Curtis + Ash

The French Countryside

2013-06-04T20:42:00.001-06:00

The French Countryside was completely charming and beautiful in every way. The second we left Paris, it was like we entered a different world. On our way to our next destination of Burgundy, France we got the chance to stop at little towns along that way that you would never happen upon without a car. Castles on the hill everywhere you turn, and beautiful vineyards as far as the eye can see.

For me, the French Countryside really was the most beautiful part of Europe. It's what I imagined Europe being only better.

Venice, Italy

2013-06-03T16:22:00.000-06:00

Gimmelwald, Switzerland

2013-06-03T15:24:00.002-06:00

We arrived home from our two and a half week trip to Europe yesterday afternoon. We had spent the previous 48 hours traveling via planes, trains and buses and are still in a daze from the jet lag. What an amazing place Europe is. It's incredible how the quickly the cultures change from country to country. The architecture, landscape, food, language, they are all unique from one another.

I figured if I don't start blogging these now I never will since a summer of weddings begins this week. So here is Switzerland.

We stayed in Gimmelwald, Switerland which is a tiny town built on the top of the cliff. The only way to access this town is by tram and it is beautiful. Switzerland as a whole is nothing short of majestic in every sense of the word.

We stayed in a small hotel that had the most adorable charm and it is owned by an 80-year-old man who has been running the place for over 30 years. He cooked us and the other guests dinner every night and we sat around and it was fun sitting and chatting with other travelers every night.

By day we hiked and relaxed. Gimmelwald was the most relaxed our trip was even with the few hikes. Everything there moved at a slower pace in the best of ways. We definitely want to go back some day.

Site Launch.

2013-03-05T17:18:00.005-07:00

I'm very happy and pleased to announce that my website is finally live and fully functioning! There are still a few things to be done, but I'm happy to have it up. If you are following this blog for flower posts, follow me on my new blog here.

This blog is going back to what it was meant to be, a personal blog for me and Curtis. I'd like to keep flower posts and personal posts as separate as I can from now on.

Thanks to my very good friend, Jessica Kettle for the photos!

A Floral Affair.

2013-02-14T21:32:00.002-07:00

This is my favorite frame from the shoot that Brooke of Blush Photography and I worked on together. We envisioned dark light and big headpieces for the perfect Valentine's Post. I'd say she hit the nail on the head with the lighting. To see the full post head over to Brooke's blog.

Valentines Day

2013-02-14T19:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentines Day to my Curt.

Photos by Lindsey Shaun

Pretty things.

2013-02-09T22:02:00.002-07:00

I just thought all of the elements of this photo came together nicely. Excited about this weekend's projects!

Alt Summit Dinner

2013-01-30T22:32:00.001-07:00

Just a few images from the dinner I helped Alison of The Alison Show with, she is one talented lady. Her ideas were phenomenal and it all came together beautifully! For more information on the dinner and to see more photos, visit her blog.

Florist: (yours truly) Tinge Floral
Photography: Heather Mildenstien
Table Place Mat design: Heather Zweig
Event Coordinator and visionary: Alison Faulker

Flower of the Month with Ciara Richardson

2013-01-29T22:04:00.004-07:00

Ciara is one of the sweetest people. We actually met at West Elm when we recognized each other from social media, funny how often that happens now for people right? Along from being really beautiful and really sweet, she's a beautifully talented photographer that I've admired for a long time. When she asked me to participate in a flower of the month feature with her I was so excited!

This is the first feature, the flower is Thistle. To see the full post, go check out her blog!

How gorgeous is this girl, and her beautiful faded purple hair?

Cafe Niche Alt Summit Dinner Peek

2013-01-24T17:46:00.001-07:00

Flower Guide

2013-01-23T10:45:00.001-07:00

Working on some arrangements today for Alt Summit! I think it's fair to say that the color pallet is every color. Since I have such a wide range of flowers for this project, I thought I'd put together a small flower guide!

From left to right: Yellow Ranunculus, Poppy, Anemone, Blue Scabiosa, Chocolate Cosmo, Grape Hyacinth

Happy Wednesday!

Blue Glass and Mercury.

2013-01-17T10:47:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a lot of pinks and corals lately, so I've been trying to change it up as much as possible by switching out the filler flowers. I love the dark navy of privet berry. It's such a pretty contrast that makes an otherwise summery looking arrangement suddenly feel a little more appropriate for winter.

Sherbet.

2013-01-10T01:00:00.001-07:00

A pretty arrangement in one of my new favorite brass containers. This feels like Spring, and there's nothing like a pretty spring arrangement to bring life to January.

Also my first bouquet for my first real bride! I hope she loves it as much as I do.

Flowers in the dark.

2013-01-09T18:31:00.002-07:00

I really love how flowers photograph in the dark. They look so mysterious and romantic this way. As much as I love stark white backgrounds and clean photos, I love these just as much.

Full post.

2013-01-02T17:22:00.003-07:00

Oh Brooke, I'm so glad that photo shoot giveaway brought us together. You are a talent in many ways. Brooke asked me to make a headpiece for a project so instead I made a couple and asked if she would mind taking a few shots of them both. I'm so in love with them. I love making headpieces. I love brides who love headpieces, especially big ones.

Go see her full post on her blog, and add it to your reading list because everything she posts is brilliant. Oh and hire her, because she's awesome. The end.

Happy New Year!

2012-12-31T22:52:00.002-07:00

Today we are saying goodbye to 2012. What a great year it's been for me and Curtis and our families. We walked for graduation and said goodbye to student life. We welcomed a new baby nephew that has stolen our hearts. What a sweet, wide eyed, beautiful boy that Max is. We took a fun trip to the east coast with Curtis' family and survived the hottest day I think any of us have ever felt. We celebrated three years of marriage, and I feel so lucky to call Curtis mine. I decided to take a direction and finally start my own business doing flowers for weddings and events, and I couldn't be happier with this decision. I started working at west elm part time for fun, and I've loved it and the people. We recently found out that my brother and his wife are welcoming a baby girl next year! It's going to exciting to see this brand new baby in 2013.

Although 2012 was a great year, we're hopeful that 2013 will be even better. Happy New Year!

Headpieces for a pretty little lady sneak peek.

2012-12-29T18:38:00.002-07:00

This photo is now on instagram, facebook AND my blog. I can't help myself! I've sort of been obsessed with Brooke of Blush Photography's personal work for a long time. How gorgeous is her little mini me? She asked me to make a few head pieces for a project she is working on and posted this sneak peak. I'm really excited to see the rest!

Happy 29th Curt.

2012-12-13T23:03:00.000-07:00

I'll admit that I tend to get a little mushy on my blog when talking about Curtis. I won't apologize for it though, because this blog is supposed to be a representation of who we are. And truth be told, I can be sort of mushy sometimes.

Happy Birthday Curt. You really make life worth living. Thanks for being understanding and supportive of your crazy busy wife. Thanks for working hard everyday, for putting in extra hours when necessary and going the extra mile in everything you do.

Last Sunday I was browsing KSL and found a cooler for flowers at an insanely cheap price. Curtis called the listing and went with me to go check it out. The cooler was a lot bigger than we expected and were worried it wouldn't fit into our landlord's garage. Not only worried about it not fitting, but also worried about imposing on his garage. Curtis knew how much it meant to me to make that cooler work. He measured the garage, talked to my landlord, enlisted the help of family and friends. Sometimes I'm not sure if he realizes how much I notice and appreciate these things, but I do.

Curtis, thanks for being you. Please never change. Your the greatest best friend and husband a girl could ask for, and I feel so grateful to have you in my life.

Happy 29, and nice mustache. Shave tomorrow?

Sweet Little Peanut

2012-12-13T22:26:00.002-07:00

This is the cute little Christmas shoot that I worked on a couple weeks ago. It's being featured on the new blog Sweet Little Peanut today! Go check out the blog to see the full post! The photos are by the amazing Jessica Kettle. Thanks again to Megan, the editor of Sweet Little Peanut for including me on such a cute project. Also, how cute are those placemats and place holders? Thanks to Pink Piggy Design for those!

Miracle Hydrangea.

2012-12-09T08:29:00.000-07:00

A few straggler left overs from a wedding I helped out with yesterday. Also I added this hydrangea which has been alive for what feels like weeks.

Christmas at our apt.

2012-12-02T08:51:00.002-07:00

I think my favorite thing that people share in the blogging world is pictures of the places they live. It's where we dwell and spend the majority of our time. It's a representation of who we are and what we like, and I love that. Every home is so different and how different people take what they love and put it in to their homes in their own way has always been so interesting to me!

I love seeing how people decorate for the holidays, especially Christmas. I for one got the idea of the trees from a DIY someone did that I found online last year, and the glitter deer were a Martha Stewart craft I also found online. We don't have any place for a Christmas tree, while this really saddens me, I did find this cedar garland at Lowe's for 12 dollars! It was 20 feet long so I took some of it apart and made a wreath for my front door, stuck a few stems in a vase, and added the garland on a small bookshelf. This helped satisfy my need for greenery. Have I mentioned that I'm excited for Christmas this year? Because I'm really excited for Christmas this year.

Christmas Shoot.

2012-11-27T20:22:00.000-07:00

A little sneak peak of the shoot I am working on tomorrow!

Grateful.

2012-11-26T23:10:00.000-07:00

I think if I had to use one word to describe how I've felt the past few months it would be grateful. Thanksgiving has become my favorite holiday in my married years. It's spent with those you love the most, expressing gratitude for the many blessings we have, all while sitting together eating a warm meal. I have much to be grateful for. I've reflected on this idea of gratitude a lot over the past little while. It's come up many times, and on many occasions its brought me to tears. I'm just an emotional wreck lately, I'm going to go ahead and blame those emotions on my mom, and she'll be okay with it because she'd agree.

I'm grateful for Curtis, for his willingness to be patient with me. For his talents and strengths that make up for my faults. I'm grateful for the time and effort he puts into every single day. He's productive and inspiring in many ways. I don't think I would be doing what I'm doing or striving to do new things if it wasn't for the example Curtis has set. He's aways striving to succeed, and work hard, and I hope that continues to rub off on me. He's supportive and kind, helpful and excited. He's my number one advocate. He has worked hard for everything he has, and he has always been an example of ambition for me. If Curtis wants something he's going to work hard to ensure it happens.

I remember one night over the Summer, there I was feeling sorry for myself (why must us girls have moments like this? Emotions running haywire, bless those who put up with us). It had been one of those days, or maybe even one of those weeks. I was upset, and tired and frustrated. Curtis said something that really suck with me, he told me if I wasn't satisfied with my life, than it was my job to make a change. That I can't expect the life I wanted to just fall into my lap without working a second to get there. He reminded me that anyone who has done anything successful has worked tirelessly to get there. He really gave me the push I needed to make a change, and I'm a happier person for it. I'm a more productive person.

I'm grateful for my family, for their friendships and for the love they continually show. I'm grateful for my little brother Ben who is serving a mission in Russia and is one of the most positive people I know. He gave away his coat to a missionary who was less fortunate and didn't have a coat. This small act was so sweet, and so Ben. He'd give anything off his back without thinking a second thought about it. Each and every member of my family on both my side and Curtis' side are sincere and loving people and I feel very lucky to call them my own.

I'm grateful for the gospel in my life, for where it's taken me. I couldn't be more grateful for it. It's funny how your life just sort of turns out how it was always intended to. Things and people are put in your path for a certain purpose, whether that purpose becomes a blessing or a trial, its a learning experience and a hidden blessing regardless.

I'm grateful that Christmas is coming, I love this time of year. Happy belated Thanksgiving.

Utah Bride Blog Feature.

2012-11-21T16:20:00.001-07:00

Today is an exciting day! The shoot that Jessica Kettle and I worked on together is being featured on Utah Bride Blog! You can check it out here.

I couldn't be more grateful to the ladies of Utah Bride Blog for featuring this shoot that we worked so hard on. Thank you!

Lately on Instagram.

2012-11-11T22:40:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted a lately on instagram blog post in awhile. The way my photos depict fall and winter are pretty accurate in the transition. We were enjoying 70 degree temperatures and in a matter of hours Utah was covered in blanket of white snow, and the snow didn't stop for days! We got over a foot of snow at our place.

This weekend we mostly lounged around and didn't do a whole lot of anything. The snow made for a good excuse to stay inside. We did visit a bakery on Saturday and walk to church in the snow on today. Today was absolutely beautiful. A great welcome to the new season.