Color Tile: Mirage to Marvelous

This color combination has calming warm and cool colors with the perfect citrus pop, the bold, fun colors.  The dark /light contrast allows for depth and drama without being gauche.  

Anything but Common

Queen Anne's Lace ~ Summer in the Queen City area would not be the same without it!  At first glance, Queen Anne's Lace looks to be a sturdy bloom, but look a little closer  and you can see the delicate tiny flowers that make up this Yellow Canary favorite!  It adds a delicate and earthy dimension to arrangements and bouquets. 


My Grandfather Stewart's favorite flower, I spent plenty of time as a child reaping this wild flower to present to him and in turn, he taught me about the workings of plants and flowers by allowing me to use food coloring in the bouquets' water and having me watch closely as the snowy white Queen Ann's Lace turned blue, green and yellow as it drew in water. Year after year, I never ceased to be amazed by this trick!  (VG)

The Story of Queen Anne's Lace   

Queen Anne was tatting white lace.  (Tatting is the all-but-lost art of making lace by hand.)  The beautiful white lace she was tatting became the white lacy flowers of thewild carrot plant.  She pricked her finger and one drop of blood oozed out.  This became the central dark red or purple sterile floret that is present on some, but not all, Queen Anne's Lace flowers. Legends disagree as to which Queen Anne was tatting such lovely lace.  Some say it was Anne (1574 - 1619), the first Stuart Queen Anne, who was brought over from Denmark at fourteen years of age to be a Queen to King James of Scotland.  Others argue  it was Anne (1665 - 1714), the daughter of William and Mary, and the last monarch in the Stuart line.

Life Moves Pretty Fast...

I was stuck in traffic on Race Street downtown, and thoroughly annoyed.  This was not the way I had planned my day to be!  I began to work myself into a bit of a tizzy, when I rolled my eyes up to the heavens, I noticed that looming just above my head was the most magnificent facade!  Instantly, my annoyance was turned to glee as I was able to safely shoot a snapshot without fear of bodily harm.  I have lived most of my life in the Cincinnati area and never once noticed this architectural gem!

I was suddenly transported to Saint Marks Square in Venice.  "Traffic jam, what traffic jam?"  I'm on a gondola!  After a little investigating I found that the Lyric Piano Company building has been surprising and delighting Cincinnatians since 1919 and is even on the Queen City Tour.  Well, color me surprised.  I definitely learned a lesson in that traffic jam.  Sometimes all you need to do is to slow down and take a look around.  You could be missing out on so much around you for want of pausing for just a moment to stop and look around you!