Mistletoe and a Small Act of Kindness

The last few weeks have been crazy. I've been focused on getting the store ready for Christmas. And any of you in the floral industry know how hectic that can be. Daily orders, flowers ordered and processed, photoshoots, weddings, bridal appointments, Christmas decoration appointments, Christmas decoration preparation, Christmas installations, proposals, more flowers processed.... whew. And that's just to scratch the surface.

Tonight, after the store closed and everybody left for the day, I was in my office feverishly working on finishing a very special bridal proposal.. when suddenly... the front door bells jingled alerting me that some one had just walked in... I grumbled to myself and internally was kicking myself because I had forgot to lock the front door!!!!

I left my office and went to the front to greet the person who strolled in after hours. It was a young girl, probably in her early 20's looking for mistletoe. She explained that her boyfriend was flying in tonight, all the way from Africa. It had been quite some time since she had seen him. She wanted to take mistletoe to hang over his head for their first kiss.

Needless to say... my heart melted. I stopped everything, including my bad attitude and began making phone calls. Calls to my mother, my sister, Walmart, Tractor Supply, New Braunfels Feed, Hobby Lobby.. the calls went on and on and on... 20 plus calls. I finally found her mistletoe.... She cried and I cried.

A simple act of making phone calls made this young girl's dream come true. Her boyfriend's homecoming from Africa is going to be perfect. I had touched somebody's life. I realize that this small act of kindness isn't really a big deal in the scheme of all things worldly. But it made me realize that even the smallest efforts can make someone else's life better while at the same time put the insanity of every day life back into perspective.. A lesson well learned this Holiday Season.

Natalie Walther and John Tarpoff Wedding

December 3rd is finally here!!!  Congratulations to Natalie Walther and John Alexander Tarpoff, II... it's their wedding day!!!  Natalie and her mother, Nina Walther, came in to visit a few months ago about their floral needs.  I've known Nina for several years and she and her sisters are a hoot!!  Nina is a DIY extraordinnare and does a beautiful job party planning and decorating.  I was quite thrilled that she came to me for Natalie's bridal bouquet.  Natalie and I talked about various styles of bridal bouquets.  We looked at some pictures.....

Natalie knew immediately what she wanted....  a rustic, flowing, cascade bouquet that reflects her love of the outdoors.  This is what I created....  a flowing cascade of butterfly vine (mascagnia macroptera), magnolia foliage, seeded eucalyptus, genestra and white oriental lilies....   I love the curling and twisting of the butterfly vine.   Butterfly vine's botanical name is Mascagnia Macroptera.  The Butterfly vine gets its name from the seed pods which resemble a butterfly.  If you look closely, you can see the lime green clusters.  The dark brown of the magnolia foliage compliments the woodsy elements of the bouquet which balance it perfectly. 

Natalie and John's ceremony and reception location is Texas Olde Towne in Kyle.  Following the festivities.. they are off to Hawaii for their Honeymoon!!!  Even though I didn't have a major role in Natalie and John's wedding, my heart and soul went into the creation of her very special bouquet.  To read more about Natalie and John...  visit their website at http://waltherandtarpoff.ourwedding.com/view/7944682199406985/22397626

Weihnachtsmarkt, What and Why...

Weihnachtsmarkt translated from German means Christmas Market. 

At this time every year, there is a Weihnachtsmarkt in New Braunfels Texas to benefit The Sophienburg Museum and Archieves.  Treat yourself to a shopping extravaganza with unique decorations, specialty items, fabulous gifts and antiques. Select from a wide array of retail merchants and artisans.

http://www.sophienburg.com/weihnachtsmarkt
WHAT IS THE SOPHIENBURG?


In 1845 Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels and a group of emigrants set out from Germany to find a new home in Texas. The Prince chose a site on the Comal River because of its abundant water, lush vegetation, and "a good omen." There he and his band of pioneers founded New Braunfels.

For his personal home Prince Carl chose a hill overlooking the beginnings of the town and began his plan to build a castle on the site. His home was to be called Sophienburg — Sophie's Castle — for his fiancée, Lady Sophia, Princess of Salm-Salm. However, when he returned to Germany to bring Sophia to Texas, she refused to leave. In a move that baffles native Texans to this day, Prince Carl chose his fiancée over Texas and stayed in Germany to marry Sophia. He never returned to Texas.

Today, the Sophienburg Museum and Archives resides on the hill chosen long ago by Prince Carl.

For the last couple of years at the Weihnachtsmarkt, The Sophienburg Archieves group has started a competition.  They asked all of the local flower shops to donate centerpieces to decorate Sophie's Cafe.  The attendees of the Weihnachtsmarkt are able to vote on their favorite centerpiece.  The centerpieces are then auctioned off at the end of the Christmas market.  This year not only are attendees able to vote, but Facebook friends can cast their votes as well.

There are our designs....
Design Number 1

Design Number 6

If you're interested...  Copy this url into your browser.   http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.259669170747650.63151.100001137086203&type=3.   Check out all of the designs and vote for your favorite.  We hope you will select ours, numbers 1 and 6. Voting ends Sunday, November 20th at 5:00 p.m.

Taylor McDonald and Joseph Gajan 11.26.11 Wedding

 I have another great story to tell....  We are so lucky in our industry as floral artist's to be able to meet great people in love and help them create an atmosphere with floral that will reflect their style and personality on their spectial day.  Taylor and Joseph's upcoming wedding is going to be a FUN, whimsical and PLAYFUL theme.  Taylor has a great love for birds.  And they will be displayed throughout the entire day.

Taylor decided that she wanted to bring in props and accessories for us to incorporate into each of her table centerpieces.  All of it is bird themed related and each table will be different.  We are going to embellish all of her fabulous accessories with floral and foliages....  hocus pocus roses, winter berries, red hypericum, red gerberas, verbascum, burgundy scabiosa and MORE....  Taylor even made her own Bride and Groom Birdie cake toppers.....  They are soooo cute and creative.    

Find out more about Taylor and Joseph here....  http://weddings.theknot.com/pwp/pwp2/view/MemberPage.aspx?coupleid=9322306822982080&pid=15533671.   You will see how special this couple truly is. 

ONE last funny story that we will have after Taylor and Joe's wedding......  some of you know that we at blumen-meisters Flower Market have a shop cat.  Her name is Slidder..  Slidder is a 3 legged manx calico cat.  To those of you who know her...  she's a pretty special cat.  We've had Taylor's accessories stored in our studio for a while now...  One night, Slidder decided to dig though our bag of red birds and successfully place a fatal blow to one of them..  The puncture wounds from her fangs went right through the styrafoam red bird...  When we discovered it, we laughed so hard.  Now, my delima..  do I discipline Slidder for her bad behaviour???  We are thankful that only one of Taylor's red birds was damaged...  Silly cat...  Unfortunately, I'm not able to post of picture of slidder or the wounded red bird at this time.....  We have since stored Taylor's birds in a more secure location..  NO MORE ANGRY BIRDS HERE..

Josh Crumpton and Jeanie Flohr's 11.11.11 Wedding

 

Last week, an old friend of mine called and asked if I would be available on 11.11.11 to provide floral for his upcoming wedding.  Of course I said YES.  Since then, its been a bevy of activity.  Consulting, multiple trips to San Antonio, researching, procuring containers, floral, accessories, votives, candles, glassware that will compliment the wonderful couple and fantastic venue.  I am so excited to be working on this project.  You just never know what will come your way.  I have serviced this venue before, many many years ago.  Since that time, The Havana Hotel was taken over by Liz Lambert and Bunkhouse Properties.  I have been a fan of Liz's since I found one of her properties in Marfa, Texas.  I have followed her work since and see that she has continued to incorporate her style into the Havana.  Hotel Havana is the perfect venue for Josh and Jeanie's laid back sophisticated style.  I am looking forward to accenting this fabulous jewel instead of covering it up.  I can't wait for all of you to see the wonderful photos that Josh Huskin will no doubt create.  And if you get a chance, take time to stop at the Hotel Havana in San Antonio... you won't regret that you did.     



Danny Engesser and Kari Bassett

I met with the greatest couple today...  say Hello to Danny and Kari!!  They are in town meeting with vendors for their upcoming wedding...  Congratulations and welcome to New Braunfels!!!! It was so wonderful that Danny was part of our consultation.  In my experience, it is rare that the groom-to-be has time or wants to be part of the wedding planning.  I was tickled when he said that he was having a great time running around with Kari and her Mom, Kathy.  Danny and Kari are coming to us from Iowa...  OMG... tons of snow to the heat of South Texas....  All should be comfortable with an early March 2012 wedding.  Once we started talking, I was soooooooooo happy to discover that Kari is going to be one of my "outside the box" brides...  We love those kinds of brides here at blumen-meisters...  Wait until you see what we came up with.  A one of a kind bridal bouquet for sure.  Danny and Kari got engaged in Dublin, Ireland.  It was a very exciting story to hear.  Talk about one of a kind, take a look at Kari's engagement ring.  WOW... Beautiful....  I will keep you posted as we continue to plan for their March 3, 2012 nuptials.    

Weekend of renewal

This has been my first full weekend off in months. Saturday started out as a struggle. A slow start to the enjoyment of what was supposed to be free time. I woke up to disaster all around... Dust clinging to cobwebs falling from the ceiling dancing the waltz in a make believe ballroom. Worn clothes stacked in a corner which seemed to be a mile high.. For a moment, I could have sworn the jolly green giant threw a pea at me from the top. A step out side revealed dried up plants that didn't survive our brutal heat this summer, brown leaves and fallen acorns piled around the corners of the pool. The winds had shaped and molded them into fluffy folds that bordered the shape of the pool which reminded me of a mink stole wrapped around a grand dame. Then, the biggest heartache came when I turned the corner of the storage shed and found dirt, dust and other unmentionables hanging off my beloved harley davidson. Her shiny parts frowned and I could hear her battery that sorely needed a charging. To say I was a bit overwhelmed would be an understatement. It took some time and a lot of help and understanding from my family, but we got down to it and got the place back in shape. It has been a renewal of sorts. My passion is my love of flowers and my family. This renewal has given me inspiration to find my balance of passion for flowers, family, business and home.

I was also fortunate to find some time to google my favorite designers from around the country and world. Their blogs are filled with so much fabulous information. I thank each and every one of you for sharing your knowledge of floristry and passion for what you do.

Finally, I'm off to the New Braunfels Blues Society Jam at Oma Gruene's Secret Garden. My slow start has blossomed into a full weekend of renewal and growth. Life is good.

Some of my philosophy

Most people who don't work directly with flowers don't realize that each individual stem has been prepared and hand placed into the final product, often with painstaking care. This is where artistry and passion for the work comes in. So if you're willing to try design, just take your time, judge your efforts kindly, and watch your skills blossom.

Creating Your Own Bouquet Tips

The following ideas indicate how adhering to a few basics will influence you as you create your own bouquets.

1. In their natural state, flowers are not usually packed together tightly, so try to make arrangements full but loose, with petals, leaves and tendrils extending below and beyond their containers.

2. So many flowers look perfectly stunning by themselves, without any addition whatsoever; add others only when you want to enhance specific colors and create different textures.

3. Rather than mixing colors uniformly throughout a bouquet, make small clusters of each shade and place them alongside one another: the large blocks of color will compliment each other more fully.

4. Use the flower's own leaves if they're long lasting or try to find greenery that has some resemblance to the flower's own, to echo its apparance in nature.

5. Each addition to an arrangement should have a purpose. If you have only a few flowers, it's better to make an exquisite small bouquet rather than adding filler to make it look bigger.

6. Don't cut flowers to fit a vase - instead, choose the vase that best suites the blossom.

Look to the Flower for Inspiration

Just as the best tomatoes and strawberries come in summer, one learns that the fullest tulips appear in Spring. Garden roses at their most fetching in May, June and July. Knowing that lilacs will appear for only a few scant weeks has made more than one bride set her wedding date for that time, because she wants to recall their delicate scent on each anniversary. Which flower is your favorite and why does it inspire you??????

Did you know.....?

The Waffle Plant a/k/a Purple Ivy

* Best known for it's ability to re-oxygenate (clean) the air around it.

* Latin - Hemigraphis Exotica

* It is considered a tropical plant and needs misting

Very interesting.... Come see it....

THE OSCARS....... They are almost here!

If you're anything like me, you relish this time of year. The Oscars are right around the corner. I am fascinated each year by the hype, fashion and lovely floral decor on that very special night.

Mark Held, of Mark's Garden in Los Angeles, has been designing the florals and tablescapes for the Oscar's Ball for nearly two decades. He says this year, "he took a more whimsical approach than in the past." Each table will be unique, but Held is incorporating metallic accents, feathers, tropical leaves, and exotic orchids — along with cabaret lamps and candles— into the designs. He's also focusing on three different color combinations: blue and purple, amber and red, and green and amber. Held says if you'd like to emulate one of his creations at home, it's all about contrast. He says, "I would say you should do something with a few small pieces rather than one, because that's what we're doing on every table. So take three small vases and put a different kind of flower in each one, and make the whole table one color . . . and then incorporate some candles with it, and that will add the ambiance and atmosphere."

So, if you're like me and hosting an Oscar party. Take it from the experts and incorporate multiple components.... it's easy and definitely more interesting.

LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION!!!!!

**hey, were's the popcorn!!**