Be Still My Beating Heart

Finally…my favorite color…RED! This has always been my signature color. Just look at my Dawn Cook Design brand. As you know from last post, my birthday is in February, which is Wear Red Month, and Heart Health Month. Talk about a trifecta. But this is probably the most important post I will do so keep reading!

Image Source: minus.com

As women with busy lives, it’s easy to dismiss small signals our body gives us. We either write it off as being tired, busy, overworked, mentally tapped. But in 2011 I got a huge wake up call when I found out I had a majorly blocked artery. I was going to the gym every week, doing boot camp, eating healthy. And I never had chest pain, just some minor pressure when exercising intensely. Moving on with my day, it never occurred to me that I could have something wrong. I will say stress played a big part in this. Watch this video from my surgeon, Dr. Marc Gillinov, Cleveland Clinic, for some important info.

So here I am, and still loving Red for many reasons! One, I like to wear it…I often think I look like this picture. Ha! I wish, but hey at least I have a dream:-)

Photo Source: David Fuller

But my kids sure look good in red, ala Cooper Cook since birth has preferred red.

And my favorite Kate Spade bag is red patent leather – oh la la, I get so many complements on this!

Photo Source: Kate Spade

But most importantly it represents, passion, fire, love, emotion, and strength. All good things. So why chose red for your interiors? Many of us have red dining rooms. It is still the most popular color for restaurants – red actually produces a physiological response that tantalizes the appetite. It had mood, and evokes a sense of intimacy…all good for romantic dinner conversation.

So how else can we decorate with red? Red accent appliances in the kitchen, pops of red in the living room, (on those white walls..see 50 shades of …white?), red fabric on those great chairs you found. If it overwhelms you at some point, easy to switch out and try something new.

Image Credit: Photography by John Kernick designed by Ellen O’Neill

Image Source: Simply Decorate 

So with that said, take care of your heart, channel some red, and remember: roses, are red, violets are blue…Happy Valentine’s Day, from my heart to you!