Happy New Year!! As we move into 2009 we are all thinking about taking better care of ourselves…eating delicious, real, unprocessed, seasonal food is and should be one of the priorities. My wonderful friends Amaryll Schwertner and Lori Regis immediately come to mind as I contemplate all things related to delicious food. They are two incredibly talented individuals who share my own passion for food, flowers, art and design. If you are in San Francisco anytime soon please take time to stop by their fabulous kitchen, cafe and private dining space, Boulettes Larder in the Ferry Building. If you are looking for the perfect location to host a small, intimate dinner party or celebration with unbelievable food and attention to detail be sure to book a night at Boulettes Larder. My dear friend and mentor Maria Vella provides all of the amazingly poetic floral arrangements for their private events and for the open shop/cafe space. I copied a bit of text from their website which details what exactly Boulettes Larder is all about and what they encourage with their work and their beautiful food…

• Be in tune with your hunger.
• Draw from the region’s best seasonal offerings.
• Consult the mise en place we have prepared for you.
• Respond visually and intuitively to the diverse palette of local and faraway flavors.
• Imagine a meal to sate your desires.
• Add your own joy and satisfaction, discretion, and spontaneity to complete seasonal meals at home.

[show as slideshow]

 I had to share this image from the Tribeca wedding referenced in my previous post. The bride and groom are both crazy cheese lovers and they are not fans of wedding cake. Our solution…amazing cheese stacked to look like a wedding cake and embellished with fresh orchids…again, just like a wedding cake! I even gave the “cake” a lift with a beautiful, dark wood pedestal. I thought the cheese was such a great solution and obviously a perfect ending to any lovely meal. If you aren’t big on sweets consider a fabulous cheese selection for dessert or your wedding cake! 

Photo by www.daverobbinsphotography.com

We recently developed an obsession with black and white cookies. One of our wonderful clients is giving these classics away as her favor this coming weekend and both of us realized we have never stopped to give the NY favorites a real try. So, we started to sample black and whites from all over the city trying to find the best of the best.  We took the advice of many online reviews and tried William Greenberg Jr. Desserts on the Upper East Side. (http://wmgreenbergdesserts.com) These little beauties won our hearts and turned us into Black and White cookie lovers!!!  The cookie like base has the perfect amount of cake texture and the frosting is to die for! Try them out if you haven’t already!!!

[show as slideshow]

We recently decided to feature these gorgeous little hand blown votives out of Seattle. We were waiting for the perfect event for glassbaby & it finally arrived! We used them as part of the table & room decor for a beautiful event last weekend at the Four Season Restaurant and they were the talk of the party. They come in every color under the sun and have the most charming names (i.e. first kiss, tutu, hidden moss and prom dress). They are perfect little vases if you need a small vessel, but the real magic comes when they are illuminated. They have a magical glow that really brings the array of splendid colors to life. It is always such a treat to discover a wonderful new product that adds so much to an event. 

Check out their website at www.glassybaby.com! They have a fantastic customer service team and could not be more helpful and sweet!

We are forever glassybaby fans!

We haven’t received the professional photos of this event but I thought you would all enjoy images from my own camera for a peek at a wonderful party we did earlier in the year. The party was outside of Los Angeles near Newport Beach. The fabulous Lyndsey Hamilton of LHE was the planner for this party & she introduced my team to the very cool client. We had a great time designing this event. I called Raj Tents to install a magical Moroccan world in the garden & pool areas of the property. The client’s home was already full of inspiration for this exotic decor so it all worked perfectly & her husband was delighted by his surprise birthday party!

[show as slideshow]