pantone color report

I just love, love LOVE these colors from pantone's fall 2012 color collection. Especially rose smoke... how gorgeous it would look with french roast or, my favorite stand-by, black. It's refreshing to see some brighter colors too, such as tangerine tango. I will feel confident wearing these gold earrings well into December! Now, I'm on the hunt for a cozy fall sweater in honey gold or rhapsody. Aren't these colors such fun...

image via pantone

oh, wear! noir

Black feels so comfortable and familiar to me. Wearing black makes me feel safe and sophisticated even if I'm having a bad hair day. Black seems so rote when it comes to party or evening attire, but I always find it classic and appealing. After all, it's not called a little black dress for nothing. Here's my sparkly version... an ode to noir.

spring dreamin'

Even though the temperature outside is reading 9 degrees, I am keeping up a warmer climes state of mind as I finalize the spring 2012 collection for marissab.com. I'm loving the colors seen spilling down the runways (hello pistachio!) and can't wait to see some of those same colors spilling out of my closet in the next several months. Who can resist a powdery blue called "ballgown?" Here's a look at what's in store for spring color 2012.

color therapy: terracotta

Terracotta, or "cooked earth," is a color that looks spunky in just about any situation and can be found in so many unexpected places. How ethereal the color can be in this silk cami... what a rich burst of color this shade brings to a dining area.

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color inspiration: bubblegum pink

The not-so-girly side of bubblegum pink. Isn't it fun to see a color out of context?  Always marked for the frilly, the fruity and the adolescent, this shade of delicious pink takes on an edgier persona while still adding its signature playfulness. 

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color inspiration: yellow

 

I've been thinking up ways to add touches of yellow to our living room and the use of yellow in these interior spaces is inspiring!  In large quantities and small, I love the way it brightens up a room. 

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delightful dwellings

 

 

 

 

It might be hard to live in any one of these houses and not be exceedingly cheery.  Neighbors may call these rainbow inspired exteriors eye-sores, but I'm digging the display of color and confidence.  Not shy about color myself, my personal favorites for house colors include rusty coral and lilac.  Not sure what Hero Hubby thinks about those color options...I'll let you know what we decide when the times comes.  For now I'll keep my love of living in color to the inside of the house. 

via DesignSoak

via izismile

via gypsymade

via smoont
via objectifregarder

color inspiration: lavender

 

 

 

When putting this post together I could almost smell the sweet herbal aroma that is distinctly lavender.  Dried lavender wrapped in brown paper is simply romantic.  I love the combination of navy blue with lavender in the outfit... perfect attire for a bicycle ride down a country road or stepping into a taxi on a warm summer afternoon in the city.  The wedding cake displays lavender in all it's culinary beauty and lavender vanilla lip balm looks as delicious as it is soothing.  I love this color and I am on the prowl for some recipes for lavender confections.  What are your favorite ways to use lavender?

outfit | cake | lip balm 

lavender flowers photo via purplefoodie.com

apricot dreams

 

Summertime brings around fresh apricots to our nearby farmers markets and I am all too eager to snap up a pound before they vanish for another year.  Since the locally grown beauties all come from greenhouses, supply is limited.  When I think about using these apricots for anything other than just eating them all on the drive home, I turn to only the most delicious sounding recipes.  Today, I discovered this recipe at mowie kay's fabulous food photography website, mowielicious.  I just so happen to have some frozen puff pastry dough in my freezer which will really make this sophisticated treat easy to make.  

p.s. don't you just love the colors of crushed green pistachios against the bright apricots?

colorful kisser

 

It took becoming a mum for me to discover the power of lipstick.  Be it lip gloss, lip stain, or good 'ole fashioned lipstick, I am smitten with my compatriot in the trenches of motherhood.  Though my hair may be a clump of indeterminable fuzz on the back of my head and my clothes resemble the food pyramid more than Marc Jacobs, my face is aglow with dewy color that lets the world know I still care about upholding some sense of style.  

I just adore these color palettes via Refinery29

oh, wear!

I think bold eyeliner and a nude lip would be smashing with this party dress.  Or, a subtle smokey eye and ruby red lips would also work nicely... Either way, don't forget to daub some perfume behind your ears and knees before slipping into those lovely satin shoes.  I could not decide whether to pair the Marissa B. earrings in jet black or gold crystal... what do you think?

dress | shoes | mb earrings | eyeliner | sunglasses | perfume | eyeshadow

a lovely thing about summer

 

A lovely thing about summer (perhaps the loveliest) are the visual treats around just about every corner - flowers.  Their colors, blossoms, leaves, shapes, heights... I could prattle on about how charged and vibrant life becomes in the summer when you have flowers abounding in fields, pots and gardens, but I'll let their beauty do the talking.  I have always admired the floral vignettes created with window boxes.  They make storefronts more inviting and soften the exterior walls of houses.  Most of all I love their playfulness, and knowing that they are temporary works of art makes my eyes all the hungrier to spot them.  

images by Marissa B. and via the grumpy gardner and little brown pen