never work with children or animals

not true dear reader! i did a little flower class for 2 and 3 year olds this week. we decorated cups with glue and tissue paper and then "arranged" our flowers into them. it was so much fun.

rainfall radar

apart from a wedding, this weekend i barely left the house. mostly due to big wind and horizontal rain, with an extra dollop of rain on the side. essentially glasgow weather at its finest. we rescued errant bins that had blown down the street. we've lost a gate! no idea where that's gone, but living in scotland shit weather becomes a way of life. 

i'm not into the rain so much, but this is so good, as is this. if you're one for a late 90's hype williams version feat. inflated bin-bag jumpsuits and a hummer then missy is yer man.

friday

Q&A thursday: simone gooch of fjura

how/why you got into the flowers

it started as an after school/weekend job and has evolved from there. i've left to do other things but have always returned to the flowers. i feel blessed to do what i do every day.

on your current playlist

today, abel korzeniowski on repeat with long pauses of silence.

savoury or sweet?

savoury please

best ever flower (for this week at least)

today (is that okay?) lily of the valley and lilac. damn they're good.

tipple?

bubbles

your most unappealing habit

leaving home for work well before the crack of dawn.

couldn't live without

family and friends. nature.

favourite website(s)

bureau of meteorology

what makes your heart sing

my niece who is six. the joy!

tell me a secret

neem oil - it's the way of the future

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fjura is in sydney. 

now we are seven

we quietly celebrated an anniversary last weekend and stayed in. i cooked. i don't like to brag but i can make a mean steak. rare as you can handle, i'm your gal. we watched the banksy film, exit through the gift shop (which is brilliant by the way) and sat by the fire. 

it's funny, i work on weddings all the time yet the details of my own are getting a little hazy now. i know it was one of those days in november you wish for; crisp air, blue sky, bright sun. i remember how happy i was.  i know i forgot my bouquet on the way to the church and had to turn back. i remember we stayed up until 6am dancing and only went to bed because we couldn't find the last case of champagne.

paperwhites and paintings

one wedding down, two to go campers and we are OUT FOR THE HOLIDAYS! not done a scrap of christmas shopping yet. not even a peep...

this weekend i was at the glasgow art club. i love this venue. it's got one of those little doors off the street you could easily walk past a hundred times and not know it was there, but once inside it's a real treasure. am trying to think of a reason (any reason) i might have that would require a party here. leave it with me.

who says greece has no exports?

Q&A thursday: elizabeth lewis of the nouveau romantics

how/why you got into the flowers

a canadian architect turned corporate design slave in new york, moves to austin, abandons grad school, needs to occupy hands. the rest [is somewhat] history.

on your current playlist

a lot of instrumental: yann tiersen, explosions in the sky, michael nyman. of course then there's bruce springsteen, fleetwood mac, neil young, great lake swimmers, bon iver and a little black keys when necessary.

savoury or sweet?

an unrelenting sweet tooth often demands cupcakes at inappropriate times. lemon or chocolate nutella.

best ever flower (for this week at least)

poppy. often difficult to behave, but damn girl, when they do, they do. the peach ones kill me.

tipple?

prosecco and st germaine (see question #3) or else a pitcher of newcastle. very little in between.

your most unappealing habit

thinking i can do everything myself, knowing otherwise, yet continuing to try.

couldn't live without

the dog, sunshine, close access to tall trees and the outdoors (i'm a forester's daughter)

favourite website(s)

saipua, luxury link for all those vacations i pretend to afford.

what makes your heart sing

mountains, the ocean, those perfect melodies in songs, late nights on cottage porches, the dog.

tell me a secret

i used to be a competitive rugby player and can navigate for weeks at a time on canoe in backcountry wilderness. quite appropriately representing the canadian and british commonwealth isn't it? doesn't get me very far down here in texas.

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the nouveau romantics is based in austin, texas. 

nigel slater and the kitchen o' dreams

i've always been a bit of a fan of nige and his latest show simple suppers is quite the gem.

nigel cooks up the din-dins next to a garden designed by dan pearson. there are some highly covetable concertina doors. it almost couldn't get any better.

* thankyou to what katie does for the screengrabs

the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker

this week i dropped 75 big ones on these brass candlesticks. like most things in life you get what you pay for and some of these bad boys are as tall as my forearm. i like tea-lights as much as the next man for weddings but sometimes, my friend, a proper candlestick is required. when needs must, the devil drives.

three weddings left to go in 2011 and it's a wrap! after that i'm planning on putting my feet up and concentrating on getting increasingly giddier as christmas gets closer. it'll be mince pies and eggnog all the way for me (actually i don't think i have even tried eggnog before, but who knows, maybe this can be my year). 

the builders have finally left the building now (we have a kitchen again! and running water!) and i might fill the house with flowers and garlands for christmas. pretend i'm in a photoshoot, just for the hell of it.

Q&A thursday: amy merrick of amy merrick flowers and styling

how/why you got into the flowers

my grandmother was a florist and also an antique dealer. she was pretty reserved but i think as a kid you learn to appreciate these things through osmosis.

i got an internship and then a job at saipua. the first boutonnieres i ever made were on set for a martha stewart weddings photoshoot. sarah told me to just make a couple of really tiny bouquets and tape them closed. working with flowers made sense from the beginning.

on your current playlist

graceland by paul simon. really just tracks 2 through 6.

savoury or sweet?

savoury - salty, buttery, cheesy, forever and ever.

best ever flower (for this week at least)

heirloom garden roses, cut yourself. also, lily of the valley. i am hopeless for an old-fashioned scent.

tipple?

a couple of spicy bloody marys with a lot of snacks inside.

your most unappealing habit

literal and figurative nail biting.

couldn't live without

morning coffees. the caffeine is nice but i'm really addicted to holding a warm mug.

favourite website(s)

i can't stop looking at antique wedding bouquets on flickr. this one is straight up gorgeous, this one gives me a new appreciation for huge callas and this girl is too cool for words.

what makes your heart sing

the rare times i get to work alongside my sister. she lightens me up.

tell me a secret

i rarely change the vase water whenever i have me flowers at home. do as i say, not as i do.

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amy merrick flowers and styling is in brooklyn, new york. amy's wonderful blog lives here.