VICTORIAN LUXURY PAPER AND TRUE OBSESSIONS

ONE of my favorite scenes from Great Expectations is when Miss Havisham takes a gold pencil to write in her set of ivory tablets! Like a make up artist with her/his brushes, pens are my tools of trade! I feel great just to read about pens and paper.

Miss Havisham writes a money gift on the ivory tablets (type of luxuryVictorian paper) which helps Pip and his best friend Herbert start a successful business. It's all complex and secret, of course - Dickens plots are anything but simple!

Many scenes with paper and ink also exist in Dickens's Bleak House. Another favorite book!

At home I have pens for the next 200 years and two dozen books on paper, books & the history of writing.

I'm talking true obsession!

Xxx 

😃

GOOD TASTE AND CLASS

Shawls are an adjunct to beauty in The Woman in White -- not to mention a hindrance to Miss Halcomb's spy mission! And who can forget Miss Inghram's lush shawls in Jane Eyre? For the Victorians, a fine shawl meant good taste and class.

I fell in love with this Warehouse shawl the moment I saw it! Isn't it amazing??? The shawl matches perfectly with my wine colored Estée Lauder lipstick. Heaven on earth!

Have a good evening, with beauty always with you! <3

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NEVER SAY NEVER (FACING THE SNOWZILLA)

AFTER the terrible sandstorm we had to go through here in Cyprus in the summer, I have sworn never to fret about the rain -- never ever again! For those of you living away from the Middle East, last summer we had the worst sandstorm in history ever. On satellite, there was no view of Cyprus -- it was totally covered in the sand cloud. Those days I longed for the rain -- a good, fresh rain to clean the uncouth air. So I made a promise to myself never to complain about the rain again!

This is a promise that is difficult to keep. You know how much I hate winter, rain and the cold! It's not an accident that in literature cold and rain are often associated with gloom, illness and sadness -- think Jane's desperate days at Reed Hall and the dismal cold at Lowood in Jane Eyre (always in winter), or the horrible storm where Effie's mummy dies in Silas Marner, or Marianne's terrible illness after the rainstorm in Sense and Sensibility. In fantasy literature winter is often a metaphor for evil. I can go on forever. The list is endless!

I guess the promise I made re sandstorm had to do with rain -- I can still hate the cold and gloom of winter! I only like summer and nothing else, except maybe late spring (after the 2nd half of April). 

If you are anywhere facing the snow blizzard (snowzilla) or simply bad weather, stay safe and be well! xxx 

ACROSS THE CENTURIES

I READ a little from Lucie De La Tour Du Pin's memoirs each morning -- eventually, I got used to her voice as a start to the day! How odd that books connect us with their writers or characters from across the centuries!

Having finished Lucie, I am on to the memoirs of Elizabeth Vigee Lebrun, portrait maker to Queen Marie-Antoinette! (Lucie was one of Marie-Antoinette's maids of honor).

I didn't know about either book, or about either of the two women (though I knew Vigee-Lebrun's paintings) until I read about her in Marilyn Yalom's book on women who have written memoirs during the French Revolution.

Elisabeth's memoir (in English translation by Sian Evans) is our of print, so I got it second hand from Amazon!

I have just started the book, so I can't say much about it or the writing/ translation. I can tell you, however, about Lucie De La Tour Du Pin's memoirs, which I have just finished. It is a lovely book; Lucie's writing is delicate but sharp, concise and to the point. (I have the suspicion that the translation is not doing her justice). Lucie's life was full of adventure. Apart from an obsession with her unworthy husband, she is a fascinating woman.

I will give you my verdict on Vigee-Lebrun's memoirs when I finish reading!

Have a good night, always with beauty and a book xxx 

IT WAS STILL FUN (PRIDE AND PREJUDICE RELOADED)

RUSHING to change when wet is exciting since Mr Darcy fell in love with Elizabeth when he saw her flustered and wet from the rain! Today my sweater got wet and, of course, I had to rush and buy a new one!

Luckily, it was the sales, luckily it was Terranova, with its collection of pretty winter sweaters for less than 8 euro. Despite all the sermonizing in Overdressed, I love my fast fashion buys and wear them with glee. Don't you love the new sweater?

Of course, Overdressed is right to call attention to the danger to the environment and to poor working conditions in countries of production.:-( I am very happy to read (again in Overdressed) that things are changing in those two areas, albeit in a rather slow manner.

It is the first time since I was a student that I wore something immediately after buying. It was, today, like all those years ago, yes -- it was still fun!

xxx

ONE MORE REASON TO BE EXCITED

THIS book was too expensive, so we pooled funds with a good friend and bought it for Christmas! I was so excited to receive it today!!!!!! (Btw, does not my new hair color look completely natural????? One more reason to be excited)

The book is the complete and collected letters by famous Victorian model Jane Morris. Jane was the wife of William Morris but she also went down in art history as the lover of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, artist and founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

Research is now being carried out into Jane's life and activities as an embroiderer and artist. Researchers (mostly women) are now also working on other Pre-Raphaelite women figures, such as the model/ artist Lizzie Siddall, the artist Emma Sandys, and the poet Christina Rossetti (Dante's sister).

The book is a lovely edition, with a scholarly introduction by Jan Marsh and Frank C. Sharp. Marsh is a world-wide authority on Pre-Raphaelite women.

Can't wait to read Jane Morris's letters!

Have a good time for today, always with beauty and a book!

xxx

DOWN WITH THE COLD!

Thankfully, a cold no longer has the potential to send you to an early grave, as per Sense and Sensibility. (Btw, I could never stomach Marian's marriage to the colonel. He's not only too old for her, I think he is unsuitable. I totally preferred "bad boy" Willoughby. You could do better than the colonel for Marian, Jane Austen!!!)

I hate being down with the cold! I'm not a homebody -I like the home only when I can stay hours away. I enjoy being on the move. And I miss my daily exercise routine.

One thing that doesn't change, cold or not: I always wear lipstick!!!

See you all again soon

Xxx😃

TO CARE TOO MUCH

IT USUALLY takes me until August to shed the extra kilos I put during winter in general, and Christmas in particular! No matter what I do, or how I try to control things, winter is bad for weight maintenance. I need until the end of August to lose the kilos I gain. I spend a few months (from August to December) feeling lighter, and Christmas comes again!

I don't really mind. I like food too much to care too much about extra weight. I try to eat healthy and not to overdo it with anything. Other than that, I hate dieting. I can't diet even to lose 2 kilos (except if it was on doctor's advice, of course).

As the saying goes, "life is too short. Eat the dessert"!

Have a good start to the year,

Maria
xxx