Friendsgiving in Ojai

Friends + Thanksgiving.

Friendsgiving.

Last November, my family and I spent a week with our close friends in a magical house in Ojai before the big Ventura fires took it away. But I’m grateful for the memories and these incredible pictures that Todd Pinckney took.

I look back on our trip to Ojai with friends and I feel so much gratitude towards them for their friendship and their faith and support in me and my family. For most of them, we’ve been doing life together for over 12 years and now growing families together is just so special to witness. God has created us to desire relationships and crave community and to have one like mine is just gold.

Jewel Tones is the New Thanksgiving Colors

This month I was asked to collaborate with Susanna who is one of the 2 sisters of 4 Corners International Interior Design. She was featured on a morning segment on FOX 5 San Diego where she also gave me an awesome shout out! If you missed the segment, it’s on my Facebook page where I tried to record it with my phone but it cut of because I ran out of memory space due to taking too many picture of my kid and flowers. HA! Anyways, Susanna is so talented and creative and I was beyond honored to work with her on some florals and wreaths for her Thanksgiving Table Scape Photoshoot.  You all have probably started to see a lot of marsala and jewel tones in weddings and table decor due to its rising trend in rich, vibrant colors.  It’s no question that a little gold and brass can really bring out so much elegance and richness in those deep burgundy flowers, teal, and fuchsia.  Honestly, I am loving the jewel tones because it’s a new way to play with different color pallets.

Hosting a Dinner Party on a Budget

This past weekend I hosted a dinner party that doubled as a “Sip ‘N See” for my best friend Melissa.  For those who don’t know what a “Sip ‘N See” is, it’s a little post baby shower. So you can SEE the baby while SIPPIN’ on some champagne to celebrate the momma and babe! My friend Melissa just had her third daughter, Lucia Rey and she is absolutely perfect!

Andrea’s Stylish Maternity, Del Mar-San Diego

Friends! I am so excited to finally share Andrea Van de Vort’s beautiful maternity pictures.  Andrea is a good friend of mine and so when she told me she was pregnant soon after I had Ben I was beyond the moon! She asked me to create a beautiful boho tropical flower crown for her shoot and of course I named it the ‘island goddess’ which was so fitting for her. I had to wait to share a full post on her shoot because we had found out that a big blog: Inspire by This wanted to feature Andrea! So finally I now get to share these amazing photos! These photos are unreal! My favorite is how every single one of these pictures look like they should come right out of a magazine! Stunning! I hope you find them as captivating and beautiful as I did!

Motherhood is…

Last year I was so privileged to have experienced my first Mother’s Day.  Since then, it’s been quite the journey.  Motherhood has been redefined to me differently as I go through different stages of growth as a parent and watching my son go through his different stages of development this past year. It’s been a whirlwind of a year and I am so grateful for every moment of it. I have to say that Motherhood has changed me for the better.  It has taught me how to be a better daughter to my own mother, wife to my husband, and friend to my friends. It has given me a compassion that I’ve never felt before and I can only say it is a small glimpse of Christ’s compassion and love for us. Motherhood has helped me understand Grace in a whole other level. Motherhood.

 

 

I wanted to share a few of my friends who I happened to do beautiful flower crowns for but really I wanted to feature them because I look up to them as mothers.  There’s a ton of other moms out there that I look up to and I wish I can feature them ALL but for now, here are 5 ladies that are remarkable and who find the time to balance their work/mom life to always put their children, husbands and Jesus in the center of their lives.  I feel so honored to be a part of their precious pictures through these floral crowns. Although these women don’t know each other, what they all have in common is motherhood. They understand the pain, the joy, the worry, the love of a parent. So I asked them all a simple question of what motherhood meant to them. As I read each one’s answers it brought silent tears.  Because I understand.  I get it. But also because their love for their cubs are so fierce and pure. 

DIY: Christmas Wreath

Christmas is right around the corner! Can you believe it?? How has another year gone by so quickly? For me, this year was full of….well….EVERYTHING! I was pregnant and now I have a kid?! Wait what? How did this happen? Haha…don’t worry, I know how it happened, you don’t have to tell me about the birds and the bees…yah de da da la… but anyways…that baby that I just told you I had…well…he’s 8 months old already! And as you can probably guess, this Christmas is even more special!

But let me tell you…having a kid sure cuts into your DIY and crafting time along with your DIY/crafting budget! So I’ve had some friends who have been askin
g me to do and share some DIY things/tips that I’ve done and although some may not necessarily involve flowers all the time, but it will involve budget friendly-time efficient projects (cuz let’s be honest, we don’t have all the time and money in the world to be working on little crafts whether we are moms or not).

So I present to you, my first DIY share on this blog! And inspired by the season…the Christmas Wreath.

Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms out there and all the Mom’s to be as well!

Yesterday’s Mother’s Day was a special one for me. 

I got to celebrate my first Mother’s Day! My son was born on April 28th at 4:17 PM and it was the most emotional, hardest, happiest, and beautiful moments that I ever got to experience! 

It’s been a roller coaster ride these past 2 weeks but I wouldn’t have it any other way (well…maybe except for more sleep…but even so, I am learning to cherish these moments).

Anyway, for this Mother’s Day, I am lucky enough to celebrate it with my mom. Having her live in LA and having in the past working in retail and doing flowers, I rarely get to go up to LA to visit her on this special day.  So yesterday was extra special to me to have her there by my side.  She held my hand every step of the way through heartaches and laughter and now she held my hand as I became a mother myself. So blessed. That’s all I can say.  

So my Mom loves flowers and loves arranging flowers so I thought that we could do a little Flower Arranging 101.

The final product.  

I’d say that’s pretty good for arranging on her own with a little guidance from me 🙂

My Mom’s a natural! But I guess I got it from her!

Thank You Mom for loving me and showing me Jesus through your tender and humble love. 

I am forever grateful to you.  

And to all the moms out there…I salute you! This mom business is hard.  But I’m excited to be apart of the club with you all. It’s an honor. 

XOXO,

Esther

Be Happy. Be Floral.

My Haus. My Life. My Flowers.

This past Monday, the 18th I turned another year older. The older I get, the more I try to figure out what I want in life and how I can be the happiest while making others happy too! Does this make me a people pleaser…ya sorta, but I’m ok with that! Do I necessarily want to always please people per say?  No, but there is a sense of joy that I receive when I can make others happy.  But on this particular day, others have blessed me and made me happy!

My friends and husband know me so well…I got lots of renunculus and let me tell you…I LOVE LOVE LOVE renunculus! So simple, delicate and beautiful.  My home is filled with beautiful life!

My sweet friend Erin put little succulents in a teacup! SO CUTE!

So another year has gone by…and another year is ahead of me.
Let’s enjoy life as God has intended and be joyful and love others!

Be happy. Be floral.
Esther

The Wallflower Inspiration

Wallflower Inspiration.  Who doesn’t like flowers? Unless if you’re allergic (I’m sorry, that sucks). Even then, when you’re feeling sad, lonely or congratulating someone or even wishing someone well we give flowers.

Just imagine that you are getting married and you see all these incredible floral arrangements and bouquets in bridal magazines, Pinterest, wedding blogs etc. but you are on a budget. How can you have it all but at the same time not feel like you are sacrificing pieces of your wedding just to have pretty flowers? We all know that a simple selection of flowers can brighten up an event or set any mood and having the right arrangement can get pricey.  So…how can we have it all without settling for anything less? That’s easy, call me.  No really, I’m here to help! It all started with my friend Cynthia’s wedding and then a few friends here and there just to help out and then it came to my own and I realized how expensive beautiful arrangements can get and I was on a tight budget! After all, you don’t want to start off your marriage in debt just trying to pay off the first day of your new life.  Save a few Benjamin’s and spend it on your honeymoon! I have been doing flowers since 2009 and realized how much I loved it! I love the challenge, being creative, and ultimately blessing people. 

Bottom line: I get it. I get how these events are important and momentous and don’t let the money sign $$$ get you down.  I would be happy to meet with you and chat over coffee (or cupcakes/donuts) and see how I can contribute to your BIG DAY!