The penny trick: You can remedy droopy blooms by tossing a couple of pennies into the vase. The copper reacts to the plants, and just like that, the stems start to straighten out. I owe this bit of flower power to Lexi Foster of Leaf it to Lexi, who hosted a class on florals and building terrariums at my local West Elm just a couple of weeks after I had moved here. She was sweet, knowledgeable, and incredibly welcoming, which was very much needed for my new-to-San-Diego excitement/nerves.
Since then, I’ve followed her work from weddings—check out this sustainable kumquat tree centerpiece!—to magazine covers to features on sites like Style Me Pretty and 100 Layer Cake. She has a knack for color and incorporating non-flower elements, so it’s no wonder that pretty much every arrangement of hers is Pinterest-worthy.
And between daughters who surf and parents who make and sell their own jam—it’s clear that she surrounds herself with a lot inspiration. Today she talks about her favorite book, cooking ruts, and the bliss of laundry day.
Name: Alexis Foster (a.k.a. Lexi)
Age: 37
Hometown: Kingwood, TX (although San Diego is where I’ve lived the longest!)
Current city: Oceanside, CA
Professional title: Wife, mom, part-time payroll manager for Surf Ride, and floral designer
The beach.
Our family’s happy place is the beach! I think it’s the one place where everyone in our family is happy the minute we get there, besides church. There’s something deep inside my soul that’s comforted the instant my feet hit the sand. The sounds, smells, and overall sensation is just peaceful to me. I feel extremely blessed that we live so close to the ocean and are able to take advantage by visiting 3-4 times a week during the school year and almost every day of summer. We love that our family and friends love it as much as we do, and we get to build crazy fun memories when we go!
Date night.
The best way for me to relax and recharge is a night out with the hubby, girlfriends, or my sisters. I love eating out at fun local restaurants, some of my favorites are Gregorio’s or Las Olas in the village of Carlsbad or The Flying Pig or The Privateer in Oceanside. It’s an added bonus if we can ride our bikes there! When someone else cooks for me, I’m beyond stoked and knowing I don’t have to do dishes after—heaven! I’ll be honest, I’m in a rut with cooking—when I’m smack in the middle of wedding season, all I want to do is heat and serve. My creative energy is focused on flowers, not dinner. It’s such a chore to think about meal planning for the week. After I’ve delivered the flowers for a wedding, a dinner date out is my way to celebrate!
Reading.
Whether it’s my morning devotional to help me focus for the day, kids’ history and literature books for school, or a great book before bed, I love to read! I think being a mom of 3 very busy girls makes my mind run on overdrive at times. It’s so tough balancing a family with a business, but what helps me quiet down for the night is a few pages of a good book. Otherwise, my type A personality takes over and my mind runs all night long! I love stories that explore new territories for me, and I truly admire good writers. It’s amazing to think of the creative process an author goes through in order to create a beautiful story. One of my absolute favorite reads is The Language of Flowers—of course about a floral designer!
Laundry.
I know I’m probably the only wife and mom who will admit this, but I LOVE laundry! It has always been one of my favorite chores since getting married. When I had my first baby, I remember being so fascinated by how little her clothes were! And they were so cute! I love how clean everything smells fresh out of the dryer.
Thanks, Lexi! You can also find her on Facebook and Instagram.
Have a good weekend, friends!
First photo by Melissa McClure; all other photos courtesy of Lexi Foster
