I PREFER LIVING IN COLORS

If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you have probably figured out that I love

COLOR😊  Last year I informed you that the color of the year was LIVING CORAL which you can read about HERE.  So aren’t you just wondering & wondering about 2020’s COLOR OF THE YEAR.  I won’t keep you in suspense, but here is a clue…

According to the PANTONE COLOR INSTITUTE (which seems to be the go-to for this sort of thing), 2020’s color of the year is............ 

                             

CLASSIC  BLUE

So what is the Pantone Color Institute?  According to its website it is “a consulting service within Pantone that forecasts global color trends and advises companies on color in brand identity and product development, for the application and integration of color as a strategic asset.”  They seem to be the “expert” on choosing colors, although you will find that various paint companies (like Behr or Sherwin Williams) will have their own colors of the year….so basically I guess it’s just who you want to listen to!

Here is what Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute, tells TIME about CLASSIC BLUE . “It’s a reassuring blue, full of calm and confidence. It builds connection.  The sky at dusk – it’s not a midnight blue, it’s thoughtful, but it’s not so deep and mysterious,” she said. “It speaks to our feelings of anticipation, when you think about the sky at dusk, the day isn’t over. You’re thinking, what’s ahead of us? It’s reassuring, but thought-provoking. It highlights our desire for this dependable, anchoring foundation on which to build as we cross the threshold into a new era. We’re living in a time that requires trust and faith and confidence. We all see this blue sky and can relate to it, it’s approachable.  We’re returning to classics because everything has been chaotic in the world.”

Anyway….I have read that some refer to CLASSIC BLUE as being similar to indigo or

azure.  Whatever you want to call it, it is NOT my best color.  I do wear navy blue and I do have a little blue in my kitchen color scheme (red, yellow, blue…sounds wild but it’s not😊), but blues are not colors I lean toward.  

Of course, blue is a favorite color for many people so I’m sure some of you will be very happy with this year’s choice...and here are some ways you can incorporate this year's color into your life.

Talbot's  $69.50

Much more reasonably priced @ Belk  $17.90

Talbot's  $116 (yikes!) 

Much more reasonably priced @ Belk $27.90 

Nike $224 (are you kidding me???)

Vans $75 (better tho still pricey)

Or you might want to incorporate CLASSIC BLUE into your décor with these…

Crate & Barrel

Anthropologie

Even Kitchen-Aid has gotten in on the trend

However, if you are like me and blue does nothing for your complexion (or you don't use it in your decorating scheme), NO WORRIES because evidently there are other colors in fashion for this Spring & Summer that are going to be popular.  Want to know what they are???  Well, read on!

FLAME RED...

I love, love, love RED!

 FADED DENIM

Not for me!

BISCAY  GREEN

I really like this color combo

 CORAL  PINK

Pretty, but again...not my best color

 SAFFRON

I really like this color!

CHIVE

I prefer darker colors for fall & winter

WHITE

Nothing beats classic white or black...always in style!

So….are you a blue person???  Which of these colors do you like best?

PS:  Once again I am behind in posting and in commenting on other blogs…alas, I just can’t seem to keep up!!!!  The month of December and the first part of January were shot due to my illness, but thankfully I am almost back to 100%.  Hopefully I will reach one of my 2020 goals…to be more prolific with my blogging!!!!  Time will tell.

Hope all of you are doing well and enjoying the new year and the new decade!!!

“ORANGE” YOU GLAD…IT’S ALMOST FALL???

Well, FALL may be only 6 days away, but it sure doesn’t feel like it here in south GA!  The temps have been horrendously hot here this summer, and they are still going strong.  I did hear it may drop into the 80s later this week…still not cool, but sure better than 105!

FALL is my favorite time of year…although I really like it better when we call it AUTUMN.  I just like the sound of that word😊  And I do love the beautiful leaves, although where we live the temperatures do not lend to changing colors, so we have to travel north if we want to see the glorious shades of yellow, gold, orange, red, and brown.

And one of my favorite things about FALL/AUTUMN are the colors….especially ORANGE!

Yep…I love ORANGE!  It’s a color I wear well.  And so…since I’ve already blogged about PURPLE and BLUE, I decided it was time for ORANGE.

According to information I found HERE…

“ORANGE triggers more reactions than any other hue. It is often associated with something strongly negative or strongly positive but is considered to be a "happy color" in many cultures, representing the aspect of joy which raises the spirits and invigorates the observer. (No wonder I like it so much!)  It's associated with joy and sunshine and represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, and DETERMINATION.”

In many Asian cultures, ORANGE symbolizes good luck & prosperity. But this bright, cheerful color also has some religious undertones.  According to some sources, ORANGE represents joy in Christianity… joy which is considered the catalyst of acting on faith to receive God's blessings.   (I really like that!)  

Of course, in our western culture ORANGE for many of us represents HALLOWEEN & THANKSGIVING.  And another of my favorite things for this time of year is PUMPKINS!  I am a PUMPKIN SPICE GIRL!!!

In case you are ever on JEOPARDY, here is some PUMPKIN TRIVIA for you…

*A French explorer in 1584 first called them "gros melons," which was translated into English as "pompions," according to History. It wasn't until the 17th century that they were first referred to as pumpkins.

*The original jack-o'-lanterns were made with turnips and potatoes by the Irish.

*Over 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkin are produced each year in the United States.

*The world's heaviest pumpkin weighed over 2,600 pounds. It was grown in Germany in October 2016.

*The largest pumpkin pie ever baked weighed 3,699 pounds. (My son would have gladly helped them eat it...he loves pumpkin pie.)

Since I was thinking so much about ORANGE, I decided to do some window shopping…well, at least surfing the web shopping; and here are some of my finds, in case you are interested.

I love to wear this bright color, but mostly in the fall & winter months.  Here are some sweaters that should brighten up a cold, dreary day…

This one is from NORDSTROM…$59.00

But compare that to this one from AMAZON for $17.99.  So similar but definitely difference in price.

 And this one is probably the one that I would choose, also from AMAZON and also $17.99.

I also like this one from TJMaxx...$16.99.

How about a pretty ORANGE purse for a pop of color with the browns and neutrals of cooler days?  This one is Tory Burch, but quite pricey @ $348 (and if you read my last post you know I’m a sucker for a bargain…which this is NOT!)  I would not pay this for a purse that would be limited in its use. (I do love my more neutral Dooney & Burke’s that were gifts from my husband!)

But I would definitely buy this one from Amazon for $15.51 (if I didn't already own an ORANGE purse:)…very, very similar, aren’t they!  And what a savings!

And how about this SNAKESKIN one???  Snakeskin and other animal prints are very ‘IN’ this year!  This purse is on 50% sale...$19.98!

And here are the SHOES to match from a different seller...$72.96, but again a little too pricey for me when they wouldn't go with a lot of things.  But I do REALLY like them:)

I'm seriously thinking of ordering this ORANGE plaid wrap from TJMaxx...only $9.99!!!:) Plaids are also 'IN'!

I do like to decorate some for FALL/AUTUMN but since I use so much RED in my home, it’s difficult to mix in my beloved ORANGE.  I do, however, make use of our big wrap-around porch.  I found this cute, cute pillow at Wal-Mart for only $5.96.  By the way, they had other cute fall pillows for only $5.  And…I bought a really, really cute BUFFALO CHECK one for Halloween, but I will share that later😊

Well, I guess that’s about all I have to say about ORANGE…and 

ORANGE YOU GLAD?  (tee hee!)    So how about you, do you like the color ORANGE?

THE COLOR PURPLE

What’s your favorite color….red, blue, green, yellow, orange, purple???

I really love all colors, but if I was “forced” to narrow it down to just one I suppose it would be RED.  It’s one of the colors that I seem to wear well, plus it’s just a bright, cheerful color (in my opinion).  But this post isn’t about RED!

Awhile back I wrote a blog post about the color BLUE…you can read it HERE if you are a BLUE fan.  But today I have had the color PURPLE on my mind.  

Have you read the book or seen the movie THE COLOR PURPLE?  I haven’t read the book but did really enjoy the movie. 

And…I can never think of the color PURPLE without thinking of my good friend and co-worker CINDY.  She taught kindergarten for many years at the same school that I taught 2^nd grade.  We also went to church together.  Sadly, we lost CINDY a few years ago due to cancer.  Not only did the world lose a wonderful teacher but also such a sweet, sweet person.  Anytime I see ANYTHING PURPLE, I think of her.  Cindy adored PURPLE!  She even had PURPLE shag carpet in her master bedroom:) 

I decided to do some “surfing” (my hobby) and see what PURPLE images I could come up with.  (As I’ve mentioned before, I am usually on my computer while sitting with my hubby as he watches TV.) 

If PURPLE is your favorite color, you might be interested in this.  Let me know if this fits you😊

I love the smell of lavender...isn’t this just absolutely gorgeous?  Can you image the smell????  So lovely!!!

Is there really such a thing as a PURPLE rose?  I’m not sure, but this one sure is pretty.  I do love PURPLE coneflowers…my husband says they remind him of his grandmother who planted them.

And PURPLE hydrangeas!  One of my favorite flowers.

These days it seems to be popular (at least among the younger crowd) to sport various colors of hair…blue, pink , even PURPLE!  This looks lovely in the photo but I think I’ll just stick with my gray brunette.

But who could resist PURPLE M&Ms…or any other color for that matter!  (Like Lays Potato Chips…I can’t eat just one!)

I imagine the photographer of this photo used some type of special lens, but no matter how she did it, it’s absolutely gorgeous.  But God’s handiwork always is!

And did you know this?  PURPLE is not seen on any country's original flag.  (A very few redesigned flags of our time have some purple on them.)  Can you guess why????

ANSWER:  PURPLE dye was much, much too expensive! 

Until the 1800s PURPLE was worth more than its weight in GOLD!

I learned this from a VIDEO I came across; it's really interesting & I learned some new things…(don't you just love to learn new trivial stuff?)

*PURPLE has been associated with royalty, power, & wealth for centuries (but you already knew that).

*Queen Elizabeth I forbade anyone except close members of the royal family to wear PURPLE.

*PURPLE dye was obtained from a small sea snail that was only found in the region of Tyre in the Mediterranean.

*10,000 of these sea snails were needed to produce 1 gram of this PURPLE dye.  (That’s a LOT of snails!!!)

*A single pound of PURPLE dye cost 3 pounds of gold (the equivalent of $56,000 today).

I sure am glad that (synthetic) PURPLE dye is more accessible today because our school colors are PURPLE & GOLD and I have several PURPLE shirts in my wardrobe to cheer on our teams!

And one other teensy bit of wisdom that I'm sure you all really need to know...there is NO word that rhymes with PURPLE.  (Of course, you could make up one...GURPLE, MURPLE, TURPLE????)

So…as FOREST GUMP would say:  That's all I have to say about that PURPLE.                        Hope you enjoyed all my PURPLE nonsense!  And now I leave you with this to ponder on….

*IN MEMORY OF MY SWEET PURPLE-LOVING FRIEND, CINDY

I'm Feeling........BLUE!

B L U E

There are so many shades of BLUE;

Different tones & different hues.

Not all of them are sad

Though blue’s reputation is rather bad.

The ocean is BLUE and the sky is too.

Brides carry something BLUE when they say “I do.”

Some eyes are BLUE, robins' eggs are too...

What does BLUE mean to you?

I’ve been wanting a new hairdo…maybe this one???

And what drug were taking when you dreamed this up???

Is this the BLUE BIRD of HAPPINESS?

This is what’s called “strutting your BLUE stuff”😊

BLUE deliciousness!

Wonder if he held his breath until he turned BLUE…hmmm.

Bet she can talk a BLUE streak…

"I wish to stay drenched

forever

in those rain-BLUE eyes"

Who found the BLUE spray paint???

Dandelion in my hand I’ve come to set you free…

In return won’t you please grant this wish to me?

Wishing you BLUE skies and sunny days:)