Yet again...

Yikes, I know, it's already the end of March, the last month has flown by so quickly, and so on and so forth. Does this sound like my last post? Rather than say once again, oh no, alas, I have not written, I will instead just write.

Should you care, here's a quick update: Over the last month I've been a busy little bee and had a lot of stuff happening. I left my job! That's right! I left my job! With only a vague plan for how to, you know, make a living! Bold, right? Seriously though, it's a good development, so it calls for a great big HOORAY! And now I trying my very darndest to do work that I really care for and enjoy, so we'll see how all of that goes! I've also spent a good amount of time organizing my very wee studio and archiving my writing. And organizing creative chaos can be quite a chore. I've been at work on some fancy lil' accoutrements, have launched my Etsy site (for real), and will be adding about half a dozen new items each week. Aaand I've been busy with writing and design work for Beantown Bride, and actually just had a lovely night out with all of the ladies who do work for the site-- it was splendid to meet the rest of the talented crew and put faces to names. So I've been, you know, just generally getting my creative life in order., which is what I aimed to do. Lots of good happenings, which obviously call for some blog celebration, aka lots of exclamation points!!!

So long story short, now that all of that has been taken care of, my writing will find a home here much more regularly. I promise! And you'll also see some fancy schmancy changes made to the blog's layout soon. (Blogger has new custom layout tool, which is awesome news and long overdue. Do you know this? You should know this!)

Time To Cook

Isn't it splendid when you try your darndest to remember where you found an amazing recipe, or article, or video, and then, voila, google helps you get there almost immediately? I've had a beautiful fresh bunch of dandelion greens sitting in the fridge for a few days, and in the back of my mind I knew that not too long ago I had stumbled upon an amazing recipe for greens and potatoes, googled as much, and sure enough it was a Minimalist recipe. I should have known. While not entirely Irish (it is an Italian recipe), it does amounts to green potatoes, so I'll argue that it's completely appropriate for St. Patrick's day, especially for this lil' mutt.

And so with the dandelion greens, some potatoes sitting in the back of the pantry that were starting to grow eyes, copious amounts of extra virgin olive oil, hearty homemade breadcrumbs, and gobs of garlic (this was my own addition, as my own Italian grandmother always makes delicious bitter greens in this fashion-- diced, cooked briefly in oil, and then threw the blanched greens in quickly before adding them to the potatoes), I whipped it all up in a jiffy. Needless to say they were delicious. And addictive. This will certainly become a new staple meal. Creamy potatoes, bitter greens, sweet oil, crunchy bread-- yum, yum, yum!

And, in case you're wondering, why yes, this was my first casserole as a newly married lady! (I know, quite a milestone.) It's worth noting that since leaving work about two weeks ago I've been cooking a lot more, and it's been such a wonderful thing. I adore cooking when I have the time to really enjoy the process and then linger over the finished product with good company. I often think of my mum when cooking, and when making this dish today I thought of her own mother, my Grammy Emily, who, when I would speak about or even vaguely reference doing anything a little outside of the box as far as career choices go, would worry, and say, "How will you feed yourself? How will you cook? How will you eat three good meals a day?" And so I couldn't help but think about how, even in these last few weeks, just a short while after having stepped away from a 9-5 desk job to try and focus on doing creative work that I care for, it's now that I find myself pouring over recipe books, standing over a stove in the early evening, and cooking delicious meals for myself and my husband. It's funny how things work out. But I think she would be happy. And I'm happy.

Aaand the casserole made a perfect meal before gearing up to see fairy sprite Joanna Newsom play her harp on campus tonight. Eeeee! Can't wait!

Inspiration: Graphic Nature

If I were to suggest that you use all things floral as the crux on which to base a wedding design, you may very well have nightmarish visions of all things stuffy and frou-frou-- the sort of style that's outdated and one that you'd certainly prefer to avoid. Don't fear my compatriots, there are a lot of modern florals are out there are anything but. They're playful, modern, and even fashion forward. And if you pick a flower that's graphic to begin with-- like poppies, used as the springboard for my inspiration here-- half of your work is done. Right off the bat you've got a color palette, suggested a mood, and have a signature image to use throughout your day. A little goes a long way, which will help to keep both fuss and spending to a minimum. The actual floral arrangements seen here certainly speak to this aesthetic: spare peonies in simple ceramic vases or a singe bold bloom wrapped in a dapper bow speak volumes and don't break the bank. And this high-impact look invites the chosen flower to show up in even more surprising places: in graphic prints in dress fabric, in repeated form on the invitation suite, and even in sculptural style thanks to the use of interesting materials, like paper, felt, and sugar seen in the decor hanging over tables, in adornments for hair, hand, and dress, and of course, in tiers of desert. And the shoes-- golly, hand painted and with floral clips-- don't forget the shoes! Overall it's a look that's modern and bold, fashionable and fun, and the palette of poppy red with touches of leaf green and pale yellow is incredibly contemporary-- certainly not for wallflowers!

clockwise from top left: Pippa Orange Poppy and Emerald Floral Necklace by Luxe Deluxe on Etsy; Invitation Suite by ExQuisiteInVitation on Etsy; Poppy Boutonniere from Once Wed; Oversized Felt Flower Brooch by Starz Selection in Etsy; Table Setting from Project Wedding; Rosette Fascinator by Giant Dwarf on Etsy; Poppy Fields Silk-Lined Clutch by ViaBella on Etsy; Red Bloom Muff of Fabulousness by Birdism on Etsy; Kate Spade Graphic Floral Print Dress from Real Simple; Maddie Floral Shoe Clips on Hand Painted Shoes by Chloe & Maddie on Etsy; Poppy Wedding Cake by Polka Dot Cookies and Cakes

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT BEANTOWN BRIDE ON MARCH 5, 2010