Tag Archives: poetry

Heads Up

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Cameos are cool again.

Just thought I’d mention it, in case you hadn’t noticed.

262756959478882278_n29eMAmB_cThen…

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Amedeo

…and Now

150659550005429546_eW6SAjFL_cCameos & tats, who’da thunk it?!

890A4843Italian Vogue

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Victoria Hardstone via Fourtane

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muse-china-12-e1335986433479Arizona Muse via Vogue China

Old photo cameo

IMG_2071Amedeo  on Lexington Ave. in NYC is the place to buy cool cameos.

Screen Shot 2013-02-17 at 9.46.04 PMThey even customize.  A loved one, or perhaps a favourite pet, or just beautiful initials.

Screen Shot 2013-02-17 at 9.46.45 PMBoth images via Amedeo

Screen Shot 2013-02-17 at 9.42.34 PMThese are not your Grannie’s cameos

618_uktv_downton_abbey_s02e05_7BTW, shouldn’t the Dowager have a cameo on her collar?!

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890A1716A most beautiful head in the Palace of Versailles

marlon-brando-julius-caesarand the most beautiful head in movies.  No contest.

Marlon-marlon-brando-30617224-1259-1107right??

Heads are in-house too.

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383210-Stile_BKRugs by Stiles BK

the-libertine-magazine-campaign-january-2013-yatzer-patrick-gilles-and-dorothc3a9e-boissier-at-home-in-thier-flat-in-paris-3via The Libertine magazine

The trick is to keep a cool head.

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and don’t let it get all stuffy.

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Axel Vervoordt

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lanvin09Lanvin

Go big or go home.

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Ozymandias

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: `Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed….

Percy Bysshe Shelley

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Just don’t lose your head  (Sorry)

L1080258and make sure to have fun with it.

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Hey-How about that last episode tonight?

What the…  :(

Still, we must soldier on. We’re British after all (caught up in the show much??)

Try to have a good week all the same.

~

(Buttons top photo, my own. Green desk photo via Pinterest)

God I Love Being a Mom (Part II)

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So…our “Baby” or “Stretch” as he is more commonly known around home is all tucked in at college and we’re officially Empty-Nesters.

WOOO HOOO!!

 Big Rave at our digs this weekend!!!

I must laugh at the image of letting the house go to pot (er…perhaps an unfortunate turn of phrase :) ) when the kids go away instead of the parents!

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Seriously though, it’s a major turn of the page but that’s what Life does…

If Kahlil Gibran hadn’t already written “On Children” in “The Prophet” I’d continue to wax poetic, but Kahlil pretty much said it all, didn’t he?

Thanks to all those who shared their kind words and wisdom on my previous post.

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Somehow “Harry” my son’s stuffed lion since before he could talk and Bob Marley co-habited without incident these last few years.

Oh, and BTW, thanks to all my son’s childhood friends for carving their names into his leather headboard whenever they slept over!

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Packing was majorly poignant.

Only for me of course, not for Stretch.

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Pretty much all my comments were met with “Uh…Don’t think so Mom”

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If I could only share his remark when I suggested he bring ‘dress shoes’ in case he had a date…

Alas,

that could seriously jeopardize my skype-ing chances with him.

The boy IS funny, I’ll say that.

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left behind

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I’m guessing packing up boys for college is very different  (and faster) than sending off girls!?

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“God I love being a Mom (Part I)” (from 2011)

Oh, and one more PS. – Son, if you’re reading this;

YOU FORGOT YOUR HELMET!

xox

~

Cabin Fever

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We’re having our first cloudy and very windy day here in almost two weeks- oh! I just looked out the window and it has started to pour! Still, not complaining- compared to what’s going on in other parts of the country, we are blessed indeed.  In any case, it’s the perfect day to take a visit to some snowy scenes and cozy hearths, I’d say.   (and may we have just a moment here? There is NO FOOTBALL today!! I don’t know what happened, but I’m not saying anything…the peace is heavenly :) )

Something beautiful to listen to while you stroll; 


(Is that a voice, or what?!)

Slim Paley photo

My kitchen is Sun Valley

One counter is zinc with an integrated sink, the others are Absolute Black granite honed.  The lower cabinetry and floors are all reclaimed wood. The island is 3/4 wood and 1/4 granite for chopping by the stove. I always like to put a hidden plug on kitchen islands to place a lamp- it feels homey :)   Also, please note my “Butler’s Bells” above the zinc counter, a la “Downton Abbey”!

Slim Paley photo

There is only one small overhead cabinet in the kitchen, which you see to the right of the fireplace- and I don’t even fill it. All our dishes are kept in the antique armoire to the left of the fridge. Now that TV’s are flat, there’s a lot of armoires out there out of a job!   The dish towel rack is a vintage heated towel bar that mounts to the floor and the wall.  Don’t look at how messy my pots are.

Inside the armoire

Who does ” Chic Rustic Cabin” better than Ralph Lauren?

Fendi, Dolce & Gabanna, and Max Mara

Slim Paley photo

Sun Valley

Nothing better than a fireplace in the bedroom- although now I’m looking at this photo, I’m wondering who stole the ottoman…

photo Mercia De Vries

From one of my son’s old books “Teddy’s World”

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Mandatory Cabin Libation

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The metal fireplace surround in the Sun Valley dining room my genius Iron monger made (he made all the log holders too)

Fireplace by AK-47

I think this is so cool! When not being used, it has a cover so it can also be a coffee table.

via Marie-Claire

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A cozy lean-to at The Point, in the Adirondacks

The Point

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Sunlight streams in over one of the built in beds in the boy’s room, Sun Valley

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The boy’s bathroom in Sun Valley. It was hard to take a good photo as the skylight was covered in snow

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Junya Watanbe Men’s Fall 2011

My Front Door, Sun Valley

Chanel Boots

Slim Paley photo

My friend brought me this from a shop in Paris. She said she saw it and instantly thought of me. It’s a pre-measured  rice pudding with caramel and hazelnut concoction. If you’re ever in Paris, you must look for this shop- she said it’s beautiful and amazing.

Note to self;  Make sure to remove all the wraps from caramels before dumping into milk next time :(

Slim Paley photo

Yum!!

A wonderful Christmas present- a set of these adorable mini Le Creuset crock pots in aubergine.

D & G and Martin Margiela

A Definite on MY BUCKET LIST:

WHITE POD, Switzerland

All photos via White Pod.  Please check out the video link at the bottom of the page.

and now, back to Sun Valley;

Slim Paley Photo

a nice afternoon walk in the ‘garden’

J.W. Anderson SS11 “Festival Boots” with Swarovski crystal toes. Made in England.

The Ultimate Snow Boots!!  I can’t help it- I love them!!

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Then a nice long bath

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Grab a book from the mezzanine

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and curl up to watch the sun go down…

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Happiness is a pile of old books

~

Recording of Robert Frost reciting his poem “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening”; 


WHITE POD LINK

~

Cheers!

XX

Do You Ever?

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DO YOU EVER…

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Ok, so you all know how much I adore my husband and children, that goes without saying, but do you ever sort of vaguely, fleetingly, for just a mosquito‘s breath of a second, relish having a little alone time in your house for a day or two?  My husband had to go out of town this week…  You know what that means for Slim- lamb with mint jelly for dinner, cozy flannel sheets, no television (except for “Miners & Mistresses” of course :) ) and a bed that morphs into a king-size magazine kiosk- Happiness!   Only for a couple of days, mind you (unless it’s September, when the issues are thicker)

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So naturally, with my alone time and no one to talk to but myself, I started to ponder some of the really meaningful questions in Life and commenced a’ wonderin’ if it’s just ME or …

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Do you ever do things when you’re all alone like blow out the power at night, when drying your hair on the “Damn You To Hell Frizz” setting of your hair dryer, and you have all the house lights on to make it look like everyone’s home, and then go down to reset the fuse for the master bathroom, and start doing some other stuff while you’re down there…

and come back up…oh, let’s say, awhile later, to hear a strange noise and find your blow dryer skidding all over the floor like a whirling dervish?

OK, maybe these are already getting too specific.

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-Do you ever wonder if Paula Dean’s accent is totally fake?

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Do you ever wonder why Sawyer from Lost hasn’t called me yet?  Even though I think he’s moved to Santa Barbara in a desperate attempt to be closer to me? (Just ignore that little corner of wife in the photo- I do :) )

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-Do you ever max up the volume listening to a song on your computer when you’re alone and then forget, and get the #$%*&  scared out of you when an email comes in?

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- Do you ever just want to pick up those tabloid magazines at the grocery  checkout so flipping badly, that you’re sure the person next in line knows…can actually hear your conscience and inner dialogue? So  you think ‘Well, now I’m busted anyway, what the hell?’  but flip through way too fast, because deep down you’re still trying to look like you’re really not even vaguely interested, but rather just killing time (oh woops- this isn’t ‘Oprah’!) and you end up not finding the article you were so desperate to read in the first place?

I like so saw you today at Von’s.

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And speaking of periodicals,

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-Do you ever think you could actually be in there with a chance as far as getting your poetry published in The New Yorker magazine, even though you’ve never written poetry?  I mean I hate to be negative, I love the articles and many of the jokes but… the poetry? reeeally??

Here, I’m working on a little “New Yorker” piece right now  I like to call;

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“ODE TO MY SHOWER CAP”

There you

lay

a cloud, fallen to the

ground

sprinkled with tiny flowers

Rachel Ashton, or…

perhaps

a Liberty print…

Who really remembers

these details?

the minutiae of life…

like so many flowers

in the rain

A Garden

in my shower

~

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Slim Paley

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There.  I think it’s almost ready to submit.

Of course I’m totally open to suggestions, but be kind; it’s my first draft and I could, very easily, make it about Wellington boots or home made marshmallows.  Or Sawyer.

Anyone else have any New Yorker poetry submissions?!  Dare you!

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Yoga, Byron and Simon on Kona

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Slim Paley Photo

Sun sets over the beach last night at Hualalai

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King Pigeon Pose that I hope to be mastering soon :)

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So… I’ve been to yoga class, in some form or other, every day since we arrived in Hawaii and a few things have occurred to me while my mind was meant to be clear.  To tell the truth, I never think more than when I’m supposed to be thought-free, but that’s another  post isn’t it?  At home, I practice yoga in a room devoid of mirrors. That’s a good thing, I’ve decided.  It helps to keep my mind free instead of worrying about my form and how much my chest wrinkles when I’m upside down. Lord. Let’s just say it’s also a good thing I didn’t pursue that career in Cirque du Soleil.  Which brings me to the entrepreneurial idea I hatched in class today…  Turtleneck yoga outfits.  What do you think- am I on to something??

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Slim Paley photo                     Hawaiian flowers (photo not enhanced )

This is What I’d like to have been thinking about in yoga class

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I’m also not used to doing yoga with strangers.  It’s amazing how much one person in a class can utterly put you off.  This morning there was a man that bore a striking resemblance to Simon, the Brooklyn husband on Housewives of NY.  Perversely, I couldn’t shrug off the notion that he actually was Simon, right beside me here in Hawaii… achieving far better Warrior poses than mine and ruminating over which mini Speedo he’d sport apres class.  It ruined my whole Chakra, Man.

Simon from Brooklyn

Sadly, What I was thinking about in Yoga class

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Meanwhile, back at the beach, I finished Byron in Love completely horrified.  And I didn’t come without my bags packed- I read  Benita Eisler’s Byron; Child of Passion, Fool of Fame several years ago.  But unless my memory fails me- which is more than entirely possible,  Eisler either soft pedaled the whole “sister-wife-incest- triangle- thing” or I was simply another of the endless legions of both sexes that preferred not to see past the legendary beauty of Byron, both in face and word, to the truly cruel and damaged person that he was. How did I not remember that he was born with a severely deformed club foot?  Such an ironic twist of fate for an otherwise perfect physical specimen. One can’t help but wonder if he wouldn’t have been a far more decent person if he could have traded a little genius and beauty for a normal foot.  But ah…The Fates…few poets ever wrote about them as beautifully as Byron:

This poem, in which he laments the loss of his physical powers to draw those he loves to him,  was written on his 36th birthday. He died less than a year later.

(Apologies for the whiplash of including photos of Simon and Byron on the same post :) )

‘Tis time this heart should be unmoved,

Since others it has ceased to move;

Yet, though I cannot be beloved,

Still let me love!

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The fire that on my bosom preys

Is lone as some volcanic isle;

No torch is kindled at its blaze-

A funeral pile.

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Slim Paley photo

Hualalai Beach

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One last thought I had during Shivasana-  I could live in a tropical place in a New York minute…

Couldn’t you??

Tomorrow- a 7:00am hike down to a waterfall!

Aloha!

xx