The Coolest Pumpkin!!

When I first saw my neighbors' pumpkin in broad day light, I couldn't quite make out of the design they had on it. Came the evening, and I saw it--it's an Obama pumpkin!

Real Wedding--Eco and Green

Veronica and Cate had an intimate ceremony and celebration at Cate's mother's place. While the wedding decor was important to the couple, Veronica and Cate both wanted to stay green. Locally grown dahlias were used in abundance for the centerpieces, and Cate opted for a small simple dahlia bouquet with green wheat. Dried ficus leaves highlighting the structure of the leaves were used as part of the table setting. We looked for items that may be used for decor at Veronica and Cate's house. A few of their photo frames were used to showcase seating arrangement, eliminating the need for place cards. Black was the chosen color of the attires, and incidentally it was quite of a popular choice up until Queen Victoria's 1840 wedding that popularized the concept of wearing a white wedding gown.

Real Wedding-Berkeley City Club

Cake: Masse’s Pastries

Event Coordination: One Fine Day

Flowers: Grandiflora

Photography: Darcy Padilla

Venue-ceremony: Berkeley Botanical Garden

Venue-reception: Berkeley City Club

Real Wedding--A Celebration at Home

Robert and Dave have been together for 12 years. Their wedding was an intimate green celebration at home. The table clothes were the remains from the couple's bulk purchase of fabric for their various home improvement projects. The dinner plates were borrowed from friends in matching sets of 6. We bought the dahlias for the centerpieces from a local grower. Even the pebbles on the floral trays were "borrowed" from the couple's side yard landscape-Dave pitched the "pebble loan" idea after we presented the design concept.

Pink Designs

Couple of our designs are featured in Style Me Pretty--October 16, 2008, one of Martha Stewart's favorite resources! Here are a few more of our pink designs. Check out the site for more lovely pink design ideas for weddings and events.

Ant Invasion

We had an episode of ant invasion this weekend. A trail of ants were found along the kitchen sink even without signs of food nearby. The small army of ants led back to a small crevice between the base molding and the wall closest to the sink. I then remember what my friend Stacie Tamaki once told me that ants love to follow water source. After close inspection by my very handy husband, he found the sign of an exterior leak near the sink location. I supposed that it was a good warning the ants brought, without them we may have ended up not noticing the leak.

Have a Cup of Tea

I love having a cup of tea or coffee in the morning after breakfast. It's a ritual that signals the start of the day. When my assistant designer brought me some sencha from Japan, much to my delight, not only was it wonderful and aromatic, the clever design of the tea bag made me smile. The tag at the end of the tea bag string has a small slit, and it is meant to sit on the rim of the tea cup. No more tag swimming in the tea and the messy rescue that ensues.