Happy Chinese New Year!

The ox symbolizes hard work and persistance. Modesty, calm, patience and honesty also personify the ox.

Our new President was born in an ox year - how fitting?!

It has always been our great joy to work with brides to incorporate their heritage into their wedding day. Charlotte, one of those brides, came to us with an idea for an elegant and traditional Chinese inspired wedding. Her family was coming from China to the Central Coast - and she wanted familiar themes throughout the day. We live for this!
Thank you Mike Larson for sharing your images with us.

For some facinating tid bits about Chinese New Year visit: Chinese New Year: Year of the Ox.

Therapy - It's a Beautiful Thing!

The researchers from Rutgers determined that the flower recipients in the study experienced an elevation in mood that lasted for days. And Chinese healers - who've long believed in "flower power" - say that it doesn't stop there. They say you can utilitze flowers to summon whatever power or emotion you'd like - and that the secret is in the flower's color. Each color creates a different frequency of lightwaves, they believe, which travel through the retina and down the optic nerve, setting off a chain reaction of responses in the body. Neurotransmitters are then released, inducing the production of calming hormones like melotonin, stimulating hormones like adrenaline, and mood-boosting hormones like serotonin.

For example, RED stimulates adrenal glands, boosting energy. ORANGE strengthens the immune system, among other things... INDIGO also helps to free the mind of worries, fear and inhibition.

Read more about this study at About Flowers.com.