p.s.

...the boutonniere that matched. And THANK YOU so much for those of you who signed up for our new flower school - we booked the class in 24 hours! (...And so scheduled a second one for November.) Nicolette and I are beside ourselves with excitement. It's going to be so beautiful and just an amazing and magical afternoon. And I never use the word magical. Ever.
More details on the planning of the class - and of course flower photos - on our new collaborative blog...

["Cafe au lait" dahlias, smoke bush, snowberry, star of bethlehem, scabiosa, ranunculus,

garden roses, pepperberry, pomegranate, "quickfire" hydrangea.]

This maybe my favorite bouquet yet. I say that about all of them though...

BACK TO SCHOOL!

Autumn Color Workshop
with Nicolette Owen (of Nicolette Camille) and Sarah Ryhanen (of Saipua)
Sunday, October 18
1pm - 6pm
$250

Focusing on flowers and plants of the season, this class will explore alternative ways of interpreting the autumnal palette of the North East. In a small group we will discuss methods and techniques for arranging flowers for the table. Surrounded by opulent seasonal materials, students will have the opportunity to create their own autumnal masterpiece to take home.

Class is limited to 10 students.
Clippers will be provided and are a gift to take with you.
Of course, class will finish with a champagne and tea party.

The class will take place in the Saipua studio at 147 Van Dyke Street in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

To sign up, (or ask questions) email us at hello.flower.school@gmail.com
And to keep up with flower school lesson plans, class info, and general floral loveliness, visit our new blog: http://little-flower-school.blogspot.com/

jams

a. [pictured] two deliveries from this week.
b. [in the oven] butterscotch pecan cookies, as in f*%& yeah, high fives.
c. [wait for it...] said cookies to be sandwiched with pistachio gelato in what will become the world's best yet ice cream cookiewich. as in fist pumping, Arsenio style.
d. [halloween] i have the best costume idea in the universe. guesses?
e. [confession] i have spent an inappropriate amount of time on this Saturday evening watching clips from Arsenio Hall Jams: like his interview with madonna and rosie o'donnel, salt n' pepper, NWA, Whitney, etc. oh! and Mariah Carey.

self portrait as a muppet baby @ 8am

here i am in the back of the factory. i just spent like 800 bones on dahlias that i don't even really need. because they were so ridiculously gorge! like really really gorge, kids. i'll have to snap some pics, but until then - im blogging on our brand new macbook, brand new as in, it still has a complete rim around where your right hand rests...amy and eric are not in yet, so i took the liberty to eat a greasy croissant while typing away. suckas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

other vitals:
- stuart and alice are coming next week to teach eric and i how to dance.
- grape and gorgonzola pizza
- i'm brewing kombucha
- pepperberry season starts!
- and some very big news coming monday...
but since i hate when bloggers tease like this - i'll just come out and say it - Saipua is joining up with another hot floral designer to offer a flower class of sorts, like mind-blowing...promising more details monday.

...this big arrangement from one of our weddings on saturday - i've been so bad about shooting everything because usually if there is an extra 5 min. before we head out i'm like "hello? coffee and a cookie?" and the girls are like "damn straight" then we like high-5 or do some secret fist daps and head over to Baked... but i did manage to get a shot of this beauty that was bound for the front hall at the Montauk Club. brides, be good and send me your photographs, k?

OK You need to hold the phone for a hot second and listen up (!) because this only happens once in a while - I'm giving you a recipe, a recipe I lovingly have "adapted" from one of my favorite food blogs, Orangette.

Granted there are probably more interesting places this monday morning on the internet, granted perhaps you've arrived here hoping for flowers, or the last photos from Paris...but you get spaghetti instead.

But you can thank me later, because maybe you get home from work tonight, and it's too late to go to fairway, and you have the following in your frigo:

- questionable ricotta left from the friend who watched your dog while you were away
- unhealthy remnants from your mother's CSA which she's dumped on you in preparation for a 3-week tour of Rome and the Mediterranean
- the ever-rotating but useless population of 15 or so cheese ends

and you feel like crying or eating out, the later option not advisable since...and this is when the phone rings (!) but remember you're going to hold the phone and write this down:

pasta sauce:

in a cast iron skillet or saute pan:
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 half onion (not chopped)
a big slice of butter (which for you may be a pat, and for me is like an 1/8 cup)
red pepper flakes
sprinkling of salt

put the heat on medium/medium-low and let it go for about 20-30 or so minutes stirring occasionally. Meanwhile get your salted pasta water boiling.

Turn off the heat, remove the onion, add a good bit of half and half, and pulse 3/4 of this mixture in food processor to get it all saucy. Add this blended mixture back in the sauce pan.
When the spaghetti is done, drain it (RESERVING SOME COOKING WATER - to thin out the sauce a bit) and mix it all up, topping with a healthy smattering of grated cheese from your cheese population, and if you have it - some torn basil leaves.

and we're back! Barely made it - imagine Eric and I running through CDG to make our flight Tuesday morning after a security gaurd confiscated a jar of nutella-like hazelnut spread from my carry on:

"It's Fine," I said - "Just take it."
"You see, because it's over 250 ml..." she said pointing to the weight on the can.
"I understand."
"And anyway this is...not very good, this brand. This brand is...how you say...cheap."
"We. Are. Going. To MISS OUR FLIGHT." I said.
"You know...there are other, better brands."
[At this point I was just sort of rocking back and forth turning red, humming very slightly.]
"I bought this once, a long time ago. And I didn't like it AT ALL. I had to throw it OUT!"

at MERCI...

Le 'concept shop'?

Even my mom was telling me to go to MERCI, so we did, and I was pleasantly surprised by the little flower atelier inside. The library is also charming, with a little cafe nestled in it's hallway. Today is our last day here, and Eric this morning is squirreling around the apartment trying to get our shit together, while I, lying in bed drinking coffee (at 11:15, mind you this never happens) shout profanities at him.

Je ne laisserai jamais!
Je ne laisserai jamais!

some things from home mix with some things from paris

sarah, sculpture in paris

day 3, or 2 really, considering we lost the first day here to jet lag. which was more like jet lag combined with wedding-weekend-extravaganza-lag if you catch my drift. also, to clarify, aaron is my friend. eric is my boyfriend. and eric and I - we be having a romantic week in paris, damnit!

that week started with a stockpile of french cheeses and the phrase "deux swatch watches s'il vous plait." from there we've been circling the arrondissements by storm, catching all the usual suspects (collette; overratted/overpriced hype...Louvre; think: make this painting into a floral arrangement....Eiffle Tower at night; intoxicating...Tuileries, etc.

a few notes on Paris:

- subways continue to blow my mind. it's like the cleanest, neatest place to hang out. every station is wonderfully unique. and each one smells delightful like a plate of deliciously burned s'mores.

- well dressed children. everywhere, as in this is why shit is so civilized here, because the French don't wheel their kids around in SUV strollers, instead they keep them indoors until they can walk. Eric says he saw a woman with a baby in a papoose, but she was in heels, which is pretty impressive. Seriously, I saw some kids yesterday and was actually enamored. I know....

- phenomenal yogurt. the littlest, most delicious yogurts you've ever seen. Pear, lemon, caramel - who needs macarons when you have french yogurt.

eric, dahlias, in paris

we went to the le jardin des plantes today. ate falafel. drank coffees. practiced bad french.

It's basically been the best week of my life. My other boyfriend Aaron (don't you miss him?) came back to town. My best friend got married and so I got to make a bouquet for myself to hold as maid of honor. I also got the sickest reverse french manicure, which I have documented here for you. Its as if I dipped my nails in blood. Now I'm in Paris.

As I type this there is a bottle of 6 Euro wine chilling and the smell of authentically french Pho wafting through the window. It's a business trip (eric and I are hitting the pavement for packaging materials in preparation for the impending Saipua package redesign) so I'll be reporting most of the week...

phone home

Basically what my life looked like until this morning when I dropped my phone in the *#%(* toilet.

Bridal bouquet from this past weekend...with Japanese hydrangea, dahlias, ranunculus, clematis, snowberry, strawflower, jasmine and i think that's it.
Check out this interview I did with Readymade mag....