Last weekend, the hosts of the outdoor celebration provided two signature drinks:  yellow lemonade for the younger set and a raspberry vodka cocktail for the adults.  The drinks were served in individual bottles with paper straws.    Water with citrus, pop and wine was also served from the barn board bar.

I adore the lemonade stand!  My carpenter constructed this bar in the winter.  It is a slick piece that comes apart and lays flat for storage.  I suspect this bar is about to become my top rental piece.  It is so sweet.  And practical, the bar service staff told me that it worked very well for them.

Additional accessories for the bar included:
- galvanized wash tubs to hold ice and wine
- coke case to feature signature drinks 
- custom sign for above the bar which the family kept and it now adorns the fence by their pool to remind them off all the fun they had at the party
- globe lights

This past weekend was very special for a lovely family who hosted a stunning back yard luncheon.  The sun popped out just in time for Marley's Bat Mitzvah celebrations at her family home.  

I have lots to tell and wonderful pictures to show you this week.  I will start out with the flowers.  Like many of you, peonies are one my all-time favourites.  I can't tell you how excited I was to know that I would be surrounded by these pretty flowers for a whole weekend!

On Friday I picked up 130 peony blooms from Lilium.  Marylin and Phyllis put in a few extra phone calls and their suppliers came through with the most beautiful Festivus Maximus blooms.  This peony was a special request from our client and I must say, she made a beautiful choice.

There will be more to come from this fabulous celebration for a lovely young lady.  Stay tuned this week.  And for those of you who can't get enough of peonies, more peony photos from my gardens will follow next week.  

Yesterday my order of pure white peonies arrived at my local florist, Luann's Flower Shop.    Luann has been in business for many years in our area.  I consider her to be the best local florist because of her creativity and the quality of the flowers that she offers. Plus Luann and her staff have great customer service.  S I ordered the peonies a couple of weeks ago as I had to prepare a visual replica of peonies in clear glass jars for an event I am involved with next week. 

Stay tuned for more peony pics.  Next Saturday I will be immersed in 130 blooms of this gorgeous flower!  I can't wait!  And who knows, this weekend I might get a burst of creative energy and play around with some more props and these ten pretty blooms I have just hanging around.  For now the arrangements are sitting on our dining room table and a few are gracing the entrance to our home.  Oh happy day!

I am thrilled to announce the arrival of DAISY!

I have been searching for 3 months to bring many of a you a vintage tandem bike!  Well, she arrived today and I couldn't be happier.

She is circa 1970's and I adore her.  A crisp red with sparkle handlebars.  I am so pleased to have her along.

I'll be honest with you she weighs in a bit heavier than expected but I love her anyway.

The sun is shining this morning and I expect a lot of couples are heading our for their engagement shoots today.

There are so many sweet, full-of-love picnic themed engagement shoots.  And why not?  Picnics are fun!  

HVR has all the props you need for a picnic photo shoot or a small picnic party i.e. 20 or so people.

Blankets : solid colours, plaids or quilts
Linens : gingham prints and solids
Picnic Baskets : Wicker and Tin
Books : every colour for reading a love story
Vintage Radio : for the music lover
Canning Jars : for drinks and florals
Enamel Dishes & Pots : for berries, popcorn, trail mix and more

I am in LOVE with this next shot.  Picnics don't just happen during the daytime! 
HVR has small globe lights for rent, just like the ones in this picture.  

I've mentioned before that one of the many great things about owning a prop shop is being able to have my own fun with the props.  Today I am hosting a very important play date for a couple of five year old boys.  We have big plans for a picnic along the river.  I'll send the boys into the shop to pick out their baskets & blankets.  We will throw in some buckets for catching frogs & a couple of nets too.  It will be so sweet (and likely muddy and buggy too).  Can't wait!

I love living so close to Erin Samuell from A Simple Photograph for many, many reasons.  But when it comes to business, she is always ready for something creative and fresh.   

And here is a secret, Erin and I usually spend 10 minutes in the early morning sending texts to each other about our day.  It is a great way to wake up and get the creative energy flowing.  Today, Erin mentioned she had a family shoot with a newborn.   Within the hour, we were in my shop together pulling out cute props.  Blankets, cradles and a Jetliner wagon for the babe's older sibling.

I was so excited for Erin to use one of my latest buys.  The sweetest baby scales ever, circa 1950!  I picked it up at an estate sale last week in Toronto.  It has a spectacular story and trust me this scales has seen A LOT of cute baby bums!  Oh the stories it could tell as it belonged to a very well-known and respected pediatrician who practiced in Toronto long ago.

So pop on over to Erin's blog & take a look.  Trust me, the pictures of this beautiful family and sweet props will bring a smile to your face.  

The past six days have been a whirlwind of activity for me.  I really can't remember when I sat down during that time.  My body finally told me today to slow down and breath.  It was pouring rain and I had the workshop to myself.  I gathered my supplies, brewed a cuppa tea and started working on the terrariums that I blogged about a couple of weeks ago.  My first step was to watch the how-to video at Canadian House & Home.  It was extremely helpful.  So take a look at what I did this afternoon.  I added a few tips from my experience too.