Optimistic Oranges and Yellows

Colour weeks are brilliant! I'm so loving seeing how everyone interprets the day... And having fun finding colour in my own little world.

I know that many people love yellow but struggle with orange. It's often quoted as a least liked colour. But orange is one of the colours that makes my heart sing - the second of my three favourites. For me, it's the colour of creativity and optimism and always lifts my spirits. And orange speaks to me of Africa. 

I don't own much yellow, but orange abounds in my wardrobe. Just small touches but, with its vibrancy, a little goes a long way...

Earrings on a painted lady - strangely, although I love orange, I'm not as mad about yellow. Love it in flowers but that's about it. I bought these little glass earrings specially to wear to a wedding though. It was a request on the invitation that everyone wear "something yellow", as it's the brides favourite colour. Along with the earrings I also wore an olive green silk dress, a red, yellow & olive patterned wrap, a little red satin clutch bag, and a pair of red wellington boots. Err, yes, that's right. Wellies. Definitely one of my strangest wedding outfits to date but also one of the loveliest weddings I've ever been to. The ceremony took place on the edge of a lake in a national park in Wales and although it stayed dry for the hour or so we were outdoors, it had been raining hard all of the week before and started again shortly after we all tramped back down the hill and piled into Landrovers to head indoors for the party. Wellies were a must! At least until the dancing started... I must say that it was one of the sweetest, happiest weddings I've ever attended and the sunny splashes of yellow in everyone's outfits made it feel like the sun shone all day. I've only worn the earrings once or twice since but they always remind me of the occasion, so I hold onto them. Here they're lying on a square of my beautiful heirloom quilt (which deserves a post all of its own), made by a special aunt to reflect me and my life, including my love of butterflies, travel, Tango and Africa... and which she named, Dance of a Painted Lady.

Orange warm and fuzzies - this orange felt flower was one of the very first things I bought from Etsy. Oh, little did I know then what an addiction that site would become and this lovely shop remains one of my favourites. This small orange beauty lives for most of the year attached to a winter coat and she really brightens up many a grey day. Here she's resting up for the summer alongside a tiny carved bowl that I bought back from that trip to Sri Lanka mentioned yesterday, and a graceful dancer, sent to me as a Birthday gift by one of my lovely brothers, when he was living in Belize for a while. All three make me smile inside. Every day.

Citrus bling - these are two of my favourite beaded necklaces - the one casual and great with a pretty dress or jeans at weekends, and the other more formal and often worn with winter woolies or, as it's plenty long enough, as a belt over a chocolate brown tunic to work... A little bit of citrus brightens up any day of the week.

 

Button bracelet - this beautiful bracelet was made specially for me by the bride of the above mentioned wedding. She's an artist and her husband is a musician and we share a love of these things, and vintage buttons. She has a big collection of them and after the first time we met, at a New Year's dinner hosted by a mutual friend, she sent me this in the post. It also has green and red buttons on it and each one is special and different. I was so touched and absolutely love to wear it. She also made one (with a little less glitter!) for Gareth when they first met and he said that he knew then that she was the girl he would like to marry... and when he did, I wore this touch of yellow to celebrate the day.

 

Autumnal pashminas and shawls - no peek into my wardrobe would be complete without a hint of pashmina loveliness. And this orange lovely is one of my oldest and a firm favourite. Remember this and this? Well, that one and that pile and this pile combined are still not the whole collection. Yes, yes, I admit, it's an obsession. But really, they just make such practical sense for a girl who always feels a little chilly in this Northern climate and who gets a bit grumpy when cold. It's a service to the community really to ensure I'm able to keep toasty. And they are just soooo pretty, aren't they?

Keys to my home and heart - okay, not strictly a wardrobe item but this is something that I carry in my handbag every day and its decorative nature and the way it sounds and feels makes me happy whenever I have it in my hand, which is several times a day. My apartment keys provide access to my home... and the keyring with the traditional style beading and the African sea bean (a seedpod which is often found washed up on beaches) is a daily reminder of Home, where it comes from, and where part of my heart will always live.

Apple blossom - a corsage, which I bought last year at a Christmas market and which works in so many ways to accessorise an outfit. Here it's cheerfully decorating my little MacBook, another recent addition to my life. Although it's also not an accessory in the traditional sense, I do feel like the Mac is now part of my essential daily wear too. I had no idea I could ever truly love a piece of computer technology. But oh, how I do love this little beauty. I've always been a PC girl. Not through any conscious choice really but because it's what I had to work with. And it served me well, don't get me wrong. I don't regret our relationship for a moment and we still work well together. But when a friend was looking to upgrade his laptop and and offered me his Mac, I couldn't resist. And I have to say, I think I'd find it hard to go back. This is love. Tastes change with time and Apple is now my favourite flavour.

Amber sunlight - okay... the window is grubby (blush) and the glare is a little bit much (although I do love it when those flares are caught in the lens) so apologies for those but the sunlight is part of the point here. This amber pendant was given to me by a school friend about 25 years ago. We stayed friends after school even when she moved to Beijing to work and then to Frankfurt to marry. Then she moved again and we lost touch, as sometimes happens. I still think of her fondly and I know if we bumped into each other again, we'd share a pot of tea and chat in the same friendly way as before. This pendant always felt like it needed the sun to properly set it off so, many years ago, I strung it with these beads and it now hangs in front of a window wherever I am in the world, where it catches the sun beautifully, throwing amber light into the room and distracting me from the need to clean the windows...

A sunshiny and optimistic Orange Wednesday to all!

♥