Thursday, December 12, 2013

Winter Weekend with Wonder Woman (aka, my Mom!)

The IMA is so much more than a traditional art museum!  We had a great time making succulent Christmas trees during a class in the greenhouse last weekend, and I was so happy with my finished piece.
It's no secret - there's not much I love more than planning a party.  My mom and I used to have a little custom floral and event decor business "on the side," which we called Faery Dust.  I think a lot of my creativity comes from my mom (one of the most talented women I know), so collaborating with her to design beautiful showers, receptions, retirement parties, and other celebrations was a true joy (we also once created a custom floral arrangement for Playboy magazine, but that's a different story...).  Alas, my burgeoning professional career in the law, coupled with the fact that we live in different cities, ultimately made it challenging for us to continue to produce larger scale events.  

But, we still like to put our creative heads together when the opportunity arises, and she's usually the first person I call if I get "stuck" on the execution of a creative design, whether for a party I'm hosting or some hair brained holiday decorating idea I've fallen in love with. Whenever my "vision" exceeds my skill set, I can usually count on her to help me implement it.  For example, I can barely sew a button, while she is a master seamstress; I am likely to cut my hand off using power tools, but she once asked for a miter saw for Christmas.  I must admit I have taken great advantage of both her sewing prowess (see the fab madras napkins and pillows she made for our lobster boil here) and her miter saw over the years (which I did buy for her, at least).  Truly, this woman has tools and knows how to use them!

She also rarely takes a time for herself, and we don't get the opportunity to spend as much time together as we'd like.  Neither one of us are big fans of talking on the phone, either, so sometimes we'll go for long periods of time without catching up.  Consequently, we try to make the most of the time we do spend together, and more often than not it involves doing something creative.  We are definitely not ones to sit on the couch and watch a chick flick together, my mother and I.

So, I was very excited when she accepted my invitation to come to Indianapolis last Saturday to take a succulent gardening class offered by the Indianapolis Museum of Art (which has acres of beautiful gardens).  The class was held in the greenhouse on the museum grounds, and we both enjoyed the opportunity to create succulent Christmas tree topiaries.  After the holidays, we'll transplant the succulents so that (hopefully) we can continue to use them to make other creative centerpieces.  I'm really good with the design end of things, but not so great with the actual gardening part, so I'm hoping these hardy little hens and chicks will be something even I can keep alive! 

Thank you, Mom, for a wonderful weekend.  We walked away with beautiful little trees, but more importantly, we made another beautiful memory.
Watch (Zodiac, eBay); Hat (Kroger, of all places!); Cords (Liz Claiborne, Macy's); Boots (Diba); Scarf (JC Penney); Jacket (Snozu, TJ Maxx)
Fashion is what you buy; Style is what you do with it! 

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