flowers

February 14, 2019February 14, 2019

Blush: A Color Story

If fire engine red screams Valentine’s Day, blush whispers it sweetly.

It’s a romantic yet subtle shade, as lovely on walls as it is on flowers. Although it’s a more traditional choice for this holiday than last year’s black and white, they look fabulous together. Blush is also great with deep blues or teal-y greens.

Like the illustrations, destinations, and DIYs in this post, blush doesn’t even have to be about Valentine’s Day at all.

1. Ceramic vase by Polina Shutova 2. Flower arranging how-to via Food52 3. Venice, Italy buildings 4. Are We There Yet? painting by Christina Baker

5. Pink room via Esther Lee 6. DIY Grand Budapest Hotel envelope by Thimble 7. Bellevue Corduroy Skirt via One Loved Babe 8. “Room in your heart” hand-drawn type by Maddy Nye / for designlovefest

9. DIY eraser heart stamp via Cotton + Flax / black + white love 10. Living + Working in 350 Square Feet via Design*Sponge 11. Honeymoon in Sardinia commission (map detail) by Mura 12. Jacome Plaza in downtown Tucson

13. Stenciled Valentine Gift Bags via Martha Stewart / Valentines Day DIYs 14. A rural house with urban style in Ibiza, Spain / h/t sfgirlbybay 15. Santorini illustration by Mari Andrew

Photos link to their sources.

April 9, 2018April 9, 2018

Raspberry and Tangerine #ColorStory

I had been thinking about spring colors, and shades of raspberry pink and tangerine-y orange kept popping up. Even while I was taking in the view of the Colorado River on our last trip to Yuma, a pair of kayaks – one pink and one orange – just happened to float by.

It’s not a color combination I always think of putting together, but a deep orange can look fabulous next to full-on fuchsia.

Since then, I’ve spotted this variations of this delicious duo in art, design, destinations, and DIYs.

1. Raspberry peach lemonade / The Chunky Chef 2. Kayaks on the Colorado River, Yuma. 3. 1957 Swiss travel poster / Artist: Donald Brun 4. Rose and chocolate centerpiece / A Beautiful Mess 5. “Seven Magic Mountains,” Las Vegas / Artist: Ugo Rondinine

6. “Cool Life” fine art prints / Sarina Daikos 7. Apple and root vegetable salad / Lazy Cat Kitchen 8. Sculptural ring / Jaime Derringer 9. Sew-Along: Journal Cover / Caught on a Whim

9. Mexico City Olympics branding (1968) / Lance Wyman 10. Wild Poppy desktop wallpaper / Source: Design Milk / Design: Lisa Congdon 11. Thread necklace / Artelia Accesorios, Buenos Aires 12. Mumbai guide (2010) / Design*Sponge / 2015 guide

13. Printable treat wrappers / Oh Joy! 14. Burano, Italy houses / Josh Trefethen Photography 15. Bougainvillea / Julia Engel

March 26, 2018January 11, 2021

Poppy

The poppy on our patio bloomed over the weekend, so I thought I’d send out this burst of color, in case you could use some extra warmth in your day.

You’ll just have to imagine the chorus of bird songs that go along with it. They’ve really decided to sing their little hearts out these last few days!

October 2, 2017

Museum Day in the Garden

Last Saturday was Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day. The weather was too good to be inside, but they count the Desert Botanical Garden (DBG) as a museum, so we took advantage of the free admission and spent the afternoon walking garden paths.

I guess a botanical garden is kind of like an outdoor museum with living plants and animals.

We saw a hummingbird and bees buzzing around the Garden’s flowers and a big lizard was just hanging out on a rock next to the bench where I was sitting.

Since the DBG no longer allows picnicking, we ate our lunch at a nearby picnic area in Papago Park and were entertained by ground squirrels scurrying around and birds attempting to carry off pieces of a pizza someone had left behind.

Maybe they’re the reason DBG banned picnicking. You really don’t want grackles flying through your museum and dropping half-eaten pizza slices.

April 10, 2017January 5, 2023

March 2017 Photo: Geraniums

It’s been a really colorful spring with lots of wildflowers and a few new additions to our patio garden.

So, for March, I chose this photo of a couple geraniums Phillip rescued from some plant department clearance bin. We also have blooms on our nasturtiums and our dwarf pomegranate tree. The hummingbirds are loving it all, and so am I.

Runners up:

I considered posting a photo either from Southwest Maker Fest or coffee painting at CraftHack, like these two mini masterpieces by Niecy.

Also, we spotted this bus the other day that said “Let’s be better humans.” I don’t know what the story is behind it, but it’s a good message!

Update: I found the Instagram account for the bus! I’m still not totally clear on what their campaign does, but they describe themselves as “a movement in love and humanity,” and that sounds like a good thing to me.