Pearl

Recently, Delphine was privileged to design arrangements for a baby shower. The theme was old-world garden...

The aesthetic was airy and feminine for our lovely mommy-to-be and her petite bebe.

Our designs for this baby shower included: Juliet garden roses, seeded eucalyptus, white majolica spray roses, orlaya, and flowering jasmine.

This design is inspired by my great-grandmother, Pearl.

Pearl had three children for my great-grandfather before suffering a fatal miscarriage. My grandfather was just five years old. Her husband brought her to the hospital in the morning before he went to work. When he returned to pick her up at lunch time, he was told that she died.

I cannot imagine the devastation in the wake of her passing. My great-grandfather was never the same. Even his second (AMAZING) wife, our grandma Eloise, could not help him shake his "black dog days."

After Pearl's passing, the pall seemed never to lift. But today, instead of dwelling on the sudden shock and sadness the children must have felt, I think this arrangement captures how the young children perceived their mother. It's bright and delicate and soft. I just love it. Below is a photo of my grandfather as an infant (the photo is mislabeled, btw. He's 6 mos. here, not 1 1/2 years!)

What I love about that photo (apart from how darn adorable he is) is this... I bet he is looking at his mother. She's probably next to the cameraman, making faces and talking her baby, trying to get him to smile.

Pearl was a great seamstress and was, by all accounts, a great and creative keeper of hearth and home - just like my mom!

People often play a game, "Who'd you have dinner with if you could?" I think I agree with my mother when she says, "Pearl." She's still such a mystery to us.

Side note...Pearl's mother was Marie Delphine, one of our namesakes.

Marie Delphine was quite tall, at 5'8" or 9" in her stocking feet. If you know my family, you know that height isn't exactly something for which we are known. We generally hover around 5'3" on a good day -

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For those who are curious, this is orlaya. It dances around in the arrangements as a happy, light finishing flower. Love.