They’re calling color of the year Radiant Orchid, which is a purple color that I usually avoid at all cost. Of course there are some exceptions and the flowers from this week were one of them.

This purple scabiosa resembles more of a watercolor painting than a real life flower. The color variation on each petal was incredible.

Japan is at it again growing the most beautiful varieties of ranunculus. The one shown above looked like delicate paper. 

I wish parrot tulips were available year round because they last a long time and just get better with age. This deep purple hue is pretty yummy as well!
More from Japan today is spirea.  Soon enough we’ll be seeing this and it will be local, which makes me very happy. I would use spirea in ever arrangement if I could.

]]> http://dev.poppiesandposies.com/deconstructed/feed/ 0 http://dev.poppiesandposies.com/lemons/ http://dev.poppiesandposies.com/lemons/#comments Sat, 25 Jan 2014 14:18:51 +0000 http://poppiesandposies.com/?p=7915 One of my new year’s resolutions was to do things for myself each day that make me feel good mentally and physically. This year I decided I was going to create very specific outlines of what those “things” would be in hopes that I would actually stick to them throughout the year. For example, read each night before bed even if it is for 5 minutes to clear my mind of the day’s stresses or write in a journal a few times a week to help express what is going on in my life.

I thought about a juice cleanse, but since one of my other resolutions is to save more money this year that seems out. With most fresh juice cleanses running $8 a bottle it adds up quickly. A friend mentioned that she is having a half of a lemon juiced each morning in warm water. She’s seen amazing results for her skin and as I read up on it I found out just how good it is for you. I knew that it cleanses your liver, which we all need, but I didn’t realize some of the other benefits. Read up on them here and starting juicing!

Happy weekend!

No better place to start than the crop top trend. Hate it or love it? I want to hate it, but kind of wish I had the courage to pull it off. However, every time I see a skinny, little hipster girl running around my neighborhood flaunting this style it makes me hate it again. {Lucky Mag & NY Mag}

Thank god overalls was included to give me total justification to wear mine freely and proudly. My sister-in-law relishes in teasing me that I look like a little kid when I wear mine (which I do). Even she pointed out that at least I was on trend if I was going to look like Punky Brewster circa 1988. {Lucky Mag}

The Bermuda Short makes me even happier since I have endured endless teasing for wearing this length. Of course I am never wearing them with high heels and a cute blouse. My style is more flip flop and tank top on the beach. I’m assuming that is not where the fashionistas were going with this one. {Lucky Mag}

Hippie sandal with socks?! Socks should never be worn with sandals. I can’t budge on this one. {Lucky Mag}

This Get Earthy trend may be my favorite of them all. I have not gotten earthy yet, but if it looks this good I’d like to! {NY Mag)

]]> http://dev.poppiesandposies.com/spring-2014-style-trends/feed/ 0 http://dev.poppiesandposies.com/paperfinger-3/ http://dev.poppiesandposies.com/paperfinger-3/#comments Mon, 20 Jan 2014 14:42:47 +0000 http://poppiesandposies.com/?p=7888

I guess the best place to start with this post is to tell you how fortunate I am to have so many amazingly talented friends. One of them being Bryn from Paperfinger who sat down with me numerous times to hammer out my crazy idea of an invitation. She took my ideas and turned them into the most amazing details I could have ever imagined. In the end this was anything but an invitation. It was far more like a piece of artwork than invitation thanks to Bryn. 

Each guest received a black box with their name and addressees inscribed in gold calligraphy. When they opened up their box of goodies, the first thing they saw was our “field guide” to our wedding letter pressed in metallic ink on a heavy card stock.

Upon opening the booklet, guests found an array of items to get them excited for their trip to Costa Rica. From the gold embossed “invitation” alerting guests to the location and time of the wedding to a watercolored guide on how to get from NYC to the Costa Rica destination. Bryn created a family crest for Michael and I which we made into a stamp to use throughout the paper goods. The watercolored map of Costa Rica is stamped here with it. I added dried ferns, bougainvillea and a gold compass. That is just the top portion! The bottom portion had a letter pressed English to Spanish guide with funny phrases for guests to use. Bryn designed this custom print and we had it printed onto mini notebooks for guests to transcribe their field notes into. When we set out our goal was to create an overall experience when our guests opened their field guides. Color, texture, scent and having an interactive component was apart of the plan. We added in a packet of Michael’s spice rub and a pencil for everyone to use. Each element was pinned to the linen book for guests to preserve as is or take apart to use.

The beauty of having a small wedding is that it’s easier to focus on the details. We included  a travel kit for our guests which included shampoo, conditioner, bud spray, sunscreen, soap and travel toothbrushes. You may be able to tell that we stamped our crest on the muslin bags here again. Lastly we added a little something extra in for the dudes; they received a flask, a travel bottle of Michael’s favorite Maker’s Mark, Advil for their hangover and a bottle of Fresh Balls. Our humor is not much above that of an 8th graders clearly. Thank you, thank you to Paperfinger for creating such a memorable, creative and unique experience for ourselves and our guests!

]]> http://dev.poppiesandposies.com/paperfinger-3/feed/ 0 http://dev.poppiesandposies.com/paper-in-every-way/ http://dev.poppiesandposies.com/paper-in-every-way/#comments Tue, 14 Jan 2014 14:51:50 +0000 http://poppiesandposies.com/?p=7876

Don’t get me wrong, we love flowers, but have to admit that often paper plays just as big of a role in the overall wedding design as our blooms do. Paper is also a great resource for a destination wedding. It is light, easy to travel with and packs well. That is part of the reason why the night before my wedding my friends I sat around unfolding and fluffing tissue paper pom poms. I found these gorgeous colors here and they turned out to be the perfect travel companion. We used them to line the back of the bourbon bar, which added a touch of color, texture and decor to an otherwise plain table. Dear Jendo did all of the hand lettering on site for me since we weren’t quite sure what we’d be able to snag in duty free ahead of time.
Next up are the mind blowing invitations, welcome boxes, seating cards, and other goodies designed by my dear friend Bryn from Paperfinger!

{dress, nail polish, shaker, paper, embroidery}

With Thanksgiving right around the corner I know everyone has started thinking about gifts and so have we! Here are a few of my favorite picks right now to get your shopping lists started.

{1.Weekend Bag, 2. Jessa’s Healthy Skin Essentials, 3. Grady’s Cold Brew, 4. Be a Nice Human Print with the proceeds helping family’s in need, 5. Waterproof Waxed Canvas Lunch Bag, 6. The Beachwaver}

Often one of the best parts about social media is that you stubble upon things you may otherwise never hear about. I recently came across a website and a family’s heart wrenching story about losing their little girl. When their community came together to support them in such a horrible time it had a huge impact on their family, which inspired them to help other families suffering from similar situations. Pennies for Penny was established and I urge you to read their story and buy a holiday gift this year from them to help families in need. It will ground you, put life in perspective, and make you grateful for each healthy day we are alive. Click here to learn more.

Our unseasonably warm, 60 degree weather is back just in time for the first weekend of ice skating at the McCarren Park Pool located on the Greenpoint-Williamsburg border. If you don’t have skates, don’t worry. You can rent them for $5. The rink is open 11am-10pm every day of the week through January. All of the profits are going towards improving northern Brooklyn parks, which seems good enough a reason for me to go embarrass myself on the ice at least once this season. {info & photo found here}

Color can  inspire pretty much anything we do, create, and how we live our lives on a daily basis. When we sit down with a client for the first time, one of the first questions we always ask is what color palettes are you most drawn to. Whether they answer vibrant hues, neutrals, romantic colors, etc their answer always helps to shape their design concept and overall aesthetic.

Color inspires how we feel on a daily basis and how we choose to live our lives. From the colors we choose to wear each day or the shades of paint we pick out for our walls. It may seem so simplistic and obvious, but I tend to forget the power of colors in my day to day life and how they can help shape how I feel.

I could get lost for an entire day perusing through Griottes, palette culinaire online. All of the colors throughout the entire blog are captivating and inspiring. I especially love their take on pantones in the first photo!