Saxapahaw Holiday Market

The Saxapahaw Holiday Market this past weekend was a huge success! The ballroom looked beautiful and was decorated very festively. So many people came out (despite the cold) and everyone was very nice. The holiday spirit abounds! Thank you to everyone who stopped by my JAKE & META table.

Welcome December

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that December is off to a beautiful start! Sunny and high 50s in our neck of the woods. Still hoping for snow at Christmas...

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Nov 23 Emerson Waldorf Holiday Faire

Come visit us this Saturday, November 23! The Emerson Waldorf Holiday Faire is this coming Saturday from 10:00am-3:00pm at 6211 New Jericho Road in Chapel Hill, just down the road from Allen and Son Barbeque (WELL worth a stop). It's free and on a school campus, so it's very child friendly and will include horse carriage rides. Plus, it's supposed to be warm(ish) again this weekend, in the mid 60s. Hope to see you there!

Nov 17 POP-UP Sunday

We hope you'll come visit us this Sunday, November 17! The POP-UP Sunday Holiday Market is the last monthly pop-up this year and takes place this coming Sunday from 12:00-5:00pm at 509 N. West Street in Raleigh. It's free, and there will be lots of other vendors, including food trucks. Plus, you can bring your dog and right now it's looking like a comfortable 67 degrees this weekend. Hope to see you there!

Black and yellow spider

Spiders creep me out, but you can't help but marvel at them, with their intricate, delicate, life-threatening webs. This one set up shop a few weeks ago and is still there. Today I saw an ensnared bumble bee. As long as he stays away from me, I'll steer clear of him, and we can continue to co-exist... from a distance!

Gift sets

We are now offering JAKE & META gift sets of our popular mini desktop calendar plus our beautiful botanical note cards. You can choose from 6 different note card sets to accompany the calendar:

Freesia-Camellias

Orchid-Cosmos (pictured)

Cucumber Blossom-Impatiens

Gladiolus-Zinnia

Oleander-Petunias

Tuberose-Wild Azalea

They're easy to wrap and easy to mail and make ideal presents for family, friends, coworkers, clients, party guests, teachers, hostesses...

The colorful fall leaves have competition

The sunsets where we live are often quite beautiful, but the one last night was particularly gorgeous. I'm not sure whether it's the cool, crisp autumn air, or the recent full moon, or what, but wow.

2014 Calendar

Our 2014 "Year in Bloom" mini desktop calendars are now available! This year's calendar features flowering vegetables, inspired by a close family friend who told me about the flowering artichoke. I had never seen one before, and it's very interesting looking. This year's calendar really pops, with lots of purples and greens, and a southern pinkeye purple-hull pea from my brother's garden. Check it out at JAKEandMETA.com!

Well into autumn

Happy October!

Where did summer go?

Happy September! This month greets us with trailing antique rose as we say good-bye to the warm summer months that seemed to go by in the blink of an eye. But fall is around the corner (my favorite time of year), and the holidays are on the horizon. Plus, the JAKE & META 2014 "Year in Bloom" mini desktop calendar will be out this month, so stay tuned!

Happy Mother's Day!

From my mother-in-law's garden.

Flowers and butterflies in Audubon

While at the Audubon Gardens in Louisiana we saw many beautiful flowers, and on this one bloom we spied a monarch butterfly. It's challenging to capture the beauty of nature, but I have tried with this butterfly birthday card (the wording can be modified to contain your own message). I could probably spend a year drawing just butterflies, in their infinite variety.

Audubon Gardens

On a recent trip to Louisiana we visited the Audubon Gardens in New Orleans. What a gorgeous day we had, as we rode the St Charles Streetcar to the beautifully landscaped gardens that were in full bloom. At one point, the fountain you see here had 2 Labrador Retrievers circling it, trying to get at the mallard ducks who were paddling around. I think those dogs would have been at it all day if their owners hadn't pulled them back.

May is upon us!

Blue barlow is ringing in this month in the JAKE & META 2013 "Year in Bloom" mini desktop calendar. May is off to an overcast start here in North Carolina, but warmer days are around the corner! Also ushered in by spring is at least one indigo bunting in the backyard. I'll try to snap a photo. We haven't seen him since 2010, and if you've never seen one, they're quite something—like a bluebird on steroids. Stay tuned!

Opal innocence in March

March is here and spring's on the horizon with all of its beautiful flowers. Every image has a story, and this petite flower's is, "All these little blooms crowded together look as though they're clamoring for attention, with their moustached faces disguised as pink petals!" Note: calendars are now half off at JAKEandMETA.com.

February's verbena

Time to turn over a new panel in your JAKE & META "Year in Bloom" mini desktop calendar! I think of purple when I think of February—must be because amethyst is the gemstone for February. Looking forward to warmer weather when flowers like these verbena will be in bloom. Meanwhile, let it snow!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Today is the day to break out your 2013 "Year in Bloom" mini desktop calendar from JAKE & META. A year full of new flower illustrations, ready to greet you each month. If you don't have yours yet, order it here. Here's to a healthy, happy 2013!