When the weather gets hot and summer is in full swing, I tend to gravitate toward the color blue. It suddenly seems to be the best color for everything from blue jeans with a crisp white blouse or white jeans with a blue denim shirt to decorating with beautiful blue hydrangeas, and a cheese board with blueberries, brie and honey!

Images from top left…a beautiful vase from Lisa Johnson filled with hydrangeas from my garden//Modus Rio Bag//Loft striped blouse with wide leg jeans//Cult Gaia Ark Bag//Spanx Wide Leg Jeans//Coastal Clutch Bag//Elephant Dress from last season//simple jeans and a sweater tank…perfect summer outfit//Charcuterie board with blueberries and honey

Things are quiet around here! We had a very laid back July 4th and it was nice! We met our daughter Lauren, and her husband and our grandsons at the pool yesterday and spent the afternoon playing in the water and enjoying the day! There were games for the kids, beer dives for the adults (I passed) and it was nice to just hang out and not do much of anything.

Baldy and I had a delicious shrimp salad for dinner (recipe coming) and watched some Netflix. We’re watching The Staircase, a series about a murder in Durham, NC which is only about 40 minutes away from us. The jury is still out on whether I really like it or not, but it is very suspenseful and I want to find out what happens.

The middle of July isn’t the most colorful of months when it comes to nature. Everything seems to be green with a few exceptions! My hydrangeas have been the prettiest ever this summer and the more I cut, the more they bloom. I have them all over the house and I’m even sharing them with friends. Hydrangeas are among my favorites when it comes to flowers and I also love peonies and gardenias.

Summer is my favorite time to cook and eat because everything is so fresh and easy to prepare. I’ve been making tomato salads with burrata, the peach salad from my post last week, roasted or grilled okra (my favorite) and I’ve grilling shrimp, chicken and fish…all fresh, healthy and quick! On the menu for tomorrow is an easy and different summer charcuterie board. I’ll be posting more recipes for some of these things very soon.

I’m leaving in about a week for Richmond to help my daughter Rebecca, and her husband Hayes find a place to live! I’m thrilled they’ll be moving there because it’s so much closer than Boston (the drive is only about 3 hours) and also, Richmond is a great city to visit!

Because of our daughters living in other cities as they’ve grown up and gone to college, we’ve been able to visit and have really fallen in love with Savannah, Nashville and Boston. We’re looking forward to getting to know Richmond as well!

Along those lines, I’ve almost finished with my Charleston City Guide and I’ll be sharing it soon, so if you’re planning a trip to Charleston, you won’t want to miss this post!

I’ve noticed how much I gravitate toward blue during the warmer months of spring and summer, from flowers to clothes and even to my interiors. I just purchased a pair of light blue mohair pillows for my office that add just the right touch of blue. I also can’t seem to stop buying blue striped blouses and light blue tops and, of course, denim…white denim with blue denim or blue denim with white. Blue and white is a crisp summery combination that is always classic.

Speaking of interiors, I’m so obsessed with the images of Mark D. Sykes decor (indoor and out) in the home of Nancy Myers featured this month in Architectural Digest. The photos are so gorgeous and they’ve inspired me to spruce things up in our home with new candles, linens for the beds (really loving this linen duvet cover) and a few things for entertaining on the porch.

I’ve been experimenting with new candles and the Green Tomato Vine scented candle from Jo Malone sounds like an interesting one for the kitchen while the Wood Sage & Sea Salt Candle is a classic and I’ve been wearing the cologne for several years now. I’ve also been wanting to try the Paris Nuit Hotel Lobby Candle! This company has exploded and is fun to follow on Instagram!

Blue is the color of the clear sky and the deep sea. It is located between violet and green on the optical spectrum. Surveys in the U.S and Europe show that blue is the color most commonly associated with harmony, faithfulness, confidence, distance, infinity, the imagination, cold, and sometimes with sadness. In U.S and European public opinion polls it is overwhelmingly the most popular color, chosen by almost half of both men and women as their favorite color.

Have a great week! Thanks so much for reading today!