Or maybe it should be, life through a keyhole? Sometimes, I find the concept of internet spaces to be so amusing because it can feel much like watching lives through a pinhole. So much goes on in a person's life, so many facets, but we focus in on one (or a handful) for a blog post, and voila, that becomes the recorded moment... A representation of a life. Fun, wacky, wild, somber, sparkly, whatever it is becomes part of the reel. Often it keeps us going back for more. Like a novela.
It is fun to watch, which is probably why we peek into the sharing of others and take part in sharing bits of our own world. It's fun!
So, in my pinhole in time, I went to the city house early yesterday, while I waited for a friend to have a medical procedure ( I was her driver). It was still raining. We never have day long rain. Ever. 3 days of nonstop drizzles, unheard of. This is so wonderful. The plants are just loving it.
My courtyard at the city house is full of beloved green growing creatures. The ferns above, were given to me in tiny little plastic containers. Tiny 99 cent ferns. 3 of them. I planted them, and they took off. Aren't they happy ferns?
The garden only gets morning sun and I think the plants love that because, this has been one madly thriving space since I started planting in it... A dirt filled garden, open to any budding offerings, that kept me company during early twenties emotional quests. It filled voids and thoughts. It grew, and as it grew so did my heart and mind...
But that's a whole other story.
Sooo, as I waited for my friend in the early morning hours, I played in my closet. I wanted to grab my vintage boots that were a gift from Mister Lovee circa, ages ago. But that lead to something else...
You see, I was in highschool in the early nineties. I got residual 80's fashion mixed with a small town that had a mind of its own regarding fashion trends. So let's see, I guess you can say, it was 80's mixed with discothèque chic, sprinkled with rocker girl and a tiny teensy hint of grunge, and then tied with a Mexican television soap (novela) + European twist ribbon.
What does that leave you with? Well, for discothèque nights at least, you got monster rhinestone earrings...
So, I did get sucked into a bit of that, but I threw in my own retro + vintage + romantic love into the mix... And guess what? I still have almost all of it. Including giant tree stump platforms from the seventies that I got for 25 cents in 1992. Oh, and I also raided my grandmother's stash of fab late 60's wear when I ws a teen, but I can't find a lot of it. Nevertheless, I do have other vintage garments readily available...
I looove old vintage sweaters/cardigans. This one is lovely in person, but it is getting very fragile...
In my highschool days, the spaces in the mall that now hold J.Crew, J.Jill and Banana Republic, used to house shops like Contempo Casuals, Judy's & Dolly's. Do you remember any of those?
I still have an abundance of proof that those shops existed -
I guess crosses were all the rage back then. I still have all of mine, including a jeweled 6 incher. And, I still love them...
My Mom suggested I take some of my highschool graduation pictures in a black spaghetti strap palazzo pant jumpsuit and giant star earrings covered in crystals, that were bigger than my head. She said it would be a cute memory of the times... Oh, it's a memory alright ;)
Playing dress up or hair do's is fun, but it is exhausting. I used to have to pay my sister to play dress up with me when we were kids. She was a toughie... She would always escape and hide if I needed to go raid my Mom' stash and get another can of Sebastian extra hold hairspray or Aussie scrunch spray.
Oh speaking of dress up, in a quest for a certain Margiela boot, I came across A Sea of Shoes. It seems I am the last shoe/fashion lover on the earth to know about Jane (Jane Aldridge). Her Mom, Judy is a former model and an interior designer. She has a vintage shop online... I l-o-v-e Judy's dining room...
Anyhowwwww - this is the 80's residue + early 90's disco drawer. Am I scaring you? I scare myself ;) I tell you, I have lived 10 lifetimes in my little life... The only thing catches me by surprise is when I am called Ma'am. Or is this the part where, you think you are still a kid but you are a full blown adult on the outside? Someone warned me that would happen ;)
C'est la vie ;) I'll take anything, Ma'am, Miss, Lady, anything, as long as I am alive and having a blast! Woo hoooo!! And, aren't we having a blast?
Yes, we are! Even though there is a little guilt after a bit of this. Poor lobstah. My friend wanted lobster after her procedure. Can you believe it? And after what she had been through, I said of course, lobster is just what we need!! I have to admit, it was delightful.
I was trying to help her crack her lobster because she was too weak to do it herself. Just as I started to help her, a lobster claw flew out of my cracking tool, up into the air and landed on the floor. We giggled so much. I am still giggling about it. Her lobster was huge and strong, mine was dainty and easy to crack...
We were such a mess after that...
What a day that was. I returned to the country house, where life is polar opposite to the city world.
15 rabbits greeted me into the shoeless tale filled world that I so love. Cool breezes billowed my skirt and kissed my cheek, reminding me that this is where my heart lives...
A place where a man-boy fills my radio flyer with flowers...
Feeds birds out of the palm of his hand...
And, puts up with me wanting to listen to the new Tori Amos album, and slow dance grooves with me, cheek to cheek when I find a song I like. Fire to your plain... While I explain to him that you can't listen to Tori expecting what she did in the past. You have to treat her new music as if you just met her... I have been listening to her since 1992, and she has changed vastly, but I still keep an open mind...
After which, he plays a few tunes for me himself...
Oh and by the way, Mister Mad Hatter Lovee, dressed himself for the Mad Hatter photo shoot. He is a real mad man, I tell ya. I don't have to con him into anything. He actually has helped me break out of my shell in some ways. If he had had his way, the photos shared would have been madder than I was willing to display ;)
Today brought a super wonderful yard sale down a dirt road, a street across from my street...
And lots and lots and lots of treasures, yipppppeee!!
So, my treasure desire is fulfilled for the week. I spent all Friday night, moving my entire bookcase to the other side of my room. So, havoc ensues in my boudoir. Helpers? Elves? Anyone? ;)
Tomorrow I paint all day...
Oh, and on my photos, since many asked. I am using photoshop, and since I have never taken a photoshop class, I am kind of winging it, playing with layers and gradients, and making filters and borders myself. It's so addicting!!
I suppose I best be off, I am going into town now, to my old office to bring stuff to my office at the studio. It is almost done, thank goooodness!! (yes I still have a bit of a double life, can you believe it? I can't.)
Oh and, if you want to see two good movies. The Railway Children, just wonderful! And Miss Austen Regrets. I netflixed them. I also saw The Station Agent which I enjoyed...
Okay, I have rambled for days... off I go!! Tons of lovely wishes to you!!
♥ ,V
ps: Tea Party Madness is seeping in. The list is in my right hand sidebar, and you can still sign up with plenty of time ;) I am going to disable my regular blog roll until after the party, then I will able it again, so it isn't so hard to decipher the lists....
