Thanksgiving 2011

This was an epic Thanksgiving for me. Every year, since the beginning of time (or since the 1960s, when my mom moved to NYC), she has celebrated Thanksgiving with a long-time friend (and later, her family, which has always felt like an extension of my family). This year, our family friends had the opportunity to travel abroad over the holiday, so the tradition was put on hold. With that, my parents flew down to Austin for the long weekend. At first, I was planning to make reservations to go out. Oliver's and my jobs have been uber busy and the thought of spending hours in the kitchen over what was sure to be a lovely weekend didn't sound appealing. Then I remembered that I actually like cooking, and I especially love baking. It dawned on me that Thanksgiving for a small group could be less "maniacal party planning" and more "dinner for four;" simple, casual, relaxed and, most importantly, FUN. Let the planning begin!

Some favorite dishes came from Smitten Kitchen:
• Appetizer: Creamed Mushrooms with Chive Butter Toast
• Side: Sweet Potatoes with Pecans and Goat Cheese

After spending the morning and afternoon with Oliver and my parents, hanging out and strolling around our neighborhood (it was 75º and sunny!), I got to cooking. Can you believe I was too wrapped up in cooking and enjoying myself to remember to take pictures of each dish? Thankfully, I'm not a food blogger because I would have failed, friends. I didn't even get a good shot of the Thanksgiving table, even though I wrote a Houzz article on eclectic holiday table settings earlier that week, and took some of my own advice! Here are a couple of detail shots:

I am pretty proud of this bouquet. It was fresh and bright, just like the day!


I just wanted to show off the cute little owl napkin rings I snagged in Mineola a while back. 

I did, however, snap some shots of dessert (you know, the most important food group): Mini pumpkin pies with fresh whipped cream!


They tasted delish after brunch and leftovers over the next few days, too!
You like those green rope-themed napkins? My mom made them years ago – aren't they great? 


The rest of the weekend was spent exploring Austin. We hit the Blanton Museum of Art, roamed around the UT campus, checked out the first-ever Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Market in Austin as well as the City-Wide Garage Sale, drove to Wimberley for wine tasting, where we picked up a cute bar cart for pennies (post forthcoming), had happy hour at Hotel San Jose and popped into the shops along South Congress, and ingested way too many good dinners and brunches. I hope you all had wonderful dinners with friends and/or family – whomever makes you feel loved and thankful!

Around the Houzz: House Plants

Numerous people (clients, prospective clients, friends, etc) have asked me what I think is the easiest, quickest way to transform a home (or room) on a budget, especially on a renter's budget. My answer has always been paint, which obscures all signs of the people who occupied the place before you, memories of ex's, filth or simply breathes new life into a space without breaking the bank. But I recently added plants to my answer. Plants have an uncanny ability to make everything look and feel clean, fresh and alive while simultaneously scrubbing grossness out of the air we breathe. That shot of green (or many shots) does wonders for any space, and in my opinion, you cannot have too many. For high-end projects, I recommend choosing sculptural, statement plants that add texture and interest to a room, and almost act as a piece of art. But big plants don't come cheap. For the rest of us, I think just about any healthy plant will do. We used them liberally in our last apartment: plants became "curtains" over our bathroom window, they softened sharp edges and brought your eye up to the ceiling when placed high on a top shelf. But more than anything, they made our small apartment feel airy, breezy and a little more connected to nature. We only have one right now (sadly, our plants did not survive the freezing cold drive from New York to Texas) but we have big plans to get more soon.

With that, check out my most recent article for houzz.com was all about our leafy green friends: Bring In The Outside With House Plants!

Spring Has Sprung

I couldn't resist taking a few photos yesterday of little buds I'm seeing on the trees around our house. It appears that spring has sprung, although I understand it's possible that we will have one more freeze before winter is officially over in Texas. But here's what's going on in the front yard:

And in the back:

It must be time for new growth because today I did the unthinkable: I created a Twitter account for The Studiolo (aptly named @TheStudiolo)! I didn't think it would come to this, but  alas, it has. I have NO idea what I'm going to do with it, but it seemed remiss of me to not jump on the ever-expanding social networking bandwagon to increase awareness of our little business – gotta stay in the loop, keep my finger on the pulse, and all that other corporate jargonry. My first post will probably say something like what I just said. It's going to be a slow journey, friends. No doubt I'm disappointing some of you (Brian? Sorry. I can no longer repeat my favorite quote of yours, "I don't tweet; I don't twiddle!") but I'll try not to be too annoying about it.

Guest Blogger: Denise Fasanello

For a while now I have wanted to bring in some guest bloggers – designers, artists, artisans, crafters, and all-around creative people (whether their passion is a full-time job or a hobby) to write about what makes them tick. How did they get started? Was it a straight path to doing the work they do, or was it meandering and something that came along on the second round of careers (like mine)? Have they sacrificed to stay on the creative path, or did it come easy? I am especially interested in those who started out practicing one craft, kept exploring and wound up taking on a whole new medium or added new interest(s) to the roster of old ones.

I am elated to introduce my very first guest blogger today, the unbelievably talented Denise Fasanello, a Brooklyn-based floral designer. We hired Denise to create the flowers for our 2008 wedding and she truly brought an artist's eye and perspective to floral designs, which really set the tone for the whole affair. Not surprisingly, it turned out she began her creative career as a fine artist. Her floral designs are full of graphic elements and some of the most interesting, complex combinations of plant life I have ever seen. I figured her fine art background must inform her floral work somehow, and I wanted to know how. I also wanted to know more about the path she took from fine artist to working at an architectural design firm and finally to taking on flowers full-time, since so many of us start out doing one thing, but later realize our passions lie elsewhere. It's a tough decision to stop, re-evaluate, maybe go back to school, change your life and start over again, so I love hearing about successful people who made gutsy career changes. 

In addition to running her highly sought after business and being a wife and a mom, Denise also writes her own wonderful blog, Little Pheasant, full of whimsical commentary, spot-on observations and amazing images of her work. Without further ado, Denise's guest post. Thank you, Denise! xoxo

First, I need to start out by thanking Killy for inviting me as a guest blogger. I am so very honored to be asked! I've been a fan of The Studiolo from the beginning.

Floral design by Denise Fasanello

Here's a little background on me and how I got into floral design. It may seem like long convoluted story but then that's how life works sometimes, no? Many moons ago I needed a day job to support my art making habit.

Guinnea Hen, collage by Denise Fasanello

I found one at a little flower shop in the West Village. I had no experience working with flowers nor did I have a background in horticulture. But New York being New York I knew someone who got me the gig and I was a quick learn.

Web Bouquet, collage by Denise Fasanello

At the same time I was working part time for a famous female artist I greatly admired. Both jobs offered me more hours and I found myself at a real crossroads. At the time I was pretty keen on pursuing my fine art career so I chose to work as an artist assistant. 

Years pass and I am working diligently on my artwork but in truth I am feeling fatigued by the art world. By now I'm also running the daily operations of a successful architecture/art studio.

Web Bird Green, collage on paper by Denise Fasanello

After about six years of honing my fine art and eight years managing the architectural office, I start to think about that little flower shop. I dream about starting my own business. I start to design friend's wedding flowers.

Bouquet by Denise Fasanello

I slowly build a portfolio of images. I talk A LOT about it to anyone who will listen. I read how-to books on small businesses. I seek any and all stories of people, particularly woman who change careers. I even quit the firm to work for a fancy flower shop to gain experience. I get lured back to the firm. I make money and pay off all my debt. I continue to dream. I have a baby. I build a website. I design my business cards. I take the leap. That was 3 years ago and here I am. The hardest part of forging a new path is taking the first step. So true.

How has my art training influenced my flower work? Well, in very real ways. The use of scale, shape and color all come into play when making an arrangement. For me, working with flowers is the most liberating art expression. You do not have to wait for the paint to dry, the film to develop, the glue to set. It is instant gratification. I see it as a form of ephemeral sculpture.

Bouquet by Denise Fasanello

More interestingly how has floral design influenced my art making? How beauty is represented, manipulated and defined has always been at the root of my artistic creation. But it was not until I started working with natural materials that I truly understood our obsession with beauty. I begin to manipulate flowers and photograph them.

Orchid Sleeve by Denise Fasanello



Thorned by Denise Fasanello

Beauty is a fleeting experience. This is the conflict we all share. Beauty fades. Flowers wilt. To me it’s a very natural and human conflict - the desire to preserve beauty and the recognition that it is a futile pursuit. We make art to preserve the fading experience of beauty. Even the conscience decision to look at the ugly in life is a reaction to the beauty that exists. I am constantly reminded of this when I work with flowers. This is my attempt when being creative regardless of material or medium.

Bouquets by Denise Fasanello

Now what will the next step will be? Sky’s the limit!

Floral design by Denise Fasanello

To view more of Denise's work, click on her website. And don't forget to check out her blog! 

Paint Palette Challenges and Triumphs

Image courtesy Veer

The mister and I have a full week ahead – we're painting our new house and moving in! If my posts get a little thin it's because we're busily edging, rolling and scrubbing drips off the floor (no doubt my fault). Oliver's parental units are going to help with the painting, so things should go very quickly and smoothly, as they are professionals.

It took a little more time for us to figure out a paint palette than we expected. I prefer to pull together a scheme with the parts and pieces – with upholstery, wall colors, bedding, furniture, accessories, etc. in one place, laid out so I can see it all and be certain it all makes sense together. Most of our belongings are in storage, so we don't have easy access to our things, which made drumming up a design scheme challenging. Because we've been a bit out of our element, we started choosing colors somewhat arbitrarily. We both had it in our heads that we wanted to use some kind of fuchsia somewhere in the house, but we we had trouble nailing down a palette based solely on our semi-random desire to incorporate a pink. We came up with a few decent options, but it just wasn't gelling.

I don't make solid choices arbitrarily; I like to have a reason for doing things, so I needed to take a step back and figure out what overall feeling I want to achieve with our paint palette was. I found the bouquet image, below, way back when we were planning our wedding and I was looking for color inspiration. For the wedding, we went for bold reds with classic black and white accents tempered by soft champagnes and pewter greys, so I didn't use the bouquet image, but I've hung onto it because I knew it would come in handy at some point.

Image via This Is Glamorous

The overall look is somewhat dark and moody, with the charcoaly-blue urn and deep purples, but the yellow, pink-ish and white highlights combined with that amazing leafy green softens it all up.

In scouring my inspiration file, I came across the image, below, that I think creates a successful interior based on the colors in the bouquet above in a bright, cheerful way.

Source unknown

The blue-grey walls and sofa pick up the light hitting the urn while the shiny black lampshade gives a nod to it's darkness. The rug references the varied purples and pinks of the flowers, the wood furniture and bamboo window coverings bring in the neutrals sprinkled throughout, while the yellow cushion on the stool, fluffy sheepskin throw blanket and the paper shade of the floor lamp pull in the bright yellows and whites found among the flowers. The green house plant obviously speaks to the leaves in the bouquet while the pattern on the toss pillow subtly pull in the patten and detail on the base of the urn.

Now that we have a sold jumping off point, we can get to work! We will certainly document the process, and since Oliver's parents are on board, I know we'll pick up some great painting tips that we'll happily share. Sadly, we don't have big bro Josh with us for this project, but maybe we can put him to work when he visits (kidding!).

Wedding Invitations on Style Me Pretty!

Last night I came home to find the most rewarding email sitting in my inbox. Our friend, Erin, had written to share a link with us about her wedding, which was featured on Style Me Pretty, one of the top wedding blogs, inspiring celebrations that are unique, sometimes a little off-beat and always (always) well designed. As you may remember, we shot New York engagement photos and had the honor of designing the invitations for this wedding. Style Me Pretty was certainly a source of inspiration for me when we were planning our nuptials, so I cannot even begin to tell you how overjoyed we are to see our work featured as part of Wilson and Erin's wedding day!

The invitations, as photographed by Jillian Kay


Erin designed and laid out the programs, but check out the logo at the top!


One of the engagement shots made it into the wedding!

This really was a phenomenally beautiful wedding, brimming with personal touches and cultural references (See more images here). It is worth noting that, Erin, who is a busy 9-5-er (more like 8:30-7-er, as is usually the case in New York), as well as a skilled floral designer, pulled together her OWN FLOWERS. If you've ever planned your own wedding, you know this is nothing short of an amazing feat. Erin had help from a florist in terms of executing (installing centerpieces and literally tying up the bouquets), but Erin chose all the flowers, materials and designed the compositions.

Thank you, Wilson and Erin, for including us among your roster of top-notch vendors.

Flowers and Cookies

Two of my favorite words. My mother claims the first word I uttered as a child was "cookie." I think she's yanking my chain, but what are you gonna do? I can't exactly prove her wrong.

With our big move rapidly approaching, we really need to hunker down and pack. This past weekend was mostly consumed with rounding up boxes and starting to fill them. Pretty boring. But, there were two highlights:

1. FLOWERS
I wasn't completely pleased with the photos I took of our hallway and I want to re-shoot it before we have to dismantle it. On Friday afternoon I picked up a bunch of flowers from a bodega in the West Village and brought them home to dress up the hall a bit for a mini photoshoot. It is fairly common knowledge that I am not an expert flower arranger (taking a floral arrangement class is at the top of my list of things to do) but I threw together a pretty inspired bouquet on Friday afternoon and couldn't help but share it with you all.



Now, I'm no Denise Fasanello, but I'm proud of this creation – my first with some depth and a variety of textures with a monochromatic palette.  The spiky little bursts of flowers are thistle and the sprigs of green are safari sunset. Sadly, I don't know what the white baby's breathe-like sprouts are. They have shots of purple and green among the white, which makes them a little special. Additionally, I added stalks of green leaves.

2. COOKIES
Due to the packing, we didn't do much to celebrate Halloween this year, but, to our surprise, we were the recipients of a spooky cookie delivery on Friday:

Hello, lovelies!

The ginger cookies above are the creations of an extremely talented (and thoughtful) friend who lives in LA with her husband, a former work buddy of Oliver's, and their pitifully unfortunate-looking child:

Photo courtesy Ben Lau
Shame, isn't it, that he's so homely? He's also devoid of personality, which is the saddest part.*

Here's a glimpse of the full batch:

Photo courtesy Ben Lau

DELICIOUS.
Thank you, Ben, Giao and Baron!

*Note: I am being completely sarcastic here. Baron is quite obviously an adorable, charming toddler with a vivid personality.