What to say...today marks the 5 year anniversary of our Mommy Bloomer's passing. It was a big year, lots of emotions with the two weddings, birthdays, announcements and odd daily musings that make you pick up the phone to share with her before you realize she is gone. 5 years is a long time, but there still hasn't been a day that has gone by where she was not in my thoughts and I am forever grateful for this ability to keep her so close. Whether its a pillow I bought at West Elm that reminds me of one that she had on her couch, the way I hang the blanket over the armchair with the same purposeful carelessness, the certain spice I know she added to her lasagna and the way I find my hand curled on my lap exactly like the way hers did...she sneaks into my thoughts and my every day life keeping her memory always alive.
For the weddings, both completely different but both completely wonderful, she was definitely a driving force in most of the design choices. At the circus wedding we used the antiques she collected and lovingly finished throughout her life, the collection of doilies that rivals no other, and the part of the property to get married on by the gardens and trees that she planted with weddings in mind. And then the Israeli beach wedding, covered with bougainvillea - her favorite flower - and the colours "aqua and orange" which are just a modern way of saying "seafoam and peach" which was definitely her favorite colour palette as you could attest to our family home before our recent re-design! She was definitely as close as she could possibly be on those days and I am so grateful she left so much of herself behind for us to feel close to.
Once I wrote to Oprah and Nate asking how to re-decorate our house without losing the essence and memories we cherished most about her. Sadly, it didn't happen, and as much as we would have welcomed Oprah and Nate to our home, I know we learned more in the process of doing it on our own. We learned more about her, created new memories with her and learned how to keep her as close as possible in our every day lives. I guess we have more to offer Oprah in the future so I'm glad we didn't have our Oprah moment yet! We don't get the chance to talk to her any more, to curl up on a couch together and laugh about the silly things that made our weird minds tick, but we still share that love for beauty, design and her ability to always swim against the current. She is definitely the Original Bloomer and we look forward to many more years of keeping her memory alive in our work.
We love you Mommy Bloomer! Thank you for everything you taught us...we will make you proud.
I'm not obsessed (ok, maybe a tadbit but not as bad as you're thinking!), but when looking through fall clothes inspirations for my last post, I stumbled upon a wedding which Rachel Bilson helped design with designer Brian Reyes. She designed the bridesmaids dresses for the wedding of Jill Stonerock and OC creator Josh Schwartz - and yes, is even wearing one herself! Now, it took me a while of looking at them to know how I felt, but I decided that I really do love the way the different shades of greens go together. I wouldn't have thought to add that mossy green one in, and yet, that is the redeeming colour in my opinon! What do you think? (if you click on the pics, you can see them alot bigger)
