A Valentine's Day Collaboration with Steph Trowbridge @ BeSpoke Collingswood.

Going back to my retail roots and spending a day at Bespoke in Collingswood, NJ on Saturday, February 11th from 11am-4pm. Our floral pop up shop will be complete with super quirky and fun blooms and I am so stoked to be sharing my design tips with you all.

Steph Trowbridge will also be joining me to share an exclusive collection made just for this event. Steph is an incredibly gifted artist who I have had the pleasure of collaborating with over the summer on another project that I can’t wait to share in coming months. You can check out more of her work here https://www.stephtrowbridgeshop.com

Her vase pre-sale drops this Friday 2/3- so be sure to snag one of her pieces.

Look forward to seeing so many of you.. ((hugs!))

The Summer Version of Snowsuits.

The following entry was written in July 2019. Summertime with young kids is a treasure.

My eyes are closed, I'm in cat cow position when I feel my almost 4 year old wiggle his way under me as if the space between my body and my mat are a tunnel he must ninja warrior his way through.

"Bud, mommy is trying to do yoga right now."

"I want to beeee with you."

I glance at my phone and pause the it's 5 o'clock somewhere yoga podcast predicting that my child is not in the mood to put my needs above his own. I note that I've been practicing for 12 minutes and only have 15 more to go.

Out of the corner of my eye I spot my 6 year old daughter has gotten her roller blades out and is beginning the process of putting the pads on her knees.

"No no no... no rollerblading right now.. it's barely 8:30 am.. we haven't even eaten breakfast..Can anyone find it in their heart to think of mommy's needs right now?"

My plea sounded more rational when I said it than when I just typed it out.

"I try to find it in my heart every day Mom, but it's not in there." My 6 year old has a strange sense of humor (I like to think she got from me) that both breaks the tension of the moment and we throw our heads back and laugh a little.

--

I sit up- my mind walking the tightrope of hope that maybe the kids can get outside early and I can get back to stretching out my sore back that I woke up with due to falling asleep last night while nursing the baby. Parallel to my hope is the reality of what agreeing to their request will bring. We all know that roller skates are the summer version of snow suits. The amount of time it takes to outfit the children for their outing is substantially longer than the amount of time they can tolerate said outing. I am fully aware of this. But if I squash this idea, what kind of message will I send to the children about practicing to achieve your goals? How will it affect their self esteem if I remind them that they barely know how to skate anyway, so why put all the effort in? Gosh darn it, it's too early to feel the guilt for the psychological damage my children will sustain at my hand!

--

Before I can make closing arguments in the trial of my inner dialogue, the kids are strapped in their equipment and we make our way towards the kitchen to the back door. I'm barking orders to avoid perceived landmines. "Hold on! Don't move! Wait for me!" Our first casualty happens going over the threshold of the door. There are tears and hugs and I see my quiet yoga practice slipping away quicker than sand through my hands on a kid-free day at the lake. We are down the back steps and onto the driveway. Push brooms are handed out to help steady everyone. They are clonking around on their boots with wheels and it's adorable. They are having so much fun. This was worth it. I've got to capture this moment. I run inside to grab my phone and I can't find it. But it's too late. I hear tears and run back outside.

We hug, dry tears and talk about where it hurts.

"Mom, I'm all done skating." my 6 year old says. "Me too. You help me take my skates off?" chimes in my almost 4 year old.

I resist the desire to point out that I knew how this would end because my heart admires their bravery to keep trying despite past falls and I hurt when they hurt.

--

"Mom, can we watch a show?"

"Yes, yes you can." And I walk to the microwave to reheat my coffee.

Our Wreath Workshop + How to Host Your Own At Home Workshop

Can I tell you something that made my heart smile this week?

I ran into someone who attended one of our first workshops with a girlfriend almost 2 years ago and she told me that they were given the opportunity to arrange the flowers for a friend’s life celebration service and they were recalling the different tips and tricks they learned at the workshop. They shared how meaningful it was to create something to bring life and beauty to this grieving family. 

I started thinking back to ordering the flowers for the first workshop I hosted. My vision at the time was to pass along my love for flower arranging to others and to share some simple tips so others would feel more confident arranging in their own homes.

But what I didn’t realized was that these workshops were about more than flower arranging.

Here are my observations about why our workshops keep selling out.

Two attendees having a little bit of fun ;)

Observation #1 : It’s been about self care. I know this term is super trendy right now. But hear me out if you haven't already tuned me out :) Blocking off a chunk of time to do something for yourself that is lighthearted and just fun. We could all use some more fun.

Observation #2: They have been about a relationships. It’s hard to put it into words- but I kinda feel like a (butter)fly on the wall getting to see you laugh together with your girlfriends and also see strangers becoming friends and hugging goodbye at the end of the night. It has totally reminded me that humans have beautiful hearts that love relating to one another.

Observation #3: It’s been about surprising yourselves with the creativity that lies within each of you. I say/write this with all honesty: Seeing the originality of what each person creates at our workshops is totally not lost on me. It’s a thrill to see what each person comes up with when given the same ingredients. I love how each person sees beauty through their unique eyes and I have adored seeing you each be surprised & proud of what you create.

But you don't have to attend one of our workshops to take care of yourself, cultivate your friendships, or pursue your creativity!

I wanted to share a 5 of my favorite home workshop ideas in hopes that it sparks your imagination to recreate your own version of it. It does take a bit of work to be the host of one of these gatherings, but it is SO rewarding to create an environment for your friends to feel lavished and loved on and be creative.

5 Ideas to Get You Thinking About Hosting Your Own At Home Creative Workshop

1. An essential oil party. My friend, Amy hosted one of these and it was one of my favorite gatherings! She set out all the supplies, ingredients & recipes to make various oil rollers, sugar scrubs, lip balms, room sprays. It was SO fun to have everything set up in little stations for everyone and I still wear my lavender orange roller every day! This party was hosted around the holidays and each "station" had a price tag of $2-5 on it. So we knew that whatever we made would cost that much. My awesome friend who hosted did the work of buying all the jars, labels, and ingredients and setting it all up for us!

2. A holistic minded gathering. One of my dear friends hosted us girls before to make homemade healing salves & poison ivy salve. After her husband had a bad run-in with poison ivy, she wanted to make sure to have a good salve on hand if that ever happened again and it's just more fun to do this with friends. She also hosted us to make elderberry syrup for the cold and flu season. This was critical because once you are hit when the cold or flu, you are usually not up for making your own tincture! Thankfully we haven't needed the poison ivy salve, but the elderberry syrup came in handy for us this past season.

3. A good old fashion potluck. Yes, I know you all know what this is. My recommendation: don't share what you are bringing before hand. Just bring something that you love. The surprise element adds to the LUCK of the pot! :) And it's so fun to "Ooo" and "Ahh" over friend's recipes.

4. A cooking party. This has been one of my favorite things. I have learned so much from my Mom & Mother in Law when they have invited me over to learn a family heirloom recipe! I have learned how to make my husband's favorite cookies from my Mother-in-Law and just recently my mom taught me how to make braciole. And DANG! It was good! 

5. Candle making party. This year, two of my friends have gifted me homemade candles and it has been my FAVORITE thing. I love my daily ritual of lighting a candle when we sit at the kitchen table and having homemade ones are just so special. It's on my list of things to do to host one of these because I really want to learn how to do it myself.

Well, there ya go! I hope your wheels are spinning about what you could host for your friends!

Below is some inspiration for how we set up our workshops. Oh, and champagne & cheese & chocolate are always good to have on hand :-)

This workshop was captured by the lovely Keristin Gaber.

Big thank you to Dana & Val of Blueprint Studios for hosting us in their inspiring showroom.