Our bbrooks member, Paeonia Designs in Framingham, MA features a clean and elegant design in white and green hydrangea, fringed tulips, decorative kale, and cedar.

Red amaryllis, ilex, pine cones and evergreens in simple white ceramic by bbrooks member, Robin Wood Flowers, OH.

Today is Friday the 13th, known by many as the unluckiest day of the year.

There next occurrence will be June 2014.  It will be the sole occurrence for that year.  In the Gregorian calendar, Friday the 13th always occurs at least once a year and can appear up to three times in any one year.

While many will laugh off the superstitious day, others will remain in bed paralyzed by fear by the phobia known as friggatriskaidekaphobia. (!)  The word comes from Frigga, the name of the Norse goddess for whom Friday is named, and triskaidekaphobia, or fear of the number thirteen. It is also sometimes called paraskevidekatriaphobia, from the Greek Paraskevi for Friday, Dekatreis for thirteen and phobia for fear.

To read more see www.ibtimes.com.

Select nontoxic leaves, such as bay leaves.

Melt approximately 2-oz. vanilla candy coating in a saucepan over low heat until melted (about 3 minutes). Stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Working on parchment paper, spoon a 1/8-inch-thick layer of candy coating over backs of leaves, spreading to edges.

Transfer leaves gently, by their stems, to a clean sheet of parchment paper, resting them candy coating sides up; let stand until candy coating is firm (about 10 minutes). Gently grasp each leaf at stem end, and carefully peel the leaf away from the candy coating. Store candy leaves in a cold, dry place, such as an airtight container in the freezer, up to 1 week.

As seen in  December 2013, Southern Living.

New bbrooks member, Fleurit, in Wyckoff, NJ showcases some lovely autumnal offerings in a rustic setting,  in their journal section of their website.  Seen above are peonies, roses, accented with seasonal greens, berries and grasses.

For the second year in a row, bbrooks member Geranium Lake, Portland, OR was honored to style PSU’s Simon Benson Awards, providing florals, linens, chair covers, lighting, stage decor… whatever it took to make the event stunning!

With over 1800 guests in attendance, this soiree was full of Portland’s who’s who!  Highlights included Anderson Cooper as guest speaker!

Meet Heidi, aka Heidi-ho, Succulent Head, Barky Head, Cutie Pie, Silly Head, etc!  Heidi is very active and besides regular meals, she loves all veggies, nuts, and plain yogurt!

This loveable pup was adopted from the Massachusetts Mini Schnauzers Rescue Center four years ago.  Heidi keeps spirits high in the floral studio by “flirting” with the bridal consults and keeping step with shop owner, Carrie Chang,  of bbrooks member Floral Lab, Boston MA, everywhere she goes.

Congratulations to Carrie on her feature in the recent Grace Ormonde  Wedding Style magazine.  Carrie will also be honored with the the Int’l Floral Art Award in Belgium’s annual floral art book in  2014/15.

I know that Heidi will be right there, sharing in the applause!

Recently at Rebecca Hossack Gallery NYC ~ Klaus Enrique: The Reaping.

A series of photographic portraits, Enrique’s creations complicate and investigate notions of the ephemeral.  Utilizing materials such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, and other organic materials, Enrique produces glorious human forms and captures them in a rare moment of ripeness, preserving the perfection that precedes inevitable decay.  Enrique breathes new life into these forms, harvesting, reaping, and reconfiguring them as beautiful, often dark portraits.

Flowers at Will, our bbrooks member in Boise, ID offers these clever skull vases with specialty carnations and deep red roses for Halloween.  Simply spooky!

“Halloween used to be so simple. You got a punkin, cut off it’s stringy orange insides, and carved a face on it that looked like your brother. But, that just wasn’t good enough for some folks…

I blame the zombies… You can’t swing a dead cat this time of year without knocking a few down like bowling pins, which is not hard to do, considering they move a the pace of a box turtle…

Mostly, I love Halloween because it is the orange-and-black beginning of a season that tumbles into Thanksgiving, which tumbles into Christmas.  And zombies just seem out of place in that…

The iconic image of Halloween should be, as God intended, the punkin. The punkin, carved into faces that are scary only because we want them to be, winking from every front porch. The punkin, cast in plastic, swinging from the hands of knee- high princesses, leering back from department store shelves, until it gives way to tins of butter cookies.

But I fear for the punkin. How long before he is kicked down the street by zombie hordes, booted into obsurity?

Young people tell me that no one- no one- want to dress up like a punkin anymore. All a punkin does, they say, is sit there, and glow.

This may be true, all of it. But, try to make a pie out of a zombie and see where that gets you.”

As seen in Rick Bragg’s Southern Journal article, Southern Living, October 2013.