giving thanks

Whew! Has it really been a week since Thanksgiving? I had three visiting family members staying with me for nearly a week, so I'm still trying to get caught up on all the cleaning/laundry that ensues with houseguests. It was really wonderful though, to spend time with my mother and grandparents, and we had such a wonderful, relaxing time together.

We were joined by additional family members, for a total of eleven people around our Thanksgiving Dinner table. They came from Cleveland, Ohio; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Grand Junction and Colorado Springs, Colorado, and we were truly blessed that our family traveled from near and far to be with us on our first holiday in our new home city!

Although we are currently renting a small house, we didn't really have the space for eleven people. So we decided to get creative, and we actually served Thanksgiving dinner in our basement. The biggest room in our basement is long and narrow, and we have it divided into a den on one side and my office on the other, with a wall of curtains separating the spaces. So for Thanksgiving dinner, we moved the furniture to the edges of the room, pulled back the curtain, patched two tables together and covered them with a big tablecloth. We nabbed chairs from all over the house, not to mention the patio, so that we could provide a seat for every bottom. I was a little concerned that it would be too cold in the basement, or too unconventional, but nobody seemed to mind.

When you set a pretty table and ply people with good food and good booze... people tend to be very, very happy. ;-)

There wasn't much space on the table for decor, so I kept things simple with gold glittered trees, arrangements of holiday greens and gold roses, gold pinecone candlestick holders, and some assorted mini pumpkins.

My mother penned some placecards in her gorgeous handwriting, and provided her beautiful pressed-cookies as favors for each of our guests.

It was a lovely holiday. I hope your Thanksgiving was lovely, too. I think I should go eat some leftover pumpkin pie, now.

Images | Floral Design | Styling by Lauryl Lane.

grey likes ashley & tinoush’s wedding!

My dear friend Summer, the brilliant woman behind the nom de plume Grey, has posted one of my recent weddings on her blog, Grey Likes Weddings. Ashley, the beautiful bride, was one of my Chi Omega sorority sisters at The University of Tulsa. I'll have lots more to share about this wedding and all the exquisite details in the near future.... for now, check out Victor Sizemore's glorious pictures on Grey Likes Weddings!!!

the big reveal!!!

I write to you today from the awe-inspiring state of....

It's my new home!

I know the rumor mills have been circulating, and I'm happy to put all the speculation to rest. It's official! I have moved to Denver, Colorado, and am in the process of relocating my company as well. Earlier this morning we put out an official press release, and I love how the title was worded, "Botanical Stylist Lauryl Lane Says Goodbye To Hollywood Hills And Hello To Rocky Mountains."

Those who have been following my work/blog will know that I've had an ongoing love affair with the city of Los Angeles, and saying goodbye to L.A. is definitely one of the hardest things I've ever done. Los Angeles has been so good to me. I know a lot of people who, like me, grew up in the midwest and then moved to the "big city," only to be chewed up and spit out. Why L.A. never did that to me, I don't know. It must have known I was a kindred spirit from day one. I have had nothing but wonderful experiences in Los Angeles, and the friends I've made there will remain my friends for life. I also have an exceptional base of clients in Southern California, and I will continue to serve them no matter where I end up.

Nothing changes for my clients currently booked in SoCal. I will be there, designing your events, just as planned. I have a place to stay anytime I need to go back to L.A., and I also have the use of a friend's floral design studio in West Hollywood. I will continue to take bookings in the area too, although those will be limited.

My husband moved here in July, and I've gone back and forth many times already. The two hour flight between DEN & LAX is unbelievably pain-free. But I've missed my husband, a lot, and I've ultimately decided that I want to cut back on the amount of travel weddings/events that I'm doing anyway, and focus on designing "at home."

Although Denver was never a city "on our radar," we like it. I've always considered myself a "mountain girl," despite never having lived near mountains of any kind...  so moving to Colorado felt like "going home." I miss my friends in L.A. like crazy, but in this digital age, good friends are only a skype away, so I think I'll be just fine. ;-)

Can I just say how EXCITED I am to start designing here in Colorado? This place is so gorgeous I can hardly stand it! I'm still setting up my office and getting my studio unpacked, but I'll have lots more details to share in the coming days and weeks and months...

Thank you to everyone who has helped make this move possible, and to those of you who have been my support system along the way. I can't wait to introduce you to this city as I find my own way in it!!!

a favorite

I've been going through images lately, preparing for an update to the website, and I keep coming across gorgeous pictures that just take my breath away with their loveliness. I get SO many images from the photographers I work with, not to mention all the pictures that I take myself, and hundreds get passed over because they aren't "right" for the feature or the portfolio or whatever else I'm culling for. I'm going to start sharing some of those here on the blog. This, for example, is one of my favorite bouquets ever... for my little sister Olivia.

Image by Alec Vanderboom | Floral Design by Lauryl Lane.

plantscaping

The fourth season of Mad Men recently became available for instant viewing on Netflix, and {lovah} and I are obsessed. We'd been having serious Mad Men withdrawals, despite having watched and re-watched the previous three seasons! {lovah} is pretty convinced that he is a "Mad Man," and he likes to tell me that regularly. Admittedly, he sort of is. Entertainment P.R. isn't the same as Advertising, but the environment he works in and the mix of creative & purely-business-driven work that he does really is quite similar to what goes on a Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. Minus the drinking at the office... although I'm quite certain he and his coworkers would do that too if they thought they could get away with it! {lovah} has a growing collection of skinny ties, plays 1960's music like it's going out of style (it is out style, right?), and collects vintage decanters. He loves smoking cigars, he loves to dress up, and he drinks his scotch neat. Recently, he moved into a new office, and the first thing he said to me was that he was going to decorate it like Donald Draper's office.

We've found him a perfect lamp and he's painting some abstract canvases (yeah, the guy paints- who knew?). He's planning to take one of his vintage decanters and some rocks glasses to the office (for water, of course!), but he really needed a plant. And what is a Mad Men-style plant? I really wasn't sure, but I decided to go modern, masculine and a little asian-influenced.

If you want to make something similar, this was a snap to put together...

You'll need a ceramic container, a plant, potting soil, large rocks, small decorative rocks or glass, and driftwood or another natural element. First, put a few cups of large rocks at the base of your container, they'll help guard against over-saturation if you accidentally add too much water. Then add some soil, place your plant in the center, and use a small cup to fill in with more soil around the plant's roots. Leave an inch or two of space at the top of the container, and then add your decorative rocks or glass. Add your other "natural element" artistically askance, and voila!!!

What do you think? Is it "Mad Men" enough? Do you have any other ideas for how I can help my {lovah} Mad Men-ize his office?

Image | Plant Design | Styling by Lauryl Lane.

serene setting

Calligraphy, Victoria Hoke Lane, spider mums, tulips, green, orange, pink, luncheon, tablescape, candles My Mum (Calligrapher Victoria Hoke Lane, designer of my logo!) has a new website coming soon (get excited!) and I've been sending over images of her work to her designer (Josh Berman, who designed my site- he's the best!). I came across this little luncheon that we designed together and realized that I never blogged it. Oops. Coming soon!

Calligraphy | Hand-painted Cookies by Victoria Hoke Lane. Image | Florals | Styling by Lauryl Lane.