holiday re-cap

brace yourself, this is a long one and know i'm a little late to the party but where do i begin?  for christmas, i decided to make my mom an arrangement.  fell in love with these gardenia peonies at market -- they are insane and their scent is cra-a-zy cakes.

et voila!  here is the arrangement.  i took many more photos using that funny HDR feature on the iphone but the photos were not funny or nice at all...actually they were scary {oversaturated color and all} and kinda wack so the moral of that story is to stop pressing buttons, learn more about my phone and stop being lazy and use my regular camera.  anyway, the fun part was making the arrangement while mommy watched.  i think she was impressed.  okay, maybe not impressed but she loved it just the same.

 flowers in the attic.  imagine spending the holidays with that family?  yikes.

and then...the blizzard. got snowed in at my parents but i was warm and comfortable in my christmas pjs, eating chocolate cake and other naughties, watching no reservations marathons and the food network.  don't cry for me argentina. 

it wasn't until i left my parents {all i was doing at that point was looking out the window} that i realized what a SNOW-POCALYPSE the blizzard was.  i wasn't ready for it.  brooklyn is a situation.  whoa.  three and half hours later i arrived at my door wishing i had a chairlift, a snowmobile and snowshoes, only to find out the storm knocked out my cable and my internet, leaving me virtually disconnected to the modern world...now you can cry for me.

where have you been?

but my street finally got plowed wednesday night, internet came back on and the cable came back last night.  hallelujah.  but honestly, i was inconvenienced for a minute.  the holidays were great, my life is good.  

so on my last post of the year, i want to thank you all again for contributing to my tidings of comfort, love, beauty, family and joy.  you make me happy.

stay gold,

k xxx

t minus 2 more days...

good morning sugar plums!  i'm sure you're all knee deep in holiday prep...tree trimming, checking lists {twice}, prezzie shopping, wrapping, stuffing stockings, traveling, menu planning, brining birds, baking pies and on and on.  i hope that however you celebrate, you are surrounded by joy, good cheer and a whole lot of love.  wish you and yours the happiest and loveliest of holidays!
always, k x

gorgeous cookies

cookie design inspired by art nouveau stained glass and mackintosh's botanical watercolors.  

individually hand-painted, signed and numbered by maggie austin cake.  get serious points and bring them home for the holidays.  

{via oh joy}

oh yes, i need a little christmas

i was in need of some christmas cheer yesterday so i headed into the city to where else but rockefeller center to see the tree. i can't remember the last time i intentionally set out to see the tree {i lie. i can...i was a junior in high school and my friends convinced me that going to the tree lighting would be fun, not knowing the crazy large crowds it attracts nor about the stampede-like conditions}.  the tree is pretty spectacular.  new york in general is pretty magical during the holidays.  i grew up here and have great memories of the city at christmas -- the hustle and bustle of shoppers, the store windows, the decorations, the hot dog and chestnuts my mom would buy me for behaving and of course, going to see santa.

remember when things were simple, when you sat on santa's lap and told him what you wanted?  well if i could sit on santa's lap, here's what i'd ask for {in no particular order}:

1. personal masseuse.  and i'd share with him or her with my friend sarah.
2.  the perfect daily moisturizer.
3.  a tub that drains properly.  tired of scrubbing the tub every day.
4.  an apartment keeper {since i don't live in a house}.
5.  an endless supply of cire trudon candles.
6.  laundry that puts itself away {or number 4}.
7.  a perfectly patina'd mirrored dresser for all that laundry. 
8.  superpowers
9. a brush to scrub vases with skinny necks.
10. faster marathon time.
11. gloves with a tracking device or that i just can't lose.
12. fabric to reupholster my sofa
13. the kathleen bike
14.  end of human suffering everywhere. 

long list i know so i'll settle for the bike.  i'm staying focused. x
p.s. i had full intention of taking photos of some of the holiday windows but baltic cold + no gloves = no photos.

designed by mariah carey...

lonely planet released their top countries to visit in 2011.  included in the list -- albania, syria and cape verde, none of which i've ever visited.  wouldn't it be cool to visit all 10 next year?  i can dream as i spin my butterfly globe...
p.s.  okay, mariah didn't design this but you know she loves her some butterflies.  okay, maybe you didn't know.  lol. 

cute, right?

perfect accent to your holiday party outfit.

two of a kind

hope y'all had a nice weekend.  so last week i used the above flowers for some arrangements for a corporate event.  i ended up taking the arrangement home {a rare occurrence} so i decided to re-tool the flowers into another arrangement. 

aubergine anemones, white tulips, seeded eucalyptus...

white ranunculus, brunia, leucadendron...

into this...

and this!

 also threw some pittosporum, euphorbia and arizona blue into the mix.  love when i get to play! x

all i want for christmas is...

this!  still trying to figure out how to produce a prototype but dammit, i want them to figure out how to make a kathleen {or kat flower} bike come true!  this and the end of suffering everywhere is my prayer.  vraiment.  {via anthology magazine}

working it out

hi groove bunnies!  i would say tgif but my chosen career dictates that i view weekends a little differently.  can't believe that it's the 3rd day of december already {i'm still trippin' that 2011 is around the corner} but so far, december is doing right by me.  worked on a major {capital M} shoot on wednesday that was lots of fun.  the creative director and set designer kept me on my toes but i loved every minute of it -- allowed my creative juices to flow, tested my skillz and it's fun to fly by the seat of your pants.  kind of how i roll.  

the palette and style changed direction and despite being prepped and arranged, some flowers just didn't make the final cut.  shame.  so i made them a new home at home. happy endings all around. x
p.s. shout to lindsay for her help on wednesday and critique.  and yes, i'll absolutely share the shoot as soon as i'm able! x