I recently found these images of actress Maureen O'Hara in her 1940s garden, and I'm completely smitten. The joyful look on her face, and the blanket of flowers at her feet is almost too much for my flower-loving heart to handle. I much prefer these lightly staged images of celebrities in old Life magazines, to the gaudy oversharing of paparazzi rags today. Sometimes a little distance is a good thing.

But I digress...flowers. 

I've had little luck with flowers in our window box up to this point, but I may have to give it another go. The direct sunlight for almost every daylight hour makes just about everything fry. Any suggestions? Email me to let me know! - b.

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Back in January (!!) I had the opportunity to art direct my first marketing campaign for BHLDN. One of the most rewarding experiences of my career thus far, I was immensely proud of the results (see more here). I've often been asked what it means to "art direct" something and my answer to this is that they should imagine every aspect of a photo shoot from conception to completion and that it was my job to see it through every step of the way.

For the location, we decided to rent the Penthouse in the Ludlow Hotel. A small perk of this decision is that I actually got to stay in the Penthouse the night before the shoot! The next morning I snapped this short series of images to commemorate such a momentous occasion in my life. Let's get real, it's not every day I get to stay in such a lavish place.

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My favorite part of the stay was without a doubt, the extra-deep bathtub. Talk about a luxe bath, I soaked in the hot water for at least an hour before emerging a new woman. To complete your picture of over indulgence, I'll leave you with an image of some of the dress styles from the shoot. Note: these are not my clothes (wink). - b. 

Here she is, my petite blushing beauty. She reminds me of a Titian masterpiece I've long adored, the Venus of Urbino, with her fleshy pink highlights punctuating the milky backdrop she lounges on. Yes, I'm personifying flowers- Life imitates art this week.

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I don't think I need to tell you this arrangement feels like a romantic escape from the everyday. The season-less palette makes this a perfect combo year around, and most of the ingredients can be found at your local Whole Foods or Trader Joe's with ease. See the ingredients/anatomy of this bouquet here.

See what I mean, she's a total Venus. - b.

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Vase- BHLDN | Table- IKEA | Tablecloth- Etsy (similar)