This past weekend I hosted a gathering to surround my God-daughter with lots of love, good food, and some of her favorite people, to celebrate her 25th birthday. I would make all the desserts and decorate with tropical leaves and mixed-blossoms, creating a feel of sunny, breezy, and beautiful – inspired by this special woman.
Offering good intentions and thoughtfulness, especially from what I can accomplish within this time, made with my own hands at home, is all about giving the best of myself. Culturally, I have always been shown to love through sharing the experiences of food, comfort, and/or natural beauty from the outdoors. These things are all very personal, and are gifts from the soul – to provide care and joy for both the giver and the receiver.
And I’m always excited to give my best to those I love.
The morning of the party, I woke up a little extra early, to wrap up my Mili’s Sweets orders that were set for pick up and delivery. I was thrilled to finally get my hands on arranging all of the florals, sipping a second cup of coffee, in the first morning light.
The floral design details I would use are cleaner-lines, and a bright and sunny color palette with pops of yellow.
Here I used every type of blossom (except for Protea) that I pulled for all of the arrangements: assorted Anthurium, yellow and orange Asiatic Lillies, Cala Lilies in yellow and orange, white Alstroemeria, pink Rosita Vendela Roses and bold tropical leaves including the Monstera and the long green and white Calathea.
Now let’s get to the dessert table! I asked Tianna what I could make for her birthday and her only request was for a flourless chocolate cake. She also mentioned what I knew, which was the request to take care of her mom with something made with lots of pumpkin. It was a joy to fulfill both of those tiny wishes.
One of the first things guests would notice when welcomed into our home, would be he dessert table, set with this larger arrangement.
This was one of two larger arrangements that I’d use with Queen Pink Protea as a focal point. They tie into the pink of the roses and the small amounts of pink-hued Cordyline foliage.
Beside the main arrangement, I used all white pedestals. The sidebar buffet table was flanked by my houseplants that have been thriving in those spots for a little while.
I made all of the desserts. Set and ready to enjoy was the flourless chocolate birthday cake, mini cheesecakes, my brand new recipe for Pumpkin Bars, and a Strawberry-Lemonade tart.
The Pumpkin Bars are something that I have to admit, were a very pleasant surprise. It was a risk to try to create a recipe for something I would come up with from the top of my head, especially since I only had a limited amount of time and a limited amount of pumpkin puree at home. But I went for it because I felt good about the idea of pairing shortbread with pumpkin pie custard. I’m so glad too! These bars truly are a masterpiece and if you’d like to make them, they happen to be up as my latest recipe post.
In the kitchen and family room, we’d host all the rest of the food. If it wasn’t for the help of my awesome family, I would not have been able to get this all done before guests arrived.
The majority of arrangements would be placed on the way into the main hang-out area.
This one stretches upwards, also using the four different Lillies, Roses, one Monstera leaf, one Calathea leaf and a single bunch of green Cordyline leaves.
In a little seating area, I had a very small arrangement for a tiny table, using a recycled bottle as a vase and limited stems.
When my daughter woke up and came down the stairs that morning, she told me how much she loved all of the arrangements. That made me feel amazing. What my daughter thinks matters to me a lot. We both knew Tianna would love and appreciate it all.
It is such a good feeling to reflect on the love and loyalty my friend Christina and I share as “sisters.” It’s powerful. After all these years, my heart is simply grateful that we have been lead to right here and right now. It’s a beautiful place to be.
I was present for Tianna’s first breath, and I’m sure she must know that I’ll be in her cheering section, until my last and beyond. I love Tianna, and respect and appreciate her path and all that makes her the woman she is today.
The same day that the three of us chose a party-date, I made an invitation, according to the general look and feel I was going for. I knew there would be a lot of green and my house plants involved so I went for it to create a cool and sophisticated invite with the use of an editable template I found and purchased from the creator: A Wild Bloom Printables on etsy.com. I frequently use instant downloads for my work, and Cammie from Santa Barbara, California has on-trend options that are very easy to work with.
Whether or not anyone is coming over, when I have fresh flowers on-hand, I place a blossom or more at religious art we have within common-areas of our home. This weekend was no exception.
I created small arrangements to tie some beauty into the bathrooms that guests would visit during the party.
Last but never least, I always remember the loves of my life when it comes to flowers. When I have them, my mom always gets some. Nonna likes a particular style and I know her with my whole heart, so for her room, (that only she would see) I made and placed a special bouquet. She is still loving it so much.
I made my daughter (my heart) this special arrangement for her to enjoy in her room and space too. She knows what my three roses mean. I set aside my favorite Anthurium for her. She truly gets me. Both Christina and I are fortunate to have more than one daughter in our lives, and to consider them our forever-baby-girls.
Here’s one last look at a larger table arrangement. It was the only one I placed in the kitchen, with the second and last Protea.
Thank you for being here. It was nice to share this while it was still fresh in my mind and the flowers are still fresh in my home.
