Pharsalia

Have you ever been somewhere that is so special and beautiful that you'll never forget the first time you went?  Places like that are almost magical, and they live on in your heart forever!  Pharsalia is one of those places.  

The estate is nestled at the foot of dePriest Mountain in Nelson County, Virginia.  It is warm, so charming and completely breathtaking — beauty everywhere you look.  You must read more about it here.  It's everything they say and more.

​The house and the VIEW!

I happened upon Pharsalia thanks to my good friend Paul at the LBDC.  He told me about Saunders (which I promptly visited with Ericka - Read "Serious Saturdays" to hear the full report).  Then I heard someone from Saunders was doing a talk on fall planting, and I love learning, so I signed up.  I had no idea what I had gotten into and no idea how good what I had gotten into was!  The class was great and super-informative, but Pharsalia -- Gaaaah!  It's so pretty.

While I was at the fall planting class, I learned about a flower-arranging class that was taking place the next day.  Mind you, it was my kind of flower-arranging class -- totally inspired by the seasons. And they were making loose, wild arrangements using the bounty of local gardens.  This probably goes without saying, but I came back the next morning.  

Oh, and I found a feather on the front steps.  Those of you who were at the "Event Planning, Floral Design & Entrepreneurship" class I did last week know what this means!  For the rest of you - someday I'll tell.  ​

​I have quite the collection going!

The drive home and back again was gorgeous.  I passed enormous fields of pumpkins.  I drank a pumpkin-spice latte.  I sang the whole way.  I embraced the moment and it felt good.  

​The drive

​Pumpkin fields

You know what else felt good?  Meeting new friends who love flowers as much as I do.​  Meg taught us how to make cornucopia and we all shared amazing, seasonal food from her book.  Meg is great and the class was wonderful!  I'll be back.

Yep.  There's a swimming pool too.​

More on Philosophy Flower School and the Charlottesville wedding soon!​

Best day of my life!

It always is, and you'll probably see this title again soon.  Ever since I threw away the "back to reality" mentality and started embracing the beauties in each day, the grass on my current "side" of the pasture is greener.  I like green, and so does my friend Mary Ellen of Irvington Spring Farm.

Mary Ellen invited me to work on some projects with her this weekend and I learned so much from this super-talented, green-thumbed flower girl!  We foraged around in the woods, clipped, clipped, and clipped some more.  I'm glad there is someone else in the world that likes to admire interesting bugs as much as I do, because you know Jesse doesn't.  :)  We found the coolest black beetle.  It had a Native American rug like pattern on its back.  We also watched a praying mantis lay eggs outside the window.  Mary Ellen documented it here.  

Tomorrow I'm off to Pharsalia again.  I'd argue it's one of the most beautiful, magical places on earth.  I didn't want to leave today, and that's why I'm going back tomorrow.  And I like Foxie.  And we get to pick flowers and arrange them on her awesome farm tables.  More on this later.

Thursday is the first-ever Philosophy Flower School hosted by the FACS Association at Liberty.  Register soon!  The more people, the more flowers I can bring!  More info here.

The week caps off with a big wedding at Keswick in Charlottesville with Saipua.  

It's gonna be a big week.

CFAW

This weekend is “College for a Weekend” at Liberty University.  It’s exactly what it sounds like -- hundreds of high school students come to campus to see if it’s the right place for them.  Before I became a “philosoflower” (as Jesse likes to call me) I was the event planner, and the Welcome Rally was always my favorite part.  I’m not sure exactly what I loved so much about it, but I think it was this feeling I experienced when I looked out over the massive group of people who had traveled from all over the country (and world!) to be at the event we planned.  It was humbling and exciting to think about the potential inside that room!

The Welcome Rally!​

I don’t think students go to Liberty to just get an education, although that’s a part of the process.  I think what draws them is the desire to live beyond themselves and be a part of what God’s doing in the world.  They go to be champions for Christ who don’t quit.  They learn the truth, they walk in love and they share.  

Being a part of their story is really special. 

Earlier this year I felt the Lord leading me away from that assignment and onto something else that was unknown to me at the time.  That “unknown” is now known as Philosophy Flowers, and someday I’ll tell you the amazing story of how that happened.  But today I’ll tell you trusting the Lord bears sweet fruit.  I’ll also tell you that His plans for you are above and beyond anything you could have ever dreamed for yourself.  

I still get to be a part of this special event called “CFAW” and make lots of flowers for the guests and staff to enjoy.  

God’s glory dwells in the flowers He created and in the hearts and smiles of every one of those students.

I pray that each student will grow up to be excellent at what they do because an excellent God dwells in their lives.

P.S. I love acorns (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!),​ and yes, I practically climbed a tree to get these.

Oh and I took this school-spirited arrangement to my friends at the Wingate Hotel​.  Lots of CFAW parents stay there, and I thought it would be fun to have in their lobby this weekend.