Sleepwalking

This video is beautiful and mesmersizing and will surely put a smile on the sourest of pusses...

Milestones

2009 was good, bad and ugly. It was life. It was death. It was exhilarating and exhausting. In two days, we can close the books on 2009 and I, for one, am glad.

It's interesting that we have this innate wiring that renders us unwaveringly hopeful for all the possibilities that lie in the promise of a new year. We vow to eat better, exercise more, drink less, find a better job, find "the one", write that book, be kinder to one another, volunteer at a charity, finish that remodeling job, quit smoking, blobbity blah, blah, blah.

It's good, I suppose that we set goals for ourselves and that we raise the standards by which we live our lives. But it also sets a daunting tone and, of course, we inevitably set ourselves up for failure. One slip up at the top of the new year leads to an avalanche of poor decisions, bad behaviors and, by the end of the year - well, you know the routine.

Maybe we should instead resolve to be slovenly, over-indulgent, selfish, rude, chain-smoking alcoholics with sex, gambling and chocolate addictions.

Then again, maybe not.

Ah, well. I'll make the same resolution I've made each year since 1992 - to drink more water and let the rest work itself out.

Speaking of milestones... "Venus" turns two today. When I started this blog, I had an idea of what I wanted it to be but I wasn't sure how it would develop. It's morphed into something a bit more tangential than I thought it would, but I'm okay with that for the most part. I've pretty much cracked myself open here and exposed some very personal aspects of my life. At the same time, I've come to learn some retraint and, as a result, have had some incredibly Zen moments (whether I wanted them or not).

While it's easy to share the happy and positive goings-on, there've been many occasions in which I've wanted unleash an unholy fury of hell. But I didn't. Or, if I did, I removed it because negative energy fuels negative energy and we all know that nothing good can come of that nonsense. It's really just not ever worth the stress a body endures to get all worked up about something.

Stress is bad. Stress kills.

I believe there's a good deal of social responsibility to this whole business of blogging. Even if there are no monetary rewards attached and I'm beholden to no one, I still feel compelled to present my thoughts in a particular manner and at a certain level of writing (i.e. acceptable grammar, accurate fact-checking, limited use of profanities, etc.). I'm sure I've made lots of mistakes, but the past is the past and I'm not wont to go back and dwell. Instead, I just try to do better the next time.

Anyhoo...

Here's to peace, love, and just being cool; may you discover wonderful new things about yourself in the coming year and may you find the courage to share and celebrate those wonderful things with those whom you care most about.

Bonne année à tous!

Julie Andrews - One Night Only

This video is an interview with Julie Andrews discussing her upcoming performance at London's O2 Arena.

Julie Andrews melts my heart. I was watching "The Sound of Music" for the gazillionth time last night and fell in love with her all over again.

Love. Love. Love.

On Christmas Eve day at the shop, I added a Julie Andrews station to Pandora and it put me in the best mood ever. As customers were coming in to finish up their last bits of Christmas shopping, I wondered if they might think our music selection odd, but my worries were unfounded. I saw them tapping their toes and getting into it and nearly everyone said, "Oh, I love this song!" or "I love this movie!" when they checked out. It took every ounce of restraint not to bounce around the shop when "Do Re Mi" played. Oh snap, I should have just done it anyway.

I was beyond thrilled to hear that Julie Andrews was going to be performing again (at the tender age of 74) in spite of a botched vocal-chord surgery 12 years ago (that doctor should be tarred and feathered). She'll be at London's O2 Arena on May 8, 2010. Oh, what a show that's going to be!

Speaking of Julie Andrews...

Last week, I received a box in the mail from my uncle. Inside was a package wrapped in red paper with a gold cord tied around it and the words, "Open Christmas morning" - or something to that effect. Truthfully, when I saw it, my heart sank and I felt ill. I figured it was the video of my grandmother's funeral and I wasn't ready to add that to the awful mix of emotions already clogging my head and heart.

I didn't want to open it. I tossed it on a pile of papers on the kitchen counter - far away from the other gifts. No way I'm opening that on Christmas. I cried. I cry almost every day. Grieving, grieving - my heart must surely weigh 90 tons...

On Christmas morning, I decided that I should open it after all. I held the wrapped CD case in my hands for a moment - the whole of her funeral playing through my head like I could somehow dilute what I was about to see.

As I gingerly unwrapped the paper, I saw an image of my young grandmother and began to realize that it wasn't of her funeral - it was of her singing. Apparently, in 1995, my uncle recorded her singing the five songs on this CD - she was 73 at the time. I don't think any of us, except for my uncle, have a recording of her singing (she was a magnificent soprano - not unlike you-know-who) so - wow. WOW!

The first of the five songs? "The Sound of Music" - no kidding.

The hills are, indeed, alive and well...

And So It Begins...Again

A love affair renewed and heart fires all aglow...

Oh, Paris, I could eat you bite by bite by delicious bite.

La Fenêtre Lèche

Counting the days...

Merry Merry!

Joyeux Noël à vous tous !

Merry Christmas to you all!

Feliz Navidad a todos! Buon Natale a tutti voi!

Vintage Shoes...

...Yup - on Etsy! I know - it's a lot of Etsy for one week, but the photographs really pulled me in.

Antique Satin Wedding Shoes...


Pair of Georgian 18th Century Silver Shoe Buckles...


Suede Heeled Shoes...


Vintage 1970s Platform Sandals...


Vintage 1980s Nike Canvas Blazer High Tops...
(Gulp - 1980s is considered vintage? Dang.)


Vintage 1980s Studded Oxford Lace-Up (again with the 80s!)...


Vintage Hermes Tri-Toned Wing-Tipped Oxford...

Handmade Steampunk On Etsy

According to the Wiki:

Steampunk is a sub-genre of fantasy and speculative fiction that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century, and often Victorian era England—but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date. Other examples of steampunk contain alternate history-style presentations of "the path not taken" of such technology as dirigibles, analog computers, or digital mechanical computers (such as Charles Babbage's Analytical engine); these frequently are presented in an idealized light, or with a presumption of functionality.

Steampunk is often associated with cyberpunk and shares a similar fanbase and theme of rebellion, but developed as a separate movement (though both have considerable influence on each other). Apart from time period and level of technological development, the main difference between cyberpunk and steampunk is that steampunk settings usually tend to be less obviously dystopian than cyberpunk, or lack dystopian elements entirely.
Various modern utilitarian objects have been modded by individual artisans into a pseudo-Victorian mechanical "steampunk" style, and a number of visual and musical artists have been described as steampunk.

French Vintage On Etsy

Vintage 1960s Large 360 Round Black Eyeglass Frames...


Antique 1840 Bone and Silver French Relic Rosary with Hallmarks...


Secret Garden French Vintage Small Furniture...


Vintage 1940s Souvenir of Paris Filigree Bracelet...


Old Plank Trestle Farm Table and Five Mismatched Rustic Chairs with Belgian Linen Down Cushions...


Purple and Lilac Bouquet - Antique French Beadwork...


Vintage Maud Frizon Paris White Cut-Out Pumps...


1850 Silk Tulle Net and Lace Embroidered Florals and Phoenix Birds Curtains...


French Antique Map of Europe Printed in Paris in 1837...

Why I Love Etsy

Scarves that make even a simple white t-shirt look amazing...


Tulle dresses with a French flair...


Delicious tributes to Marilyn Monroe...


Yummy cowls that keep the cold far, far, away...


Gorgeous wool trench coats as soft as bath robes...



An absolutely perfect pencil skirt...


Mosquito nets photographed with delightful flair...


Whimsical art work...


Comfy cotton jammies with delicate detail...


Pillows made of fine French linen...


This lovely fleur de lis necklace...


Sparkly baubles for the ear...


And, well, an elephant-shaped handbag...

"Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky"

I don't care how many movies come out about Coco Chanel, I'll want to see them all (though I still won't be satisified until Madame Chanel is played by Marion Cotillard).

"Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky" has just premiered in Paris.

Synopsis

Paris 1913, Coco Chanel is devoted to her work and madly in love with the handsome and very wealthy Arthur ‘Boy’ Capel. At the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Igor Stravinsky premieres his Rite of Spring. Coco attends the premiere and is mesmerised. But the revolutionary work is too modern, too radical: the enraged audience boos and jeers. A near-riot ensues. Stravinsky is inconsolable. 7 years later. Now rich, respected and successful, Coco is devastated by Boy Capel’s death. She meets Stravinsky again - now a penniless refugee living in exile in Paris after the Russian Revolution, The attraction between them is immediate and electric. Coco offers Stravinsky the use of her new villa in Garches, so that he will be able to work, and he moves in straight away, with his children and consumptive wife. And so a passionate, intense love affair between two creative giants begins.

Anna Mouglalis as Coco Chanel


Mads Mikkelsen as Stravinsky

Never The Same Again

I love this photograph of Marilyn Monroe (taken by Andre de Dienes). No glamour, no pretense - just a young woman caught in a moment.

I discovered Marilyn when I was 19 and living with my grandmother in Des Moines. Going through a difficult transition (19 is tough, I think), I found little to be excited about - until Marilyn: She fascinated me completely.

I don't know what she's thinking here, but her expression certainly mirrors what I'm feeling. These past weeks have been excruciating and I'm beginning to realize that I'm never going to be the same person I was before my grandmother passed. It (an undefinable "it") surpasses sadness and grief - at least any that I've known; everything inside of me is displaced and achy. There's a gaping hole somewhere in my heart or soul or some place that I can't quite define. I feel broken inside - I imagine that if I could find the pieces and put them back in place, I'd be okay - but I get the feeling that some of those pieces are gone forever.

I keep thinking I'm going to be able to write about the death - the actual act of dying. I have to imagine that not too many people have had the privilege of being with a loved one as they transition from being to, well, no longer being. I'm still working up to it, but I feel like the time is coming.

This - all of these posts - is my way of processing, dealing, trying to understand this incredibly profound event. It's also a way of memorializing an occasion that, at some point, I have to imagine my children will want to know more about. It's not really for the general public. It doesn't really have anything to do with the purpose or intent of this blog.

It's just me - stripped bare - raw emotion exposed, trying to cope and not wanting to lose the memories I have of this woman who played such a significant role in my life. However, much like the pain I'm feeling, it's not likely that I'll ever be able to find the words to adequately express any of it.

We tend to sweep things under the rug - put on a good face - try to be strong - blah, blah, blah. I've never been that kind of person. I just want to scoop out this terrific pain and examine it. I want to sift through the ugliest and most painful emotions so that I can understand them fully and, hopefully, move on.

I'm not looking for answers nor am I trying to understand. My grandmother was 87 years-old when she died. She lived a wonderful life and I wouldn't have changed a moment of the time that I was able to spend with her. I'm grateful for the things she taught me and I felt wholly loved by her. It was her time to go and I accept that.

Death, after all, is the most natural part of life.

Thongs Revisited

The week after I'd returned home from Des Moines, I received a small package in the mail from my aunt. Inside were two thongs - well, not thongs, exactly - and, no, they hadn't been worn.

I'm not normally a post-repeater, but "The Thongs We Do For Love" (posted on Venus and by Yahoo! on Shine) seemed to really hit a nerve with women of a certain age.

So, in honor of my Grammy - who had the best sense of humor in the whole world...


THE THONGS WE DO FOR LOVE (March 26, 2008)

There was not an actual "quest" for a thong; more of a passing commentary. My aunt tells the story better since she was there, but I'll give it a stab with my own twist (we can always do the "Corrections" thing later).

The day that my Grandmother was being admitted into the hospital, she and my aunt were left to sit unattended in the waiting area for three hours (not cool). I can only assume that after a significant amount of time had passed since they'd gotten checked in, my Grandmother's immediate anxieties (if she'd had any) had quelled enough that she was on to other things in her mind.

Out of the blue, the subject of thongs came up ("Well, not thongs exactly."). Okay - here's what I love about my Grandmother - she still thinks like a 35 year-old woman. Maybe all women her age have similar thoughts and maybe they even talk about them; I would very much like to believe that this is true. You go, golden girls!

Anyway, my aunt tucked the thought away and shared it with me during my visit last week. I don't think she'd really even finished the story before we came to the simultaneous conclusion that a thong must be purchased. We went into Younkers and, with the help of a lovely salesperson, found exactly what we were looking for. Whether or not it was what Grammy had in mind - well, we'd find out soon enough.

I think many of you know my lovely partner in crime...

The presentation (in the mall outside of Younkers - in plain view, of course)...

What in the world?

Oh, for heavens sake!

A red pair, too?

You aren't going to tell anyone about this, are you?

Good times, good times...