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Floral Arranging – Just Try It!

September 9, 2014 by Katie Nordine

Beginning Bunch of Flowers

What you will need:

  • Pre-made flower bouquet in bright colors with some daisies
  • Scissors or sheers
  • Short square vase
  • Water
  • Time
  • Patience

Katie Nordine, of Nordine Events, used to be frustrated by flowers... no more!

Floral arranging used to be something that made me irrationally nervous. There was some part of me that figured if I did something like that it would have to be of the caliber of something worthy of a wedding or a magazine photo shoot. This was a silly way to approach something that can be fun, relatively easy, and worthwhile.

My mom grew up in a time when women were expected to know how to do all this “entertaining” stuff that seems to have passed me and my peers by in our training for adulthood. The reason this happened is to be lauded as since the 1950s, women have taken over a large population of the workforce. I would never have had the professional opportunities if my mother’s generation hadn’t gotten out of the home and into the fray. While domestic skills didn’t necessarily remain top of mind for the baby boomers, thankfully, many still retained the knowledge of how to do these sorts of Martha Stewart-ey tasks. They all seemed to be bakers, chefs, expert napkin folders, seamstresses, etc. I am happy my mother has been willing to pass on these skills to me. I imagine my grandmother gained these skills from her mother, who in turn, learned a great deal of them from her mother, and so forth. The ladies of yesteryear also had “home economics” as a subject in school, which undoubtedly included some of this stuff too. I think home ec. still exists in some areas, but I doubt it has the same content as it did in Donna Reed’s era. Below we see my mom, her mom, and maternal grandmother. Holy Mad Men Season 1-2, people.

Three generations of my mother's maternal lineage. Where it all began... or at least a few generations.

As an aside, I still don’t know how to blow-dry my hair correctly. No matter what, it always comes out not really straight and incredibly fluffy. With varying degrees of success I attempted to make up for all the lady-learning I was supposed to do as a child or in adolescence when I was in my early-mid twenties, which is when I realized I wanted to be vaguely feminine in how I presented myself to the world. Needless to say, I lack a lot of these skills. Unlike my late extremely lady-like grandmother, I am still a serious work in progress on the lady-like front. Here’s a picture of how my grandparents looked, presumably, all the time:

Oh, the 1950s... Can you imagine the time it would take to make your hair do that? Insane.

Can you imagine the time it takes to look that put-together? I barely have time to put my hair in a sloppy knot and run out the door. But I digress…

I love to accessorize in every sense of the term. As much as I love a good piece of jewelry, I also enjoy how flowers can dress up a space. Unfortunately, until recently my idea of arranging flowers was to buy a pre-made bouquet, find a vase, fill it with water, trim the stems, shove them in the vase and hope for the best. Discovering how simple it is to make that pre-made bouquet in to a delightful arrangement has been a game-changer.

First step in doing a simple arrangement is choosing a pre-made bouquet you like. I found the one for my demonstration at Trader Joe’s. They do a nice job of putting together bright and balanced pre-made bunches. If you have time or the inclination, visiting a florist will yield more high-quality flowers in addition to allowing for the exact stems you want, but for the sake of practice I recommend going with a store-bought bunch.

Select your vase.

I enjoy all cut flowers, but I am loving the shorter vases these days for a few reasons:

  • When using them as a centerpiece they are short and do not impede even the slightest of guests from seeing across the table to engage in conversation.
  • They are sturdy. I have small children and appreciate a low-risk decoration.
  • They are easy to use for arranging.

Open the bouquet and carefully separate the flowers by type so you know what you are working with for your arrangement.

Now you have a bunch of cut flowers

Because balance is a large part of what you are trying to achieve in your floral arrangement, having the flowers organized will allow you to have a sense for how many accents you have to play with as you build.

Cut the flowers at an angle so that they are of varying lengths but no more than four inches (10 cm) taller than the vase itself.

Always cut at an angle

Always cut flowers at an angle. If you cut them at about a 45 degree angle it maximizes the amount of water that the stem is able to take in by creating the largest possible surface area exposed to the water.* This will ensure that your flowers will stay fresh for as long as is possible. Some people even take apart their arrangements every day or so to trim down the stems to give it a fresh surface from which to drink. If I had the time for that, I probably would too.

*The one exception to this rule is if the flower or green you are trimming has a “woody stem.” In this instance you smash it with a hammer after you cut it… sounds fun, no?

Remove the Leaves

Trim off the leaves that would be submerged in the water. If you don’t do this the water will grow bacteria faster which will require you to change your water more frequently.

Trim off the Leaves

Use the daisies as a lattice structure for the rest of the arrangement.

Insert second stem from the other side

Place the daisy stems in the vase at alternating directions and angles.

Alternating direction helps create a solid strucutre for your arrangement

By doing this you create a lattice structure that will act as a foundation for the remaining flowers and greens. This will help your arrangement be tighter and more secure. If you don’t have any daisies in your arrangement I would suggest purchasing a small bunch of greens to create your lattice structure before you move on to the accent flowers. It reminds me of a teepee.

Here's how the stems look in the base

Place your accent flowers in at alternating angles and directions.

Begin adding other flower types alternating direction and spacing evenly

Remember you want to achieve balance in your display.

Continue arranging flowers until you are satisfied

I find it easiest to work with one type of stem at a time so that I make sure I am evenly spacing my various colors and shapes. I work with what I have the most of first and then continue on, finishing with what I might only have one or two of at the end. This way I can see a balanced bouquet and carefully choose where I want my final accents to go. Keep playing until you are satisfied. Voila!

Voila your arrangement is complete

“But wait,” you say, “There were purple flower casualties and I have some broken flowers! What do I do with them?”

Purple Flower Casualty

Invariably a few stems will be broken leaving blossoms that can’t be used in the larger arrangement.

Small bowls filled with water can hold the buds that fell off the stems

Fear not. You can use small bowls (or shot glasses) with water, in which your separated blossoms can float, to create little flower accents to place on the table around your beautiful creation.

Single buds can accent your arrangement

Enjoy your creation! Now you, too, can cast aside your irrational fear of floral arranging!

Your final arrangement can brighten any space

Filed Under: Decorations

Wine Box Buffet

July 8, 2014 by Katie Nordine

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Wooden wine boxes have many uses…

If you want to create a more rustic look to your party, consider using wooden wine crates in your decoration scheme. It’s a great way to upcycle  a lovely container that offers a fashionably functional way to enhance your buffet decor. Over our 4th of July this year we presented our pot-luck buffet with this whimsical technique. I would also suggest this as a decoration idea for any wine tasting or wine and cheese party for a nice thematic touch.

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I have always liked beautiful packaging. Growing up in a toy store I often took note of the toys that arrived in delightful boxes. It sometimes seemed worth purchasing the package regardless of the contents. These products always stood out against the sea of clear plastic packaging. Invariably, these toys were the top shelf toys.

As an adult, I have also taken note of the products that come in beautiful packaging. Such beautiful packaging can even have a place in the home as part of your kitchen decor. This is different, however, from the habit of many a co-ed during their collegiate years of lining up liquor bottles on the top of kitchen cabinets, mantles, you name it. I am not sure why that’s a thing, but it is. That said, the majority of wine ships from the manufacturer in the cardboard boxes all too familiar to most of us. There are many high-end or boutique labels that are transported in wooden crates. Even if you aren’t buying a case of wine, ask the purveyors in your local wine shop if they might have any lying around, since often they sell their libations by the bottle and do not have a use for the boxes.

The wood is sturdy and the warm natural tones are pleasing to the eye. Use them on your buffet table to change the elevation of your dishes. Doing this can add depth to your presentation, allowing each dish to stand on its own, in addition to enhancing your ambiance with a rustic feel.  This look can be achieved both by using the box as a simple stand for your platter or, depending on the dimensions of the box, you can stand it so that it is open, creating a shelf for presenting either food, centerpieces, or as a fun gift table structure.

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If your event does not call for the rustic theme, they can still be utilized to create the same depth of presentation by placing them either underneath your linens (if they are long enough) or underneath a coordinating linen. In this way they can enhance your buffet or gift table.

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As an added bonus, they can be used to store your event materials (napkins, paper plates, twinkle lights, tea light candles, etc.) between parties.  If you want more ideas like this, contact me anytime!

Filed Under: Decorations

Meet Katie, the Party Planner

June 8, 2014 by Katie Nordine

Meet Katie

Photo credit: Heroic Photography


I’m Katie Nordine. I love parties.

I was born in Chicago a few weeks after Lennon was shot and a few weeks before Reagan was inaugurated. I’m not sure why that matters, but on Christmas Day of 1980 I came in to this world, ironically given my chosen profession, meaning that my parents had to miss the family Christmas party.

I come from a long line of small business owners, artists, and artisans. I have worked in various fields (advertising, alumni relations, and entertainment, to name a few) for a long time. While I love to work and learned a ton from my experiences in the 9-5 world, as the birth of my second child loomed, I decided it was time to branch out on my own and work for myself. You know, take the genetically bestowed metaphorical entrepreneurial bull by the horns. Thus, Nordine Events was born. I offer creative ideas and solutions to help people make their event as special and magical as they can imagine. Events are work, but they are also great fun. They provide an outlet for boundless creativity within the constructs of something utterly recognizable: a party. You can craft a menu, invitations, decorations, map out the flow of the day or evening. There are countless ways to create an event. These variables create a puzzle to be solved. I am the Indiana Jones or Robert Langdon ready to put together the pieces to your party puzzle. Okay, so it might not be that dramatic, but I sure enjoy doing it.

I also studied ethics in college at Wesleyan University, so if there are ways to complete the needed tasks for an event that can also do good in the world, I am the first to try to find these opportunities. For example, one of the caterers I use creates delicious menus and also runs a program that provides job skills to folks who have fallen on hard times. I think that it is possible to have your cake (a delightful event where the food is exquisite) and eat it too (while supporting a worthwhile cause).

I am kind of a recycling and conservation nut because of my mom. So if there is a way to reuse something that would otherwise be refuse in a creative and decoratively pleasing way, I will find it. I will share some of my ideas for using recycled materials to create whimsical presentations in later posts.

I recall when I was a three year old and my parents threw a sparkling, chic, special party at our house in Uptown–on the occasion of my mother’s 30th birthday. I remember, after being put to bed, still hearing the revelers below in the house. I sneaked out of bed and peered through the cracks between the banisters to watch the grown-ups have their fun. It being the mid-1980s, there were sequins, cocktails, music, dancing, and laughter. I loved watching the people laugh and talk to each other as they enjoyed each other’s company. The live music in the background over the din of conversation seemed to influence the movements of the group as a whole. It was magical. I recognized my parents’ friends, but they were different, changed in their party finery. That was the night I fell in love with parties.

Having a Christmas birthday means you don’t get a lot of birthday parties, which is actually fine by me. While I know many people adore being the center of attention at birthday parties, showers, or weddings, that’s not my style. In my own life, I prefer to host parties that exist for the joy of the party. Connecting with friends and family and enjoying delicious treats are the best reason to throw a good party. That said there are certain occasions in life that warrant having a shindig. While I am not sure I understand the impetus for having a dog birthday party, power to the people that want to throw one. At least the guests will get to accomplish the most important goals of any get-together: connecting, eating, and drinking.

I have always adored the art of presentation. One aspect of any good event is the ambiance or tone the host is trying to create. Achieving this thematic feeling is all about how you decorate, create the menu, craft drink choices, choose tableware, etc. I have always loved making things look camera-ready. My mother, Marcia Bernsten, owned Saturday’s Child, a toy store in Chicago that she opened when I was ten months old and closed when I was 23. At the store I got to play with making displays for the windows and around the shop. It was great fun, which is good considering how many afternoons I spent there after school. Later in life, I transferred these skills to event planning. After all, parties are all about presentation. You present the foods, the wine, the home or venue, the people, the gifts, and at some parties, the fundraising literature.

My sister was a born chef. She works in the bustling Chicago culinary scene, as general manager of Over Easy Café, where she creates menu items and runs the front of house. She also owns Hoppin’ Hots, the Hot Dog Hut where traditional and modern takes on a dressed-up sausage–a meal not to be missed. Since this was clear at an early age, I was relegated to setting the table. I can set a mean table. In hindsight, I’m thrilled it worked out this way as I gained a passion for cooking in college and these days I am no slouch in the kitchen myself. As an adult, I have honed these paired skills and neurotically hope to make any party I host seem like there is a chance that Martha Stewart might just swing by with a camera crew ready to do a spread on my soirée.

It is my opinion that good food speaks for itself, but not just in how it tastes or smells. Truly great food looks good, too. I registered for white dinnerware for our wedding because I always want the food to be what people focus on rather than the china. Food is colorful, and having white plates allows the true colors to jump out at the observer, making something that tastes and smells good also have a truly pleasing visual aesthetic. It is an added bonus. Unless someone is tied to a color scheme that cannot be changed (or is serving ugly food) I would always counsel clients to go with white serving ware. I know some will disagree, but that’s my two cents. Glassware is a totally different story. I find that there can be fun and whimsy when thinking through glassware. In later posts I will explain some of these ideas more fully. Stay tuned!

In this blog you will find out more about me and my Nordine Events family. I hope you find my thoughts informative–and a little humorous. My ideas range from traditional to wacky–to suit the occasion and the hosts. I hope that I can offer you an idea that will act as a catalyst for your own ideas to add something special to your next party.

If you ever want more specific suggestions for party planning, please contact us at Nordine Events and we would love to help you make your party as special as you see it in your mind’s eye. I live in Evanston, just north of Chicago, with my husband, Dave, two children, Nils and Vallely, my mom, Marcia, and her husband, Andrew. While Nordine Events is primarily me, I draw upon the talents of those close to me to ensure that my clients are given the most incredible service imaginable.

I hope you come back to read my thoughts on entertaining. Have a lovely day!

Filed Under: Event Planning

On Entertaining…

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