1/6 – I’m back home in California! Headed out for a walk thru the vineyards with my new Laura Ashley boots on. I love winter in Northern California, the grass is green and the rain is refreshing.
1/6 – My Cocker Spaniel, Matisse, is a huge fan of running at full speed thru the vineyards. The light is magical the way it filters through a light fog.
1/12 – Attended The Lab Event hosted by Yasmin of Floral Theory. Here I met Polly of Valley Flora and this is her table!
1/22 – Santa Barbara, California!
1/22 – Chuck takes in the scenery at Florabundance Inspirational Design Days
1/22 – Laurie of Fleurie at Florabundance Inspirational Design Days
1/22 – Chuck & Alicia at Florabundance Inspirational Design Days – Santa Barbara, California
1/28 – Francoise Weeks’ Floral Design studio in Portland, Oregon — I’m here to take a 3 day woodland design workshop with Janet from Floral Verde!
1/28 – Portland with Janet of Floral Verde, this is one of her killer designs from our Francoise Weeks’ workshop
1/28 – Janet of Floral Verde at The Woodlands Workshop – Portland, Oregon
1/31 – Visited Peterkort Nursery while in Oregon and fell in love with this greenhouse filled with orchids and maiden hair ferns.
2/2 – A Camellia Show in Napa, California
2/26 – A little something for fun, wanted to play with California’s bounty of flowers
3/4 – Spring is in full bloom! Healdsburg, California
3/10 – On a Daffodil hunt. Ukiah, California
3/10 – The Quince! unbelievable!!
Ukiah, California
3/16 – Bridal bouquet for a wedding in Palo Alto, California
3/19 – Joost of Florabundance & Francoise Weeks, New York City
3/19 – My bouquet in front of David Beahm’s Studio in New York City
3/20 – Karen Tran & I, New York City
3/21 – Back to San Francisco and straight away to Bouquets to Art! This piece was designed by Natalie Bowen
3/22 – Lupe & Forsythia Branches at San Francisco Flower Mart
3/22 – back from NYC & SF, arm loads of flowers, I feel the need to create for the fun of it!
3/23 – My dad claims this is the best one! Guess he likes the opulent colors.
3/24 – Wall of Succulents at San Francisco Flower & Garden Show
3/30 – Assist the lovely Nancy of The Oak & The Owl on a photoshoot, so much fun with this sweet lady! Palo Alto, California
4/15 – To Washington we go! Visited the Tulip Festival in Skagit County. Crazy to think that at this point I had NO idea I’d be moving to Washington just a few months later.
4/28 – Excellent Flower Adventures with my BFF Laurie Garza! We visited Filoli, Flora Grubb, Berkeley Rose Garden, Oakland Rose Garden, Ron Morgan’s Shop! – Woodside, San Francisco & Berkeley, California
5/5 – Russian River Rose Company, lovely rose gardens in Healdsburg, California
5/5 – I need a bouquet of garden roses and mint…
5/9 – San Francisco Flower Mart – here to pick up arm loads of flowers for a Ladies Luncheon
5/10 – Designing away for a Ladies Luncheon, the spring flowers were just amazing
5/11 – While at the church designing the Ladies Luncheon’s flowers in walks a lady with buckets of flowers out of her garden. She is getting married at the church the next day. I ask if I can make her bridal bouquet. #FlowerAddict
6/1 – I had the pleasure of freelancing for Valley Flora in Napa a few times while in California. Polly & Brooke are so talented! This is one of their weddings.
6/4 – Half Moon Bay to visit Alena at her flower shop!
6/4 – Visited Louie Figone’s flower farm with Nancy Liu Chin, fabulous day! Half Moon Bay, California
6/9 – Blush Roses arrive from Harvest Roses for a Rose Study – Ukiah, California
6/21 – Purple and lavender roses arrive from Harvest Roses for a Rose Study – Seattle, Washington
6/24 – Stop by for a visit to Portland’s International Rose Gardens, Portland, Oregon
7/1 – Visited the Hydrangeas at Green Valley Growers, Sebastopol, California
7/6 – Lavender Bridal Bouquet for a wedding in Sebastopol, California
7/6 – Bridal Bouquets for a wedding in Healdsburg, California
7/11 – The Zinnias, Sunflowers and amaranths are starting to bloom in my flower garden!
7/18 – Spent the day with Max Gill – Berkeley, California
7/22 – Off to Virginia to Holly’s House for our workshop!
7/23 – All the ladies and I at the Workshop we had at Holly’s House in Virginia!
7/23 – The one and only arrangement I made while at Holly’s house, I raided her Persimmon tree! Virginia
7/26 – Out for a walk in the woods with my niece & nephew – Massachusetts
8/5 – Hanging out with my girls! Love & miss these three so much; Robyn, Crystal & Amy. Denver, Colorado
8/7 – visited The Gardens at Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah.
8/12 – Field of Sunflowers – Hopland, California
8/13 – The Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens to see the Dahlia Festival! Ft Bragg, California
8/16 – My garden is in full bloom!
9/2 – Chad & I move to Washington State! It’s gorgeous here.
9/17 – Headed back to California as I have 3 fall weddings to design. Stopped in Arcata, California to visit Faye at Flora Organica – look at all her dahlias!
9/21 – Centerpieces of hydrangeas and Patience garden roses for a wedding in Healdsburg, California
10/4 – Gathering fresh cut white Dahlias for a wedding – Petaluma, California
10/8 – Visit Chalk Hill Clematis Farm in Healdsburg, California
10/12 – The three weddings are completed and it’s time for me to return to Washington. I make one last arrangement for my mom prior to hitting the road.
10/24 – Off to Portland, Oregon to spend time with these lovely ladies!
Creating for the sake of Creating.
10/26 – Listening to Debra Prinzing at a lecture at Intentional Table on Bainbridge Island, Washington
11/9 – Orchid Show at Swansons Nursery – Washington
11/15 – Hanging out with Riz Reyes and designing for fun! Seattle, Washington
12/12 – Seattle Wholesale Growers Market for their Holiday Open House!
What a year! I don’t think I realized how much ground I covered until I look back at these photographs. Looking at these photographs makes me happy, I see the faces of so many wonderful people!
To be honest with all of you, 2013 was one of the most tumultuous and hardest years of my life. Plans didn’t work out as planned. Most importantly, five people who meant the world to me, to my family and to my friends passed away this year. There were moments of grief that were so deep and painful, that brought me to my knees and I didn’t think I’d ever be able to stand up again.
I had one lesson this year that really sunk in; sometimes joy has to be found in moments – because at times there will only be moments of happiness to see through the difficult times. I am extremely thankful for this blog and the people I have met because of it, I love flowers and I love the floral industry – flowers and friends pulled me through the darkness this year.