A little news, hot off the press!

Bopping in tonight to tell you a little news...are you sitting down for this? As of a little earlier this week, I've joined up with Junebug Weddings as their newest team member! As part of the editorial team, I'll be reporting on wedding ideas, trends, and stories through their award-winning blog, What Junebug Loves.

Fiore Blossoms? I'll still be here, multi-tasking my little heart out.  We have a busy summer booked, and we have PLANS!  Plans that involve peonies, boats, huge mercury glass vases, really sweet brides that are becoming new friends, delicate vintage ribbons, and collaborating with some phenomenal wedding planners. I wouldn't miss any of that for the world!

Fiore fresco will still be around as well. Over at Junebug, I'll get my fancy on with gorgeous real weddings and other work submitted by some of the world's best talent in the wedding industry. Please stop by often and visit!  And here at Fiore fresco, I'll get to post pictures of my macaron attempts, garden, and silly children; shamelessly self-promote with photos of my pretty flowers and decor; and ramble on about my favorite ideas, books, food, etc. like I've always done.

Looking forward to new opportunities, fantastic colleagues, and learning new things. It's going to be bananas!

Beautiful Baubles

I'm head over heels for these little repurposed beauties from Alona Freeman.  Wedding-perfect, but maybe just right for spring too!

Real Weddings: Olivia + Mike (aka Fairy Tale Beginnings)

Posting Mari and Tim's wedding earlier this week reminded me that I had stashed another beauty from Carol Harrold.  Olivia and Mike were married at De Lille Cellars, a gorgeous winery just outside of Seattle (though you'd swear you are in France when you're there).  O and M might have been the most loving, sweet couple I've worked with to date.  Their path to the alter had had a few twists and turns, and they were truly thrilled to be starting the rest of their lives--together. 

At our first meeting, Olivia hilariously described her style as "Goth Chic". I had a such a good time coming up with flowers that would fit that description.  Dark callas, burgundy cymbidium orchids, scabiosa and love-in-a-mist pods, hypericum berries, and "Black Bacarra" roses comprised her bouquet. 

De Lille's ceremony area is in a beautiful clearing, surrounded by tall trees and fields of fluffy white sheep.  We left the decor simple, but framed the entrance to the clearing with two huge foresty masses of foliage and burgundy flowers hanging from wrought iron shepherd hooks.  We echoed the design down the aisle with hanging vases of textured arrangements.

Fairy Tale Beginnings.  They're real.

Real Weddings: Mari + Tim

I'm so glad to be looking at these pictures today, in the middle of winter.  I don't know if it is Carol Harrold's amazing photography, Inglewood's beautiful grounds, the pretty colors in the summery bouquets, all the lace on my new chuppah, or Mari's gorgeous and infectious smile, but this wedding just feels like SUMMER!  And it is the only thing that feels like summer around here right now, so I'm appreciating it that much more.  Enjoy!

Let's catch up a little

For some reason, silos (as in those grain storage devices) are a big joke around my husband's office. I haven't even bothered to ask why, for fear of the long had-to-be-there story that would ensue.  I guess they all forward each other pictures of silos all the time though, and Steve realized I would love one of the most recent ones.  Check this out!   A trio of silos that were turned into a house.  I love a beautiful house, but I really love a quirky beautiful house.









In other news, Wuthering Heights.  I somehow missed this in high school and college, so thought I'd give it a try now.  It is SO good.  So fantastically gothic, atmospheric, suspenseful.  You might want to add it to your 2012 reading list if you missed it as well.

The other day my fave mascara was sold out, so I took a great big fat risk and tried a new L'oreal one.  Oh, I guess I should back up and state that I had a short fling with falsies--eyelashes that is--this fall, until the Mr. said they creeped him out.  Anyway, this new mascara claims to create falsies out of what you're naturally blessed with.  AND IT DOES.  Works so well, I can't wear it for everyday because of the Mr. problem.  TRY IT.  It's crazy good stuff.




Spotted!  A gorgeous and affordable ($49.95!) bridesmaid-perfect dress at H&M.  Comes in bright orange and smoky charcoal gray.



And finally, super beautiful photos from Carol Harrold tomorrow, of the summeriest summer wedding ever.

Macaron-a-palooza

A great video about macaron production at Laduree.  It's in French, but you can totally get the gist of it.  Serious assembly line large-batch macarons going on there, and great fun to see if you are a macaron stalker like me.



And last weekend I made lemon with lemon frosting, and ginger with lemon too.  I'm not doing very well on the whole putting-away-the-mixer-and-getting-back-to-work-thing.





And have I told you before?  The best ones in Seattle (and I've tasted them all--it was a community service thing so that I could recommend the best ones to everyone) are at Honore.

Best wedding photography 2011

The always fantastic Junebug peeps have just posted the 50 photos they chose as the best of the year.  A few of my faves, but do check out the rest for some serious inspiration and beauty.  (Click on each picture to go to the photographer's website).

Real Weddings: Jennifer + Brandon

New Year's Resolution: stop baking and get back to work! So I'm starting the year off with something that gets me all jazzed up about weddings again--a look back at one of my very favorite 2011 couples. I adored every minute of working with Jennifer and Brandon; they were down to earth, sweet, excited, warm and welcoming. An added bonus was that I got to work with my favorite guys at the same time! 

The wedding was at Jennifer's beautiful family home, which had been lovingly and meticulously landscaped for the big day. The rain stopped just long enough for the outdoor ceremony they had dreamed of, in that magical way that happens for special people.

Enjoy the beautiful video by Mitch at Cabfare Productions. He did a fantastic job of capturing the joy and love that was flowing that day.  And here's to a happy new year of beautiful weddings for special people!


Jennifer + Brandon: from cabfare productions on Vimeo.

See you next year!

The boys are having so much fun giggling over the old "see you next year" thing with their friends.  Do you remember how funny that was in elementary school?  We're reliving it around here--daily, maybe hourly!  For the non-elementary school set, here is a different kind of New Year's treat; something delicious to sip as you ring in the New Year. (I promise this won't become a cooking blog.  Food just happens to be my favorite holiday activity.  My non-holiday favorite activity too if I'm being honest).

I have a few bottles of Ketle One sitting around, thanks to a goodie bag from a recent wedding (I know!  How awesome are my perks?), so I'm going to whip up some raspberry cosmos for tomorrow night.  A little 2000-late maybe on the cocktail trends, but nothing this yummy should ever go out of style.  AND, thanks to Tradewind Tiaras, a thoroughly modern take on cocktail garnishes.  EDIBLE rice paper butterflies to rest on the rim of your glass, though any other shape created with a paper punch is possible too, and easy!  Gorgeous, glamorous, and so 2012.



Raspberry Cosmopolitans
makes 1 pitcher, about 6 cocktails

• 2 cups good quality vodka, such as Ketle One or Grey Goose
• 1/2 cup Triple Sec
• 1/2 cup Chambord
• 2 cups cranberry-raspberry cocktail juice
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• fresh raspberries, sugar, rice paper garnish...all the pretty extras! 

Mix everything except raspberries in a pitcher.  Individual drinks should be poured and shaken in a cocktail shaker with ice before serving.  Garnish rim of each glass with sugar (wet rim first with vodka, dip in sugar) and a pretty edible paper garnish if desired.  Extra raspberries to float in your drink are a must! 

P.S.  I'm going to try making homemade raspberry vodka this summer. There is a restaurant in Seattle that has a huge glass container of vodka and raspberries, just sitting there on the bar muddling together and being heavenly in general.  It's the most delicious and dangerous concoction, and the reason I first fell in love with raspberry cosmos.

Ok, seriously.  Have a safe and delicious holiday.  And see you next year! 

A little Christmas gift for you...open immediately!

Hi!  It's been such a long time, so I thought I'd pop in for a little holiday cheer.  I've been off decorating for other people's holiday parties, throwing a few holiday parties myself, wrapping, baking, tree-trimming, watching Love Actually, building gingerbread houses, visiting old friends...and finding out that it really is a magical season when you are sharing it with a four and six-year old.  Mine are literally glowing with excitement right now. 

Noah and I had such a good time baking this morning, preparing an old family favorite to ship off to my sweet sisters and brother.  Like so many grandmothers, ours used to bake for the whole family, and whether near or far, we always got a box of cream wafers from her.  (The "open immediately" package was always the one I was most excited about.  The "open later" was usually something to wear, and bless her heart, she was a much better baker than stylist!).  Grandma hasn't been able to bake or send cookies for several years, so Noah and I spent the morning channelling all of her baking talent into a little "open immediately" box for my sisters that miss getting one from Grandma.   

So these are our family favorite, now for a fourth generation. They don't sound like much when you read the recipe; just three ingredients after all!  But the wafers and the filling together are a magical combination...delicate, buttery, flaky, melt-in-your-mouth goodness!  Since I can't give every one of you an "open immediately" box for Christmas, a recipe instead. 

The Merriest Christmas to you!

Cream Wafers

Cookies: 

• 1 cup soft butter
• 1/3 cup whipping cream
• 2 cups flour, sifted

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  In bowl of electric mixer, cream butter for 2 minutes.  Add whipping cream, and beat on medium for 2 more minutes.  On low speed, slowly add flour just until incorporated.  Roll dough out to 1/4"-1/8" thick.  Cut with small cookie cutters, making sure to do an even number of each shape (they will be sandwiched together later).  Transfer cookies to a plate with sugar, and pat sugar into surface firmly, to coat.  Place on sheet of parchment on a cookie sheet, and lightly pierce all over with a fork to make tiny dots on surface to prevent bubbles.  Bake 7-9 minutes, watching carefully and removing at the slightest hint of browning.  Cool completely.

Filling

• 1/4 cup soft butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• drizzle of whipping cream to make frosting a spreadable consistency if needed

Beat all ingredients together, adding just a tiny bit of whipping cream if needed to get a spreadable consistency.  Tint with pink or green food coloring if desired.  

Sandwich cream wafer cookies together with filling and enjoy!