world's tiniest flower arrangement

My husband was sweet enough to bring me flowers the other day. They were Celosia to be exact:


(side note: I finally figured out the name of these flowers by searching for “velvet brain flowers”. I love the internet.)

In the process of putting these flowers in a vase, I had to snip off a bunch of little flowery sprouts from the lower ends of the stems. I know this is pretty standard when arranging flowers, and I think most people just toss them. It sort of breaks my heart to throw away flowers though, even if they’re tiny. So I pulled this little elephant-shaped milk pitcher out of the cupboard and made a teeny tiny arrangement.



I think it’s pretty cute for a little bunch of trash!

pinata numbers

I recently came upon some photos of the decorations from our New Years party last year, and was thinking about how they could be re-worked for a birthday party. I've had birthday ideas on the brain lately (mine is coming up soon, and its a big one!). 

For New Years, my friend Nicole and I constructed a 2011 pinata to be destroyed at midnight. We made each of the numbers separate (only the last 1 was stuffed with anything). When the magic hour was approaching, we hung up the 1 and then took turns beating the crap out of it at the stroke of midnight. The showering of confetti and candy that rained down was a great way to ring in the new year. We then ceremoniously replaced the 1 with a 2 to make the pinata read 2012.

I think this could also be a great way to mark a birthday. Nothing says "I'm done being 29" like beating a pinata in the shape of 29! It might just be the perfect way to begin what I'm sure will be my mature, grown-up thirties!

P.S. You may be wondering "why are there star trek figurines in these photos?". Unfortunately, I have no answers for you. Except to say my friend Michael loves Star Trek. And he may have started sampling the signature cocktails during party setup. And yes, that is Whoppi in the blue suit.

[photos by Michael Pieracci]