It was at the end of an epic week of events and stressful clients. Isadora myself and a small team made the set for this shoot and I thought that maybe I'd officially lost it. We were all exhausted but sometimes the best work you do happens when you are falling apart don't you think? Finally we were our own client.  I'd had this idea for a shoot that was kind of weddingy but less gendered, with more floral and more joy and more LOVE. Sunny at Folk Collective and Freya Esders really interpreted my vision and took it to the next level. They made all of the magic happen behind the scenes and put together the incredible team of crew and talent.

As always I'm pumped  and a little overwhelmed to share everything we have been up to in 2015 and ponder all of our projects for 2016. It's been such a long time coming! I'm hoping I'll have the brain space to talk about some floral industry stuff and maybe start some discussions about our awesome and thriving trade. And most importantly to show you some of the behind the scenes action at Cecilia Fox

First up -  I'm so so happy to finally to share this collaboration with Carine Thevenau. Thank you to our AMAZING designer Carla McKee who brought all of this together in such a creative, thoughtful and dynamic way. The thought of creating photographic images was conceived by Carla as an idea for our new branding and web site. We were hoping to get one or two awesome shots but as you can see the outcome of this one photo shoot was beyond our wildest dreams.

Well, I'm here still and if you follow me on instagram you will know all the amazing things we have been up to over the last year - or really since Dusty has been born. I really miss this blog but hanging out on the computer writing seems like such a luxury these days! I know I always seem surprised at how much having a child has changed our lives and changed our business and changed our priorities but I really AM surprised. I forget how much I love writing and how wonderful it is for me as a human. It's so great to edit my thoughts, revisit some of the monumental flower moments and generally give myself a pat on the back for how great things are. Thought i should spend some time waxing lyrical about being a working Mum, running a business, the good the bad and the not as pretty as the flowers kind. It's hard not getting lazy with writing with INSTAGRAM. Also did i mention I'm six months pregnant? So much to come as i catch up on images and life and settle in before the next little frog comes so hang on.

Ive been holding out on these images for a while now and feeling more than a little nervous posting about one of Australia's most influential bloggers and i'll be honest - one of my heros and constant inspirational women in my life.  Photos by the one and only Sean Fennessy. Lucy  (The Design Files) and Gordys wedding

Gorgeous images by Sayher Heffernan

 

Winter weddings don't get much better than this do they, I can't stop looking at these perfect flower girls ~ little sylphs

I LOVE winter, i'm so looking forward to things easing off just a little, early nights, cuddles with my babes and some time for introspection and retrospection. Time to rest my body and mind (who can remember when i was a yoga junkie??seems a life time ago) I tell my self that there is a season for everything. The ebb and flow of life. How amazing is it to have a life so immersed in the seasons.

This wedding season we had thank you after thank you letter and email. It's such a wonderful feeling to 'get it right' and to make someone's day. I had ONE complaint - one where i 'got it WRONG' and understandably this particular bride was very upset. This so rarely happens, in fact i don't think i have ever simply ~ got the brief wrong. It made my stomach turn. Where too from there ~ I apologised and I apologised and I didn't charge her at all. What would have you done? What more could i have done? I tried not to make excuses. That ONE leaves such a bad taste in your mouth, makes you second guess yourself, makes you doubt yourself, makes you wonder - wedding flowers are a huge emotional investment on the florists behalf ~ it's never OK to not get it right. So how does one cope with ALWAYS being the one getting it right. Just GET OVER IT right?

Today i thought i couldn't go on - it's been such a huge huge wedding season, our biggest and best and as we near the end i didn't think i would be able to make it through the next few days - exhaustion permeated every fibre of my body, creatively, emotionally and physically. Sleep deprivation is a slow moving brain frier. Then i received these and it made it all worth it. By Shantanu or the The Pixel Trade of us flowering for our beautiful friends Matt and Lentil from Grown and Gathered wedding. It was a florists dream. Picking dahlias as the autumn sun sets was such and absolute treat and a memory i'll treasure for many years to come. It was quite a wedding, we love these guys and i think you can tell in these photos.

I'm so slow on the up take these days  ( i think i can be forgiven, 2013 was a pretty big year no?) Seems like 2014 will be even bigger - our busiest craziest wedding season yet. Loving it.

Found these photos in the archives - one of my favourites and the perfect Australian venue Boyd Baker house

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We were  late for this set up because i was scouring the road side for just the right Queen Annes lace for the bridal bouquet. I made all of them at the top of the driveway before we drove down.

Attention to detail 101 - good linen goes a long way.

This was a beautiful wedding that we worked on with the Great!Sweet team. Seems like a million years ago now but it sure was fun.

Our stands that we had made for a wedding last year really came into their own for the tables here. Overflowing with gum branches and pin oak foliage - dripping with white lisianthus and phalaenopsis orchids. You want wow factor - we'll give you wow factor...Out an out a white wedding if I ever saw one! We were pretty excited when this one made it into a number of publications.

Dusty nearly crawled this weekend, we all got bitten by tiny bugs, we had the ultimate stair master bump in and out up and down A LOT of stairs with ridiculous quantities of foliage and flowers. Serene cooked us scrambled eggs for breakfast. The best team ever - A pretty good one I would  have to say.

Images by Erin and Tara

Well it's nearly Dusty's 1st birthday! so that means nearly a year i've been neglecting you. The shop has now been open for a year too and my my my what a year it has been. Thank you to each and everyone of you who helped get us through the biggest year of our life so far!

I'm  so excited to share this amazing winter wedding with you - this is what magic can happen when clients trust you completely! THANK YOU Leanne and Frank for letting us be a part of your very special day.

Incredible photography by Chris at Me Love You Long Time Photography

Seriously excited about being back and showing you some of the awesome things we have been up to, thanks for hanging in there - follow me on instagram to see the day to day happenings at cecilia fox too!

I think i'm one of those people that can't stop. Enough is never enough. I work harder and longer and more than ever and when things start to slow down I start to freak out. Was I really that busy? was i just procrastinating? it feels like a dream and I feel like a broken record....

How great are these shots of this Harpers Bazaar Bridal runway show. Serene and I LOVED making these bouquets.

Updated website is soooo close. It's the same but better and you will see it oh so soon.

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I use to work in this flower shop on the OTHER side of town much like any other flower shop people would come, I would greet them. Hello, how are you? hows your day been? blah blah....And it always made me laugh, the classic response was always......OHHH SOOOOO BUSY, JUST SOO BUSY. I always promised myself that i would never be one of those people...who is sooooo busy. When people ask how I am I want to say I'm so effing busy, i'm more busy than you or you or you. More than busy than I've ever been in my life. I stop myself and try to say, I'm amazing, I'm tired, I want the brides to give me a month off!

The long and short of it is. I have an eight month old baby and i'm running a business and I love it. And sometimes I don't have time to write stuff here. We have done so much cool flower shit this season and I can't wait to share some of it with you.

So, as we head deeper and deeper into wedding season it seems to get easier. Bebe on my hip, one handed arrangements or one handed typing or watching Serine make things that I want to do! Things seem lighter, I may have just got the right mix of helpers and staff. ( I hate that word, but you know what I mean)  I still feel like I am constantly chasing my tail when it comes to proposals, quotes and paperwork. While my amazing mama book keeper Kristy is away on maternity leave I have already turned her well organised systems into pure chaos. I've started seeing a business coach, which is pretty awesome. Always wanted to do something like that, and at this point it seems like a no brainer. It feels a bit like seeing a shrink, in the good way.

We have a huge few weekends of weddings coming up which I feel strangely calm and organised for but talk to me again after this weekend! Can't wait to share the pics with you all. ( oh do people still read this!!?? sorry i know i've been slack)

A couple of pics from our NZ holiday. Beach, beach, family, sunshine, beach.

It's Valentines day this week, Thursday to be exact. ( that would be tomorrow!) I'm not really one for gooey love stuff or dozens of red roses but i do love love. Cecilia fox are having a little soiree to celebrate love and life and all the good things. There will be Persian love cake, serenading and bubbly wine and of course some pretty amazing flowers to buy or just look at and smell and soak up the love! Come one come all to our little shop in Brunswick from about 5pm until about 7.30pm. Our awesome neighbours Lucky Buster will be open late too, they have the best gifts and the sweetest cards for sale. The perfect accompaniment to a gorgeous bunch of flowers from us. Loving our little local strip and all our awesome neighbours. 221B Blyth St East Brunswick. Valentines Day for Brunswick lovers.

Wow, 2012 was a huge year for us.... Baby, shop and double the weddings and events than the last year. I've barely had a chance to reflect on it all really but things are pretty amazing, we have had a beautiful month mostly off work visiting family and hanging with Dusty. Back to it this week and as usual most times i feel like i'm chasing my tail. Missing emails, not responding quickly enough to emails, and forgetting to put the out of office reply when we are on holidays. Who would have thought being a Mum and running a business would take up sooo much time. More time than there is in the day and the night and oh so much brain space! I have also aquirred an unhealthy obsession with Instagram.

If i haven't responded to your email I'M SORRY! Do try me again. Most people realize that i'm really good at doing flowers but paperwork and emailing are not my forte. I'm certainly no business woman but i do love what i do.

This wedding was at fourtyfive downstairs, we love it there. The olive entrance tunnel was the Pièce de résistance by all accounts.

Catching up on some photos I didn't get a chance to show you from autumn. I know I say this about most of the weddings i post here but this really may have been my favourite wedding ever. The theme was still life, and it was so exciting have the chance to create something so unique. These photos were taken while we were still setting up so you don't get the full effect. I wish i'd got to see it in all it's glory with candles lit and tables all set. Wedding photographers hardly ever have a chance to capture the table settings and flowers.

Back at Cecilia Fox HQ things have been pretty insane. One staff member down and me working with a tiny cute baby strapped to me and many breast feeding pit stops. It really doesn't let up. Being a Mum is pretty much the most awesome thing that has ever happened to me. You know people say it's good and it will change your life and all that but really, IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE in the best possible way ever. It's also made me realise just how much i love my job. I really do love it.

Also, we are going to Tasmania...really excited, i mean REALLY. I need some garden gardenie flowers to flower a beautiful wedding. I want to raid someones garden ( with permission of course!) Lovely readers of Hobart and the surrounds Cecilia Fox needs you! Email me if you have any tips and or an amazing hydrangea garden that could use a trim.

Check out the shadows in these photos. So incredible. Andy the lighting guy at fourtyfive downstairs is an absolute whiz.

We had these stands made so we could make amazing canopies without having to suspend things or use vases. I love them..however they do have a couple of design flaws. 1. they don't all fit in one van load 2. they are too heavy for one person to lift onto the table. 3. they don't quite fit on a normal size table, if you want to have glassware as well. ( thanks to the awesome staff at Alto for working with us on this one!) 4. they are very difficult to store...apart from that they are amazing and perfect. These photos were taken when i was nine months pregnant, my last big wedding before Dusty was born. It seems like so long ago!

Most of you i'm sure have followed this story of Jill Meagher a young woman who went for a drink with colleagues after work and never came home. She was abducted, raped and murdered just moments from her home and minutes from our home in Brunswick. This story wasn't just a story, it moved our community deeply. I had tried to distance myself from the media coverage, I'd just given birth and it was all too much to cope with. So tragic and so close to home. Last week i got an email with the letter below that had been sent to the ABC. I cried, a lot. With the title 'a touching story' the writer described her visit to our shop as a platform 9 3/4 experience. It seemed so surreal that she wasn't sure if it existed.

Dear Jon, It is very nice to hear you back on air this morning. Like countless listeners, I can only imagine what you have all been going through at the ABC over the past two weeks. We have all followed and felt involved in that dreadful journey. The fact that you all held the fort under such difficult circumstances is a tribute to the professionalism of you all. I want to pass on my personal sympathy to you all. I also wanted to share with you a moving experience I had on the weekend.
I have not been able to put the terrible story out of my mind, nor have my 2 daughters, both living on the other side of the world, but both around Jill's age, and former residents of Brunswick. So I decided I just had to take flowers to the church in Sydney Road. I headed off on Saturday from Croydon and tried to buy flowers on the way. I spent ages driving up and down St. Georges Road, then High Street - not a florist to be found. So I just kept heading west. Then, only a kilometre or so from Sydney Road, I stopped at a red light and looked vacantly to the right, at a ramshackle small group of largely empty shops. And there in a tiny frontage I saw flowers. It wasn't like a normal florists at all - no obvious signage, and just buckets of sprays that appeared to have been cut from shrubs. But a bunch of vivid hot pink Ranunculi leapt out at me - that's the only way I can describe it. They were what I had to have.
I then headed on to Sydney Road. As I approached the church, I knew by the ocean of flowers that I was at the right place. Just ahead of me, I saw a lone man wander in from the footpath, but apart from him there was no-one else in there, though people were clearly pausing to ponder as they walked by on the footpath. Lost in my own thoughts as I looked around, I suddenly heard a voice out of the silence: "She would have loved them... she loved that colour". I looked around and realised that the man in the slightly shabby coat had spoken. Hesitating, I asked "Did you know her?" To which the answer came in a calm quiet voice, with only an edge of weariness "Yes, I am her father".   I'm afraid I just burst into tears and hugged him. But the amazing thing was that HE was comforting me. He was so calm, so amazed at the magnitude of the public outpouring. I had read that he was almost disabled by grief at the funeral the day before, and I found it truly wonderful that he had somehow, through the harrowing process, arrived at this calm state.   I just thought you'd like to hear this little story. Jill and her lovely family will remain in my thoughts and prayers.

We made this amazingly cute human. Who would have thought life could be so sweet......

Welcome to the cecilia fox team tiny Dusty Landsborough Mildren.  17 days old today. Favorite flower, sweet pea.

Now I've never been a Mum before, so i'm really winging it like any first time Mummy. I could stare at this little guy all day, and I pretty much have been for the last two weeks. Mostly feeding, cuddling and changing. Dad is of course a complete natural and already planning beach trips and bike rides. Flowers have taken a back seat for me, but the girls are going strong, and lets face it our workshop is in my back yard there is only so much of a back seat i can take! We had our first Spring racing day at Caulfield last week,  Spring flowers melt my heart, Lilac, Viburnum, Dogwood soooooo good. And our first wedding of the season this week. Shit is about to get real around here. I have so many of last seasons weddings to show you too, oh and the shop is trucking along. I love it in there, so cute. Thanks to every one for your support especially our local cafes and residents. Such an overwhelmingly positive response, it's been wonderful.

So....the shop is open! i hope you get a chance to pop in and hang out and smell the flowers. We are so pleased with how it's all turned out, everyone has worked so hard to make this happen BEFORE the BABY!!!

I am absolutely on baby time now. I don't know how long i'll be there. Soooooo sorry if you are waiting for a quote from me or a response to an email...i really thought i could do it all but i just can't. The girls are doing their very very best although i have thrown them in at the deep end. Please be gentle with them. I was realizing just how much information i hold in my brain and just how impossible it is to transfer that to anyone else. Or even explain something that is just so innate in me. 20 years will do that to you. I hope you all understand. We are really really excited about everything shop, baby, wedding season, amazing flowers. A wonderful old friend said to me recently that babies bring abundance, abundance of creative energy, change, courage and strength. Look out.

At the moment we will be open....

Thursday 9-6 Friday 8-7 Saturday 9-5 Sunday 10-2 any other time by appointment or by chance. It will change in summer too so check in with us.

The number there is 0499 880 018

Wow, it's going to be to the wire...shop is still littered with sawdust and power tools but come Saturday morning it's going to look AMAZING. I'm so excited and i'm so grateful and lucky to be surrounded by so many incredible peeps. Your support and help and LOVE on this project has been above and beyond.

Come and visit us 221B Blyth St East Brunswick at the end of the tram line on Nicholson St. Eat some popcorn a little watermelon and make a day of it...visit CERES and have breakfast or a coffee at one of the THREE awesome cafes within spitting distance of us. Oh and buy some flowers! I got so excited about buying whatever flowers I wanted at the flower market instead of being bound buy colours or flowers of an event or wedding. The shop will be spilling over with spring blooms so come and get em wonderful people. Can't wait to see you all xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

So the past few weeks have been filled with amazing things. Along with growing a human, meeting a million brides, trying to get their quotes to them....'pintresting' to hell and back... We are opening a teeny tiny cecilia fox shop! i'm really really really excited. There has been many emotional ups and downs in dealing with realestate agents, lawyers, council and all of the unromantic stuff but right from the beginning i felt like it was the 'right thing to do'. I said to Jamie one night..am i insane? do you actually think that maybe i've got a problem? do you really think this will work? the answer...this shop is a no brainer it's perfect... I know i've let you down this winter with  broken promises of flowering classes, open studios and fun winter stuff and i could go on about just how busy i've been but i readthis instead. Growing a human gets you thinking...how am i going to do this? will i ACTUALLY be able to do this? People say that you just do it and you make it work. Other people say they don't get out of there pajamas till noon. I read other blogs where women bake a lot and knit lovely things for their babies. Am i going to be a bad mummy because I'm imagining snuggling the baby in a sling and going to the flower market? Walking down to the shop and seeing how the girls are going, whipping up a few bridal bouquets while the baby gets passed around?  I know that i'm probably being unrealistic but maybe just maybe it will work? As the weeks go by i am increasingly excited and increasingly terrified, definitely more excited than terrified though...maybe we should throw it all in and start an organic gardening blog.. move to the country?

Anyway, back to the shop...we pick up keys on Monday and Donald our carpenter is all set to fit that baby out! Although we will be doing most of it ourselves and when i say we i mean Jamie and the girls. My belly has swelled to well over expected proportions to sand floors and climb ladders. Fingers crossed that we get planning approval from the council and we will be open early September...cross your toes this time that we get it all done before the baby arrives. Nothing like a deadline to get things moving.

I'm off to pot up succulents for the shop and sweet talk a few brides. Updates soon x

These winter blooms bedecked and bedazzled a very special wedding a few months ago. Another wonderful collaboration with Gloss Creative, it is always a pleasure to work with these talented ladies. They really know how to turn on the sparkle. 

Ok so it's taking me a while to get back into the swing of things. After these holidays who can blame me. Melbourne is cold the shed is less than inviting and i am getting fatter by the second. Today is freezing but sunny, the perfect Melbourne winter day. We are busy planting succulents that a friend gave me down the side of the house and in every other available spot for summer picking. Isadora is organising and re organising the shed in preparation for spring weddings spring babies and spring racing. Can't wait.

We had a ball setting up a mothers day lunch for THE LADIES at crown metropol last week. It was BRIGHT. If fact too bright to photograph..and with the very very early morning start we forgot the camera.

There is absolutely nothing better that when the event designer arrives and jumps around and claps with glee....' Its perfect! It's just like the good old days.... in the 80's' Quote of the month me thinks.

Anyway. I'm packing my bags and heading north. It's kind of sabbatical, kind of resting, kind of creative retreat, kind of yoga retreat, Kind of slowing down and getting some perspective and inspiration for cecilia fox. It is most definitely hanging out with my friend Ruth and doing her wedding flowers and getting to go to a Jewish wedding!!! I'm so excited I finally get to do the dance. This trip will also include..long walks, swimming, tropical fruits, talking to my belly. It's a lot I know. My last proper holiday was to Greece it was amazing but it scarred me, it made me different. It is also on the other side of the planet. Thats really far. I have done A LOT of flowering between then and now and it will be nice to reflect. I am also a little scared to stop. You know how it is.

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These photos by Kasi Metcalfe were for a super gorgeous couple at the most perfect venue Cibi. Cibi is a cafe tucked away in Collingwood  run by husband and wife team Zenta and Meg. With an aesthetic and philosophy after my own heart, head and hands. It's always a pleasure to work with them....and drink their coffee and eat their delicious Japanese inspired food. Yum

How about these zingy summer colors to brighten up your autumn day! Check outKasi's new blog too.

These were some flowers we made for an afternoon tea, way back in October last year. Lindsey took these gorgeous shots of some of our favorite spring blooms along with bits and pieces we scoured Brunswick laneways for.

Today I fear my brain has entirely left my head. I'm trying to work but the fog has set in. Maybe the day was meant for tacos in the sun and snoozing on the couch. When things start to slow down here I always wonder how it was that we were so busy. How did I do it? Was it really that busy or did I imagine it? I feel guilty that i have time to myself, I worry about not having enough work to see us through the winter, I procrastinate looking at new vans that have more seats, I spend time in the garden, I dream up new projects like pop up shops and winter flowering classes (this is going to happen by the way) I have time to cook. Pretty good eh?

Our days are getting quieter as we slow down for the winter. We are all looking forward to taking things a bit easier over the chilly months and preparing ourselves for next spring. We will be having some exciting winter warmers, open studios, flowering classes and look out for our spring cecilia fox pop up shop...whoop!

Not often on a Sunday do we get to spend an long afternoon of eating drinking and walking it off with friends. This Sunday with no weddings we hung out with our good friends at their amazing home in the Dandenong ranges. Steph's Hydrangeas are amazing and huge. Bigger than me as you can see. She picked some for us to take home.

Look, the flowers were really pretty for this wedding at fortyfive downstairs but the wow was really our streamer installation. We were pretty proud of ourselves.

Thanks to the one and only Ed Dixon from EDFD for the great photos.

Photos by Sarah Wood for Georgeous

I really LOVE Autumn...i may have mentioned it before. It was Easter this weekend and I was envious of those who had 4 days off.....we had weddings. Two days off in a row for us seemed like pure luxury. Sunday AND Monday, no phone calls and no emails It was heaven. We had a gorgeous day in the garden yesterday, it had really got out of control. An amazing Autumn day pulling weeds, harvesting potatoes and discovering beetroot beneath the weeds that i had forgotten i had planted. I'm so excited to plant up some winter crops and put inn a autumn winter green manure crop....I'm going to wait until after the new moon to do the planting though...we need all the help we can get. I'm going to plant all the native grasses i used for the Flower Show in my front garden..it's just succulents and grasses and the odd bit of geranium....Any day now our magnolia tree will shed it's leaves and reveal those silky buds...it's about august that they burst into mauve bloom. I expect i will be quite fat by then and spending much time in the front room staring out at it.

Anyway i'm way behind on the photo stuff. This beautiful wedding was in Philip island for Georgeous

yes we did thread all those leaves it took many days and many hands...a labour of love and worth it...there is some more photoshere This leafy installation looked great at night.

Some days I'm truly amazed that not only do my hair brained ideas actually work but they look good too. This may sound silly but i guess it's the constant self doubt of the creative mind, pretending to be unafraid of breaking out of the box?

Anyway, Autumn is approaching, my favorite season and I have so many lovely events coming up I can't wait!

This is the making of our giant chandeliers at the substation for Georgeous. It worked. fancy photos of the finished product to come.

Some pics for you, what a very nice spot for a wedding, yes. It was just glorious setting up this day albeit a little warm beneath the clear roof marquee.

Last week was probably the busiest craziest week that we have had at cecilia fox. We made some pretty amazing flowers. ( photos to come but there are some up on my facebook if you want to have a wee look  ) I'm so proud that we did it, we made it. I managed to hold my self together under vast amounts of stress. Somehow i seemed to take it in my stride!?$% This time last year i would have totally had a break down. So, i think I'm getting better at this game....at least now i don't doubt myself so much. Every time i learn so much, being pushed to your limit mentally physically and emotionally opens you up in ways you can never quite imagine.

I can't possibly thank my girls enough for all their hard work. All the lovely work experience girls we had too, we just couldn't have done it without you. Blood sweat and tears and a hell of a lot of love.

This year I'm suspecting will bring many changes and challenges. I'm incredibly excited and I think I'm actually ready for them.

These cute photos by Kelvin Cheong of a sweet little engagement party we did just before Christmas. So cute in fact that the bridal party 'to be' played the ukulele and sang a Christmas carol to entertain guests! Thanks for the email Kelvin, most appreciated.

A question ladies and gents....what do you think about bridal appointments after hours. Most weekends we are pretty manic doing flowers, weekdays are very flexible and even after work i'm fine with..5, 6pm. Do you think this is reasonable? What are your thoughts about charging for consultations? As we move into March i'm starting to get a little anxious about all the work we have this month and next. Exciting, a little nerve racking but i know once it all kicks off this weekend it will be all fun and flowers.

It's true I'm human.

I had a slightly snarky email from a bride that i had not got back to this morning. She was 'astonished' that I was too busy or could not be bothered to make the effort to respond. Now i'll admit that its annoying not to get a response from someone when you email them but hell...everyones busy and you never know what's going on for someone else. Hows a cheerful have you remembered my email? or why not make an appointment to meet me in person? Making a personal connection is very important to me. I will go to the end of the earth for a client i love.

Anyway i'll admit it...i didn't respond and thats my failure. Humans...would  you want one to do your wedding flowers?

Love these shots of the lovely wooden ceiling at Stones of the Yarra Valley. Oh and the flowers were pretty nice too. Thanks Lindsey...

I have been soooooo slack..another thing to add to my to do list.

This was the last wedding we did before the holidays. The first Buddhist wedding we have done! Very exciting. The mother of the bride even got fresh beetle leaves from Sri Lanka for the ceremony. Quite a feat to get those babies through Australian customs.

The Poruwa is the traditional wooden platform that the Sri Lankan Buddhist ceremony takes place on. We decorated this one with masses of white hydrangea. Like a cloud.

The party was at Alto, way up the top of the GPO in Melbourne. It's a super chic urban venue. We hung these massive halos from the ceiling, i even got my scissor lift licence  so I could hang them from the highest ceilings in the city. I'll admit i chickened out of hanging them by myself but i did get them down at 1am. Quite comical i'm sure.

I love the green asparagus fern we used so pretty and fluffy.....it is in fact mighty prickly, we all had scratches and pricks all up our arms but it was worth it!

I always get excited at the beginning of  the year, so many possibilities and potential for new starts.

This year i really want to....

start a flower school ( seriously)

learn how to use my new camera ( take note, I actually took some of these photos myself!)

dance more ( like this...nlnl)

not be so serious... ( leaf from this book... the flower drum)

shizz like that.

this was a wee wedding in the park we did during the holidays

After a big weekend of weddings cecilia fox took a day off and made our way out kinda Woodend direction. After a quick pitt stop at Lindseys farm for a cuppa and some Petit Écolier biscuits we headed to the Peony farm. I'm not going to lie to you i thought it would be good but i had no idea that it would be this magical.

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Myself and some of my amazing friends/creatives/makers are having a wee Christmas market. It's like a Christmas party for everyone we know and you are invited! We are busy making Christmas wreaths and potting up succulents in between making BEAUTIFUL flowers for many a wedding...loving it crazy...on the day we will have fresh blooms too, we are so excited.

I've been a bit slack posting flowery images...we made this wedding in the winter with the Georgeous girls at a fancy gentlemen's club in the city. How amazing are winter flowers! It's so easy to forget when all the spring things start to arrive. I'm one of those florists that proclaims once a week that this..this garden rose, this dahlia, this ranunculus, this lilly of the valley, this violet IS my FAVORITE. Well for today anyway I'm still standing by the lilly of the valley and next week it can be garden roses.

This Sunday my very very wonderful friend Jackie is getting married...i am soooo excited to make her bouquet. I'm trying not to think about it too much and just let the flowers do the talking....but really i'll be dreaming about it for the rest of the week!

[caption id="attachment_672" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="winter wild"]

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[caption id="attachment_673" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="the silver"]

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[caption id="attachment_674" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="the good stuff"]

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[caption id="attachment_675" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="blossom to the ceiling"]

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[caption id="attachment_676" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="hyacinth and sliver"]

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the lovely lindsey myra took these photos of course.

thank you Jen this really touched me
In the words of Tao:

"To be whole, let yourself break.
To be straight, let yourself bend.
To be full, let yourself be empty.
To be new, let yourself wear out.
To have everything, give everything up.

Knowing others is a kind of knowledge;
knowing yourself is wisdom.
Conquering others requires strength;
conquering yourself is true power.
To realize that you have enough is true wealth.
Pushing ahead may succeed,
but staying put brings endurance.
Die without perishing, and find the eternal.

To know that you do not know is strength.
Not knowing that you do not know is a sickness.
The cure begins with the recognition of the
sickness.

Knowing what is permanent: enlightenment.
Not knowing what is permanent: disaster.
Knowing what is permanent opens the mind.
Open mind, open heart.
Open heart, magnanimity."

There are days like this that i get all emo and realize how incredibly lucky i am to be surrounded by so many creative people. At some point this week occured to me just what a rich experience employing staff is. What i have come to realize over the last year of actually having enough work and money to have people work with me, is that this whole process is just so inspiring and so full. Everyone who has been a part of cecilia fox over the last 12months has been truly amazing, inspiring and opened me up in ways i never even imagined. Today being the boss was hard and i wanted to cry. Learning about how best to communicate my ideas and how i want things done without being a creative nazi is really hard.  Why can't people just read my mind? It would be much easier. Learning learning every day.

These little dudes hang out with us in the studio some times. Talking  to us over the fence about black holes, how some clouds look like things out of star wars and some look like hippopotamus's.

[caption id="attachment_600" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Julius"]

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most entertaining

[caption id="attachment_666" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="hugo"]

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lindsey took these cute shots....

All of a sudden it feels like spring/ summer weddings are upon us. I'm planning weddings in December 2012! It makes me feel like a real grown up florist. Summer this year will be MENTAL and I'm really excited, last year I was shaking in  my boots...more signs of being a grown up? Just purchased an obscene amount of HUSK vases and votive's in lattes, baby blue and white ceramic...cant wait to use them for summer brides.

I'm reading A book on Aung San Suu Kyi at the moment. What an inspiration, this lady is keepin it real. No melodrama just love and truth... get it.

This is one of my favorite venues in Melbourne, a beautiful job we did with the Georgeous girls a couple of weeks ago. Oh ranunculus such a short but sweet season this year.Lindsey took these while we were setting up

[caption id="attachment_656" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="see it yellow"]

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[caption id="attachment_659" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="roots"]

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[caption id="attachment_658" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="bygone"]

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[caption id="attachment_657" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="blown "]

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[caption id="attachment_660" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="bellsbells"]

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A little while ago i had an email from one of those fancy pant 2 million followers design blogs across the seas in the USA. I was knocked off my seat.What an amazing opportunity! They wanted to ME to submit some photos of my home. Now deep down i know that my little home is no designer home and really deep down i knew that no matter how much I cleaned and prettied the place up it just wouldn't do. Some how i really wanted to prove myself wrong....but i was right. I received my rejection email...lovely but not quite right for us. I'm not going to lie to you i did cry for about 30 seconds and then i managed to laugh and laugh and laugh. I am over it now but at the time the embarrassment was too much, did i need approval from an American design blog to make me feel good about myself? about my home? about my life? well it would have been nice!

sarah took this xx

[caption id="attachment_651" align="aligncenter" width="427" caption="get in the garden"]

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via yellowtrace my new favorite blog

Just got an email from my amazing rose grower Clare. This seasons garden roses and David Austin's are only another month off. YUM.  Nothing better than a van full of perfumed roses to make your job the best in the world.

Oh and would you believe Lilly of the Valley has just started and I don't have one bride that i can talk in to having a Lilly of the Valley bouquet like last year. I'll just have to buy them for myself and sniff them so much they don't smell anymore. C'est la vie.

[caption id="attachment_643" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="da dreamy"]

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[caption id="attachment_645" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="julia and pink"]

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[caption id="attachment_644" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="antique dream"]

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Here's some shots that Lindsey took

[caption id="attachment_639" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="from the outside"]

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[caption id="attachment_638" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="glowing camellia "]

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[caption id="attachment_636" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="m and j"]

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[caption id="attachment_637" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="night swimming"]

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[caption id="attachment_626" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="peachy goodness"]

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[caption id="attachment_640" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="pretty party"]

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“The violets thinks, with her timid blue eye, To pass for a blossom enchantingly shy.”  Frances S. Osgood

Preparing for our very exciting cecilia fox shed warming. I got a tear or two or three;;;

[caption id="attachment_621" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="cecilia fox, come this way..."]

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[caption id="attachment_622" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="feast"]

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[caption id="attachment_623" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption=" i could bottle a magnolia bloom"]

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[caption id="attachment_628" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="je vous remercie de tout cœur."]

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[caption id="attachment_624" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="violet champagne mademoiselle? "]

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[caption id="attachment_629" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="IS bunting"]

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[caption id="attachment_630" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="elisabeth taylor"]

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[caption id="attachment_633" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="magnolia"]

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photos by the one and only Isadora Vaughan

These are a couple of photos from a wedding we did last March? Such an easy lovely bride. I feel so bad cause it was such a frantic day and i did not deliver them my self as i was setting up another wedding....and i forgot one of the Mums corsages!! It still makes me feel a bit sick. I don't think i have ever forgotten anything. I rang straight away and emailed and got no response...  Anyway it was all too little too late and they were leaving for the country side.  I found these photos somewhere on a blog but i just can not find it again for the life of me. So if these are you photos, they are beautiful! and so sorry i haven't credited you. Anwyn, you looked amazing and apologies again..

[caption id="attachment_618" align="aligncenter" width="380" caption="euroa wedding 2"]

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[caption id="attachment_617" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="euroa wedding"]

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[caption id="attachment_614" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="got the blues"]

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willow vintage esk...thats australian for chilly bin [caption id="attachment_613" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="persimmon and tweedia "]

[/caption] [caption id="attachment_612" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="case of flowers"]

[/caption] these lovely shots of flowers for the portobello bridal fair way back in march??photos by lindsey myra

Hello all,

It has been such an amazing holiday. We hired a camper van and wandered around far north Queensland...tropical paradise indeed (photos soon) Soooo important to refresh and regenerate mentally physically and creatively.

So, sorry if you have been waiting for me to return emails or phone calls apologies but i had sandy white beaches to walk on and rainforest's to explore.

Well while I'm at it i may as well apologise for generally being shit at returning emails in a timely manor. I'm not ignoring you i simply have no systems and most of the time out in the shed knee deep in floral matters.

This was a project cecilia fox worked on with Nicolas Gardner for theState of Design Festival

Photos by Christo Crocker

[caption id="attachment_605" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="roots"]

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[caption id="attachment_606" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="olive tree inside home"]

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[caption id="attachment_607" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="shrouded succulent"]

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[caption id="attachment_608" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="plant in a hole"]

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if you haven't figured it out i'm obsessed with indoor plants...i'm aiming to turn my bedroom into a mini rainforest...i have one corner done. There was a time when i thought indoor plants were too 70's, now i'm all over them especially after my trip to the tropics...

I just finished reading Sue Shephards The Surprising Life of Constance Spry. A floral genius of her time and a huge inspiration in my time. Just when you thought you were really cutting edge and 'contempory' Connie Spry probably beat you to it sixty or eighty years ago.

“Do whatever you please, follow your own star; be original if you want to be and don’t if you don’t want to be. Just be natural and gay and light-hearted and pretty and simple and overflowing and general and baroque and bare and austere and stylised and wild and daring and conservative, and learn and learn and learn. Open your mind to every form of beauty.” Constance Spry

—

[caption id="attachment_593" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="constance spry"]

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[caption id="attachment_594" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="flower girls, connie spry"]

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[caption id="attachment_595" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="spry "]

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[caption id="attachment_545" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="circa magic"]

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[caption id="attachment_546" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="ladies"]

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[caption id="attachment_544" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="favorite swan"]

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Photos really don't do this beautiful wedding justice. The top two are taken by the lovely Jonathon Ong and the bottom two are by Lindsey Myra I'm in one of those moods today where I'm trying to do a million things at once. Paperwork (eeew) pay people, return emails, cook dinner for my friend Tara (im going for a lentil Sheppard's pie and a pear and pecan tarte tartin) I've had a coffee with a lovely bride and a quick stop at Gorman Surprise store and the nut shop. Fantasizing about getting all my tax stuff together for  my accountant in the next few weeks and not the next couple of months. I have that weird feeling in my belly like the one you get when you have forgotten something or you have to complain to the guy at your favorite cafe when your coffee is not right.  I feel like something big is about to happen. Those of you who don't know me in real life may not know that my amazing BF is away at the moment circumnavigating the the globe playing pop music to the masses. Only three weeks left till he gets back and at last i will have my house husband back to do my washing and wash up my dishes. Living alone is amazing at first and then it starts to get weird and hard. Not having the distractions of a massive workload and a BF doting on you is pretty confronting. Doing your own washing is tough. Eating and cooking alone is for suckers. I can't help but thinking in some kind of sick way that it's making me a better person...or just a social retard. Buck up. [caption id="attachment_589" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="more gyp"]

[/caption] [caption id="attachment_588" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="gyp"]

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Sometimes death catches you by surprise, even when we know that as with birth and life it will happen to us all.

Suzanne was the wonderful Mum of our dear friend James. Suzanne taught me so much without even trying.... you know i want to say something profound something meaningful something that could explain just how Suzanne moved through her life with such grace such love and such delight. I wish i had the words. A true elder, imparting her wisdom without us even realizing. Thank you Suzanne.

A celebration of her life will be held Thursday, June 30
at 4.00 pm at the
Rosina Room at the Abbotsford Convent,
1 St Heliers St, Abbotsford. Suzanne wanted all her family, friends and colleagues there.

[caption id="attachment_581" align="aligncenter" width="290" caption="suzanne fizdale"]

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Pretty day in Brighton (Melbourne)

This was a photo shoot that i worked on for HUSK.  Sooo lovely.

Poor model, she was freezing. Shivering and shuddering from the cold. Bastards telling her to breath and think warm thoughts! doesn't she look serene? it's because she can't feel her body anymore. ahhh that's why they get the big bucks huh.

we didn't quite have enough sticky things so i whipped round the corner to my friend Paul's nursery. LOVE this man, no Mel is not in his vocabulary. But hold on I'll just get my chainsaw is. YEESSSS he actually just sawed off a couple of branches off at tree in the street. Perfect. Picked some berries and viney stuff on my way back and voila..

sun-streaming-studio.com/ceciliafox.blog/2011/06/the-shed/image-4
Lately we have so may jobs that are nearly all foliage's..LOVING it. The colors the textures, it's so inspiring.
I'm having a bit of a crisis about imported flowers. Lately some of my favorite suppliers have been importing flowers from Holland to keep up with demand.....HOLLAND... that's 16534km away. Although I've been telling myself that at least they are not from a developing country where the working conditions are f#$*ed. At least that's what they do in Holland..they grow flowers..really well. It just makes me so depressed when it feels like the only option.
My good friend and rose grower Paul Hyland can't afford to heat his glasshouses in winter. His heating bill is more than he makes on his roses. It's cheaper to import roses from Kenya or Brazil. Beware those pretty big headed roses that will never open. Someone probably had to work a 18 hour day, be exposed to chemicals that have long been out of use in Australia, had their only water source polluted by chemical run off from flower farms, oh and did i forget, probably have to have sex with their manager to insure they get more shifts, so they can earn not quite enough money to feed their family...OH GOD, I have to stop watching depressing documentaries. But seriously you need to know....
enough preaching! how amazing are these slipper orchids ( yes imported from Taiwan)

sun-streaming-studio.com/ceciliafox.blog/2011/06/the-shed/image3-2

[caption id="attachment_540" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="mega dahlia"]

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[caption id="attachment_539" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="is pompom"]

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[caption id="attachment_538" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="dahlia darlings"]

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Feeling a million bucks wearing my Kuwaii shoes. Designed by my AMAZING friend Kristy. Mushroom pink ankle boots! Could a girl ask for anything more?

I am actually sporting a full Kuwaii outfit.....this is my wear everyday and look hot dress...work in it, sweat in it and I still feel like i'm off to a cocktail party on my way home. Of course mine is charcoal not this lovely nude colour, apparently Kristy is making me a black one too, so i can wear the VAVA dress at least five days a week.

[caption id="attachment_537" align="aligncenter" width="370" caption="vava dress kuwaii"]

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[caption id="attachment_517" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="persimon at the fitzroy town hall"]

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[caption id="attachment_516" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="the walls fitzroy town "]

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[caption id="attachment_514" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="sticks to the ceiling fth"]

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Amazing what one can achieve between 4am and 9am! I pottered at this whilst the girls headed to Red Hill to set up a wedding The working title for this Mothers Day ladies luncheon was mother of pearl. I called it Danielle after my sister, mummy to Pearl my niece. Oh so pretty.

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." Martin Luther King

Whew. Well we arrived home from Sydney on Sunday exhausted but very happy. We conquered the Sydney traffic the Sydney flower market and successfully executed two GORGEOUS weddings..quite chuffed(photos soon). Thank you to the Georgeous girls and Chris for making it all happen. To Bec, my right hand lady/ driver/ florist extraordinaire and roomy, couldn't have done it without you. Alexandra, for hooking me up with some lovely sydney flower growers and sellers. Jessie for bringing the ZING.

Here's some shots of a wee party cecilia fox flowered up a couple of weeks ago. Much love to the Gloss Creative team. Bring it.

[caption id="attachment_501" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="the colour of purple"]

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[caption id="attachment_503" align="aligncenter" width="279" caption="purple rain"]

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[caption id="attachment_502" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="purple on purple on purple"]

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So so excited, this week cecilia fox heads to the big smoke Sydney. Flowering up two weddings with Georgeous. I am trying to pack everything we might possibly need. Arrrg it's really hard!

Also because today is a holiday the market wasn't on so i had to drive to pick up flowers from all of my suppliers. It was a lovely autumn day for a drive not counting the part where i drove into the back of a girl in her car and smashed the whole front corner off the cecilia fox van. Oh shit..just what i needed. At least we were both ok, albeit a little shook up.

To cheer myself up i bought myself pink and white sweetpeas, the very first of the season and organic earl grey tea. Life is OK

[caption id="attachment_496" align="aligncenter" width="403" caption="love that smile"]

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I am very excited to go to the Sydney flower market. I hear it is much bigger and better than the Melbourne one.

And i have hired a nice fancy van which i will try not to smash up.

[caption id="attachment_497" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="mum holds the bouquet"]

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photos by XISS Photography

For those of you who don't know me well for the last three years i have been completely obsessed with my ashtanga yoga practice. I totally loved it and i still do, but where does one find an extra two or three hours a day to make it happen.

[caption id="attachment_494" align="aligncenter" width="422" caption="flower yoga"]

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These days a daily two hour practice seems like a distant memory. It kind of makes me sad and it kind of makes me feel like a looser that i haven't been able to keep ALL the balls in the air..i mean why cant i get up at 4am go to the flower market, drive, buy, load the suckers into the van, head to yoga for a 2hour mysore class, shower, drive, unload, make flowers, deliver flowers, reply to many emails whilst driving, do flowers, order more flowers... get home, cook, eat talk to my bf and fall asleep watching HBO at 10.30pm cause i have to get up a 6 tomorrow to get to yoga...i mean WHY.

I did do this for 2 years but little old cecilia fox has really kicked me in the ass this past year and yoga has to pipe down and play second or maybe third or fourth fiddle...

OK i'm trying to be all yogic and remind myself that it doesn't matter but  IT DOES MATTER to me. I miss you sweaty tight body, i miss you damp yoga clothes..ok thats getting weird. Yoga don't leave me when i need you most, i am coming back for you just wait till this wedding season is over.. PLEASE

[caption id="attachment_493" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="this is janni, how hot is she...so hot"]

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Janni is one of my yoga pals she is just super woman and teaching ashtanga all about the place. www.ihanayoga.com.au

This was my first job working with Undertow Media! A breakfast event to launch a new organic yoghurt five;am. I would say yum but i actually didn't taste it, I'm assuming it is very yum. It all took place at The Kitchen Cat Tobie Puttock's restaurant...The only celebrity chef i am ever likely to meet and i shook his hand not remembering i had vanilla been goo all over my hand...sorry Tobie..mortified.

I had so much fun finding all the bits, vanilla beans, honey comb, cinnamon, strawberries, and strawberry plants, mango...all styled on logs and old planks of wood.. I was quite chuffed with the finished product.

[caption id="attachment_481" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="honey honey"]

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[caption id="attachment_485" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="birch logs"]

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[caption id="attachment_482" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="honey and logs"]

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[caption id="attachment_484" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="yum"]

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[caption id="attachment_486" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="good enough to eat"]

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The lovely ladies at Undertow took these photos..thanks girls!

guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/video/2011/feb/23/flower-train-jyll-bradley

I'm not one to rant about imported blooms from distant lands... next time you buy a bunch of flowers or your weekly vege thank a farmer.

[caption id="attachment_476" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="gardenia hair piece"]

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[caption id="attachment_477" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="the bride and groom"]

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I am so in love with these photos by Sarah. Don't they just look so in love!

I'm sure you have all read my post 'florists worst nightmare' and it was the most sick i've ever felt over flowers......but what a turn around, florists worst nightmare turns into florists most special moment. I'm a real ballet mum over this hair piece that i made, proud as punch.

This lovely lady was probably my most relaxed bride this year and how stunning does she look! You know when you see someone just in their 'on the job' outfits...and then when they are all dolled up they look like another human...I barely recognised Briony she looked amazing.

I LOVE the Boyd Baker House it's SO Australian and very 1960's, a classic Robin Boyd Architectural masterpiece. I often fantasise about renting it for a week and staying there with friends, or just living there forever.

When i first moved to Australia i found the landsape and 'bush' as australians like to call it harsh,lifeless and barren. I was use to the lush green forests of NZ and the UK.  These days I love the Victorian bush landscape, if fact I feel a little sentimental about it. The colours the subtleties the smells..it really does grow on you.

Elsie from Elise Gow Photography has really captured all those beautiful Australian subtleties as well as the gorgeous wedding...as you can see it was the perfect day.

[caption id="attachment_466" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Boyd Baker House"]

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[caption id="attachment_467" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="sister whisper"]

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[caption id="attachment_469" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption=" perfect match"]

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[caption id="attachment_471" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="such a good wee flower girl"]

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[caption id="attachment_470" align="aligncenter" width="398" caption="garden rose whimsy"]

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[caption id="attachment_472" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="happy couple"]

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stunning photography by Elise Gow Photography

i'm not a huge fan of sunflowers as a cut flower...they should be in a field in Italy, swaying in the breeze and following the sun. These teddy bear sunflowers are growing in a garden around the corner from my house...good enough to cuddle x

This is a little note i found on my work bench when i got back to the studio one day...my heart melted, Hugo is my little friend from over the back fence...he has a table that he can stand on to peer over and talk to me while i work...mostly it goes like this MELLLLLLLLL MELLLLLLL can i have a flower? MELLLL MMMEEELLL can i have a flower for my mum too and so on and so forth. Thanks Hugo and thanks Simone for publishing the note.

I was so excited to make a head piece made entirely of gardenias for an elopement this Sunday..I woke up with a spring in my step and ready to wire my little fingers off....this is what i found

GASP... HEART STOPS

1st ring Jackie ( best floral buddy) no answer

[caption id="attachment_447" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="boxes of brown gardenias"]

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2nd run around the corner to a house that i walk passed everyday...a cute little greek garden full of gardenias, lemon trees...I could hear the elderly couple talking/ yelling in their back yard. I knocked on the door and the cutest Greek lady came to the door...I started explaining myself..badly...she says I don't understand! Slowly i take a breath...I am a Florist..for a wedding..do you understand? YES..please please may i pick ALL of your gardenias.. I get my Husband..Out comes the Husband with a box and snips and a big smile...My gorgeous Greek Neighbours saved my ass..and then I made this.

[caption id="attachment_450" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="gardenia head piece"]

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I can't wait to see the photos, my first elopement and a head piece that just couldn't have more love and care and heart in it.

Well, we may have had a rather drab summer in Melbourne so far but it really was a perfect day for this little soiree overlooking the Yarra river.

[caption id="attachment_437" align="aligncenter" width="402" caption="hydrangea and garden rose"]

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I'm a sucker for garden roses a the best of times but how absolutely sweet do they look with all this delicious summer fruit! I did sample an amazing peach whilst delivering these....i hope i managed to wipe the juice from my chin when I arrived.

[caption id="attachment_439" align="aligncenter" width="403" caption="crates of summer fruits"]

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If you think the flowers looked good, you should have seen the food...a real summer feast.

[caption id="attachment_436" align="aligncenter" width="402" caption="peaches and garden roses"]

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happy summer peaches!

these lovely shots taken by the darling Adele Lee

Sent from Cecilia fox

You are so jet set flying to Hobart to do flowers for a lovely wedding. If only being an international woman of floral mystery could magic up a lovely studio space for us to work in. We require, somewhere light that is 80 square meters or more, somewhere near brunswick or east brunswick, somewhere that is not my garden shed.

thank you

MCS

Time to get my shit together and respond to the HUNDREDS of emails if been getting enquiring about weddings ..well maybe not hundreds but at least a days worth of writing to brides ..busy busy

Today I also want to .....

1-research micro finance saw this very inspiring Ted talk about Kiva.

2-Call estate agent about my new studio!!!...someone give me i sign...what to do?? Feel like i might just turn into a real grown up this year, proper studio that isn't my garden shed, booking weddings for 2012! Oh and we bought a brand new fridge, very grown up.

heres some shots from our blissful time in NZ. Family, beach, boat = amazing times

[caption id="attachment_419" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="little island"]

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[caption id="attachment_417" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="sea legs"]

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[caption id="attachment_425" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="mergirl "]

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[caption id="attachment_421" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="giant pearl"]

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[caption id="attachment_422" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="swallows in the sun set"]

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Sent from Cecilia fox sun-streaming-studio.com/ceciliafox.blog/2011/01/a-night-with-el-guincho/photo

Lilly of the Valley is just so special...this year i has successfully bullied two of my lovely brides into two of my most loved flowers for their bouquets Lilly of the valley and violets......I kind of felt a little bit bad, but really, if you are going to get married who wouldn't want to carry one of these....

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[caption id="attachment_411" align="aligncenter" width="361" caption="hanging mossy balls"]

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[caption id="attachment_409" align="aligncenter" width="364" caption="parsley in a jar"]

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[caption id="attachment_408" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="dripping solomans seal"]

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another georgeousoccasion...

all these beautiful photos by Sarah Wood

Well, Cecilia Fox has got off to a flying start to 2011 with this beautiful wedding at the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne....such a fun venue for an event. We had long tables down the middle of the deli section filled with herbs and fresh fruit and vegetables. Thank you so much to my fabulous team, J, Lindsey and Jo...Lindsey took these gorgeous shots too, much talent! Thank you also to the lovely Fiona and the ladies at Bright Young Things.

[caption id="attachment_403" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="vic market wedding tables "]

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[caption id="attachment_402" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="herbs in jam jars"]

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[caption id="attachment_401" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="tomato plants in the deli hall"]

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[caption id="attachment_400" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="market wedding"]

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Sent from Cecilia fox

[caption id="attachment_378" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="poppies for kris"]

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Well well, as December begins and things start to wind down for cecilia fox....I'm remembering how to breath again. Back to my yoga practice, it may be a while before i attempt second series again, but that's ok, I'm just happy to even have the time to get to yoga!

Anyway it's been a huge few months, well it's been a huge year, and it turns out i don't have a stress related stomach ulcer..it was just stress and miraculously the day after we bumped out that last job those crippling stomach pains disappeared! Thank you.

and before i get all sentimental about 2010 hears some shots of that last event...i just love it when people want peonies and roses and hydrangeas for Christmas parties.

[caption id="attachment_357" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="pinky peony"]

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[caption id="attachment_353" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="stripes and roses"]

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[caption id="attachment_349" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="roses and tea"]

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[caption id="attachment_350" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="packing the peonies"]

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[caption id="attachment_348" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="work bench roses"]

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[caption id="attachment_352" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="waiting by the door for a lift to central pier"]

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and then we ate lunch and it was just as pretty.....thank you soooooo much to Aimee, Lindsey and the AMAZING Sarah.

lesson 1 for 2010 getting people to help you is really fun and good for the stomach ulcer

[caption id="attachment_355" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="tomato and cucumber sandwiches "]

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[caption id="attachment_356" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="chickpea goodness"]

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another georgeous occasion!

all photos by Lindsey, thank you soooooo much

[caption id="attachment_370" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="enter stage left"]

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[caption id="attachment_372" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="nasturtium overflow"]

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[caption id="attachment_361" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="reflections of the way life use to be"]

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This goes down as one of my favorite weddings of the year. Romsey woodland wonder.

This was where the bride and groom where meant to get married... it was suppose to be a picnic kind of vibe with a lemonade stand and pony rides...this was just before the rain hit, and when i say rain i mean RAIN.

[caption id="attachment_368" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="poppies yes"]

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[caption id="attachment_369" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="lemons and mulberries"]

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[caption id="attachment_364" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="ready to go"]

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[caption id="attachment_371" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="david austin, whoever you are "]

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[caption id="attachment_366" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="poppy mania"]

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[caption id="attachment_365" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="i have a weakness for coral peonies"]

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[caption id="attachment_367" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="lucky drawers"]

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another georgeous occasion

all photos by the wonderful Lindsey

‘Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.’ ~Albert Einstein

Today I cleaned and organised the shed in my new bikini and tights and boots. Dancing to Glass Candy and getting my shit together. Things are about to get really really busy in that little old shed and I really want to make it as workable and as good to be in as possible....being in the bikini really helped... all i need now is a trip to the tip and I'm there...bring on the biggest job cecilia fox has ever done and please don't be 34 degrees on Thursday.

[caption id="attachment_258" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Reorganised in the shed"]

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This was such a special last minute  job! Lindsay and I had such fun making these garden rose and peony delights...they also had some of my sweet peas from the garden and some dark purple from the market.... Lucky for me Lindsey took these photos when she was on her way to deliver them.

sun-streaming-studio.com/ceciliafox.blog/2010/11/the-prettiest-peonie/img_8477

J and i had a weekend is Shepparton in country Victoria doing a beautiful wedding. The grooms family grow wheat so that was my main inspiration....we made amazing hanging wheat installations and there was vases of wheat, rosemary and AMAZING garden roses on all the table....It was a massive  two day set up and we were so exahausted that we did't take any photos! Wow i really have to get a good camera...and actually use it.

Fingers crossed that the wedding photographer got some shots of the flowers and wheat...oh and i forgot to tell you about the Caramello roses for the bride! so deliciously caramel looking with cream david austins and wheat....i really hope they got some photos of  that.

Did i mention that i was the guest blogger for the Design Files last week? Think I was to busy doing flowers to even remember. For some reason i can' link???? Where is that computer geek when i need him...but I'm sure you know it..oh, it's in my 'inspired by' thingy on the side here!

Photos from the racing carnival as soon as i get a chance...after the golf masters and before the wedding in county Victoria this weekend. Work cecilia fox work it!

OK going on seriously uncool group tours is London is actually really fun...especially this one. Secret Gardens of the City of London walking tour!

and really, who doesn't love a secret garden?

this colour peony is soooooo beautiful

it's like tissue paper

Cute vase collection....and yes that is a dead lizard, it's pretty creepy but i just can't bring myself to throw it out. Should probably get rid of that elephant figurine with three legs that I found in the garden.

couldn't resist this orchid at the market this morning.

all these photos by my beautiful friend Lindsey at http://lindseymyra.blogspot.com/

stems and stems

there were pink roses

and champagne

and more  pink roses

anothergeorgeous occasion

Well, Cecilia Fox just came off the back of it's busiest seven days yet! I am exhausted...but quite pleased with my self.
a marquee full of roses for David Jones at the Caulfield Cup, a Moroccan Birthday party, and a Beautiful Jewish wedding at Trunk. Gee wizz I do love a good Chuppah! Oh and i almost forgot a window display for Portmans at Chadstone yesterday. Did i mention all of these events thanks to the AMAZING Georgie Kay from Georgeous...
Photos will be revealed soon.but here's a sneak peek...i really have to get a good camera....

[caption id="attachment_133" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="mr green finger"]

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[caption id="attachment_134" align="alignnone" width="460" caption="from the bus"]

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[caption id="attachment_135" align="alignnone" width="460" caption="there are people sipping organic beer and eating pizza behind this urban jungle"]

[/caption] [caption id="attachment_136" align="alignnone" width="460" caption="eco savy"]

[/caption] [caption id="attachment_135" align="alignnone" width="460" caption="a little co2 goes a long way in east london"]

[/caption] [caption id="attachment_140" align="alignnone" width="460" caption="herbs and ivy east london style"]

[/caption] [caption id="attachment_141" align="alignnone" width="460" caption="ROA.. this art will leave you wondering where you stored your acorns"]

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I love visiting London, it is just so beautifully green and if you get a sunny day it can really be magic. Not no mention my best friend lives here

[caption id="attachment_124" align="alignnone" width="460" caption="my new do and red peonies"]

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Wow, how lucky am I, a house full of red peonies and pure white hydrangea.

[caption id="attachment_102" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="photo by lipp design"]

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I think I'm a little nervous! What smart and witty things shall is say on this my first WordPress entry......I'm speechless.

Thanks Ian you are a genius.

Thank you Pip It is soooo pretty!

photo by lipp design

Thank you Greek Island Paros.

Well after two weeks on a yoga and meditation workshop on the beautiful island paradise of Paros I am very well rested, very bendy and my have figured out the meaning of life.........well I'm working on it!

It really was the perfect holiday....sun beach yoga pool yoga meditation yoga beach sun pool ice cream pool yoga beach meditation yoga sun yoga...you get the idea. I'm ready to face the huge and busy rest of the year!! Business is booming and I'm very excited
Photos very soon of dawn in Paros and gardens Greek style..thought you didn't have enough space or time to have an amazing lush piece of potted paradise? take some tips for the Greeks!

Homeward bound, just a quick stop in London for some vintage shopping.....

 

This is the magnolia in my front yard. Brunswick and Melbourne i love you for your many Magnolia trees.

The wedding we had on this weekend was at Lindenderry in Red Hill. Tall vases of magnolia and little vases of winter wonders below. violets, hyacinth, sweet peas, hellebore, anemones, freesias and daphne.....My van smelt so good i got a head ache on the drive down. After very swift 6hour set up It looked so magical that the bride didn't want to leave at the end of the night....she stayed and kept us company while we packed up.

After jamming as much magnolia as we could fit in the back of the wee van we were back at out little cottage i rented and in bed watching Breaking Bad by 2.30am.....whew after getting up to go to market at 430am (even if i did cat nap between 7pm and 10pm) it was mammoth day!

Thanks to the wonderful Georgeous team....( yes another Georgeous occasion to be sure)Thank you to the best cecilia fox team ever....Caitlin and Jac you were amazing. J the best possible floral assistant/driver/sweeper/clearerupera and all round moral support for me. He's one in a million.

Red Hill put on a perfect Sunday for us too, sun shine and 16 degrees... markets, beach and the one and only Peninsula Hot Springs...oh yes, pretty much the only thing which will make you feel better after a 21 hour day and 5 hours sleep. Soak away your aches and pains.

The magnolia we cleared after the wedding is sitting proud as punch in the the front window of Jac's shop Jaclyn Roma in Eaglemont.

When this wonderful family said that they would provide all of the garden roses for me to use on the tables for this beautiful county wedding, I was a little worried that i would turn up and I'd have a few sad blooms to work with....

When I arrived from Melbourne with a van full of peonies and other bits and pieces that I had got to go with the garden roses, I set myself up in a neighbour's shed.... i was amazed and thrilled and SO happy to find buckets of the most incredible garden roses i have ever smelt or seen. It was one of the most magical days I've had...every single rose was a complete pleasure and the fragrance was indescribable ...under a hot tin roof on a 30something degree day i toiled until i had everything arranged and packed away in the fridge ( the neighbours used to grow wild flowers until the drought, and the old cool room was still there and turned on for me!)

I could barely sleep i was so excited about setting it all up in the marquee. I got up extra early and went to another neighbouring property to pick eucalyptus foliage to make giant wreaths for the church...i was up a tree for the sun rise. ( really, does it get much better?)
photos by sarah wood, wedding by georgeous.

Am i a weirdo to keep craving white food? All i can think about it potatoes, cauliflower, fennel, cannellini beans and pasta. Maybe it's because it's the middle of winter or maybe I'm deficient?

We made this tree in the middle of a restaurant for a wedding earlier this year. It looked amazing as it got dark and the candles twinkled...you really had to be there.

Photos by mia mcdonald and wedding by georgeous weddings.

photos by sarah wood, wedding by georgeous weddings

I love driving around in my beat up van delivering flowers and listening to this track....

janita looking dreamy...

inspecting mushrooms that we found 4.bp.blogspot.com/_FRBPTNzRhkU/TAdlH3nn3SI/AAAAAAAAAEk/shWJHfG6JLY/s1600/IMG_0395.JPG

These vases filled with cymbidum orchids and autumn nandina are in the lost and found hotel.

Coming together.

The planting begins.

Tim from flatland ok in the back yard finishing off our planter boxeshe has made for the lost and found hotel. Flatland Ok Lost and Found

Such a lovely Autumn day to be at the Arboretum in the Dandenongs. We love it here, so many different trees it's just amazing. We were hoping to see the Liquid Amber in it's full Autumn glory but it was still green! Still, pretty happy with our cheese picnic and these Silver Birches.

Last wedding of the season! Looking forward to sleeping and cooking more and just being human again and doing my tax ( not looking forward to it but looking forward to not worrying about it!)

Georgie Kay is the creative director of Simply Georgeous Occasions ( in small business terms this means she does EVERYTHING). Immpecable taste, an incredible eye for detail and insurmountable industry know how makes Georgeous ....and put it this way Georgie is in her element setting tables in a marquee in a field by a lake in the county side. Not a crease in the linen, every setting in EXACTLY the right spot and salt and pepper perfectly placed.

Without Georgie, cecilia fox would still be wandering around Melbourne laneways picking flowers, with a million ideas and knowhere for them to go.
Do take a look at Georgie's web site and see some of the other beautiful work we have been doing.
Georgeous Occasions

Georgeous on Facebook

Yes, i'm hooked on my Hipstamatic app....it's just sooooo fun.

Twiggy sculptures were perfect! www.greghatton.com

Whew! Well it's been another very big week for Cecilia Fox so thanks
to everyone that made it happen.. You know who you are. Look out for
photos of this wedding which I'll post as soon as I get the good ones. The
tree we created in the centre of the room was really spectacular.
Magic far away tree eat your heart out.

Skapa Bilda

Georgeous weddings

all the girls fluffing the paper pom poms.

Tara and Jac working hard to create whimsical delights for the wedding
I did with Georgie from Simply Georgous Occasions on Thursday. It
looked amazing! Can't wait to get the photographers photos up. It
really was magical.

It really gave me a little fright! I was really happy with what i had done for the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show but i didn't think that anyone else would get it! My jumble of old cardboard boxes and whimsical floral wonder. It was a lovely surprise this morning.

I've been wanting to get the Bloom book for about 7 years now and J got it for me as a late Christmas present. Seems a little 90's now but i still love it. Li Edelkoort is one of the worlds foremost trend forecaster, and she is one inspirational woman. Bloom the magazine ( a horti-cultural view) takes the your average ideas about flowers plants and nature and turns it on it's head. Save up for one of her magazines, they cost a pretty penny but totally worth it.

Feels like spring, well it kind of looks like spring but really feels like mid winter. And it is.. but its a sunny Brunswick day with camellias blooming and magnolia's blossoming... some of my favorites.