Bouys: Let Color Float Your Boat

Color inspiration is everywhere and this month, House Beautiful magazine has featured a photo of vibrant lobster buoys for their By The Sea color palette. It has deep blues, bright red with stripes of yellow, pink and mint.

It reminded me of my own buoy images from a delightful trip to Maine in 2009. The buoys above are bright and new, ready to mark the daily catch, while the collection below show that they had been bobbing in the sea for years.

Did you know that the color and striping on lobster buoys represents each lobster man and his license. Each operation has their own matching buoys. Isn't that interesting? Can't you see me at the Secretary of State (or some such office in Maine) asking to trade for a better color combination as my signature? I mean, if I was given the brown and yellow combo (above) I would have wept.

Color is everything to me. Which color combo would you request? 

Sno Valley Mushrooms: Beauty Sold at the Issaquah Farmers Market

I love going to farmer's markets, don't you? I see beauty everywhere and I take a lot of pictures. A basket of apple are pretty. Sunflowers are commanding. Tiny potatoes are charming. I could go on and on. Yet sometimes I see a display and stop in my tracks. 

Color (gray, khaki, stone and cream), Texture (smooth as silk) and Topic (mushrooms grown in a sawdust substrate without fertilizer, pesticides, manure or synthetic chemicals = amazing), rule when I am deciding what to write about. Something this beautiful and interesting, deserves the spotlight. No big farmers market post here, this is all about the mushroom.

I bought a carton of shiitake mushroom and I can't wait to cook them as the mushroom man suggested, sauteed with butter and fresh basil. They don't need to be washed or brushed because they are grown out of a block of sawdust substrate, which means no dirt. He told me to tear them from the middle of the cap down, no need to trim the ends either, it is all prime mushroom. 

Take a moment and look at this picture.  Silky smooth mushrooms that grow in a gorgeous natural palette.  Abby Tabak at House Beautiful magazine creates paint palettes that pull from nature. I couldn't help but think of her piece on mushrooms when I saw these fresh mushrooms at the market. I could decorate my entire living room in these shades. 

#housebeautiful #mushrooms #designideas

Inspiration Board

Lately my inspiration board is much more about what I want to look at, than what I want to do.  It is unlikely that I will perform in a ballet with like-minded girls in sunset colored tutus, but I love this image from House Beautiful magazine so much (it was a page showing how to choose paint colors based on images you love - see the matching paint color dots below?) that I put it on my magnetic board, front and center.

I have pretty magnets (more magnets than images right now!), cards from friends, landscape drawings and floral bouquets.  This is what I love to look at and it inspires me all day long.  Want one of your own?  My white metal board is from Ikea and I found a similar magnetic panel at Ikea here.

Delightful Blogs

House Beautiful magazine has recommended that people look into finding and reading "delightful blogs" (March issue, p.78). And since that is precisely what I have been writing about here at MomentsOfDelight.com for the past 5 years,  I want to applaud them and welcome you to my 1,600 original posts.

I am an author, photographer and crafter, so the photos, thoughts and ideas you see here are all mine.  My mission is to delight my readers with topics that range from interior design and baking, to friendship and collecting.  You never know what I will be writing about each day, but that is part of the fun!  

I have a "City Series" displayed in the right hand column that lets you read my posts from a specific city, if you are planning a trip.

Just below that is "Anne's Favorite Recipes" section so you can jump to my recipes by name ("Cheddar Leaves" for Fall parties!).

The "Blog Archive" is displayed by month, so if you want to read about a particular season with me, choose "April" within "2009" and you'll see Easter and Spring posts.  

There is also a "Search Box" if you want to read about something specific like roses or honey.  Have fun!  Reading about delight is good for you.

xo Anne, Architect of Delight at MomentsOfDelight.com

Living Green: Wallpaper that Makes A Room

I love House Beautiful magazine and this month they are celebrating "Living Green."   The issue showcases the use of green paint, wallpaper and accessories for the home.  On their Facebook Page, they've asked readers to post a photo showing how they have decorated with the color green.

Well, I couldn't resist showing them my dining room.  I had an entirely different color scheme in mind when I flipped to this page in the wallpaper book a few years ago.  I remember seeing this paper and saying, "Oh no." 

Nothing about it worked with the plans or fabrics I was thinking of for the space, but I gave in to it and said, "I'm papering the dining room Wellies green."  I loved it and I had never felt so sure of a decorating choice.  The wallpaper is "Oriental Spring Blossoms (GG4721)" by York.

We recently covered the 8 chair pads in a Ralph Lauren plaid that I found by chance and it looks as if they were part of the same collection.  Success!