Tuesday, July 7, 2009

What's Hot


I am SO into orange this summer. It's such a warm, pleasant, spicy
color, don't you think? The first photo is the lid of an African hand
carved soapstone box I picked up at HomeGoods, of all places. I also
found a luscious burnt orange silk throw there, last weekend, as well.
.
Clockwise in the collage photo, throw pillow from the sofa in the
family room at Willow Manor, my fave orange handbag, orange
ginger jar (also a HomeGoods find), and a sweet little piece of vintage
.
Orange brings to mind this poem I love, by Janet Frame.
.
.
Summer
.
At midday then the sweltering mother
bedded in wheat and wharves rose
to give food
gold sea and salt bread to the city.
.
Deep from her blue apron pocket
she drew a ripe orange to slice
and squirt light
--your mouth was stained with sun.

66 comments:

  1. what a sweet piece of writing - yours and the poem!! i also love the objects you shared - orange is a colour i shied away from until this year when my kids convinced me to wear clothes that were "pumpkin-coloured". so i did. and i like them. the clothes and my kids! "stained with sun" oh yes indeed. steven

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  2. wow...great piece of writing willow! refreshed by the drop of orange. the carving on the soapstone box is very cool as well.

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  3. Willow---I love that part that says "Deep from her blue apron pocket she drew a rip orange to slice and squirt light". Great visual! And how nicely blue and orange go together---complementary colors. Do you have a certain "theme" of colors in your house already and just move them out as you incorporate orange? Is your house very neutral so that you can do this? I have a tendency to have a certain color "theme" in my house and though I love orange too, it seems as though it would clash here at my house. I tend to have golds, yellows, reds and greens. Maybe the red is all I need to get rid of to use orange. It seems to go with all those other colors, right?

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  4. What a perfect summer poem! And yes, there is something so vibrant and "spicy" about orange.

    I met a friend in Oxford today, and she had a red and orange bag (with elephants on it) that came from Bangladesh. I think that I need more orange in my life. :)

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  5. BTW, I LOVE The English Patient. One of my favorites.

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  6. I adore orange. It has grown on me over the years. Something about it makes me feel so happy and energized when I see anything that is orange. The kitchen at my last apartment was orange and now I really want to paint a wall in one of my new rooms orange. I always love your poem selections. So fitting.

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  7. Teri, the family room and kichen area is fairly neutral, so I can change the accent colors easily, with the seasons. This summer, I gave it a little splash of orange.

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  8. Orange is probably at the bottom of my list of preferred colors. But it was my mother's favorite, preferably paired with lime green.

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  9. An unusual colour for McCoy...and so pretty! I see you are reading The English Patient. One of my favourites, and so much better than the movie, don't you think??

    Sorry about the mosquitos!

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  10. that's cool. Oh to be able to conjure up such images!

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  11. yummy orange- different hues - not the sixties kind of orange- not the shag rug orange but rich rusty, spicey, squashy,poppy, nasturtium, blood orange orange! Love your offering of orange!

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  12. Linda Sue, yes! That luscious blood orange orange!

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  13. Great for the decor and very flattering to wear (most complexions). My orange shirt, about the colour of your bag, brings many compliments.

    I particularly like that spice jar.

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  14. Great concept here; the orange objects, the poem, the feel of summer through and through.

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  15. Is paint like clothes but for the rooms? Change them -- change colors.

    Nobody washes walls these days. My mom used to hire herself out to do that in the days of cook stoves and coal stoves and before paint came along for indoor use. It was wallpaper everywhere that was stained by soot and coal oil fumes and whatnot.

    I love the poem.

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  16. Spicy orange additions...I love it! I also think the poem was a perfect choice. I change color accesories from winter to summer.

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  17. Love the orange! Everything!

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  18. A bit of spice to perk up your room...like paprika perks up a deviled egg! :)

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  19. I have not particularly been into orange...but your creative touch...makes it a drawing factor..

    sweet place you have! lylah

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  20. Ooh - my favourite colour! Your collection of orange items is lovely. I like the poem too. Orange is happy!

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  21. Francis Bacon (now at the Met) also adored orange. As do I. As do prisoners. And as Paul Eluard said:
    La terre est bleue comme une orange
    (The Earth is blue, like an orange).

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  22. you make orange look very good - nice montage :)

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  23. Lovely poem!

    I'm not a huge fan of orange in the summer time -- too hot. But I make an exception for day lilies, tiger lilies, sunsets, and sunrises.

    And for Leighton's 'Flaming June.'

    http://www.paintinghere.com/painting/Leighton_Flaming_June_46.html

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  24. Orange is truly a juicy color. Orange always makes me happy when I see it used in interior decoration. I think I am going to have a glass of orange juice to celebrate the color orange.

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  25. Yes, a refreshing colour, Willow. And always a refreshing blog, too.

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  26. I love orange too! In fact, am wearing it now. You have such a lovely collection here. And I also enjoyed the poetry.

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  27. Loving that handbag ... looks amazing! I have a citrine necklace that is a pretty orange-y shade, and I only wear it in the summer.

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  28. Wonderful poem, and the warm pops of orange are delightful. I love that Home Goods store--that and Marshalls and TJ Maxx--I can always find something good in them. I guess it's a good thing I haven't had time to shop or I'd be snatching up all kinds of goodies with these temptations!

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  29. as a leo/sun sign i'm a lover of all things orange, as well - many moons ago i had a craftsman bungalow that was filled with beautiful dark woodwork - my bedroom was huge and had two sets of french doors opening onto the wraparound porch - i painted the walls a beautiful deep orange - it was breathtaking - well, to me it was, anyway! great post, girl! thanks for sharing - jenean

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  30. love the poetry. orange isn't particularly my color - but, i do love orange chocolate! :-D

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  31. ORANGE - love this post! When I was in my teens my bedroom had the most amazing orange theme - or at least I thought so! It had a very ornate orange/white/blood orange Victorian wallpaper; orange bedspread; orange/blood orange shag rug; bamboo chair with an orange cushion and the drawers on my dresser and desk were painted alternately white/orange/blood orange. I know it sounds wild but it really was tasteful and I LOVED IT!

    By the way, I also enjoyed your previous post on Capt. Jones. The quote at the end is wonderful.

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  32. Being a bit of a pink, blue and red girl, you've made me appreciate orange a little more! Lovely poem! Yes, I think you would appreciate Cocteau, Willow. There's a scene in Orpheus from memory when they're in the Poets Cafe. Cocteau was truly a poet heart and soul and that shows in his films. xx
    Lavender oil is good on the bites and you shouldn't scratch them!

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  33. I've been into orange for the last year of so. It is such a happy color.

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  34. Perfect. Orange. The English Patient. Ice tea. No schedule. Love your new header. How do you do that? Are you photoshopping?

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  35. I'm usually a blue girl but add a little orange and Zing! it's gorgious!Love this post. The colour and the poem.

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  36. I like the image of the orange emerging from the deep blue pockets.

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  37. Lovely carving... I thought it was a woodcut :) I feel the same way about orange!

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  38. I have to admit I'm not an orange person Willow, maybe because I'm a pale blonde with even paler skin. I look like an alien being wearing orange - with the capacity to scare old ladies & young children at 50 paces! But oh, I do love fresh oranges piled high on a white platter on the dining room table!
    Reading your events at The Manor today, I detect a decided air of real relaxation - sounds fantastic, do enjoy every moment my dear.
    Millie ^_^

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  39. Funny how things come and go. For years I loathed orange because it reeked of all the hideousness of the 70s - burnt orange, lime green, brown - shudder! But it seems to be everywhere at the moment and I must say I'm quite enjoying it. You should never say never. Leigh

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  40. 'your mouth was stained with sun'. I am still savouring that line, sucking the juice out of it and then swallowing it up in one gulp. And yes, that pot is pretty nice, too ;-).

    Greetings from London.

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  41. Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!
    I would not know which to chose if I had to, all those orange treasures or the poem. I am grateful you wrapped them all into one fine post, brown paper and string in the header above as an extra gift. Merci beaucoup! :-)

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  42. A gorgeous selection of Orangeness

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  43. Hello Willow,

    Lovely orange pieces, all of them, although it is a powerful colour. Believe it or not, we painted the kitchen walls an orange shade in our last house!

    Very FANCY header too!

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  44. Willow, What can I say to all of this, your blog is always amazing. I am passing on an Award to you over at my blog page.

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  45. loving that purse!

    cool new header...

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  46. Love orange too and think it's gotten a bad rap over the years; goes so well with blue (apron) too!

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  47. What a wonderful poem to honor the orange, as I'm sitting here with a glass of REAL Florida orange juice my Mother just brought me frozen in a bottle she had just squeezed the day before she came to visit...mmmmm...

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  48. I love orange, too. It's a life-force color, it is summer.

    LOVE your new banner.

    Re: your mosquito bites. When I was teaching witch camp, every year we had a contest. The camper with the most mosquito bites won some sort of prize (don't remember what the prize was). The winner inevitably had dozens of bites, usually more than 100. Can you imagine? Yikes!

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  49. Well, how lovely..and is this a coincidence or what.. I put an orange T shirt on this morning for my run! Just got back and found you suffused in orange...hmmm....Thanks!!

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  50. What a groovy new header! As for the bites, I recommend some calomine lotion.

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  51. I'm loving that handbag, Willow! Orange is always popular at our house, especially when paired with red!

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  52. Okay Willow...orange truly does depict WARMTH but also a lovely SPICE too. I always love a tad of SPICE!

    I covet your orange handbag!! I absolutely LOVE it!

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  53. Haha. I'm quite the fan of orange too. :)

    And what a lovely new header! They just keep getting better, Willow.

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  54. Me too .. I have done various shade of orange nail polish on my fingers and toes every week since mid-April ... wear it with hot pink if you want to really rock things

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  55. That's a lovely, juicy piece of poetry.

    I'm very into orange lately, which is quite a departure for me. I have a great pair of orange sandals...if it stays dry long enough I may even wear them this summer! I just made an orange and yellow skirt to match.

    cheers!

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  56. Love it willow. Also you are reading one of my favourite books (and films) - I think The English Patient is wonderful. Enjoy

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  57. I had a flower pot exactly like the one in the bottom row. It's weird to see it again!

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  58. Firstly I love your new banner photo - but not as much as I love your orange bag

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  59. I love orange too! It's a happy colour.

    Kat

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  60. Isn't HomeGoods the best!? I love to shop there because they always have something unusual. I'm digging all your orange. Very sunny! Lovely poem.

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  61. What a beautiful poem. I need to check out more of her writing. Thanks!

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  62. Wonderful poem: "bedded in wheat and wharves" and "mouth stained with sun." Perfect.

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  63. i am so drawn to orange.
    your orange ginger jar is a knockout.
    xx

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  64. "-- your mouth was stained with sun."

    What beautifully evocative phrasing.

    Orange is a color that's grown on me over the years. As a young redhead, I shied away from reds, pinks and oranges, but as I've gotten older I've gotten more bold. Maybe by the time I'm 90 I'll be loving flourescent colors!

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  65. If I had to pick a favorite color (which is very hard for me), it would have to be burnt orange. I love the rich warmth of it, and it always evokes the feeling of autumn for me. ~Lori

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  66. lovely orangey pics and the poem is wonderful

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Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)