Please vote for me!: http://kcra.cityvoter.com/flowerworks/biz/79594

Once again, the KCRA A-list voting is in full swing. We are very happy to be included in the running! The A-List is a terrific marketing tool for businesses and consumers. I especially think it is useful for wedding planning. Since the reviews are not controlled by the business itself, it is a way for shoppers to get unbiased information from prior customers.

For me, winning is not the goal! I am a very shy marketer and since I do such little advertising, I really depend on the wonderful people who so kindly refer my business to their friends and family. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to vote and comment!

Having trouble deciding on a color palette for your wedding or party? Just need some inspiration?

Check out this site: http://labs.ideeinc.com/multicolr/

You select colors from the color boxes and pictures from Flickr appear. How cool is that?!

Installing Husband 1.0 

Dear Tech Support,

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance — particularly in the flower and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5 and then installed undesirable programs such as NFL 5.0, NBA 3.0, Nascar 2.0 and Golf Clubs 4.1.Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system. I’ve tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail. What can I do?
Signed, Desperate

Dear Desperate:

First keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an Operating System.

Please enter the command: “http: I Thought You Loved Me.html” and try to download Tears 6.2 and don’t forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update. If that application works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5.

But remember, overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0 or Beer 6.1. Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the Snoring Loudly Beta.

Whatever you do, DO NOT install Mother-in-law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources).

Also, do not attempt to reinstall the Boyfriend 5.0 program.

These are unsupported applications and will crash Husband 1.0.

In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance. We recommend Food 3.0 and Hot Lingerie 7.7.

Good Luck,
Tech Support

Of course, NOTHING beats fresh flowers to give or receive, however, I found something close! Why not create YOUR OWN bouquet and e-mail it to a friend? I have found two fantastic sites that allow you to do just that…

www.flowers2mail.com   This site has bright colors and LOTS of options. Pick your own vase, add as many flowers as you like, choose a card and decorate it, add the message and you’re all set.

www.centralpark.com/virtual-bouquet/create    This beautiful website also lets you choose a vase and has a garden of floral choices for your bouquet. You can add a bow and card message for e-mail. If you really like your arrangement, add it to the gallery!

                       Have fun and send one to yourself!

I first saw these roses at market last year around Valentine’s Day. They are a real rose and are bred in Holland by a grower named Peter Van de Werken. The dyes that are used are produced from natural plant extracts and are absorbed by the flowers as they grow. A special process then controls how much color reaches each petal, with spectacular results!

I am often amazed at the surprising beauty of dyed flowers. Gone are the days of obviously paint-sprayed blue carnations! There are many products available to give your favorite blooms a hint of color, even colors not really found in nature. This can be especially helpful when your wedding color palette includes, say, Tiffany blue?

These roses were a bit pricey last year. I am anxious to see if they will be available this Valentine’s Day. They would definitely be an impressive gift for that special someone. Surveys have shown that women would more often prefer a different color of rose than the usual red!

Photos from www.finestationery.com

Have you seen any of the inspiration boards that brides, (and wedding afficianados), are putting together during your internet wedding planning? They are such a great tool to help narrow down the overall look you are going for. They can incorporate your setting, color scheme, dress choices, accessories, cake and of course, FLOWER CHOICES!

Want to know how to put one together yourself? You can collect pictures from magazines, fabric swatches, ribbons, paint chip samples, catalog samples and assemble them with glue onto poster board. What a great momento to keep if you are really enjoying the wedding planning process.

Another easy option is to create an e-board. These are made from photos you collect from the internet. Here are links two tutorials on how to make them from www.weddingbee.com  Thank you Mrs. Lemon!!

www.weddingbee.com/2007/09/11/how-to-create-a-moodinspiration-board-i-the-supereasy-way/

http://www.weddingbee.com/2007/09/12/how-to-create-a-moodinspiration-board-ii-the-photoshop-way/

This picture is from last October when President Obama stopped to pick up a bouquet for his wife for their anniversary. Now there’s a man who knows how to make a girl smile!

1. Figure out how to make a better blog template.

2. Actually write about the topics I think of every week.

3. Figure out how to add pictures more efficiently.

Wow, there’s three resolutions already!

In the meantime, I would like to direct you to two great places~

www.stylemepretty.com

http://blogs1.marthastewart.com/weddings/

Both have fabulous ideas and if you look around, can lead you to other blogs. (I think this is what I spend time doing instead of writing my OWN blog!)

Happy New Year!

From essortment. com:

 “May Day was once, in its earliest days of glory, quite a celebrated date. It was marked by plenty of dancing, singing, and merriment.  This unofficial holiday was never and is still not really considered a holiday by most people in the United States. In fact, it is often overlooked completely. The reason for this is quite possibly the fact that it was not recognized by the Christian church in the earlier days. Some places, though, do hold annual parades and plan festive events to celebrate the end of the winter season as well as the beginning of spring. The town of Minneapolis which is located in the state of Minnesota, held their first May Day parade in the year of 1975. Part of the parade is said to be life-size puppets. The gala event is said to draw thousands of people every year. 

It is quite possible that May Day began a long time ago with the Druids and their custom of worshipping trees. But, the original May Day is thought to have started as part of the spring rituals, which were celebrated in Europe before the Christians came to power. When the Christians abolished or changed the pagan holidays for their own use, May Day was completely left out. Since it was a celebration of spring as well as fertility rites, the Christians decided that they wanted no part of the illicit sexual activities which were commonly promoted.  This holiday was often symbolized by the colorful new growth of spring. It was an early tradition for the youngsters of Europe to carry fresh flowers and boughs and to visit neighborhood houses. They would sing songs that commemorated the arrival of springtime too. People typically decorated their homes with fresh flowers, green leaves, and tree branches. And, May Poles were a common sight on this holiday. Some considered the poles to represent the “tree of life.” They were erected in the town squares in order to mark the presence of spring as well as the coming of summer when all of the trees, flowers, and crops would be growing heartily in the light of the golden sunshine. The May Poles were usually trees that had been cut down in the forests. The branches were removed, and the trees were then carried into town. Brightly colored ribbons were then attached to the tops of the trees. The youngsters took turns grabbing a ribbon and dancing around the poles as part of their May Day celebration. Some cultures believed that the winding of the ribbons around the May Poles was an attempt at helping Nature remain in balance after the long, cold winter, and continue its plush green growth cycle. The youngsters would wind the ribbons together in a colorful pattern. The youngsters also held an annual election in which they selected a May Day King and Queen who were then supposed to preside over the day’s events. 

In conclusion, it is interesting to note that May Day’s significance has since lost its appeal to most people over the years. Since many Americans, especially the ones who are subjected to cold, snowy winters, are struck with “Spring Fever,” you would think it would be celebrated more vigorously in the United States.”

May Day is also the anniversary of the Grand Opening of our studio, (AKA The Girl Fort.) It has been so wonderful to have this space to meet with clients, design in, hold workshops, and host a girl party or two!  

Today is my husband and my 20th wedding anniversary. The time has flown by but I remember our wedding day like it was yesterday! Our nuptuals were planned very quickly. We chose to elope and have our ceremony by the ocean and honeymoon in Monterey and Carmel. Money was tight and the honeymoon was of higher importance so we could afford just a few special items. I purchased a lovely, ivory, modern-styled dress at J.C. Penney’s for $40.00. Charlie got a beige sport coat, a new pair of Rockport shoes, and a coral-colored tie. Even though our ceremony was small and intimate, a color scheme was of vital importance to me. Ivory and coral.

The day before our wedding I realized we must have flowers. I started calling florist shops in search of coral-colored blooms. After several attempts, I finally found a shop who told me they had ‘Sonia’ roses. They sounded perfect! I ordered a small bouquet of 6 roses with baby’s breath and fern and a boutonierre for Charlie.  I remember going to pick them up an hour or so later, thrilled that I was going to have a bouquet for our ceremony. The designer looked so happy when she handed me the presentation bouquet. The bouquet was perfect and made it through our wedding and honeymoon. I pressed a rose for our scrapbook. ‘Sonia’ roses are still one of my most favorite flowers.

I started floral design classes just over a year after we got married and have been a floral designer ever since. It is funny that the flowers are such a big part of my memories of our simple wedding. I have since envisioned a lavish anniversary party where I would make huge, bountiful table bouquets filled with ‘Sonia’ roses. It hasn’t happened yet, and I will probably be designing our daughters’ weddings before that celebration ever occurs. Still, whenever I see that beautiful variety of coral-colored rose, I am transported back to that special day…