Hello 2009

We're heading out to the Capay Farm for a wonderfully-themed "Greater Depression New Year's Eve Extravaganza". Both Ben and I are dressed liked hobos, and I spent the morning lamenting the fact that I can't grow a 5 o'clock shadow to match his. Oh well. I'm sure we'll have plenty of crazy photos of the costumed revelry next week for you all.

In the meantime, I wish you a very Happy 2009! May it bring you all the love, luck, and joy that you can handle. I see good things in our future.

Photo courtesy of Ajax All Purpose Blog.

End of the Season

Sorry I have been ignoring you; it wasn't intentional. I've been real busy eating these.

Scenes from a Farm Wedding

The head table before the reception starts. Decorated with local wildflowers and fresh apricots from one farm over (Full Belly Farms), the Bride's collection of blue glass, and of course, peacock feathers from the farm's most famous bird.

He made an appearance during the ceremony rehearsal the day before, but kept clear of the festivities the day of the wedding. He might have been a tad jealous of Kristi's dress.

Later in the evening, guests hit the dance floor for some high spirited square dancing in front of the barn. Square dancing has thankfully replaced the chicken dance at my most recent weddings.

Candle light in Capay

The wedding in Capay was absolutely beautiful. I'm still recovering from all the setup and festivities, but couldn't resist posting some photos now. More to come shortly. All photos by Ben Lau.

Freshly printed

Freshly printed muslin bags waiting to be stuffed with fresh lavender picked by the bride from the Capay Farm. We stuffed half last weekend and the scent was heavenly. I love that everything for the Capay wedding is locally grown, from the flowers to the food to the favors. It's only a week away, so this may be my last post until next week, when I'll be back with tons of photos of the big event. And probably a sunburn.

I heart my Pinking Sheers

My house is full of linens right now, and that's the way I like it. If you've ever seen my mom's linen closets (yes, plural), you'd know where I get this from. While other parents sent their college kids care packages of cookies, my mom sent me towels and sheets.

For table decor at the wedding reception, I've been loading up on vintage sheets, which is much cheaper than buying fabric by the yard. The sheets have all been dyed in the cornflower blue signature color, with some nice variation. My trusty pinking sheers have been doing their part to get through the stacks, and after a run through the iron, these will be nice and crisp for the picnic tables. I gave up on my pinking blade rotary cutter a while back, as it just doesn't stay sharp enough. Anyone have recommendations for a good rotary pinking blade?

2 Weeks and Counting

We went out to Capay this weekend to finalize decor plans for the wedding, 2 weeks away. This is the crazy old chicken coop, which has been cleaned out and repainted (on the inside) to serve as the bar/saloon. Guests will line up along this side (by the flower beds I'm standing in to take this shot), enter through the front door, and then go out the back entrance. We have big plans for this small and magical space.


Kristi and her Aunt Rie working on the bunting for the front porch of the house. Aunt Rie is the fastest seamstress I've ever seen. We put this project to her on Saturday evening, and by end of Sunday she was nearly finished. She also sewed Kristi's dress and embroidered Blair's shirt. Details of those to come after the wedding--wouldn't want to ruin the surprise.


The large pecan tree that the head table will be in front of. I'm working on a wreath idea for the trunk, but not sure if it will work out exactly as planned in my sketchbook. It never quite does, but hopefully it will be something interesting to personalize this beautiful scene. Orange groves in the background.


An old, rusty wheel barrow along the back to the saloon. Not sure what we'll stick inside (ice with cold beer, flowers, wedding favors), but somehow this old beaut will be used.

Thriving on chaos

I always thought I was the one sane person in my family who didn't take on twenty projects at a time, but after a phone call with my sister last night, I realized that was a complete fantasy. My sister takes multi-tasking to an art form, but she learned it all from our mother, who has a full time job, runs a major NIH-funded research project, and freelances--you know, just on the side. I've come to the conclusion that I thrive best when I have lots of balls in the air, but then I need short sabbaticals to recharge. Just when you think you're oh so different from your family, BAM! You find yourself growing up and being just like them. I can just see the high school version of myself rolling her eyes.

This weekend is all about the balance, as shown in the photo above of my two side businesses. Our growth charts have been kicking it around the blogs this week--thank you for all the lovely press! It's so exciting to see an idea realized, and watch it grow and spread. We're working through this insane Bay Area heatwave to get more charts made. The Capsule SF fair is fast approaching (next Sunday, May 25th!), so we have lots more to go.

Tonight I'm driving out to the Capay farm to get back to work on wedding preparations for one of my favorite clients, Kristi & Blair. We'll be hauling major river rocks up from the creek to mark paths and garden beds. Since it's going to be 98 tomorrow, I imagine we'll also be jumping in the creek a lot, as well. The photo above shows test prints of their wedding invitation, which was so fun to make. I'm going to post more photos of my client work soon, just another glimpse into my strange mind.

Speaking of, I forgot to mention that Poppytalk did a Miss Natalie Studio Visit last month! Check it out on their April 30th, 2008 post (scroll to the second entry).

Forget Clip Art

Working on invitations for the wedding in Capay. Walked around the neighborhood looking for laurel yesterday, and then arranged on the kitchen floor. Suddenly I have Montel Jordan's "This is how we do it" stuck in my head. Physically prototyping is probably my favorite way to design anything and everything.

Orchard of Cotton Ball Trees

It has been a topsy-turvy week, and it's only Wednesday. Here's a moment of calm to carry us all through to Friday-- an orchard of cotton ball puff trees. We spotted these on our way out of Rumsey and had to stop to get a better look. Walking through the orchard felt like I was in a scene from my favorite movie, "Dreams" by Akira Kurosawa.

Capay Inspiration Board

Collecting and sourcing materials and colors for K+B's event this summer. Oranges from the orchard helped us draw out a floor plan. This farm is an amazing well of ideas. More photos to come in the months ahead.

Capay Valley

In addition to doing a craft show this Saturday in Sacramento (3-11pm @ Bows & Arrows), we're going to be spending the weekend on a beautiful farm in the Capay Valley. Last time we were there was for New Year's eve. The weather was sunny and crisp as we walked along Cache Creek, which serves as the back boundary line of the farm.

Ringing in the New Year, we had a shockingly bright salad lined with watermelon beets and all local produce. Oranges from the orchard just outside the farmhouse door. Homemade beer from our favorite brewmaster. And a first for me--homemade eggnog from the cows two farms over. Potent stuff. Michael Pollan would have been proud.

Looking forward to meandering down the creek this weekend and combing the grounds. I am designing a wedding on the farm in June, so it'll be more of a working vacation, but I don't really consider it work as I love these kinds of projects.