Sandberg Ramblings

Fall is without a doubt my favorite season.  This year I've been trying to soak it in as much as possible,  so we've hit up Silver Lake, Mueller Park Canyon,  and Red Butte Gardens in the last couple weeks. I wish this time of year could last as long  as the bitter cold of winter seems to stick around. (Silver Lake - Big Cottonwood Canyon - Utah) (Red Butte Gardens - Utah)  (Hike to Elephant Rock - Mueller Park Canyon - Utah)  I also did a little foraging in my parents' yard  and designed a fun fall arrangement for my mother-in-law's birthday.  I love how it turned out! 

I'm dying over these gilded flowers by artist Tommy Mitchell .  They were featured at this year's High Point Furniture Market   and I'm sure they are a pretty penny for such unique and beautiful pieces.  Since I won't be able to afford these beauties any time soon, it got me thinking… That maybe I should seriously consider taking Brittany Jepsen's paper flower class .  A little paper, paint, and gold leaf and I think you could create your own little masterpieces. 

If you love weddings, babies, beautiful flowers, and gorgeous photography, you MUST check out this Tumblr account... A Complete Life . I could spend hours scrolling and pinning the images!  All photos and sources can be found via  

While I was in Utah a couple weeks ago, my new baby before the baby arrived!  That would be my new camera.  I've had so much fun playing around with it and getting ready to take pictures of baby Ames when he arrives. I ended up also getting a 50mm portrait lens that I am in LOVE with. Pretty much all of the pictures below were taken with it. I'm no photographer, and don't plan on being one, but being an art lover, I've always wanted to experiment with the medium of photography and now I can! It's also been really nice to be able to take better quality pictures for this here blog.  I hope you enjoy them! 

I am LOVING this post , by Erin of the blog House of Earnest ,  on how to arrange store bought flowers. As a previous florist I have to admit I cringe inside a little bit when I see a vase of flowers that are still in the shape of the cellophane they were wrapped in, just plopped in a vase.  You're really not doing the flowers justice and they aren't going to last very long with all those dirty leaves and such hanging out in the water.  Market bunches from the store usually consist of very cheap flowers such as mums, lilies, and a LOT of filler greenery.  It makes them look even more cheap when you just leave them in a big wad.  So PLEASE go read this great post and turn your market bunch from Costco into something that looks worthy of a florist!  Also from experience, here are a couple of my own tips for making your flowers last longer... - Recut the stems every couple of days, about an inch. - Use the flower food you...

Life lately has been filled with LOTS of blogging,  a big belly, calligraphy, homegrown tomatoes, trips to the farmers market,  bike rides, and of course a dog child.  My design blog and business has been my #1 priority lately and thanks to you readers it is finally starting to take off! I really appreciate it! If you know of anyone who might like my blog or could use some design services please send them my way!  My goal is to really be up and running by the time we are back and settled in Utah.  I know this baby will throw a kink in things for a few months, but that's why I'm trying to get it started now before he comes.  I've also been doing a lot of calligraphy lately if you haven't already noticed. I was asked to teach a calligraphy class at girls camp. The last time I did calligraphy was in junior high.  So... I decided I better go get some supplies and start teaching myself. I think Heavenly Father knew of the love...

1 Amazing pendant light 2 Fun skirt 3 Brass & lucite side table - I die 4   Spoke dining chair 5 Cork & embroidery hoop DIY 6 Cute little print 7 Gorgeous necklace 8 Awesome cacti garden 9 Lovely striped silk blouse

Before we headed out of town for Spring Break, I wanted to drop by a little something "Springy" to my new visiting teaching ladies. I have really been loving this quote that Erin, from Candy Kirby Designs , posted on her Instagram feed.  So I decided this was a great thought to pass on. Sorry, but I get a little bored with the VT messages that are ALWAYS about visiting teaching. Is it just me?  So here is a little DIY that you can try out yourself and gift to someone needing a pick me up :)  By the way, Trader Joe's has the most amazing selection of Spring flowers right now. It was a good thing I was going out of town in 3 days or I may have bought way too many. Cut and potted hydrangeas, ranunculus, daffodils, tulips, and hyacinth galore! When we get back from Spring Break I may just have to head back over there. For now, I made it out with the 2 potted daffodils I needed for my project.  Here's what you'll need... ONE . potted...

I highly recommend incorporating live plants and flowers in your home. They improve air quality, have been shown to have calming and stress reducing effects, and the right plants and containers really elevate the look of your home.  via I will ALWAYS try to talk someone into putting live plants in their home first because they make such a difference. But if you really aren't fond of the maintenance they require, I've put together some options for you plant killers. (Don't worry, I used to be a plant killer too)  Some of my favorite alternatives are preserved mosses and boxwood , pressed leaves , and faux succulents.  Let me just say that I HATE silk plants and flowers, but succulents are the one faux plant I think you can get away with because the real think has such a waxy texture to begin with. Terrariums are really popular right now, and you can create some fun ones with moss and faux succulents.   I have seen a pretty good lo...

Bride's Bouquet (love love loved!) Throw Bouquet Ceremony Arrangement (2 of these flanked the pergola) Cake (the most beautiful phaelonopsis orchids!) The week before we moved was CRAZY! Between packing and cleaning out everything, finishing projects, and trying to get together with friends and family, I was also doing 2 weddings by myself! I had committed to doing them while my boss was in Hawaii before I found out we were going to be moving that same weekend. (This is why I didn't leave until Saturday) But they both turned out AMAZING and I'm so glad I did it. The first wedding on Thursday was very traditional and all roses, but the roses I used were beyond beautiful and made the whole thing so great. T...

I'm so excited to finally share some pictures from this amazing wedding I did the flowers for in May. You may remember me talking about it. The photos were taken by Jessica Janae Photography . She is amazing as I have said before. The bride was a cute girl I went to high school with that has great style as you can see from these pictures. Her dress, hair, and all the decor was so beautiful! You can go here and check out some more of her big day and some amazing photos from other weddings.