Scenes from My Baby Shower

My sister hosted the most LOVELY baby shower for me this past weekend back home. I got all choked up when I walked in the door and saw the dining room filled with fresh flowers, gorgeous food and the prettiest table settings. She really out did herself. The invitations were custom from this sweet Etsy shop and read "A little bird is joining the nest." Sigh. How cute is that??

While we nibbled on smoked salmon, goat cheese tapenade and fresh berries, all the guests filled out little letters to our baby. Each line was a fill-in-the-blank so people could customize their hopes and wishes for the little guy. 

Here's a sampling: 

I hope you get "to play in the rain."

I hope you laugh "so hard you snort."

I hope you become "a lover of books."

I hope you grow "up wise and humble."

Aren't those great?! My sister gave us the little nest book pictured above in which to keep all our baby letters. 

It was the most special afternoon for me and I truly felt showered by the moms, friends, aunts, cousins, grandmas and sisters-in-law who did so much to welcome our baby. 

Happiness for $7

In a favorite film of mine, Enchanted April (watch it instantly on Netflix for a spring pick-me-up!), 

the stuffy and annoying husband of one of the winter-weary British housewives chides her for the fresh flowers on the table: "Lottie, flowers are an extravagance of the most blatant kind" he says. I couldn't disagree more. I'm now wondering why I don't buy cheap little grocery store bouquets more often? These cherry blossom-colored roses have been bringing me cheer on the dining table for a whole week and they were just $6.99. That's cheap therapy if ever I saw it. To make your bouquet last even longer, strip all the leaves off the stems and cut them at an angle. Keeping the leaves out of the water cuts down on bacteria and improves vase life. Plunge them into cool water (not cold) and they'll last for a good week if not longer. 

To Die For: Greek Yogurt Cheesecake

Holy moly. You're gonna want to try this. 

Last week, for a little Valentine's treat, I made this cheesecake, whose main ingredient is heavenly, completely zero fat Greek Yogurt. And it was SO good. 

The crust is easy, healthy and low-sugar, consisting of crushed Melba toast, walnuts, olive oil and a dash of sugar.

The cheesecake part consisted of egg whites, 1/3 less fat neufchatel cheese and Greek Yogurt (and some sugar, which I cut down a bit and added a little agave nectar. Not sure if it really makes a difference, but it makes me feel better to lower the white sugar content)

The recipe called for a fig sauce (which I'm sure is incredible) but I didn't have time to follow the complicated fig sauce instructions and opted for a berry compote with vanilla, lemon juice and agave nectar. So pretty and so tasty.

I've never made a real cheesecake with the water bath and all, but I was amazed how smooth and pretty much perfect-looking it came out after baking in the slow roaster pan water bath. No drying, cracking or anything. Just straight-up sexy cheesecake. 

Get the recipe right here.

Guest Post: Gorgeous Gray & Gold

Hello, everyone! I'm Mari, a writer for Design Shuffle, a fabulous site that brings together designers and design lovers to showcase projects and share inspiration from around the world. I'm delighted to be visiting Fern & Flora as a guest blogger. Today's post is about one of my favorite color palettes—gray and gold. There's just something so elegant and gorgeous about interior designs done in gray touched with gold. Please enjoy! Thanks to Emily for allowing me to share with you today!



Golden place settings and centerpiece add even more elegance to this formal dining room. Lovely mural covered walls give this space a dreamy ethereal quality. I love the blue gray of the dining chairs.



Sometimes it's sunshine that gives a gray room its golden glow. Such is the case here as the pale gold draperies are bathed in natural light.



More light here—this time from a lovely golden chandelier. With pale gray on the walls and ceiling and deeper shades on the floor and upholstered seating, this space offers the perfect opportunity to add gold in the decorative accessories. Isn't the couture artwork stunning?



In a marble swathed bathroom, the gold of metal trim and fixtures adds an elegant finish to the room's sleek bathroom design.

We certainly don't expect ducks in the bath, but apparently even birds were attracted to this age-worn space with its antique gold framed mirror. I love the gray slipper chair and of course, the ornate chandelier.



A formal sunroom gets the gray/gold treatment here. The space would be beautiful without the accents of gold, but those few bits of shiny metal add another eye-catching layer. Using gold to line the white lamp shades is lovely touch. Isn't the deep gray velvet loveseat stunning?



The contemporary look of the textiles in this bedroom design is an unexpected choice that works beautifully with a mix of traditional and glam furnishings.



Soft gray and accents of gold are gorgeous in this traditional living room. I'll be dreaming of those lovely chairs for a long time. How about you? Images 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

What do you think of the gray and gold combo? Be sure to check out Design Shuffle! It's filled with stunning inspiration from top San Diego interior designers, Chicago interior designers and many others!

Love Poem

A little Neruda for your Valentine's Day. No Hallmark card could say it the way he does.... 

New from Fern & Flora

New items you say? Surely not! That would be akin to well... a miracle. I know. I know. My little shop hasn't had any new offerings for quite sometime now. It has something to do with buying a house, not having a craft space, being pregnant and losing my creative mojo in the process. However! I'm slowly working on getting some fresh pieces in the shop so keep checking back! 

The gray piece above would be lovely for a bride or a wintery night out on the town, I think. I also added this lovely pink piece below which is made from vintage Swiss Dot fabric I found at an estate sale. It's so soft and feminine... 

If you're planning a  wedding, or know someone who is, I'm happily taking orders for custom bridal hair pieces. 

My email address is on the right side bar of my blog, so please, don't be shy! 

Happy weekend friends. 

Valentine Blooms

Here Valentine. Pick a virtual bouquet, won't you? 

I was poking around in a file this morning and found the raspberry colored bouquet just above from a wedding I did last fall. Then I thought "a floral valentine image board would be fun." So here you have a mish mash of appropriate colored blooms from arrangements I've made from here and here. I love the pink berries and red thistles and ranunculus. The ribbon on the peachy pink rose bouquet came from a vintage shop. Wish I had more of that. It would be perfect glued on a real Valentine. Wish I could send all of you a package of v-day goodies too, but these flowers will have to do! 

xoxoxo