The Power of Colors

While writing the previous post on color, I became acutely aware of my connection with colors. Colors wake me up, challenge me, inspire me, and change me. For me, and for many, color is what makes the world go 'round. Seeing a gorgeous combination of hues is sublime. Just take a look at this and tell me that doesn't light your fire.

A few months ago, I "met" Brandi, a jewelry designer who draws her inspiration from color. This week, she hosted a Color Palette Blog Walk, and here is my contribution. Tomorrow's theme is "blogger's choice--what's inspiring you."

Well, what's inspiring me right now is the time I have had in the woods with my family recently. A camping trip to the mountains, a climbing trip to an old haunt of ours, the quiet discovery of kids in the forest with no agenda and no distractions.

This photo was taken at our campsite. I was trying to capture all the different greens that were glowing above our heads, and the almost graphic quality of the darks where the leaves overlap. The photo doesn't quite do it justice, but making this color palette for it made me happy. I was transported back to the campsite, with all the serenity, scents, and feelings that go with it.

Also inspiring me right now? The skill, tenacity, and finesse with which our girls scaled these rocks. We are looking forward to a lifetime of rock climbing together as a family.

What's inspiring you right now?

Take a look at the color palettes other artists have created here. Amazing.

Design in the Drink

This weekend we found design in some unlikely places—our drinks:

Just-juiced fruits and veggies merged, then separated into a rainbow of layers.

Before it was stirred, the chocolate syrup lay in heavy swirls on the bottom of a glass of milk.

Where have you been finding design?

Apple Mania

The apple pickers brought home a multitude of apples this weekend, and so the fun begins. I am licking my lips just thinking of all the apple sauce, pie filling, cobblers, and muffins (and I think I need to find a good cider donut recipe this year) we will be feasting on soon.

I know so many of you are enjoying apple season as much as we are, and here's a little more apple mania to eat up:

The apple peeler/corer/slicer. Seriously, what did we do before this?

I thought a few crocheted apples would help celebrate our abundance. (As you may already know, I'm crazy for these crochet patterns—this one is by Amy Gaines. I have mentioned them a couple times before: here and here).

Plenty of applesauce, ready for the freezer.

And some more of those caramels, because caramels should never be too far from so many apples.

Nature's Prizes

Nature tables (or nature corners) are places where folks place their collection of treasures found in nature. The objects change with the seasons, naturally, and serve as a connection to the landscape we live within. They can include seasonal crafted items and artwork, as well.

We don't really have one dedicated spot in our home to showcase all our finds from the world outside. Instead, we have bits of nature scattered about the house—artful arrangements here, haphazard piles there. Some are permanent works in our collection, like our shells and sea glass, others come and go, are used to create art, or eventually get tossed back outside to make room for current finds.

We really love our cache of nature's prizes and seasonal artwork, so we're excited to participate in the Seasons Round Exchange for the first time. It is an exchange of items from our nature corners, centered around an appropriate seasonal theme. The exchange's creator came up with the idea as a way to keep the magic of the nature table alive for her children. The hope is that the exchange will bring the joy of the seasons to our homes and hearts.

We're curious to find out where we'll be sending out our package to, we're inspired to find and create a small handful of treasures to send out, and we're so looking forward to receiving a package from our partner! I'll be sure to share our experience as we go along.

The theme of the current exchange is Winter {light}, and sign ups are happening on the Seasons Round site right now, but limited to 100 participants (So, quick! Sign up to be a part of this!).

Only This One Moment, and a Nap

We recently had the pleasure of a much-anticipated hike with friends, complete with four bounding-up-the-mountain girls who stopped, quite possibly, only this one moment...

an impromptu trailside art installation (done completely independent of any adults)...

...and this little cherub, who found her first hike less than thrilling.