Monday Hues: Aloe Vera Flowers

I went for a walk in my neighborhood the other day. It's been about 9 months that we moved into the area. I like it here, but I'm having a hard time decorating my house and deciding what to do with our bare back yard. People think that because I'm a designer, home decorating and landscaping would be a breeze. It's not. Not for me anyway. When designing on the computer, if I don't like something I can just hit CTRL + Z to undo. On the other hand, home decor and landscaping requires a much larger investment of both time and money. I found that out after painting my bathroom 3 times after I moved in. Yep, it took some tears and THREE of my precious weekends; time I could have spend outdoors playing in the sun or doodling. It wasn't the work that made me cry, it was the the fact that I lost so much of my precious to time to redo the bathroom until I got it the way I wanted it. 

After that experience, I'm a little afraid to touch the yard, so I like to walk around the neighborhood and pay attention to the details in my neighbors' yards. It's pretty fun actually! I get a workout, inspiration and nice pictures to share with you – like this one! 

Aloe vera plants abound around here (can you tell?). Especially with the drought California is facing, people are removing their grass and replacing it with desert landscaping. I've actually liked aloe vera plants for a very long time, before they were trendy. Not only because of the way they look, but because of the healing properties of the gel inside the leaves. I use it as a natural face mask once in a while and to soothe sunburns. When you live in the desert, it doesn't matter how much sun block you slap on, once in a while you'll miss a spot (like the top of your feet) and trust me, not only will it burn, but  CTRL + Z won't undo that either, like it didn't undo my first and second color choices when painting the bathroom. 

Have a great week, my friend! Hope today's color palette helps you beat the Monday blues. Don't forget to download the ASE swatch files to use in all your design projects.

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