Sight and Smell

I love wall pockets. What a treat to have "living" art hanging on the wall.

These are hanging on the wall of my bathroom. The humidity of the room is great for the flowers and the scent of the flowers is great for the purpose of the room.

I have four vases hanging in a row above my towel racks. (I got mine from Pottery Barn.) I pick up a pretty bunch of a single flower whenever I stumble across them. This week was tuberose, last week were amazing peonies from Trader Joe's.

The wall pockets are so easy to use. No arranging neccessary as the positioning on the wall naturally lines the flowers up for best presentation. I make it a point to not go overboard buying for these vases. It is just when something catches my eye. You'll notice I actually have four hanging up, but only two with flowers. The other two are filled with cinnamon bark that I use as a fragrant "placeholder". You can find that at your local asian supermarket for a few dollars, and it lasts forever.

So before you pick up that seascape that's on sale for $7 at TJMaxx, think about creating a living work of art that excites the eyes and the nose.

Back to my roots

So I spent many years of my life working as a floral designer in Beverly Hills. I have done every awards show and been in every house in the flats and the hills. Flowers are a wonderful treat that last longer than a meal and give enjoyment to everyone around.

When shopping for flowers, simple is better, cheaper, and more pleasing to the eye.

Here, I have used a six dollar bunch of dahlias and a three dollar bunch of tuberose in a vase I had around the house. I let the beauty of the flowers carry the arrangement. A simple burst of one or two flowers will always have more impact than one of those "bouquets" you buy at the supermarket. Plus, when you buy single flower "growers" bunches, you are getting beautiful blooms straight from the field. Those "bouquets" that you buy are made up of all the junk that the wholesalers have left over after there selling day has ended. If you go down to the flower market you can see them being assembled at the end of the selling day.

So go simple. It will always give you beautiful results.

Oh to never schlep again.

So I just finished another move. This will hopefully be the last for quite a few years; I've moved an average of once a year for about a decade.

I've learned a few things in all of these moves and I'd like to share one that I find particularly helpful.

When packing cupboards and closets, I carry a tablet of sticky flags in my pocket and each time I have cleared a cupboard out, I put a flag on it. This saves the endless reopening and closing of cupboard doors while thinking, "Did I pack that one?"

It also serves as a visual sign of progress in the seemingly endless task of packing up a life to move it to a new residence.

A couple more moving tips:

1) Even if you are moving just a short distance, pack. You don't realize how many armloads each box holds.

2) Utilize your dish towels and linen in your packing to preserve breakables. You're packing two things at once!

3) Buy some damn boxes! I am able to pack a one bedroom apartment with about forty dollars worth of boxes from the local Public Storage. Think of it this way. You are possibly moving into a house that you paid $400,000 dollars for. You are paying movers a few hundred more to move everything for you. Don't cheap out and harass the innocent sales associates at your local mass market retailer by hounding them for boxes. You want your move to go smoothly so you don't need the negative karma of them cursing you under their breath following you around. If you do decide to go the "free box" route, be nice, patient, and remember that you are putting these people out. It also helps ease the burden if you ask for boxes while standing next to a heaping cart of things you actually plan to purchase from them because this is what they are there to do, sell, not dig boxes out of the dumpster for you.

Happy moving!

Etsy Love: Vintage Milk Bottles

I'm going to piggy back off Eric's post on flower arranging with my latest Etsy finds. I could spend all day and totally forgo actual work to browse Etsy. I am currently obsessed with vintage milk and ceramic milk bottles. I think they would make a simple and sweet housewarming or birthday gifts.

mysunshinevintage - $12.00

sweetlovevintage - $16.00

yesstreen - $10.25

Hello Summer Cocktails

Last summer, Eric and I spent an awesome weekend at his parent's very fabulous vacation home in Palm Springs. With the weekend meals already planned to a T, cocktails were of course, at the top of the list. Eric usually prefers the refreshing vodka tonic and I prefer a fruit-filled sangria. This year we are planning to make the trek again, however, I've been tasked to come up with a white wine sangria. I'm still experimenting with a variety of white wines but still attempting to narrow down the specific fruits and flavored brandies to include.

In the meantime, I stumbled upon this fantastic recipe for Prosecco. And really, how charming is this illustration?


image and recipe via Yvette van Boven

Welcome Aboard

Jackie and Eric first met in the 7th grade in Mrs. Armstrong’s Spanish class where they both marveled at the shrunken head brought back from her trip to the Amazon. They have been friends ever since.

This site is about all the things we love – home, design, eating and cooking great food, cocktails, gardening, mini lop bunnies, flip flops, alfresco dining, quests for the best chili dogs (so far, it’s Pinks in LA), Palm Springs, road trips, farmer’s market and the idiot savant produce manager at Eric’s local Albertsons market.

We’d love to hear from you! Drop us a line at somethingverygood@gmail.com