Island Kiss Meets Pumpkin


Never would I have thought to put together pink and orange, but that's how the Fall Palette is giving me courage and confidence.


I happened upon this lightweight, pumpkin-colored (read emberglow) tote in the gift shop section of my hairdresser's studio.

Only because I was actually wearing the scarf around my neck at the time that I picked up the tote did I realize the two accessories would go together.

Then once at home I remembered the yellow (read bamboo) rosebud from an old sweater.

Voila!

Fait accompli!



I feel like an artist who has just finished a painting.

Now I am ready for Fall.

How you are tackling the changing weather?

Fashion on Friday:Fall Palette

I saw the first pear
as it fell—
the honey-seeking, golden-banded,
the yellow swarm
was not more fleet than I,
(spare us from loveliness)
and I fell prostrate
crying:
you have flayed us
with your blossoms,
spare us the beauty
of fruit-trees.

The honey-seeking
paused not,
the air thundered their song,
and I alone was prostrate.

O rough-hewn
god of the orchard,
I bring you an offering—
do you, alone unbeautiful,
son of the god,
spare us from loveliness:

these fallen hazel-nuts,
stripped late of their green sheaths,
grapes, red-purple,
their berries
dripping with wine,
pomegranates already broken,
and shrunken figs
and quinces untouched,
I bring you as offering.

by H.D.

Orchard is the title of this colorful verse by a poet new to me ~ Hilda Dolittle (1886-1961).  Her Imagist style sent me running for the Pantone photo I carry in my pocketbook, the one posted above.

They seem to talk to one another.

Without knowing

they are related

and

have adopted me.

Red Velvet Cake


1/2 cup shortening (butter)                               1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups sugar                                               2 1/4 cups cake flour
2 eggs                                                               1 tsp soda
2 oz red food coloring                                      1 tsp salt
1 tsp vinegar                                                     2 Tbs cocoa


Cream together the butter and sugar.  Add eggs one at the time, mixing after each.   Make a paste of the red food coloring and cocoa powder.  Then add to butter/sugar mixture.  Add the cake flour (and salt) alternately with the buttermilk (and vanilla), all the while blending gently.  Lastly add the soda and then vinegar.

Divide equally into two prepared 9-in cake pans.  Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, checking for doneness at 25 minutes.

Cool and frost.


Frosting


Blend together 5 Tbs flour with 1 cup whole milk and cook over low heat until thick.  Cool completely.

Cream 1 cup granulated white sugar with 1 cup real butter until light.  Add 1 tsp vanilla.  Blend in cooled flour mixture, beating until it resembles whipped cream.

Makes enough to frost one two-layer cake.

Fashion on Friday

Meet Island Kiss!

She first graced my wardrobe this past Spring but quickly retreated because it was plainly too hot for wraps, or anything around the neck.

Months ago I chose the Island Kiss pattern because it highlighted the 2011 Spring Palette.

Now cooler temperatures have lured this lightweight scarf out of the closet.

As Summer turns into Fall I'm planning to use her as my transitional piece.

Clearly she has the umph to keep the Color of the Year alive and well in my closet.

Furthermore she's tempting me with Bamboo!

Overall I've been quite amazed at the way just  a little color knowledge has helped me feel more fashionable and more organized.

What about you?

Fashion on Friday:Honeysuckle

Meet the Pantone 2011 Color of the Year ~ Courageous, confident, and vital!

Over the summer I tried to incorporate this color into my wardrobe even while recognizing that *pink* is not one of my favorites.

It can easily make me look washed out and tired, unless I'm wearing the right foundation and blush. So in an effort to stay fashionable and not look fatigued, I tended to accessorize with honeysuckle.

For example, OPI's *Party in My Cabana* rescued my toenails.

.

Cover Girl *Rose Pearl* on my lips coordinated the look and made all the other pink shades in my closet reflect Pantone's selection.

Finally, here's how I pulled it together for the annual photo shoot.

The blouse is *OLD*, so much so that one of my daughters suggested I not wear it.  I reminded her that seersucker never goes out of style  ;-)

Now that Fall is fast approaching, Honeysuckle remains on the palette.

I look forward to the challenge of making it work in my winter wardrobe.

Larry McDonald Memorial Highway


All we need do is return to the fine highway we were once on.


There is a stretch of Interstate Highway 75 from the Chattahoochee River northward to the Tennessee state line that I have traveled all my life, but that I want to call to your attention today.

In 1998, the Georgia General Assembly designated this thoroughfare, the Larry McDonald Memorial Highway.


Thousands of people pass this sign daily.


I suspect that most ignore it.


Today, on the 28th anniversary of his death, do I especially remember this family friend, former employer, and dedicated American by calling attention to the principles he dedicated his life to teaching and preserving.


The above quote comes from the first chapter of his book, We Hold These Truths: A Reverent Review of the U.S. Constitution, and tells us how to reclaim our freedoms. 

The complexity of social organization does change. Our technologically sophisticated industrial society is more complex than the agrarian society of the eighteenth century. In this regard, that was a "simpler world."

But the complexities of politics (politics here meaning the science of governing) do not change much.

The basic political problems confronting the Framers of our Constitution were as complex as our political problems today - perhaps more so, because they were striking off into the dangerous unknown, whereas

all we need do is return to the fine highway we were once on.

Skip watching the Republican Presidential Debate next week.

Read Larry McDonald's book and use it as a guide to assess a political candidate's worthiness of your support.

He explains the *free way*.