Single Send-Off for Koru Kate

I've known Koru Kate since kindergarten and we went to our first wedding seminar together 11 years ago to hear Colin Cowie speak. Now we're both event planners and she's getting married next weekend!

I brought her a flower arrangement and used white chrysanthemums and white roses with just a touch of a yellow hue and pink edges on some of the petals -- they looked sunny, which reminded me of Kate!

I've had a few questions about flower care & arranging, so here are a few easy tips. When I made my amaryllis arrangements I realized it was much better to trim and prepare all the stems first, then putting them into the container.

1st) Choose a container, fill with a few cups of water and mix in 1 packet of floral food until it dissolves.

2nd) Take off all rose thorns (careful!) and any leaves that will be below the water line so the water stays as clean as possible.  

3rd) Trim the chrysanthemums on an angle so the ends don't sit flat on the bottom of the container.  The stems will have blooms of varying lengths, so take off any that'll be too short to reach over the top of your chosen container.

4th) Cut the roses, again on an angle, while they're under water to prevent an air bubble from forming in the stem -- couldn't get a pic of this with just 2 hands!  Side note, at some point flipping channels I saw Robert on Everybody Loves Raymond with flowers of his own.

5th) Put the cut roses immediately into your prepared container: I made a ring around the edge and put one in the center.  Any stems in the center can be higher than the ones on the edge so the arrangement will have a nice dome shape instead of being flat.

6th) Fill in with chrysanthemums, poking them in around the roses, and even placing them under the rose heads to lift them up.

6th) And keep adding roses and chrysanthemums until you're happy with how the arrangement is filled out: here's a top view.

There were even a few chrysanthemums left over -- love that!  I also like Expendable Edibles: gourmet recipes from chefs and foodies using leftovers, and Craft Leftovers: creative ideas for using up your crafty stash.  So, I put some flowers in the bedroom.

And bathroom.

The best thing about these shears is that they can come apart to dry out completely.

Also picked up some mini cupcakes from Sweet Hoboken: vanilla, chocolate, coconut, red velvet, banana and carrot -- all yum!

And celebrated Kate's last few days of single-dom!  Congratulations, Kate -- can't wait for your beautiful wedding!

Valentine's Day Prep

I'm going to try to send Valentines for the first time in I don't even know how long.  Between Michael's and Target all of this was under $8.00: 20 pastel acid-free cards with envelopes, 20 cello bags with ties, 73 rhinestone heart and stud stickers, 16 sheets of printed 5" x 7" paper and 8 yards of velvet ribbon.

My high school friend Katie Sullivan, wedding planner and owner of Koru Wedding Shoppe in Hoboken also told me recently about her shopping trip to A.C. Moore for paper and embellishments for her valentines.  Katie was a creative inspiration for me; even when we were kids her room was decorated with beautiful papers and quotes, and now at Koru she has a wonderful selection of bridal gifts and accessories and can do anything from handling your invitations to planning your whole wedding!

Katie and I hope to make a run to Michael's sometime when our schedules free up.  And it looks like I should also go to A.C. Moore: they have a membership rewards program!