In Full Bloom - Building A Table Arrangement

As a flower lover, spring is naturally one of my favorite seasons.  And one of the most lovely things about living on the West Coast is the array of flowers so readily available at the local markets and grocery stores.  It's a bit dangerous for me actually. Just ask my husband...I'm totally the girl that swoons over the buckets of freshly cut flowers - sometimes he has to drag me away and remind me what we're actually shopping for.  Bad, I know.

Anyhow, I worked at a flower shop for a bit in high school and took a few floral arranging classes, and have also worked with a few brides to create their one-of-a-kind bouquets, boutonnieres and corsages.   So I admit, my floral knowledge and experience may be greater than that of the average homemaker, but building an arrangement doesn't have to be difficult or intimidating.

So I thought I'd share a few tips for building a simple, but stunning table arrangement.

1. Choose a vase appropriate for your table. 
• If your arrangement is for a dining table, try to keep your arrangement low so your guests can see above it.  
• If for a night stand or bathroom sink, I like to use mason jars.
• And for my coffee table, I tend to like short vases with wide openings {I actually use a short drinking glass I found at a thrift store}.  
• Keep in mind, the wider the opening of your vase, the more buds you will need to fill it.
2. Pick a flower and stick with that one type of flower.  Be sure to buy enough to fill your vase. 
• I love garden roses, anemones, or peonies to name a few.  
• Gerber Dasies and Hydrangeas are great at making a statement as well.
3. Arrange.  Run a stream of cold water in your kitchen sink and with sharp scissors or garden shears, cut your flowers at a slight slant to the desired length.  Be sure to remove any extra leaves that would be sitting in the water.  {These leaves tend to sop up water and breed bacteria, harming your precious blooms.} The blooms that rest on the outside of the arrangement should be slightly shorter than the ones that stand in the middle - arrange the outside blooms first and work your way in.  
4. Voila!  You have a beautiful arrangement ready to proudly display. 
• Lastly - Be sure to check your water levels daily, freshly cut blooms will drink up quickly.

Here are a few of my recent floral arrangements...

{Garden Roses}

{Garden Roses}

{Peonies}

{Hydrangeas}

{....and of course, more Peonies}

I would love to know!  What are your favorite fresh cuts to have arranged in your home??  

Let me know in the comments below.

XOXO


- images via Danya Collyer

Happy Spring {+Pretty Giveaway}

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Happy First Day of Spring!!

You'd never know spring is upon us by stepping outside my front door {think grey skies, light sprinkles and a chilly breeze}.  Regardless of the elements, I am happy to welcome the new season and ready to flirt with pretty colors once again! Oranges, pinks, blues & greens - all of which my closet longs for, are upon us and my heart is oh so happy.

To celebrate, I thought I'd share a giveaway I noticed on my Instagram feed this morning.  31Bits is giving away one of my favorite bracelets - Poppet. Six strands of blues and greens woven together by beads handmade by women in Uganda. If you haven't heard of them, you must check them out - not only do they make beautiful jewelry, but they have an awesome story and your purchases are doing so much good for women and their families in Uganda.

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To enter the giveaway, simply head to their website, and pin one of the photos of the Poppet bracelet and tag it with #FashionForGood. They will announce the winner this Friday, so happy pinning!

Hope you're enjoying a little taste of spring today.

XO

Whimsy & Delight

Today has been a whimsical day...a day of dreaming in white, pink & mint.  

It must be the sunshine.  

I'd love to be sitting on a patio in France, sipping a cappuccino and indulging in a homemade pastry.  

Riding a bike along a cobble stone road in Italy.  

Basking in the sun on a boat in St. Lucia.

Or even reading a novel on a roof top in Greece.  

Oh the dreams are endless!  

These photos beautifully capture my mood...

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

What's your mood today??

Food : Spring Bouquet Popsicles

It's no secret I'm an absolute sucker for flowers.  My instagram is exploding with photos of the fresh florals that grace my coffee table, bed side night stand and bathroom countertop on a regular basis.  I just LOVE them.

Last night while innocently browsing Pinterest, I found this beautiful photo of floral popsicles. Of course I had to follow the link!

Click here to see the full recipe on Marla Meridith's beautiful blog, FamilyFreshCooking.

What a brilliant idea!  Floral popsicles!  Now I've never tasted them, so I can't exactly vouch for how they taste, but oh my goodness - they're beautiful!  What a stunning {and unexpected} touch these would be to a bridal shower, girly birthday party, or refreshing treat to a spring time lunch al fresco.  

I will certainly be making these lovely pops sometime this summer. {Hopefully in the very near future.}  Until then, I need to purchase a popsicle mold.  This looks just like the mold Marla used - Tovolo Star Ice Pop Mold.  And don't forget the sticks!  Also, please, please, please be sure to check this edible flower chart to ensure the flowers you use are indeed edible.  {side note :: I just saw edible gardenias on sale at Whole Foods today in the produce section...who knew??}  

If you are as intrigued as I am by this edible flower recipe, be sure to see Melanie's Quinoa Stuffed Squash Blossoms we posted a few weeks ago.

Hope you're having a lovely Tuesday!  

Lots of love...

- images via Marla Meridith

Food : Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms

Hi!

Melanie here.  I am so excited to join such a wonderful team, here at Pink Peony Style, created by my great friend Danya.  Danya and I share a love of good food that just so happens to be gluten free.  I enjoy making food that tastes so good, you or your family will never guess that it's gluten free {and healthy!}.  My favorite things to create in the kitchen are classic Greek dishes with my now healthy, g-free twist.  I'm thrilled to share my best recipes with you and I look forward to connecting with you here, on my blog, Facebook or twitter.  

Okay, enough about me.  Here's a recipe so intriguing, it really doesn't need an introduction. {Although it does involve eating flowers.}

Have you ever eaten flowers?  No, I'm not talking about those edible ones you buy at the grocery store in plastic containers.  I'm talking, strolling through your backyard {or your neighbors!} and being drawn in by such beauty that you had to take a nibble.  I can remember picking little yellow flowers in our backyard as a child and one day, the thought came to mind to taste the tiny yellow beauties.  I had never tasted something so bright and lemony!  We often think of flowers as being great additions to face and body potions, so why not share the love with our taste buds?  

Kolokythanthoi Yemistoi, or stuffed squash blossoms as they are called in Greece, is a traditional Greek appetizer usually stuffed with a combination of ground meat, herbs, and minced vegetables.  Both my husband and my father remember their Greek mothers gathering and stuffing squash blossoms from their gardens and filling them with a hearty meat filling.  

Last week, when I picked my squash blossoms, I didn't have any ground meat to make the traditional filling.  However, I did have some leftover quinoa in the fridge, so my recipe making wheels started to spin!  I soaked my zucchini blossoms and began to create the filling {which came together rather quickly since the quinoa was already cooked.}

Once I had my filling made, I began to stuff the blossoms. Since I had soaked them in water already, they were quite tender and easy to fill.  I simply laid them out, and one flower at a time, I gently lifted a petal and snipped the pistil or stamen from the inside.  Then I stuffed the bases with a small amount of filling and set them in a glass dish until I had finished stuffing the others.

Now that they were stuffed, they were ready to cook.  In less than 10 minutes I had the most delicate, savory appetizer.  I seared them for a few minutes in coconut oil on each side, for a total of 9 minutes.  {You could stuff them and keep them in the fridge until your guests arrive as they cook up fast.}  The flowers become tender, the filling becomes warm and each bite welcomes you into Greek appetizer heaven.  {Adding feta cheese to them is completely necessary if you can tolerate dairy.}

Quiona Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms

No squash blossoms?  No problem.  Simply use this filling to stuff mushrooms, artichoke buttons, or place of scoop of filling onto broiled eggplant.  Don't plan on there being any leftovers - these cute little blossoms are addicting {and not just to women...my husband ate his faster than I ate mine}.

Ingredients

- 18 Squash Blossoms {or whatever you plan to stuff}

- 1/2 Onion, chopped

- 1 Carrot, peeled & chopped

- 1 Stalk of Celery, chopped

- 3 Mini Sweet Red Peppers {or 1/2 of a large red bell pepper, chopped}

- 1 Cup Spinach, Arugula or other quick cooking green {optional}

- 3 Cloves of Garlic, minced

- 1/2 C Quinoa, cooked

- 2 T Fresh Dill, chopped

- 1/4 C Cranberries, finely chopped

- Salt & Pepper {to taste}

- 1/2 Lemon

- Coconut Oil

1. Combine onion, carrot, celery, red peppers, spinach, garlic, quinoa, dill, cranberries, salt, pepper and lemon juice into a bowl.  Mix until blended.
2. Lay one squash blossom flat on a napkin and while gently opening one petal while stuff 1/2-2 teaspoons of filling into each blossom.  Be careful not to over-stuff.  Twist top of flower blossom and lay in a dish until all blousoms are filled.
3. Heat a 10 in skillet to medium heat and add 1 T coconut oil.  Reuce heat slightly and add stuffed squash blossoms 8-9 at a time.  
4. Cook blossoms a few minutes on each side, turning every few minutes to cook all sides evenly.  {Mine were in the skillet for a total of 9 minutes.}  
5. Once cooked through, place on a plate and sprinkle lightly with salt. Enjoy! 

I hope you enjoyed this recipe.  I would love to hear about your experience with making your own Quinoa Stuffed Squash Blossoms.  {Have you ever incorporated flowers into a dish?  If so, what?}

Stay tuned for more recipes and don't forget to enter the PPS giveaway.

- Melanie


This post linked with Friday Foodie Fix.

Easter Recap

Good afternoon dear readers!

I so hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend.  We certainly did.  While it was busy, it was wonderful.

You didn't hear from me all last week because from sun up to sun down, I was scrambling to complete our new Calvary West building.  I had the privilege of transforming a large multi-purpose room into a beautiful and welcoming video sanctuary.  {I promise, before and after pics are coming.  I'm still adding a few finishing touches to the place.}  Easter Sunday was the launch of Calvary West and it was a hit!  We had a few bugs to work out during our first service {unfortunately}, but our second service was full - we had to bring in extra chairs.  Nothing warms my heart more, than to see (1) a FULL sanctuary, with people still streaming in & (2) people enjoy a space I created.

Here are a few weekend photos I snapped on my iPhone....

{Main Sanctuary Stage}

{Calvary West}

{Arrangements I made for Easter}

{Chalkboard signage that hangs above Calvary West info center}

{Blakely desperate for attention after a long week of me away from home}

{Brunch hubby and I had yesterday as we rested}

{My new Know Your Value print from the wm boutique!  Thanks Allie!}

{Driving around town today....it's a bit gloomy}

Our Life Group is having a potluck dinner tonight and I need to come up with a yummy gfree side, so I better get to it!  I would love to hear about your Easter.

Lots of love...

- all images via danya collyer

Life In Full Bloom

Hi Friends,

It's Monday and I feel I'm still adjusting to the time change...its a silly thing, isn't it?  We had a wonderful weekend - hiking, exploring more of the California Coast and worshipping with our friends at Calvary Monterey.  I wrote this post over the weekend and wanted to share it with you this morning. Hope it encourages your heart on this sleepy Monday.  Lots of love....

"Bloom where you're planted."  I've heard the phrase many times, but it took on a different meaning a few days ago, as I sat in my dining room, gazing at a vase of fresh cut flowers I had just purchased from the market.

If you know me, you know that I adore flowers.  I worked at a flower shop in high school and I quickly learned to make all sorts of things with the delicate blooms - corsages, boutonnieres, fresh arrangements, funeral sprays, wedding bouquets, etc.  I loved it!  As an employee at the shop, I had to take a few classes on floral arranging.  I learned things such as how to properly cut and prepare the flowers before using them, how to feed and nurture them before adding them to an arrangement, how to pair one flower with another so that they both shine, how to arrange them so that each flower is seen and every bloom has the space to expand to it's fullest, and how to keep each bloom from overshadowing another.  You see, when you put together an arrangement of just cut flowers, chances are, the blooms are still tight - they haven't opened completely.  If cared for properly, each bloom will open and expand.  One by one, petals will unfold, showing the world all it has to offer - layers of color, texture, and smell.

I found beautiful pink ranunculus and orange anemones at the market for $5 a bunch.  I couldn't resist.  They seem to grow easily here on the West Coast; you rarely see them in Florida.  If you do, they are at least $5 a stem.  Eeesh!  Anyhow, I came home and arranged them in a pitcher of fresh water.  I cut each stem carefully and cleanly, giving it a specific length and a designated place in the vase.  Happy with my creation, I sat the arrangement on the coffee table and walked away.  It was almost 2:00 and I still hadn't had lunch, so I pulled out left overs and sat down to eat.  The apartment was quiet.  Sun was brightly shining through the windows and Blakely was sitting at my feet.  Enjoying the peace, my eyes fixed themselves on the flowers.  Already the blooms were beginning to open.  Somehow they were more beautiful now than just a few moments ago.  Bright pink petals were becoming more relaxed as they began to settle into their new home.  

{Day 1}

I feel much like these flowers.  Plucked out of my home and placed in a totally new environment.  Prepared, pruned and arranged in such a way that will allow me to grow into my fullest potential.  Paired with a man who will encourage me to shine.  Hydrated & sun-fed so that I may grow strong.  Strategically placed so that I will expand.  And layer by delicate layer, I'm blooming into all that I was made to be - revealing God's perfect design.  Bursting with color and layers of intricate textures, emitting a sweet, sweet fragrance and exploding with life!

{Day 2}

I'm not saying that I've arrived, but I can feel I'm getting closer.  This time last year, I was very much in that seedling process - going through painful growth spurts and pruning sessions.  God has done SO much in my heart over the past few years, and looking at that beautiful vase of God made flowers gave me hope that I am headed towards beauty in the fullest.  

{Day 3}

Friends, be encouraged.  You too have a place in this world.  Bloom where you're planted and know that beauty is the end result of a life sought after Him.

- images via danya collyer