Friday Finds

Today's finds were all about the pinks, peaches, silvers and greens! It's strange how I seem to colorize as I shop, like I put a palette together without meaning to... strange. What does this mean?

I did it again here... 

And here... 

Curious.. 

Anyway! Today's goodies will be excellent additions to the sea foam, robin's egg and grass green section at the upcoming market! I was thrilled to find some fabric remnants in that lovely limey chartreuse hue! I'm dying to make some hair pieces in that color. I was also happy to snap up an adorable vintage Junior Miss thermos. So stinking cute. And what about that mossy green Mad Men-esque serving bowl with the gold accents? Betty Draper's got nothin' on me. As mentioned, it will all be for sale at the Horseshoe Market, so if you see something you'd like, stop by the market next Saturday from 9 - 4! 

Happy Weekend Friends! 

Etsy Love: Royal Wedding Goodies

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Can you believe the royal wedding frenzy going on right now?! I sort of love it and sort of hate it. I'm still on the fence actually. It's just a wedding. There are so many other more important things going on in the world that are more deserving of our time and attention. It's all a bit nauseating.

Despite my (sometimes) skeptical attitude, I will DVR the wedding and watch with friends on Saturday! I sound like a hypocrite. But what do you expect? I am a floral designer and am a reader of wedding blogs, magazines and a lover of good wedding design - so I have to watch. Gotta see Kate's dress and the flowers and why not have some tea and cucumber sandwiches while I watch? 

Of course Etsy has the royal wedding covered. From totes and invites to tea pots and jewelry... 

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Fern & Flora Wednesday: Market Season!

Holy crafting deadline Batman! The first handmade market of the season is a mere week and a half away! 

How is that possible!? 

Although there's plenty of work still to be done, I'm making headway. Feeling a bit under the weather and having the mister out of town for work (both things I'm not fond of) has given me lots of sofa time this week. Combine hours of Bravo and hours with my scissors and fabrics and what do you get? Surprising productivity!

For local folks, you'll most certainly want to check out the upcoming Horseshoe Market. It's gonna be fabulous! 

Check out the lovely Horseshoe website for more info.

Easter At Our Place

It's becoming a bit of a tradition for the mister and me to host a small and lovely group of friends for Easter brunch. 

None of us (with the exception of a few) are Colorado natives, thus we are not with our extended families on some holidays. 

We gathered after church and everyone brought something yummy to the table. There was a dreamy sweet potato dish, balsamic berry salad, ham and egg souffle, blueberry cinnamon bread, honey ricotta turnovers, peppery brown sugar bacon, (ignore the tacky bacon serving plates with napkins underneath!) roasted garlic asparagus and pineapple mimosas. Hooray for brunch.   

We began by reading an Easter reflection by C.S. Lewis and finished the afternoon by continuing a tradition my mom started with my family long ago: resurrection eggs, which is sort of a kid oriented way to tell the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus. We were kid-less yesterday, but the tradition lives on. 

What about you? How did you celebrate the day? 

Good Friday Thoughts

May you have a contemplative Good Friday and a joyful Easter Sunday. 

Fern & Flora Wednesday: Here Comes the Bride

Wedding bells are ringing far and wide and I've been crafting up a storm working on custom orders for several brides. Thought I would share an image or two my latest creations... 

I love how so often the brides I've been lucky enough to create for want something different and whimsical. The Swiss dot flowers on the right were created to match the bride's dress. How nifty is that? A bride getting married in a Swiss dot gown - well I'll be. I also added a dash of gold vintage jewelry since she was making her own vintage jewelry bouquet.... 

Hooray for love and brides and spring time weddings.

Tasty Tuesday: Easter Delights

Goodness me. I'm drooling all over the place this morning as I try to plan out a menu for Easter Sunday lunch. 

Martha, Martha, you've really got a good thing goin'. 

How does brioche french toast with asparagus and orange beurre blanc sound to you?

Marmalade glazed ham with sherry and lemon looks pretty darn amazing. 

 Three cheers for twice baked potatoes with Greek yogurt!

Look at this gorgeous baby lettuce, grape fruit and avocado salad with a papaya citrus vinaigrette. 

And my personal favorite: honey ricotta turnovers. Have mercy. 

What are your Easter plans? Are you working up a splendid menu? I'm looking for a fabulous egg casserole, so if you have one you like, please do tell! 

(All recipes and images via Martha Stewart)

Monday Funkiness

(image via here)

Hello. How is everyone today? Me? Well, you can probably guess. I've had a funky tummy/woozy head since yesterday afternoon followed by a lousy night of sleep. Maybe I ate something weird or just have a bit of the crud. It appears to be going around. So that's nice. 

In other news, it's a warm balmy day and despite my general blahness, I got a custom Etsy order finished, so the day hasn't been a complete waste thus far. 

Also, on a completely unrelated note, everyone is having babies right now! Have you noticed this as well? My goodness. There are cute babies being born everywhere I look and many more buns in their respective ovens. Our church has become a cute baby mecca and everyone in blog land appears to be expecting or has just had a munchkin. 

So, in an effort to drive away the Monday funkiness and in honor of all the lovely little babies, here's a video that always makes me laugh out loud:

Let's colorize, shall we?

Hello! How has the week been for you? How is it Friday?

Time is ticking down to the upcoming Horseshoe Market that Fern & Flora will be participating in along with Kara Rosenberry Company and there's plenty to do! Over hills, over dales, we have been gathering up all sorts of lovely vintage treasures (see previous Friday Finds posts) to sell along with our hand created items.

The plan for the spring show is to colorize! There will be the table with the greens and blues and sea foamy in-between colors and then some reds and pinks and peaches (see items above!). It's going to be fun to create and hopefully fun to shop! Come by May 7th from 9 - 4 and visit us!

Speaking of color, and namely the color red, I have to give a shout out to my Alma mater The University of Nebraska where tomorrow, the annual Nebraska Red-White Spring Game will be played by the Corn Huskers. It's a beloved tradition and a hoot to attend. We wish we could be there, don't we aunt Kaybe?

Happy Weekend-ing Friends and...

If You're in the Neighborhood...

Are you free Thursday evening? Yes? Splendid. Then stop by Sip Wine for a tasting and raise a glass for Love146. Even better, 15% of all proceeds from the evening will go back to Love146, a non profit organization that works to raise awareness, educate on prevention and provide after care on this issue of child sex trafficking.

Did you know that two children are sold into slavery of some kind every 60 seconds? Over 100,000 children in the U.S. are forcefully engaged in prostitution or pornography each each year. If you feel compelled to get involved, check out the Love146 website and then come join us Thursday night and meet some people in our area who are working to end child sex trafficking.

Monday Inspiration: Creation Song

....thinking of my grandpa Ray today. We miss you gramps.

(images via here)

Friday Finds: Some for Selling, Some for Keeping

This is the question!

 All the goodies I've acquired over the last few months have been mostly purchased with the intent to sell, at least this is what I tell myself and my mister. "More glasses?" he'll ask as I wash a batch of punch cups and place them on the hutch."No, no, honey. These are to sell at the market" I say reassuringly. Here's the thing though, I really like the trays, tins, pictures, plates and other wares I've brought home. I'm getting a bit attached I'm afraid. Today's finds were no exception. I mean, check out that groovy retro coffee pot. I should really keep that, right? That pretty linen table runner would make a great addition to the items I'm gathering for the fall market, but would also look quite pretty on my table. It's a real problem, I tell you.

Thankfully, the Horseshoe Market is still a month away and I don't have to decide just yet...

Happy Weekending to you and yours!

Etsy Love: Signs of Spring

Bossy's Feltworks

DeLaBelle

Cupcake Social

Berry Island

amberalexander

Lolas Room

jennyndesign

New Fashioned Whispers

Fern & Flora Wednesday: Something fresh for a change

My dear aunt who lives about an hour down the road enlisted my help in creating a few arrangements for her friend from work who was getting married. I've been so wrapped up in my handmade stuff lately that it was welcome change to arrange something other than fabric.

I'm always amazed how, even on a small budget, it's still possible to add  interest and texture. Queen Anne's Lace and seeded eucalyptus really can work wonders!

What about you? What sort of creative diversions do you seek to break the monotony of whatever it is you normally do?

Tasty Tuesday: Mojitos in April? Yes Please

(images via here)

It's not even Easter, yet I seem to have a hankerin for fresh, minty mojitos. Last summer, I grew mint in my window box mainly so I could pluck a few sprigs easily when the thought of a mojito was too good to pass up. I'm not much of a drinker, honestly, but if there's one cocktail that makes me grateful for rum, this would be it. 

Here's a tasty mojito recipe from the Bride & Groom First and Forever cookbook that's gotten rave reviews from some of our friends. Enjoy (even if it is only barely spring!)

Spaces to Inspire: A California Bungalow

Hello friends! How was the weekend? Saturday it was 82 in my neck of the woods.

Sunday it was 32 and snowing. Ah spring - so unpredictable.

I thought I would share another cozy and interesting space with you this Monday.

This bungalow is the home of husband and wife artists who own the charming paper goods company Dear Hancock.

I like the rustic wood with the molded chairs and the sparkly chandelier.

The couple decided to give up their dining room space and create a work space instead.

They paint together, desk to desk in the evenings. Makes me think of that song Frank Sinatra sang:

"..And I seem to find the happiness I seek, when we're out together dancing cheek to cheek" (or painting desk to desk).

( images via designsponge, photos by Stephen Chiu)

Friday Finds: Tins Glorious Tins

Another successful morning of rummaging and treasure hunting is in the books.

My pal Kara and I used to hit 'em up almost every week when her work schedule was different, but today's estate sale looked too tempting to pass up, so she took off the morning and it just was like old times.

I'm collecting vintage tins and I spotted several sweet ones that I snapped up for $1 each. Yes!

Picked up some vintage beads for summer necklaces as well a little robin's egg ceramic bowl and a quite nice muted street scene painting of somewhere in France I think. To top off the morning, we enjoyed sweet and savory crepes with french press and productive conversation. And a good time was had by all. 

Have a lovely spring weekend.

xo friends.