Meeting at Classic Party Rentals

Last Friday's meeting at Classic Party Rentals was SO fun! Their showroom is definitely a funhouse for us Florists, wedding coordinators, and brides-to-be. Since CPR is also a Sponsor for the upcoming BAWN (Bay Area Wedding Network)'s First Quarter Event, we collaborated and came up with "I-got-the-chills" ideas for the ceremony scene we'll be doing on the 11th Floor of the Crystal Lounge at the Marine's Memorial Club & Hotel (the venue and also another Sponsor for this Event).

We decided to play off the floor-to-ceiling gold-trimmed, rich red-velvety curtains in the Crystal Lounge with rows of striped red-and-gold cushioned gold chivari chairs. Hanging from them will be containers of the same striped fabric (to be made from matching napkins) filled with white flowers. A crisp white aisle runner will lead up to the ceremony area, which will be placed a narrow-sleek table, draped with gold fabric. Atop this table will be three tall vases/or one larger vase of red dogwood branches. I'm still undecided whether to have pops of white blooms tied/hung/tubed from the branches or various sizes of vases of lush white flowers lining down the table.

You probably noticed the trend of WHITE FLOWERS here, and that is also where we had the "I-got-the-chills" moment, when we decided to use only white flowers, as it is the trend for this year to go white-white-white and all white. And it works perfectly for this room as it completely pops from the rich reds and golds.

Dates to Remember!

We've all of a sudden been asked to do so many sponsoring/marketing events that I thought I should start a list so I don't forget: (like all moms, I can't remember anymore, and it's NOT because we're getting older, but because there's just too much to remember! =P)

1/27/09 - Our usual Tasting at the Marine's Memorial Club & Hotel
2/18/09 - SJMA's (San Jose Museum of Art) Open House - "Art-Inspired Events"
2/22/09 - Bridal Expo & Registry Faire at Hillsdale Shopping Center - partnering with The Westin & Sheraton Hotels, Palo Alto
2/24/09 - BAWN's (Bay Area Wedding Network) First Quarter Event - held at the Marine's Memorial Club & Hotel
2/TBD/09 - Chung Li Photography's new studio Grand Opening
3/6/09 - SJMA's Premier Annual Event - sponsoring table decor
3/10/09 - Classic Party Rentals' Open House
5/6/09 - CSM's (College of San Mateo) SAIFD (Student Chapter of American Institute of Floral Designers) monthly meeting - GUEST SPEAKER!
5/7/09 - 5/10/09 - Filoli Flower Show 2009 - "Kaleidoscope of Flowers"

Cooking! Crab cakes with red chili mayonnaise

For those of you who know me, I love to cook. I'm not a great cook (yet) by any means, I am just learning and I live by recipes. I still can't say I know how to cook yet because to me, following recipes is not really knowing how to cook, it's being able to follow directions. And I follow recipes to the T. I never deviate, not even with recipes I've done many times. Plus, for some reason I can't remember ingredients, I always have to refer back to the printed sheets. =P

In any case, that is how I currently cook and I ENJOY every minute of it! And last night's meal turned out to be a huge success! It's my first time making crab cakes with red chili mayonnaise over a bed of wilted spinach. The crab cakes were a tiny bit dry, but the hot chili sauce made up for it, and can you believe it was just mayonnaise, lemon juice, and sriracha?

You can find the recipe here: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Crab-Cakes-with-Red-Chili-Mayonnaise-107053
Here's how mine looked like:

Graphic Design

I am SO excited to be working on our new print portfolio! Graphic design (besides flowers) has always been another medium of art that I loved. But because I can't do everything (although I try so hard to all the time!), my outlet to continue to do some kind of graphic design work are these "small" projects for my business. Besides our earlier business cards, letterhead, and website, I've designed our past 2 years' Holiday cards as well. Even though it was a LOT of work, but like other graphic designers, once you see the final print outcome, it is all worth it!!

Here is our Holiday 2008 card, done in Illustrator, printed with Costco prints, then set ontop of a cute photo-corner Holiday card from Paperchase (not-shown):

Best of 2008 Holiday cards:

Photos Chung Li Photography..kim and niki, photographers..Jeanine Brown Photo Design..Akiko Photo..Pink Fog Studios

I woke up excited to be working on this project (with a ONE month deadline! -- so it can be used for all our upcoming marketing/sponsorship events) because last night while thinking of how to do the layout...should it be like past years' where it's all photojournalistic OR more of a clean collage of pictures (similiar to the Holiday cards) but with only one wedding per collage, set on their own individual pages, with the venue/vendors' names credited just below. Yah! I can't wait to get started! Will continuously update my progress!

Guest Speaker!

I am so excited and HONORED to be asked to be one of the guest speakers for College of San Mateo's SAIFD (student chapter of American Institute of Floral Designers) monthly meeting this Spring! Many of my designers know, as I'm sharing my experiences with them, how I've talked so much about wanting to give back to the school that's taught me to be the designer I am today. It is there that I received my Floral Design Certificate. And now I've been asked if I would possibly be interested...are you kidding? OF COURSE!

I got SO excited that I've already started brainstorming on ideas of what to talk about and share, even before getting all the details from the head teacher. Stay tuned for more details!

Art-inspired Events 2/18/09 at SJMA

We are honored to be one of the Sponsors for San Jose Museum of Art's 2009 Open House - "Art-inspired Events" to be held on February 18, 2009 at 6-9pm, where many of the finest event professionals will be showcasing their "art", inspired from none-other-than (happens to be my personal favorite too!)...Andy Warhol (which is SO fitting since we just visited Andy Warhol's collection at the Jewish Contemporary Museum on "Family Appreciation Day"). All brides, event coordinators are invited to this night of cocktails and hors d'oeuvres and an exclusive private viewing of The Prints of Andy Warhol, so if you haven't received a personal invitation from us, please email at annie@anniesiu.com.

More to come on how we're going to showcase floral art, inspired from Andy Warhol. Currently inspired by the very famous green martini glass with the yellow background...