You are currently browsing the monthly archive for January 2012.
My latest addiction is Pinterest. I resisted for so long and then I finally signed up and now I am hooked. I was starting to get frustrated with myself because I would spend so much time flipping through the pretty pictures, organizing them onto boards.
Then I read a clip that the creators of Pinterest wrote, I don’t remember the whole thing, but it said something to the extent of, “Pinterest is supposed to goad you to do more things, not sit around and stare at the computer.” I am pretty sure they did not use the word goad, but you get the idea.
“That’s right!” I told myself. “Now you are going to delete this account unless you start using the ideas that you see posted. Starting now. If you can’t come up with something to do/make/create this weekend, because you saw it on Pinterest, I am closing the account.”
So myself desperately flipped through the section I have reserved for recipes and whatnot. She found a recipe for Irish Cream. I let her make it. It’s pretty amazing. We’re keeping the Pinterest account.
For consideration. Yay? Nay? The music video is weird. But then, what music video isn’t?
3 O’clock on a Monday Afternoon
High up in an ugly tower,
A damsel sits in an enchanted bower.
Held captive by a magic screen
That glows an eerie shade of green.
Will no knight come?
Will no prince fight?
And bring the dark-haired damsel to clear daylight?
There is a tree that he could climb,
It’s right outside the window.
There is a glass that he could break,
And come flying into.
Or, if he signs in at the hall below
He can tell the guard “see you later!”
For it’s only in this modern age
A rescue can be organized via elevator.
Source: dailydoseofstuf.tumblr.com via Trena on Pinterest
The best part of waking up is coffee in my cup! (And a slice of toast with butter. And getting things done before 9 a.m. And pretty much anything as long as it does not involve a commute to the office.)
I like the sound of rain: when I am still in my bed, and when I am at home doing chores, and when I am reading, and when it is pattering on my umbrella as I walk outside. I like picking out bright rainboots and umbrellas. I love the smell of rain, both before and after a storm. I like watching it hurry in feathery sheets across the horizon. I enjoy watching puddles speckled with drops. I love the cozy darkness that it brings. I love the way the filtered light make green colours look electrified.
Source: wholesomescraps2.tumblr.com via Trena on Pinterest
I am getting ready to throw a shower for a dear friend of mine. Here are the invites that went out a few weeks ago, aren’t they sweet! I commissioned Jill of Dolce Domum , she owns the Etsy shop Georgie Pie, to paint a little tent on a cream coloured card, she added the heart shaped smoke and the clouds in the background. Or are they mountains? Sometimes they look like mountains to me, sometimes they look like clouds.
Why a tent? Because the bride registered at REI for camping equipment, I couldn’t resist!
Be sure to check out Jill’s Etsy shop! She is so talented.
Independence
I never did, I never did,
I never did like “Now take care, dear!”
I never did, I never did,
I never did want “hold my hand;”
I never did, I never did,
I never did think much of “Not up there, dear!”
It’s no good saying it.
They don’t understand.
A.A. Milne
Source: hbathegallery.blogspot.com via Trena on Pinterest
So, as I mentioned last week, I went to see the Mariinsky Ballet perform The Firebird and two other pieces. It was breathtaking! I have never seen such a combination of strength, precision, and grace. I could go on and on about the music, the dancing, the costumes.
The costumes! I love that the costumes for The Firebird were so rich and ornate! I feel if an American ballet company performed this ballet they would be tempted to tone the costumes down and simplify them. But these dancers have no fear of being overwhelmed by the costume, they dominate! Bring on the myriad of colors and the sparkle! All of it deeply influenced by Russian tradition. I loved it!
I was also deeply struck by the performance of Les Sylphides. It was so lovely! It doesn’t really have a plot, but you don’t even notice. It’s just so lovely. . .
Source: able2know.org via Trena on Pinterest
On another note, do you want to hear about my outfit? Okay! So I wore the dress below, which has become my new favorite party dress.
Source: anthropologie.com via Trena on Pinterest
Except I removed the halter strap and wore a blue, close fitting, oxford underneath. It might sound funny, but I got a lot of complements on it so it must have looked alright. Or it was so strange looking that people thought that it should look okay.
But here is the funny thing. Have you ever seen the inside of the Kennedy Center Opera House? I have and I should have remembered that the walls, and the ceiling, and the floor, are all the exact same color red as that dress. Thank goodness I was wearing the blue shirt underneath otherwise I would have looked like a floating head as I walked around.
I’ve been so busy! No posts since . . . I don’t know when since. Anyway, I have been writing, I just haven’t had a chance to post anything! In the mean time, here are a few nuggets of random information you probably don’t want or need, but are still interesting just the same.
Did you know in Microsoft Excel each document contains 1, 480, 576 rows? I forgot how many columns, it something like 16,000, not so impressive. I know you always wanted to know that. You might not know the capital of Kazakhstan (it’s Astana in case you were burning with curiosity, they also speak two languages, Kazakh and Russian), but you will know how many rows there are in an Excel document.
And now you also have an idea of what has been pulled up on my screen for the past few days.
Tonight I am going to see The Firebird performed by the Mariinsky Ballet at the Kennedy Center. (Going to see Russians dance ballet is the equivalent of drinking Napoleonic Brandy. I think. I have to admit I’ve never had Napoleonic Brandy, but you get the idea.) I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am! I have wanted to see this ballet since I was ten or eleven, at the time I was reading about Maria Tallchief, the first prima ballerina for the New York City Ballet. She gained her fame by dancing Balachine’s choreography of The Firebird.
Source: russianwashingtonbaltimore.com via Trena on Pinterest
The Firebird is a ballet based on a Russian folktale. It tells the story of Prince Ivan, twelve enchanted princesses, a wicked sorcerer and the Firebird, who helps Prince Ivan break the spell. It first premiered in 1910, the music is composed by Igor Stravinsky and the original choreography was by Mikhail Fokine. The immediate success of this ballet led to Stravinsky’s composition of The Rite of Spring and Petrushka (another favorite of mine, it’s so sad!).
So, have I gushed enough? Oh, yes, and they will also be showing Chopiniana (Les Sylphides) and Scheherazade. Two more ballets that I have always wanted to see, but haven’t yet. But The Firebird trumps them in my mind!
