Gorgeous Green

As I'm making my way through the spectrum featuring all of my favorite colors through a series of blog posts, I decided I couldn't wait any longer to show some love to this refreshing hue.  There's something inherently uplifting about the color green, something that whispers into your ear that the world is beautiful and alive.  Green is associated with envy and money, but also life, luck, growth, flora, and a love of this wonderful planet we call home.  Feast your eyes on this collection of photos selected to showcase this exhilarating color.

 

         

Green has a strange ability to infiltrate our senses like no other color.  We've just taken a brief visual tour to experience green with our eyes, but a newly cut lawn might "smell" green or a bowl of guacamole with fresh cilantro "tastes" green.  What do you think of when the color green enters your mind?

Racy Red

As you may know, I'm a huge fan of color. I've been doing a bit of a color study on my blog, highlighting a specific color and its meaning with a set of photos to demonstrate its beauty.  Although I plan to eventually make my way through the entire spectrum, I chose to focus on red next because it's one of my favorites and February seems like an appropriate month.  Red is my husband's favorite color, and I like to wear red clothing so I can watch him fall prey to the sexy spell I cast on him.  Throughout the ages, red lips and blushed cheeks were seen as a sign of fertility and many women have learned to manipulate their looks using this color to attract mates.  Red is the color of passion, anger, heat, and sex appeal.  Here's a photographic journey into this spicy color.

(Click photos to be directed to source)

How does this intense color make you feel?

Fall is My Happy Place

Every single year, I eagerly observe the trees waiting for it to visit.  I walk through the grocery store with a grin on my face as soon as the pumpkins arrive. I plot which scary movies I'll watch on Halloween, and I get all giddy with anticipation when I fill a massive bowl with candy and flip on the porch light.  I brew extra coffee on chilly mornings.  I light cinnamon candles. I utilize both the heater and the air conditioner within a 12 hour span because the warm sunshine gives way to cool nights.  And, of course, I keep my camera close by so I can document the beauty of my favorite season (but don't get too sure of yourself, autumn, I'm known to say that about spring as well).

















Apparently I also take fall portraits of my dog because she's super cute lounging in the leaves and I can't help it. What's your favorite season?

Grandma's Garden

Let me begin by clarifying which grandmother.  The woman I wrote about in this post was my dad's mom. My mom's mother, however, is in great health and lives near my hometown. You may remember her from my trip to Mystic Caverns, where I introduced her and mentioned she reads my blog. But I may not have thoroughly expressed her dedication. What I meant to say was she reads my blog... religiously. And you know what? She notices when I'm slacking.

The last time I visited Grandma Marlyn, she called me out. She wanted to know why I hadn't been posting very frequently. She listened as I said something like "Oh you know I've been busy, and I haven't had much to blog about.", and then she led me to her garden. She wandered around, through various flower beds and landscaped sections of her yard. Pointing out and naming the flowers as I snapped photos of them, she and I combined our efforts to create a future blog post. Here's a glimpse into Grandma's Garden.

Purple Coneflower

Moss Rose

Day Lily

Lantana

Rose of Sharon

We had been visiting to see my grandpa, the same one who took us fishing last summer, for Father's Day. As we were walking down the sidewalk toward the car to leave after all the hugs and goodbyes were over with, Grandma shouted one last thing: "Update that blog, girl!!" So here it is, Grandma. Thanks for the inspiration, and for the occasional kick in the behind when I need it.

A Love Letter To My Muse

Dear Mother Nature,
You are such a babe. You are one of the most gorgeous things I've ever seen, and you never let me down. Whenever I'm in a rut, creative or otherwise, I can head to the nearest nature park with my walking buddy and find an endless supply of inspiration.



When I'm getting ready to spend time with you, I anticipate your presence like you wouldn't believe. I get all giddy, and it feels like the first date every time. Standing at your doorstep, the energy and love I feel for you is overwhelming.



Your beauty is so vast that it's almost more than my eyes can handle. Every part of you makes me happy. You are very easy on the eyes whether I'm looking up...



...or down.



When I'm with you, baby, everything feels right. I know you can be nasty and temperamental at times, but can't we all? When I want to spend time somewhere that never fails to spark my imagination and awaken my soul, I find that being all up in you does the trick every time.



I sometimes wish I could throw my arms around you and show you some affection. And I've tried, but people tend to give funny looks to girls who go around hugging trees. Even if I snuggled up to every tree on the planet, I could never thank you for the ways you've inspired me. I hope to always be in touch with you, my faithful muse.
Love,
Holly

What is your muse? Where do you go for inspiration?

Sweet and Happy Round 2

Happy Monday! Since some of us need a little lift at the beginning of the week, I thought I'd do another installment of happy photos from the Flickr group I started, Sweet and Happy. I'm hoping something here might bring you a smile (click each photo to view it on Flickr).












If you have any photos that are cute, bright, fun, or uplifting and you'd like to include them in the group, you can do so by heading over to the group page and joining. If I see something that makes me smile, there's a good chance it will be featured on my blog to help spread the happy vibes. Have a beautiful week!

Growth

I meandered through the wooded trails of a local park last weekend in search of spring. I've been very contemplative lately, even before things started sprouting. I haven't been considering the kind of growth that occurs in my belly (sorry, patient friends and family members). I've been focusing on other forms of growth- professional, creative, personal. I'm always thankful for any comfort or consistency I'm granted in life but I try to be equally receptive to those big, necessary leaps that help you evolve and advance as a person.



Photography is crazy too. I often find more meaning in a photo when I'm looking at it later than I did when it was taken. Of course real-life views and experiences are priceless, but when you freeze a moment in time you allow that moment to continue teaching you things far after it has passed. And as it turns out, my little trip through the trees taught me a thing or two about the concept of growth.

I learned that in order to achieve growth, you sometimes have to burst through into foreign territory.



Though we often compete with each other in our quest to stand out and make a difference, it's good to realize that we are far more visible and effective when we stand together.



It's okay to allow yourself periods of rest as you assimilate new things into your life. Gather your strength if you start to feel weighed down.



Growth is always possible, regardless of the circumstances or the setting.



Most likely, the lessons you'll learn this season will be entirely different from mine. But I am inspired by the transformations I see in others. What's the next big thing you'd like to tackle?

GIVEAWAY- Pick a Print

Guess what, my loves? I've reached 200 posts and 300 followers on my blog, and it's got me all excited. As much as I try to provide interesting tidbits for anyone who cares to tune in, I have found myself flattered and slightly astonished that there are 300 people floating around in this big lovely world who listen to what I have to say. As a way of thanking every single one of you who have joined the party over the years, I thought I'd offer a chance at winning an art print of your choice from my Etsy shop.



If you win this giveaway, you'll get to peruse the print section of my shop, where I have stocked a collection of images that are bright, colorful, fun, and uplifting. They are all professionally printed on matte photo paper with a white border. Once you find one that sparks your imagination and fits your decor, I will package it up and send it to you free of charge!

TO ENTER:
★ Visit the print section of my shop and let me know which one is your favorite!

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES:
After you've completed the above entry, here are a few extra ways you can win. Don't forget to leave a separate comment for each entry! ★ "Like" me on Facebook and share a link to this giveaway. Leave a blog comment to say you're a fan.
★ Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway. Leave a blog comment with your Twitter username.
★ Blog about this giveaway and leave a comment with a link to the post.
★ Follow my blog. You can follow me through google or Bloglovin' using the buttons on my sidebar. This entry includes current and new followers.

DETAILS:
This giveaway ends at midnight U.S. Central time on Wednesday, February 29th. It is open to international readers- all are welcome to enter! The winner will be chosen by a random number generator and notified via email (make sure to leave your contact info in your comments). All prints in my shop are buy one get one free until the close of the giveaway too, so tell your friends and let's spread some color!

Winter White

Hello and Happy New Year, my lovely friends! I always try to be open to change. Sometimes we fight it, but often what we really need is something fresh and new. A clean slate can be both frightening and invigorating. I've put together a collection of photos to help you start this year off with a bright outlook. Although I'm known to be a color girl, I'm thoroughly refreshed by white as well. It can be dreamy, crisp, clean, pure, plain, blank- anything you make of it really. I'm hoping we can all make something beautiful out of the upcoming year! 

(Click photos to be directed to source)

















Although I can't really complain that this winter has been incredibly mild so far, I must admit I wouldn't mind seeing a bit of white. Maybe I could do without record-breaking snowfall like we experienced last year, but just a little sparkling dust on the ground before the season's end. I'm wishing you a year full of love and magic!