“undocumented hours” by rebecca parker pine in issue 4 of kinfolk magazine

this past weekend was such a blur - it absolutely flew by. from a flower order on friday here in the bay area to a wedding on sunday in connecticut, i literally have been running non-stop from one side of the country to the other - and i’m not complaining one bit. i’ve said this before but i’ve found that, personally, when you work for yourself, you spend a lot of time thinking. i do have my assistants who work with me on wedding weekends and for occasional projects, but for the most part as this is my boutique business, i work alone (of course my trusty colleague is always by my side but i do tend to forget that my dog can’t talk back to me after i’ve been talking to him all day long hehe). and for this girl who happens to be pretty independent, and even a bit of a hermit at times (my perfect friday night if i’m not working a wedding rehearsal = our favorite loaf of french bread, 2-3 yummy cheeses, and a bottle of red wine shared with my husband), thinking can be good and bad. sometimes i over-think things. i wonder if i’m sharing too much in the online world (i’m an instagram-aholic) or if i share the most recent tablescape mockup people will like it. i think about the continual evolution of LLD and my 1, 3, and 5-year plans for the biz. i take note of what’s going on around me, but for the most part prefer to continue on with blinders to keep doing my thing my way and making my clients happy 1 event at a time. i think about my work/life balance and how much things have changed since i started LLD, and i think about how i need to continually remember life before LLD, too, and remember to shut down every day to spend time with my husband, to make phone calls home, to write letters, to send care packages, all the while ensuring my client needs are being met to the very best of my ability, and logistical details continue to go off without a hitch. needless to say, there’s a lot going on in my mind, all the time :)

in this wedding world i live in, there is always a question in the back of my mind as to whether i need to be documenting every second of my day, almost to prove that i exist in this online world. i wonder if i’m posting too much, or too little. it’s so ridiculous to those who don’t live in this world, but for me, it’s become a part of my daily routine. and so when my redeye flight was postponed on friday night, i had time where i was able to sit undisturbed and finally pore through volume 4 (i haven’t even gotten to 5 yet) of kinfolk magazine. this is something i’ve been waiting to do, as it is my little escape from the madness and something i treasure. while reading through the mag, i came across an article by rebecca parker pine called “undocumented hours”. it’s actually almost hypocritical that i’m posting about it, because her message is all about the fact that we don’t have to document everything in life to prove we exist, and she urges us to stop taking pictures of/posting to facebook/tweeting every moment and instead, live it. i seriously read it 3 times in a row; it just spoke to me.

and so, i’m urging you to get your hands on volume 4 of kinfolk and read it. she just might be on to something, and i love where she’s headed if we all took notice of her inspiring thoughts.

in the meantime, i’ll be prepping away for my last 3 weddings of the year in these next 3 weekends, but i will continue to pop in from time to time to say hello :) have a great week everyone!

{image by vero suh, styling + florals by lovely little details, event design + stationery by the gorgeous bride}

hi!! i know, i know. i’ve been a delinquent blogger the past few weeks, but i promise it’s for good reason! i’ve been working my little tush off with wedding after wedding and this is just the middle of the madness. i just wanted to pop in though to share a quick photo from j+m’s wedding this past weekend - from her lazaro gown to her incredible eye for design, this wedding was an absolute stunner, and i couldn’t have been more honored to play a part to help pull it all together! i promise we’ll be sharing more very soon, but in the meantime, i’m back to work for the next few weeks of events!

and though i may be a bit slow with the blogging, i can assure you that i am miss instagrams-a-lot, so you can see what i’m up to over there during the blogging silence. see you back here in a bit! :)

{HGTV}

Oh trust me - I’m well aware that the first official day of fall isn’t until September 22, but I am gearing up regardless. My spiced pumpkin yankee candle was lit last week and my mom has been sending me pics of her first batches of fresh applesauce from the macintosh apples from my hometown orchards. My Fryes are sitting in the closet just begging to be worn and I’m ready to bust them out with the rest of my fall gear. I even got my first dark plum mani/pedi yesterday. Oh yes, fall, I’m ready.

With the arrival of September not only brings that amazing chill in the air, but also the beginning of my last rush of weddings. I have several coming up in the next few weeks so the blog might be taking a backseat once again, but I promise to pop in here and there with a few updates on Facebook and of course daily via instagram.

Enjoy the beginning of the season, wherever you are! See you back here soon :)

just popping in for a quick hello with a shot from this weekend’s wedding - the bride wanted something natural and unruly, with a farm-to-table feel. I used dahlias and cabbage roses from her mother’s beautiful garden to add a sentimental feel to her bouquet. I also used kumquats, ranunculus, maiden fern, dahlias in all shapes and sizes, helleborus, thistle and a few other blooms here and there. it came out just as I was hoping, but more importantly, just as the bride wanted! my favorite part was walking in with the bouquet and centerpieces, and having the bride’s family say “oh my gosh, these flowers are so her!” it was an amazing wedding with SO many lovely little details and I can’t wait to share more. but first, it’s on to the prep for a fun event coming up this weekend in LA. see you all back here soon!

this was what my trunk looked like transporting all the centerpieces!

{all images taken by LLD}

It’s Friday! I’m gearing up for a day of site visits in Napa with a lovely 2013 couple flying in for the weekend, and can’t wait to show them some of the beautiful venue options we’ve narrowed down! Before that, though, I wanted to show you a few pics of the blooms I’m prepping for j+d’s backyard wedding taking place this weekend. With a beautiful pool, gardens galore, and a gorgeous lawn perfect for dinner under twinkling cafe lights, this weekend’s wedding is going to be amazing and I cannot wait! Til then, here are a few pics of the blooms I’ve been getting ready for action. Note - these are just the loose flowers, not arrangements yet!

Have a great Labor Day weekend, everyone!

{personal image}

This past weekend I finally got to walk to the farmers market here in Walnut Creek with Pat and Rhody. Of course as soon as we got there we realized that dogs aren’t allowed, but Pat was only going to appease me anyways so I walked through quickly and picked up all the end-of-summer fruits and veggies to make my canning-loving heart content. That, and some kettle corn which was a total impulse buy perfectly positioned at the end of the lot. We needed kettle corn, know what I mean?

Anyways… I have been canning like crazy and made some three-berry jam with the freshest, sweetest blackberries, raspberries and strawberries you’ll ever taste - I make my jam with very little sugar because the berries are so sweet, you really don’t need it! Oh, and with a lemon straight off the tree, I added some fresh squeezed lemon juice for a tiny added kick of flavor. If you want a quick DIY on how to can jam, I put one up last summer and you can find it here.

Along with my berries, though, I also purchased some mini cucumbers perfect for pickles along with sweet, white peaches for chutney that I’ll be making later this week when they ripen just a bit more. Last night I made all the dills and once I put a pic up on instagram, I had several requests for the recipe. So… here you go! PS - I totally have to credit my Aunt Becky for this because she showed me how to make dill pickles, step by step, one summer day years ago in her kitchen.

Dill Pickles Recipe - modified from mccormick’s version
Yields 6-8 pint jars or 10-12 8-oz jars. You can get your jars at your local hardware store, the grocery store (sometimes) or Target (for sure). In fact, Target had them at 10% off when this post was published on August 29, 2012.

Ingredients:
for the prep
18-20 mini cucumbers (about 4-5 inches long)
4 teaspoons ground turmeric (I just eyeball it and usually add a bit more for color)
2 1/2 quarts boiling water
LARGE bowl, big enough for all the cucumbers plus room to stir boiling water when you add it
for the pickles
1 jar dill seed
1 jar dill weed (dried)
6 cloves fresh chopped garlic (or more depending on your taste preference)
4 cups distilled white vinegar (5% acidity)
4 cups boiling water
4-5 tablespoons non-iodized salt (think popcorn salt, the really powdery kind)

Directions
1. Rinse cucumbers well with cold water. Trim ends and quarter cucumbers lengthwise. Place in large bowl with turmeric. Pour boiling water over cucumbers; stir well. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Drain. Rinse and drain again.

2. Place 1 tablespoon each dill seed and dill weed, and 1 teaspoon minced garlic in each of your jars. Note - I totally eyeball this. I like my pickles really dilly so I usually add a little more than this. Totally up to your taste preference!

3. Mix last three ingredients on the list (4 cups water, 4 cups vinegar, salt) in large saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring to dissolve salt. When ready, pour in to a large pitcher or measuring cup (in increments) so it’s easier to pour in to the jars later.

4. Meanwhile, firmly pack cucumber wedges vertically into jars. Ladle (or pour from pitcher) hot liquid over cucumbers, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Run thin, non-metallic utensil down inside of jars to remove air bubbles. Wipe rim of jars clean with damp cloth. Cover jars with metal lids and screw on bands.

5. Process in boiling water canner at 180° to 190°F (simmering water) for 15 minutes. After processing jars, remove from water bath canner. Cool at room temperature on towel or rack for 12 to 24 hours. You’ll know they’re ready when you hear the seals popping in the other room. Dill pickles are processed at a slightly lower temperature (simmering water vs. boiling water) to produce pickles that do not become too soft.

enjoy!

{rhody photobomb}

{all images by Bryce Covey Photography; wedding planning, styling, floral design + paper design by lovely little details}

Remember the weekend trip I took to Seattle a few months back for k+d’s wedding, boxes of flowers in tow? We just got the amazing images back from Bryce Covey and I have to say it {if I haven’t said it enough times before} I. Love. Film. The grainy textures and raw images are just art to me. You can take a picture of a rock and I would love it. Film is my fave - so when k+d hired Bryce for their wedding, I was pretty much excited. I just wish I didn’t look like a hot mess after being rained on during the chuppah design so he could have taken a picture of me with my hundreds of coral charm peonies, too :)

I met k+d during one of their trips to San Francisco - they wanted to pull off a modern, winery wedding to reflect their eclectic, artistic style {both musicians, they appreciate art in all forms}. We had a venue picked and then, last minute, the decision was made to find another venue after the first venue started adding crazy charges that weren’t originally anticipated. In the long run, they couldn’t have made a better decision - they chose an amazing winery in the outskirts of Seattle, Washington where you could still see the rows of vines, but the modern, gray interior paired with pops of color was just totally them. They had custom pinatas made {they wanted their guests to have fun!}, had a mini “talent show” and most importantly, they had the time of their lives. Exchanging their vows beneath the canopy of k’s grandmother’s lace tablecloth affixed to a custom chuppah built with wood from her parent’s backyard piece by piece by her brother-in-law, I don’t think we could have envisioned a dreamier setting. But then the rain came… and went… and left us with a double rainbow. Not sure how you could top that, my friends.

Side note: one of my favorite things about this couple? They planned their wedding not with the intentions of being published in a magazine or blog, but so they could get married. Isn’t that the point? They were happy to have their wedding submitted somewhere, but really, that wasn’t their goal. So you know what? We’re not going to submit it anywhere. Because the most amazing thing about these two, besides the fact that we became fast and forever friends, was that they were most concerned about their guests being comfortable, having an amazing time, and absolutely and totally being themselves. That in itself was such a breath of fresh air I can’t even tell you! Here are some of my favorite shots from their big day.

This was a fun little detail I’d seen in similar format on pinterest. I took the idea and elaborated by making little drink tags that doubled as placecards. They were a huge hit.

Remember the ampersand I posted on instagram a few months back? I made this for the couple out of corks the winery had saved for me from the tasting room. It was the perfect accent for their reception, and something they now have up on their walls in their home.

The groom’s favorite color was orange - as a nod to his favorite team, the San Francisco Giants. So although we had pops of yellow and pink and gray inside, I gave him a surprise outside for the ceremony by using orange flowers.

The couple had  shared love for ferns, so I used some lush greens to accent the base of the chuppah, with pops of orange flowers tied in.

All the best k+d - heart you both big time.

Vendor Credits

Venue + Catering: Novelty Hill - Januik Winery
Wedding Planning, Styling, Paper Design + Floral Design: lovely little details
Photographer: Bryce Covey Photography
Rabbi: Rick Harkavy
Ceremony/Cocktail Hour/Reception Music: Wave Link Music, Inc.
Hair/Makeup: Off White Makeup and Beauty
Shuttle Bus: Starline Luxury Coaches
Chuppah: Custom built by bride’s brother-in-law

{all images by Edyta Szyszlo Photography, planning, styling + flower design by lovely little details}

I was honored when Rue Magazine reached out to me a while back to design and plan their GAP/styld.by fall launch party which took place this past week in San Francisco. After a few brainstorm calls with one of the publishers, I had a vision of berry baskets with gilded apples to pull out a slightly hipster, autumnal carnival theme. Not gonna lie, I was a little intimidated throwing out ideas to Rue, as they are known for being a source of the latest trends in fashion and style, but they liked my idea and told me to “run with it”. Some of my favorite projects (besides weddings) are when I’m told to “just go with it” because it truly allows my creative mind to run free. I’ve been dying to use these little cardboard berry baskets as “vases” and was so thrilled that Rue was down for the idea. With amazing “carnival foodie” food from Culinary Eye Catering (cotton candy, anyone?), beats from DJ Risk One and a badass photobooth from Tomfoolery, this event had all of my favorite things going on. Here are some of my favorite pics! 

Movie/carnival popcorn is my weakness. I would have no shame in going in to the movies and buying a bag of popcorn to go. So of course a popcorn machine was mandatory for this event, right?

I was so thankful to my lovely assistant Jessica who helped with the styling and breakdown {and who jetted over to party city before the event to fill the big round balloons!}

The swirly lollipops were a hit - I don’t think I’ve had one of those things since like 5th grade. It was fun to unleash the kid in everyone!

I created a backdrop for the front two panels when you enter the store to a) cover the space and b) bring the theme through to the wall hangings. To keep with the theme, I spray painted carnival tickets gold to act as one of the “ribbons” and used unsprayed tickets paired with different shades of crepe paper and sequin trim for the other layers. To keep everything in place I used double sided tape to affix the bottom ribbons to the ground so they’d stay nice and straight.

Armed with a little extra gold spray paint (after painting the apples, pincushion protea and golden tickets), I sprayed leftover wine bottles for a makeshift ring toss display that worked out pretty well last minute! haha

And the flowers! Yay! These were some of my favorite arrangements yet - I used dahlias, rose hips, garden roses, ranunculus, pincushion protea (that as I mentioned above, I sprayed gold), scabiosa, mint, maiden fern, mini pomegranates and a few other little blooms here and there. They came out perfectly imperfect :).

And I have to share this pic I shared on instagram - it wasn’t actually an arrangement, but a bucket of flowers I had prepped for the arrangements. I left my flower buckets at our old apartment in San Francisco before the move by accident, so I was prepping my blooms in canning pots - how fitting, right? Just the way these flowers fell in the pot looked so pretty, I would have liked this alone as an arrangement! But it was really just a bucket of flowers :)

Sequin linens were a must :)

Say what you want about stripey straws but I freaking love them. I always BMOS (bring my own straw) when I go out with girlfriends because party straws make things more fun. So when I spotted these STAR! stripe straws from my fave party detail source, Hey Yo Yo, I knew we had to have them for the event.

And OMG the Tomfoolery photobooth was insane!!! Edyta spent hours tediously setting up the backdrop to look like the balloon popping carnival game (luckily no darts were involved haha!) and it was the perfect accent to pull the entire event together. If you’re in the bay area and looking for a photobooth you HAVE to reach out to Tomfoolery - they are awesome.

All in all I think everyone had a great time and just as importantly, the Rue/GAP peeps were happy!

photographer: Edyta Szyszlo Photography
planning, styling + floral design: lovely little details
vintage rentals: One True Love Vintage Rentals
Catering: Culinary Eye Catering & Events
Sequin linens: La Tavola Fine Linens
Signage: Maia McDonald
Photobooth/Backdrop: Tomfoolery
DJ: DJ Risk One
Valet: California Valet
Cocktail Mixologist: Bob Van Noord
White Wine: Outcast Wines
Star/Stripe Straws: Hey Yo Yo
Balloons: Stephanie Shives Studio
Corporate planner: A SQUARED GROUP

Our weekend was slightly insane but in a good way - we finished unpacking in to the new house and are about 95% done with settling in. We only need a few more things (like a desk chair for LLD as I sit on a stool and type this) and then the place will be all done - phew!  Here’s what I’ve been up to, besides the move, over the past week or so:

• prepping blooms and decor for the Rue Magazine/GAP Styld.by party that took place last Thursday in SF. I’ll post all the pics later this week! The berry basket arrangements were some of my faves yet.
• assembling my LLD client welcome bags with the final piece that arrived last week - my custom LLD clutches from Oatmeal Lace! More on those goodies soon…
• site visit and final walkthrough for a Labor Day weekend backyard wedding - I can’t wait for this one, it’s going to be such a fun, laidback-yet-elegant affair.
• came across a Ball Blue Canning Book from 1943!
• prepping like crazy for the oncoming phase II of wedding season madness. I can’t wait!

Hope you all had a great weekend, too. See you back here later this week!

I’ve been a busy bee over here - from the move, to prepping for tomorrow’s event in San Francisco for Rue Magazine/GAP - if you’re in the area, stop by! There will be carnival food galore, yummy cocktails, fun and festive decor, an awesome DJ, a photobooth and maybe even a few games if you’re lucky. RSVP at rsvpsfevent@gmail.com :)