Cool Off with Courtly Check

The Dog Days of Summer

Or as the French say,

"Canicule"

In any language, this time of year is

HOT ~ HOT ~ HOT

But I know a place with cool temps and cool things.

Come along with me to . . .

Neiman Marcus' Gift Gallery

And my favorite MacKenzie-Childs' look

~ Courtly Check~

Ottomans, Pillows, and Poofs

Courtly Checks and Courtly Stripes . . .

With a punch of red.

Whimsical Fun!

A fashionable mix for the table.

Delicate porcelain from

Mustardseed and Moonshine, South Africa . . .

Absolutely adore these

fabulous chargers in poppy red . . .

And the Courtly Check covered cake plate

ready to head out to a picnic.

Bowl Full of Sparkly Courtly Check Balls

Organically Styled

Metal Accent Pieces From Donna Karan

A Bit of Asian Influence

Bamboo Chargers by Juliska,

topped with MacKenzie-Childs Courtly Check dinner plate,

Mustardseed and Moonshine salad plate in poppy red,

and porcelain noodle bowl with chopsticks by Donna Karan.

Such a clever presentation with the

chopsticks an integral part of the noodle bowl design.

Interesting Layers of 

Color, Pattern, Texture

Beaded Coral Napkin Ring,

Kim Seybert, NYC

Eclectic fashion makes me smile!

I find it all

~ Pretty COOL and Inspiring ~

Tell me, what do you think?

Table styled by the talented Mr. Glenn!

Joining

Masterpiece Monday @ Boogieboard Cottage

Tabletop Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life

Rednesday @ It's A Very Cherry World!

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here

Tablescape Thursday @ BNOTP

Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

The Regal Hue ~ Violet

Do you see it?

It's there at the base of these glorious poppies . . . Violet.

Violet is the base and lavender is a tint of this royal hue.

These beautiful lavender jewels were grown

by a very kind and thoughtful lady.

Meet Bella of Bella's Rose Cottage.

Not only is this beautiful woman an amazing gardener, she is also a very generous gardener. She frequently shares exquisite photos of the beauty of her Washington state garden, but by August, Bella's stand of lavender poppies had withered.

The whimsical green seed pods that once looked like this, had begun to dry up.

Bella harvested thousands of tiny specks of rich black seeds that popped out of these pods.

Then she carefully packaged them and this thoughtful lady offered a packet of these seeds to her readers who like to garden.

Mid August an envelope, the color of delicate lavender, arrived at my home. This little package had traveled from the North West bearing a beautiful stamp of violets and containing this sweet little package of poppy seeds.

Yes, Bella, here at Hyacinths for the Soul we live by the motto:

" Flowers Feed the Soul "

Thank you, sweet garden friend. In the next week or so I'll be spreading these tiny seeds in some Texas garden soil. Come next spring I hope to have lavender poppies gracefully dancing in the breeze. My heart will be full of joy!

Click here to visit Bella's Rose Cottage where you will find delightful treats await you. Bella is not only an accomplished gardener, she is also an inspiration in the kitchen as well as in her beautiful Victorian home. She had an article published in Old Fashioned Living and has been featured on numerous blogs. Drop in to visit Bella and tell her Hyacinths sent you.

I'm joining Mrs. Matlock in the last class of Rainbow Summer School for the color Violet. Click here to see a list of other participating this week.

Red is for Poppy

Red is for poppies growing 

wild in the breeze of a Texas spring day.

Here in central Texas red poppies 

can grow naturally along highways, in vacant lots, 

parks, and the gardens or yards of individuals.

In 1995 the US Post Office commemorated the founding of the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe, NM, with a postage stamp featuring Georgia O'Keeffe's famous painting, Red Poppy, 1927. My talented friend, Kay, sent me the above little work of art that year for my birthday. It is a set of the stamps framed by a quote from O'Keeffe that Kay uniquely penned and embellished:

Nobody sees a flower

Really.

It is so small.

We haven't time,

And to see takes time.

Like to have a friend

Takes time.

~Georgia O'Keeffe~

In 1927 Georgia O'Keefee, being a pioneer in the Modernist Movement, used a unique approach to paint flowers. She wanted to paint what was in her mind's eye and in her heart. Her series of flower paintings are much like photographs that have been cropped to show close up details.

If you take a flower in your hand

and really look at it,

It's your world for the moment.

~ Georgia O'Keeffe~

The Georgia O'Keefee Museum opened to the public in 1997. It is the only museum in the world dedicated to an internationally known American woman artist. With a collection of over 3,000 of O'Keefee's works, this jewel of a museum is a must see for those who appreciate this legendary artist. Currently one can view a special exhibit entitled, Georgia O'Keefee: Abstraction. This exhibit runs May 28 - September 12, 2010. After seeing the exhibit, I picked this little bouquet of poppies in the museum gift shop. They are actually writing pens.

One stayed behind with my hostess 

for the guest book in her Santa Fe casa.

The others came home with me

 to be given as party favors sometime in the future. 

 I'm thinking ~ perhaps a poppy themed tablescape?

I'm linking this post to the following weekly memes:

Rednesday with Sue @ It's a Very Cherry World!

Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday Rainbow Summer School