We’ve been pretty busy around here. Home deliveries. Weddings. Passover. Easter. More weddings. Filmings (more on that later).

One of the best parts of the spring is not only the warmth and extended sunshine, but the gorgeous flowers. Like a good person, one should never openly admit to favorites (children, students, dogs…), but deep down we all have them.  Flowers are no different. With the spring comes our favorite flowers.  Lilacs and hyacinths: They are just. so. fragrant.  Tulips: They are just. so. Dutch.

And ranunculus? Do not get us started. We swoon daily over these amazing flowers.

We have 8 weddings in April, and another 7 in May. We already have weddings for the year 2013 under our belts, so you can rest assured that we are already in wedding season mode.

We’ve also had some filming take place in the shop! It was a cool experience. It isn’t every day that someone asks you to help out for a film project! We felt like rock stars. Hopefully we look as cool as we felt.

Bring.  It.

It is so hard to believe that we are just about one week into March!  Daylight Saving Time is this weekend. Light! Let there be some. Hallelujah! This also means that springier flowers & colors are pouring into the shop.  Working with these flowers is good for the soul. Even though the winter weather wasn’t particularly harsh (thankfully), it is still exciting to spring forward & see the next season of flowers that have so long neglected us.

We received a fantastic order for a special little lady named Annabel. Constructing feminine arrangements is so enjoyable, especially for recipients like Miss Annabel. At 4 days old, she may be the youngest person to receive one of our creations. Lucky girl! I am sure that she has a full future of flower-receiving ahead of her! It took a great feat of strength to not consume these delectable roses.

There has been a great trend in our flower orders lately: varied.  Not one arrangement has been repeated. Requests have poured in for earth tone palettes, bright palettes, subdued palettes, feminine palettes, soft & romantic… & the list goes on.  It has been so much fun.  You make our job immense amounts of fun.  ….thanks for that!

Valentine’s Day was spectacular this year. We had the perfect balance of pre-orders and walk-ins. It was great to prepare the orders, so that the gents could come in, pick up their orders, and be on their way. It was equally fun to go through our lush display of flowers with the customers, as they shopped “by eye.”

All-in-all, the day was hiccup-free, which is darn near miraculous. We sold just the right amount of flowers. We didn’t sell out of flowers during the day, and had just enough so that there was no need to go to our wholesaler to replenish the display after a looong couple of days. Thank. Goodness. Sleep was had.

Now that Valentine’s Day has come and gone, we are already upon our second wedding of 2013.  Before we know it, we will be in the throes of wedding season! It brings such joy to look at the shop calendar to see all of the red dots that represent all of the excited brides and grooms and their fast-approaching wedding days.

February is now coming to a close and the days are getting longer. Hallelujah! Spring is just around the corner. I can feel it in my toes. ….Perhaps it’s the lingering winter chill in the air, but, nevertheless spring weather will be here soon! I just know it.

wintertide sights from within and outside of the shop

The holiday rush is over. The Christmas decorations are put away into storage and life returns to what it was before the season, save a few additional pounds and a runny nose or two. What a fulfilling holiday season it was, too!

It is time to turn the calendar over to a new year: 2013. Endless excitement fills us to the core in anticipation of what this new year will bring for us at the shop. 2012 was incredible, but we have a sneaking suspicion that 2013 will exceed our wildest dreams. Red dots proudly monopolize our wall calendar, representing the many beautiful brides and handsome grooms who have asked us to be a part of their big day.

It is a time of organization and new beginnings. A necessary and welcomed break before Cupid’s bow shoots its arrows around the shop. It is hard to imagine that in one month it will be time for those St. Valentine’s Day celebrations. We look forward to seeing each and every one of you during that lovestruck week.

So far so good. We can take off our foil hats now. We’re pretty sure we’ll all going to survive the 2012 apocalypse, but just in case: select holiday ornaments, teas, & candles are now 40% off!  Stop by & take care of your last minute shopping needs.  Local & organic chocolates for the sweet tooth in your life. Teas, soaps, & candles for the spa-lover.  And of course, paperwhites & amaryllis for the plant-a-holics!

Yes, he wants you to take him home.

A friendly reminder to all of you: we are OPEN this Sunday, from 10AM – 4PM, & Monday (Christmas Eve) from 10AM – 6PM.  The shop will be CLOSED from December 25th through January 1st.  Thanks for an amazing 2012.  We can’t wait to share the New Year with you!!!

Individual bios coming soon(ish)! Haha.

We partnered up with Hannah Dee Interiors and Karen Singer Tileworks to create the room you see.

Inspiration for this year’s room was the 1958 movie Bell Book and Candle starring Jimmy Stewart, Kim Novak, and Jack Lemmon.  The premise of this romantic Christmas movie involves Kim Novak’s character (Gillian- a witch who owns a primitive art shop), placing a spell upon Jimmy Stewart’s character (Shep), to have him fall in love with her on Christmas Eve. The fashion throughout the movie involves Kim Novak in some form of either black, red, leopard print, or fuschia. This inspiration provided for a festive, yet, atypical style of holiday decor.

The bark wreaths were such a big hit during the house tours!  They serve as such a great way to bring inside a rustic, outdoor element.

The cotton branches were also a hit! Yes! That IS real cotton!!

Recognize these little guys from the shop? The wooly mammoth and lamb wanted to join the party, as well!

It was a great turnout and wonderful to meet so many people! Another great year for the CHCA Holiday House tour!

Exciting news! We are now open on Sundays from 10-4 through Christmas Eve!

Come in to see the great number of wonderful gift items we have in stock: stocking stuffers, host/hostess gifts, or just because items for your sugar plum. Some of our new gifts are so wonderful that they need to be introduced!

MineDesign Sphere Candles: 100% U.S. grown soy,  hand poured, and cotton wick.
Scents: Rustic Cypress, Crimson Rhubarb, Coconut Cassis

The sophisticated MineDesign Cabochon Soy Candles in the Amber Noir scent, and Atelier De Lait Candles in the clean Almond Milk scent.

The incredibly popular half pint candles from Philadelphia-based Skeem. With scents like white tea & thyme, peach velvet, lilac dandelion, blood orange, and sweet pea & vanilla, and their beautiful containers, no wonder they keep flying off of the shelf!

Also from Skeem,  these beautiful pillars are almost too pretty to burn (almost). With intoxicating scents like tea leaf and vintage peony, they beg to be lit and enjoyed!

We have lots of yummy chocolates from Philadelphia’s best chocolatiers, John & Kira’s. Toffee, caramels, mint chocolate bars, and so much more!

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention any one of our ridiculously adorable and beautiful ornaments. We have felt mistletoe, happy hippos, deco snowflakes, felt moose, mosaic ornaments…

…and a partridge in a pear tree, figuratively speaking. If we were to be literal, it would be a narwhal in a lighted branch tree!

We are melting over his cuteness, too.

Sara & Stefan’s vision of earthy, natural touches served as a perfect contrast to the polished and formal Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

The blushing bride and groom. Sara carried a simple bouquet of craspedia, wrapped in blue satin and embellished with a brooch. It had such charm and spunk!

Autumnal inspired textured centerpieces consisting of roses, ranunculus, gloriosa lilies, pumpkin peppers, craspedia, and tulips arranged in cigar boxes against a beautiful backdrop. The small touches of informal, rustic charm makes the refined space so inviting.

The example of the pairing of whimsy and formality is best illustrated by the escort table arrangement and its background, as well as the birch chuppah and the “stage” for the ceremony. The guests gazed down upon the bride and groom as the wedding ceremony took place. Oh to be a fly on the wall! Fortunately for us, technology allows us to be a retrospective fly on the wall via professional photographers! See the photos taken by the talented Brae Howard here.  It is all simply breathtaking.

Peicha and the bride admire one of Thomas Eakins’ masterpieces, The Gross Clinic.