Wrigley Field is the home of great history, culture and, of course, one of America’s favorite teams, the Chicago Cubs. The venue is our country’s second oldest active major ballpark. Many of the greatest players in the game have graced its field. It’s fitting that a Valspar limited edition color collection was developed. The colors are: Ivy Green, Marquee Red and Pinstripe Blue.

    
    Cubs Ivy Green        Cubs Marquee Red      Cubs Pinstripe Blue 

For those of you unfamiliar with Wrigley Field, one of its signature traits is the Boston Ivy that covers the outfield walls. The ivy starts leafing up over the course of the early spring. Baseballs in play often get lost in the deep, green leaves. When this happens, the play is ruled a ground-rule double.

Wrigley Field’s bright red marquee is famous, not only in Chicago, but throughout the world, as it has appeared in numerous movies and TV shows. Wrigley has set the scene in such films as: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Rookie of the Year, Bleacher Bums, The Natural and A League of Their Own.

 The Cubs’ blue pinstripes are simply classic.

To celebrate the majesty of Wrigley, Valspar is holding a raffle this Sunday, July 12th at the doubleheader between the Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals. The winner of the raffle gets to throw out the first pitch at the September 3rd game against the cross-town rival, the Chicago White Sox. If you’re at either game this Sunday, you can enter the raffle by finding the Valspar booth near Gate F, where they will also be taking donations for Habitat for Humanity to benefit the Chicagoland area.

Next week, the raffle will also open up online and I’ll post a link to it when it’s running. Needless to say, this is one opportunity Cubs fans can’t miss!

 Incorporating the three Cubs colors into a room is a great way to celebrate the team and their home field. Try them in a bedroom, family room, study or playroom.

One of best ways to work with these three powerful colors is to give them a neutral backdrop to pop against. You can try: Shoreline Haze, Milestone, Cliveden Sandstone or Ancient Scroll.

Shoreline Haze 6008-1B   Cliveden Sandstone 3007-10B    Ancient Scroll 3008-8B

For an additional detail to add to your baseball room, you can check out one of our recent Friday Project Series: Baseball Shade.

I hope some of you take this on. Let us know what your results are! We’ll be sure to raise a “Cubs Win Flag” in your honor!

The Social Security office building was much like a doctor's office. The waiting room was painted a soft, warm peach color, which was actually quite soothing. It was as though a team of color psychologists had come in and given a color prognosis. Everyone in the room seemed relaxed and chatted quietly or read. When the administrators came out to call the next person, it was done so calmly and everyone paid attention. 

Conversely, my trip to the DMV was not as pleasant. The office was housed in an older 1960s government-issued building. The colors throughout the waiting area were a disorderly mix of dirty mint greens and grays. Needless to say, the hapless souls waiting for their number to be called looked haggard and weary and the two and a half hours seemed endless People were restless and upset (I couldn't believe my seven-year-old outlasted me in patience. For that I will forever be grateful!).  

I couldn't help but think what a different experience the DMV trip could have been by simply changing the color of the paint and the lighting. I would love the chance to go there with our team and repaint the place in the same soothing peach colors from the Social Security building.

I love the colors of the Fourth of July. The red, white and blue ring in the start of summer.  I can tell we are getting close to the big day... I’ve seen the kids running around, collecting boxes of sparklers, and teenagers hiding a benign arsenal of bottle rockets, roman candles and whistling dixies.

Our town is gathering fire engines, classic cars, floats, marching bands, horses and, of course, kids dressed in Americana costumes.  They will parade down the main street as they have done for years.  We all come out to cheer them on.

After that, we gather around the pool, recite historic poems, listen to a speech or two and sing a ton of patriotic songs. Then, it’s off to a huge picnic with field games and moving from table to table trying out what everyone is serving up.

Finally, the fireworks let loose.  It’s the best!  Believe it or not, this is scaled down from when I was little.

I give a lot of credit to our founding fathers and mothers, who were incredibly brave.  I try to imagine what it must have been like for them to stand up for all they believed. They were willing to give up their way of life, their homes, and even their lives for a better world for others.  We are the grateful beneficiaries of their sacrifices.

Spring is the time for renewal and this season, new styles are coming from exotic lands such as Turkey.

With a tradition of unique decorative arts, the Turkish culture, formerly the Ottoman Empire (1299-1923), is a treasure trove of divine inspiration. Arts and crafts were molded by its rich history and religion—Islam.

Islamic art varies hugely from Western art, primarily influenced by the Koran. In this Islamic tradition, depicting human form in art is forbidden. Therefore, Turkish or Ottoman art relies on the pure balance of color, line and rhythm in geometric patterns and designs. Rugs, tapestries, glass work, metal sculptures, mosaics and paintings all share similar characteristics of precise detail, harmony and elegance.

Turkey is also known for its famous blue Iznik ceramics, which are decorated with abstract and intricate patterns of floral and fauna designs. Ornamental square, rectangular, hexagonal and triangular tiles still adorn palace walls.

Iznik pottery melds form and function beautifully.

 
The colors used in this art form are blues, viridians, reds and golds. Touches of green pull these colors together and balance the red and the blue perfectly.

                   
      Dazzle 4005-10C            Berry Blush 1004-1A         Salamander 6001-8B

These colors and patterns are becoming more trendy. I have even spotted them in a window display on my street!

If you would like to expand your knowledge of Turkish history and art, I recommend one of my favorite novels, My Name is Red  by Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk.

The book is about the Ottoman Empire and the influence of art. The story follows the murder of a painter in 1591. In each chapter, the perspective and narration changes, even to such unexpected ‘characters’ as a coin, a dog, and even the color red! This beautifully written novel is a true work of art, full of color, history and suspense. Let me know what you think!

The Artichoke - of delicate heart erect
in its battle-dress builds - it's minimal cupola;
keeps stark - in its scallops of scales
...
So you have it - a vegetable, armed - a profession (call it an artichoke)
whose end is millennial
we taste of that sweetness - dismembering scale after scale
we eat of a halcyon paste
It is green at the artichoke heart.
(excerpt from “Ode to an Artichoke,” by Pablo Neruda)

The glorious artichoke is the large unopened flower bud of a plant belonging to the thistle family. It originated from Southern Europe, around the Mediterranean, and there is evidence of artichokes being cultivated in Naples in the ninth century.

Castroville, California is the artichoke capital of the U.S. In 1948, it crowned its first artichoke queen, a little known starlet named Marilyn Monroe.  In her honor, the Norma Jean cocktail was created, containing Cynar (the bitter artichoke liqueur), gin, lemon juice, sugar, crushed ice and mint leaves, a delicious and refreshing sundowner.

Low in calories and nutrient rich, artichokes are an excellent source of fiber and vitamin C, and also rich in foliate, magnesium and antioxidants. My favorite artichoke recipe is simply boiled with a little lemon juice. The leaves are removed one by one and dipped in hollandaise sauce, vinaigrette, melted butter or more lemon juice. The heart is eaten after removing the inedible hairy choke.

The beauty of this long process is that you can admire the vegetable at each stage of undress, like an interactive kinetic art piece. The artful artichoke transforms with each step, from its coarse outer purple leaves lined with silver, to tender moss green leaves edged with delicate pink, each one unique and delicious.

Indeed, the colors of the artichoke span many tones and shades of green, purples and pinks that blend together naturally and can be a great source of inspiration.

                                  
 Lyndhurst Castle Sand 5008-1C       Lyndhurst Celadon Green 5004-1B
                       
                                 
                                   Pale Orchid 1003-6C

Little notes and lists float around drawers and table tops while bags and boxes of semi-precious collected treasures gather dust in closets. Combining these would result in more space and clarity, like perhaps turning the old corks and seashells into a board on which to pin my memos.

I started by cutting the corks length-wise and gluing them on a stiff square piece of cardboard in a random pattern of horizontals and verticals.

I like the colors of corks, their gradations of ochres and browns, with the vineyard's name printed down the side and the faded pink stains of wine.

From my seashell collection, I chose brown, gray, white and beige specimens to create a border. I glued a variety of sizes and shapes all around the corks.

Thanks to color, the contrasting textures of warm earthy corks blend with the shiny hardness of the shells.

Finally, I pinned forgotten invitations, future plans, memos, photos and souvenirs.

Started by Queen Anne in 1711, the Royal Ascot is the premier social event of British horse racing. It takes place every year at the end of June and the five days of the "Royal Meeting" provide one of the most unique and colorful occasions on the sporting calendar. Besides going to witness top class horse racing, the crowds also come to see the Queen and other members of the royal family – the Queen always taking center stage.

But the real spectacle of the Royal Ascot is the festive "Ladies Day" parade, as the Royal Ascot brings out the best and most elaborate fashions.

All spectators are expected to dress up, while members of the audience in the "Royal Enclosure" are required to wear formal attire, with hats for the ladies and top hats for the gentlemen (lucky for us Yankees, overseas visitors are welcome to wear the national dress of their country).

The hat competition is fierce, ranging from the bizarre to the beautiful. The more outrageous the hat, the better, in this “heady” celebration of color and creativity.

This year was no exception:

The Queen looks cheerful and elegant in yellow while Prince Philippe is dashing in his top hat.

Checkmate!

Cucumber and watercress sandwiches - very British indeed.

A sphere – an homage to the old empire?

Social Butterflies

Mind your head, Marie Antoinette!

Purple is royal

Going green

The beautiful people

Peacock or ostrich?

Standing still too long. . .

A royal napkin?

        Gone Fishing 5004-8A    Betsy's Linen 7005-16      Lunar Tide 6006-3B