Galentine’s Day is officially Thursday, February 13th, but here in Rockaway Beach it’s pretty much a daily thing! To make this occasion special and kick it up a notch we had an early Galentine’s Brunch & Creative Workshop, at the Bungalow Bar, to eat and drink of course, but to inspire as well!
Bungalow’s GM, and my friend, Katy and I brought some of my favorite Galentine blog posts for 1-800 Flowers.com to life for 40 “ladies celebrating ladies” on a recent Sunday afternoon and it was a blast!
I love Christmas! And I love decorating Christmas trees. The main tree in my home tends to be pretty traditional, changing only slightly from year to year, with new ornaments added here and there. So what I want to talk about is the beauty and versatility of fresh tabletop Christmas trees. These beautiful arrangements are usually handcrafted by your local florist and make great gifts. As a matter of fact, the Holiday Flower Tree® has been a best seller since it was first introduced by 1-800-Flowers over 15 years ago!!
If you have a little time and want to get creative, these trees are pretty easy to make. The basic instructions are the same for whatever size tree you want. The smaller the tree, the faster and easier it will be to construct, of course. Petite trees are so sweet and can be tucked into so many unexpected spots. Larger trees, on the other hand, allow you to create a completely custom look based on your choice of container, decorations and color scheme.
Everyone knows Santa’s iconic red and white hat! Put one on for instant holiday spirit.
I decided to have a little fun and make one entirely out of fresh flowers. Not only are they creative, but they’re so easy to make and will make you look like the “hostess with the mostess” at your next holiday get-together!
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Think of your tabletop as a blank canvas on which you will create your “tablescape” art. You choose your mediums as any artist would—your surface, linens, flowers and candles. The layering of colors and textures, adding personal touches, all play a part in the delight and ambiance that a beautifully designed table brings to a special occasion. Go as big or as simple as you want! This is your masterpiece, and should represent you and tell the story that you want told.
Let’s start with simple! Here are a few easy, creative and inexpensive ideas that I hope will provide some inspiration to get you started on your tablescape art.
Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertos is a Mexican holiday to honor and celebrate loved ones who have passed. Originally an Aztec harvest celebration, the Catholic influence of the Spanish conquistadors combined it with the traditions of All Souls’ and All Saints Day, and the celebration now starts the day after Halloween and runs for 2 days (11/1 & 11/2).
There are so many beautiful traditions associated with Dia de los Muertos – the colors, music, sentiment, and a few iconic symbols such as the Sugar Skull! Whether you’re going big or small this year, here are a few ideas for ways that you can personalize and bring this celebration of loved ones’ past into your Dia de los Muertos.
The most iconic symbol of Dia de los Muertos is the Sugar Skull. Mexicans choose to celebrate the lives of their dearly beloved and the skull symbolizes death but in a positive way. Living in a country abundant in sugar production, they began to create beautiful clay molded sugar skulls that were decorated with flowers and colorful icing that represented departed souls.
Here’s an easy way to go from Halloween to Day of the Dead and keep the party going!
Let’s keep the iconic-Halloween-symbol-3D-floral-design thing going! This time, it’s all about the candy corn. Does anyone actually eat candy corn, or is it just for crafts and decor projects? Whatever people do with candy corn, they do a lot of it; according to the National Confectioners Association, approximately 25 million pounds of candy corn are sold annually! That’s a lot of kernels… so plug in those glue guns and get crafty! Here are a few decor ideas and a few candy-inspired beverages for young and old ghouls and goblins!
Fourth of July celebrations (and decorations) are the best! Whether you’re celebrating America’s birthday with friends and family on the beach or in your backyard, here are some easy ways to add little patriotic touches of red, white and blue with these fun DIY floral 4th of July decoration ideas!
Seriously, is there anything you can’t do with a few mason jars? I took three small, clear mason jars and painted them in a stars and stripes tribute to Old Glory. One stem of blue hydrangea in each and you have a beautiful, fun, inexpensive centerpiece. You could paint a couple more while you’re at it and use them to hold cutlery or straws, or even tea lights, creating a festive look for evening festivities.
We received such great feedback on our Wine Tasting for Mom event that I thought, why not plan something similar for Dad? This time we’re going with a beer tasting event in dad’s honor!
Thanks to an increasing appreciation for quality beer production, there are new breweries popping up all over the country. There’s a good chance that there’s one right in your neighborhood or close by. If possible, hosting your Father’s Day event right at the brewery can add a unique feel and make it more fun for everyone. Leaving the beer to the experts gives you more time to focus on the decorations and the fun details that make Dad feel loved and honored for all he does!
I reached out to Gretchen Schmidhausier, a friend of my sister, who recently fulfilled a lifelong dream and opened a microbrewery in her hometown of Neptune City, New Jersey, on the Jersey Shore. The Little Dog Brewing Company was named after Gretchen’s dog Quincy, a basenji, who is also the face of the brand!
Spring is here and Mother’s Day is right around the corner. Have you started to think about how you can show mom just how much you love her and how special she is? Hosting a Mother’s Day wine tasting is a fun way to spend time with mom for you to enjoy the holiday together!
The planning and preparation can be as much fun as the event itself! Getting together with a few of your and moms friends to plan a Mother Daughter Wine Tasting party, makes for a great girls day and for a guaranteed good time. In addition to the mother/daughter ideas, a Mother’s Day wine tasting for the whole family (21 and older of course!), can be equally as fun!
A rustic, natural Napa Valley-inspired wine tasting can make for the perfect setting to incorporate so many of the most popular trends: burlap, chalkboard, mason jars, monograms and Made in America.
Flowers and tea sets go together like mothers and daughters: Individually they are each beautiful, but together they are even better, bringing out the best in each other! I was so excited to see that 1-800 Flowers is offering this lovely new tea set, designed by the equally stunning supermodel and mom Miranda Kerr, in their Mother’s Day Flowers Collection, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it!
Miranda created this tea set, exclusively for Royal Albert, in her bestselling “Friendship” pattern. The fact that everyone’s best friend is their mom makes this the perfect arrangement for a Mother’s Day celebration. Both the teapot and the bouquet feature lush magenta peonies and fluttering butterflies. Adding to the English garden vibe of the bouquet are roses, spray roses, and bupleurum. See what I mean about the “better together” thing? You can take the tea time theme in all different directions. Just find some great mix and match containers and see where they take you. Continue Reading…
