any evening better.  Finish off your autumnal meal with a spiced apple pie seen here from Chelsea's Culinary Indulgence.  Happy eating friends!

1. Simply Scratch/2.Yummy Mummy Kitchen
3. Inside the Lovely/ 4.Chelsea's Culinary Indulgence

Outdoor Halloween Decor

There is a local street that goes out all for Halloween.  We mean all out.  The displays are certainly not your average pumpkin and scarecrow in your front yard.  Here are some fun and inspiring images from their website.  Happy Halloween friends!

Spooky royalty.

 

Yep, that's a "ghost ship" in someone's front yard.

 A scary soiree.

 

{Weekend Notes} More Halloween Fun

This weekend we will be enjoying some more Halloween festivities.  There is a street in our hometown that is amazingly decorated for Halloween.  We along with many many others will gawk at the creations that the proud homeowners have worked so hard on.  There will also be a little Halloween parade that we will be attending.  Yep, lots and lots more spooky fun to be had.  Maybe we'll fit in another doughnut or two.  Have a fun filled weekend!

{Party Palette} Fall Foliage

Who doesn't love the colors of fall leaves?  It's Mother Nature's last hooray before winter takes over. 

Vintage Buttercup//Mod Cloth//Terrain
Elizabeth Anne Designs//roncm3

Halloween Treat Bag DIY

My daughter's class will soon be having their Halloween party.  I usually put together a little treat bag for all of her classmates, but I didn't want to get the usual printed store bought treat bag.  Inspired by my daughter's witch costume, here's what I made with the everyday paper lunch bag.

This Weekend - Get in the Halloween Spirit

This weekend we are taking my daughters to the Zoo Boo.  Dara started this tradition with my oldest daughter Ellie and we are happy have my youngest daughter Amelia join in.  My girls will enjoy plenty or sugary treats and some fun activities while all dressed up in their Halloween costumes.  It's so wonderful to get some use out of those costumes other than just on Halloween itself.  Have a delightful weekend friends!

Raven Halloween Party Inspiration

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more.'

A Halloween party inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven" would be fabulously creepy. 

Pottery Barn//Tom Banwell//inhabit//The Nest UK //Still River Press

Sweet of the Week: Frankenweenie Cake by Sprinkle Bakes

Heather from Sprinkle Bakes has a wonderful blog that documents all of her creative confections.  This artist, turned baker and blogger is now an author too.  Check out her new book "Sprinkle Bakes".  Today we are featuring her Frankenweenie "Sparky" Cake.  Please be sure to hop on over to her blog to see all the details of this amazing cake, including the bright lime green inside of the sweet treat. 

{Party Palette} Yellow + Green

 We like the combination of yellow and green, that occurs naturally for fall.  The pop of yellow is a nice contrast to the dark green.   

Enjoy Events Co.// Heal's
Emerson Fry NYC//Waiting on Martha//Sweet Nature Designs


 

{This Weekend} Celebrations

This weekend we will be celebrating Dara's boyfriend, Paul, who now is an official full time officer of the law.  We're so happy for him as he has worked hard and has gone through many obstacles to get to this point in his life.  Dara and Paul are also going to attend yet another wedding, this time locally.  So it is yet another weekend full of celebrations.  As always, we hope you have a splendid weekend too.

Halloween Party Invitations

 Are you thinking about having a grownup Halloween party?  Check out these wickedly wonderful Halloween party invitations. 

Embellished Paper

 

Little Bliss Designs

Eliza K Prints

 



digibuddha Paperie


Elleol Designs


Pumpkin Decorating Idea

Inspired by yesterday's post, we thought decorating a pumpkin with buttons would be easy and cute.  Try the simple project for yourself. 

We opted for a simple smiley face, but you could also try spelling the words "boo" on the pumpkin or using different colored buttons.  The possibilities are endless. Happy pumpkin decorating!

 

Wedding Anniversary Weekend

Eleven years ago today I woke up to pouring rain, ate breakfast and anxiously waited to slip into my wedding dress.  I chose fall to get married because I dreamed of having outdoor photos with the beautiful backdrop of fall leaves behind me.  Sadly that day the rain never stopped, but it didn't ruin the day because no matter what I would marry the love of my life.  Pouring rain or not. 

After the wedding my husband and I went on our honeymoon, as most newly married couples too.  My husband is a teacher and couldn't take that much time off.  We made the decision to stay in Michigan and head to one of my most favorite places - Traverse City.  One of the things that I love about Michigan is how dramatically beautiful it becomes in the fall.  As we made the four hour drive to Traverse City the colors along the road grew bolder and more amazing and as we reached our destination seeing the bay and the lake made it more magical.  If you are ever in Michigan, I encourage you to visit Traverse City and the surrounding areas.  There are wineries galore and many fabulous restaurants to make any foodie happy. The picture below was taken last year during our 10th wedding anniversary, when we went back to Traverse City.  It is of Black Star Farms, a local vineyard and farm.  I love how the netting over the vines appears ghostly and of course the autumn foliage in the background. 

 

Figs Five Ways

Figs are a beautiful and delicious fruit.  The rich color and sweet flavor are perfect for fall.  Here are some yummy looking recipes that all have figs as an ingredient.  How interesting does a burger with brie and green figs sound.  Have a light and flavorful salad of grilled kale, beets, figs and ricotta.  The fig infused vodka looks amazing.  And don't forget to end your meal with a sour cream fig cupcake with cream cheese frosting or a fig, mascarpone and pistachio tart.  Happy cooking and happy eating!

Wood Decor

We love the idea of incorporating natural elements to a fall party.  And wood is as natural as you get.  Here are some great ways we found to style your fall party with wood. 

Landlocked Bride//Celebrations at Home
Rustic Weddings//Brooklyn Bride