Fall Home Staging Lunch & Learn...

Here’s a close-up of the pretty pumpkin arrangements.

Here’s a close-up of the pretty pumpkin arrangements.

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Recently, I was invited to Albuquerque, NM by the Bader Group also part of the Keller Williams Company to present at a Lunch and Learn on Interior Design/Home Staging. This was such a great opportunity for me as I had just recently published my first book titled Home Staging, A Seller’s Guide to Staging Their Home. Not only did I enjoy getting the opportunity to share one of my favorite subjects and passions, but I also had the pleasure of meeting some very sweet people.

Here’s a picture of my Home Staging Book.

Here’s a picture of my Home Staging Book.

At the Lunch and Learn in addition to my design presentation, I was able to transform the typical office space into a fine dining room experience. I took my inspiration for this event from the change of seasons with Fall as my muse. I’m including some photos of how things turned out. I also really have to give extra special thanks to the Bader Group for all of their help setting up the event, and helping me put it together as well as making the arrangements for recording the event with Edits Eye 2 Eye. Additional thanks go to The Daily Grind who supplied our delicious lunch, The American Tent Company for the linens and table settings, and a special thanks to the Albuquerque Flower Mart where I was able to hand-select the flowers for our pumpkin centerpieces.

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A view of the classroom set up as a dining room.

A view of the classroom set up as a dining room.

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The pretty fall flowers.

The pretty fall flowers.

At the end of the day, Interior Design is really about helping clients and this involves education. Working with our clients we can teach them fundamental design principles to help them make their homes more functional, and beautiful. A home should always represent the people who live there. Wishing everyone a very happy Fall!

Take care,

Christina

My Visit To A Lavender Farm

 
A view of the Capay Valley lavender farm, Patchwork Farm.

A view of the Capay Valley lavender farm, Patchwork Farm.

When I was a child, I remember going to visit my grandmother and smelling lavender when she opened up her linen closet. She always had sachets or cups of lavender to freshen up her linens and keep the moths away. Funny how you associate certain smells with experiences and they help remind you of different moments in time.

A view of the tasting room.

A view of the tasting room.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go to Patchwork Farm in the Capay Valley about an hour and half away from Sacramento, California.  My sister-in-law invited me to attend an event known as Lavender Weekend.   We went to a beautiful 27 acre lavender farm called Patchwork Farm.  The owner Sherri Wood established her farm in 2017 and currently grows several different varieties of lavender.   Some of the lavender is grown for culinary purposes and these lavenders are smaller in size.  The larger Intermedia varieties that Patchwork Farm grows such as Grosso, Provence and Super I learned are the aromatic varieties.  These aromatic varieties were bundled and dried inside of the farm’s barn which smelled fantastic.  In the store building near the barn, you could see the copper still used to create Patchwork Farm’s own lavender essential oil.  Sherri offers the essential oil and candles for sale here as well.

My basket full of lavender bundles.

My basket full of lavender bundles.

The pretty lavender copper still.

The pretty lavender copper still.

With the smaller cooking varieties, Patchwork Farm offered a cooking demonstration where Sherri was making desserts flavored with lavender, and offered popcorn with herbal seasoning, bread mixes and a lemon/lavender cake mix that I had to buy to try of course.  They even had a taste testing of samples of lavender brownies, lavender breads, lavender beer, and lemonade.  As part of our entrance ticket, each person got to make their own lavender sachet.

With your ticket purchase, everyone received a free lavender sachet

With your ticket purchase, everyone received a free lavender sachet

It's definitely something that I would enjoy doing again.  I loved being able to purchase the different lavender products at the farm. These items included candles, essential oil, food products and the bundles of lavender. I also enjoyed the tasting. It was a lot of fun.  The owner Sherri was very sweet, and it was a great place to have a relaxing day.  With the lavender bundles I purchased, I’ll be updating some of my current dried flower arrangements.

Grosso Lavender bundles drying.

Grosso Lavender bundles drying.

The other variety of lavender bundles (possibly Provence) you can see the difference in the shape and color.

The other variety of lavender bundles (possibly Provence) you can see the difference in the shape and color.

I loved the color of this Bee Balm plant in Sherri’s garden. It coordinated well with all the lavender plants.

I loved the color of this Bee Balm plant in Sherri’s garden. It coordinated well with all the lavender plants.

A visit to the Capay Valley, it's a good thing! It's something that I think people would really enjoy! Here’s the link to check out Patchwork Farm on instagram.

Take care,

Christina