If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw me gush about this yarn in the above photo earlier this week. And honestly, I cannot stop gushing. It is glorious. It's the kind of yarn that is (literally) keeping me up at night with ideas, & even though I purchased it with very specific projects in mind I have about 7 billion other things I want to knit with it.

It's basically rose gold in a yarn, which was unintentional as I purchased it but such a lovely surprise. I would like an entire shelf full of it in every base that Madelinetosh offers because it does all of the magical things that rose gold does: it warms everything it comes into contact with, it's basically neutral but with just a hint of blush that compliments any skin tone, & it just feels luxurious. I genuinely think it might be my favorite yarn ever (*gasp!*).

Last Friday, I found myself awake for the sunrise thanks to Grayson having to work super early & me thinking it was a good idea to just wake up at 4 AM with him. While I regret waking up that early because I think I'm still recovering from lack of sleep, I would do it again in a heartbeat to witness the beautiful sunrise over Lake Michigan. I'm going on my 5th year of living in Chicago (& living right off the lake every year, no less) & somehow this is the first time I've witnessed this crazy beautiful natural experience.

While it was early, I was far from alone. There were seagulls everywhere, people running past on the lakeshore trail, & a hilarious older couple doing some kind of sun salutation dance on the beach (they were awesome). It was a different side of the city - softer, kinder, & a bit more bizarre. I loved it!

For anyone who knows me personally & has been following along with these Color Inspiration posts, it's probably pretty shocking that I haven't yet done one that focuses on the glorious color yellow. Yellow is 100%, no questions asked, no if's/and's/but's, my absolute favorite color. It's so happy & cheery & it literally scientifically helps put a smile on your face (evidence: seeing yellow releases serotonin in your brain which is supposed to do good things. I'm not an expert, I just learned this once & I will hold onto it forever.)!

Now I understand that I am among the few people in the population who hold yellow to this high standard - in the few random surveys I spotted online, yellow was only getting about 2-8% of the votes - but I'm here to change that. Along with making the world love wool, making the world love yellow is probably my #2 mission. Also world peace.

Did you know that, like many things, the origin of the phrase "dog days of Summer" is Greco Roman? As I learned from this lovely Nat Geo article, this phrase actually refers to the heliacal position of the dog star, Sirius (AKA the origin of Sirius Black's name). The Greeks & Romans would refer to the time of the year when Sirius appeared to rise just before the sun as the "dog days" - the hottest & least bearable time of year.

Apparently the time when Sirius rises isn't actually always the hottest time of year, but it's still a fun anecdote. And fitting for this week, when my buddy Jake popped in front of the camera as I was taking a picture of our backyard & more of my mom's planters - adding a lovely warm chestnut to the color palette.