Speaking of projects, I really should be packing up my room right now, getting ready for the annual Summer Transition. BUT, I thought a follow-up about The Cake Topper project might be in order. In short, it turned out beautifully, and it was such a pleasure to be able to add to the wedding in that way. There is, however, a back story to The Cake Topper which I just cannot leave untold, and it is directly related to a second project, which is The Floral Arrangements. The reason why I ended up topping the cake was because I and two of my other housemates were recruited to design all the flower arrangements for the tables, as well as corsages and the cake. Now, if there's any part of a wedding that I would like to be involved in, it's with the flowers, so I didn't need much coaxing. Mainly the bride wanted wild flowers, and the original idea was just to go to a U-pick joint, glean some blooms, put the unruly bundles into mason jars, and ta-da! Our beatific vision was, ah, altered, however, as I will relate.
The Scheme: U-pick was ruled out for various reasons. Sooooo, we figured, if we want wild flowers, we'll search for them in the wild! Honestly, it's Eugene, with plenty of parks and nooks in which to find a little flower-power...can't be too hard...right?
First Proceedings: Molly and I ventured out of the house Friday morning, each with a pair of shears and one big bucket, hoping to pinch a little here and a little there from our neighbors' yards. Yes, we pretty much resorted to theft on the first go. Make of it what you will. It was just such a bleak beginning, a seemingly downward spiral: DIY ain't what it's cracked up to be...so much for 'simple'...we have no purveyor of florals...what else is left, but to scrounge it up out of the bare earth? Wait a minute, neighbor M.'s flowers look mighty nice...he wouldn't mind just a few clippings...and thieves are born.
Nah. We decided instead to find some obliging fields. We weren't that sneaky anyways. Let me say about my fellow adventurer: she is thoughtful and organized in ways that I am not, and she took up the endeavor graciously when I probably would have been too boggled to know where to begin. That doesn't mean that our first attempt with field flowers was that promising. A bland setting to boot, but we were determined. Molly began snipping some tangly purple things, and I turned my attention rather wearily to foliage. You should have seen the look of despair she gave me when I showed her some (I thought) rather lovely pink grasses. (Misunderstanding No. 1. Apparently she thought I was referring to the brown grasses, which were dismal indeed). That was cleared up, and we felt more encouraged. And then...
Daisies! And then we saw the daisy field, on the other side of the tangly-purple-thing-pink-grass field. "Gasp!!! DAISIES!!!!" We were ecstatic over them. Needless to say, we gathered a lot of daisies. This was a much happier prospect, brightened further by the little purple flowers (they looked sort of like giant raspberries) tucked throughout. Things were looking up!
Some Manoeuvres: After we settled the daisy-crazy buckets in our house, Molly suggested that we run by Trader Joe's for some corsage flowers (and treats), and to do some further scouting on the way. We were still feeling desperate, but rather plucky after our first successes. So we figured, why not go out on a median on a very busy street and clip some of the flowers there? And there we were, like nobody's business. I could just imagine my mom catching a glimpse in some newspaper "week in snapshots" thing, on the off chance we were caught on camera (that or some wanted delinquent section. The city of Eugene can take their pick). We didn't stick around (it was a slim median), but found further triumph pruning hydrangeas (and hydrangeas and hydrangeas...lots of hydrangeas) for the benefit of some office buildings. That's how we explained it to ourselves. On top of it, we found the lovliest purple lisianthus at TJ's. We knew we were in business.
A Good Day's Work: We brought our spoils home, and got to work. Our other counterpart provided some fragrant chamomile and lemon balm, and together we constructed arrangements charming enough to grace any shabby chic or DIY magazine. We were all just floored by how everything, the whole endeavor, just fell into place. And glory to God. Really, we had a splendid time, and had the great gift of being able to laugh even at the very worst (for instance, while we were gazing resolutely upon the pink grasses and purple tanglies, there was a summer parks and recreation deal going on in the form of a Quidditch match. For real. Our serious picking was cheered by the image of kids playing soccer with brooms between their legs, and I honestly don't know how it could have been otherwise). Even more, it was one of those instances in which the labor really is its own reward. We had such fun, were delighted with the fruit of our work, and had the added pleasure of giving it as a gift to our friends' marriage.
The only possible dowside to this whole business is that I can't even see a weed or a tuft of grass without considering its potential for floral decor.
Yours, considering a career in floristry, etc.
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1 comment:
Ashli, your blog posts delight me, as do you. Just so you know. :)
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