WHENEVER I FOLLOWED MY HEART, I WON

IT's amazing how easily we adapt to change! I am on my way to becoming blonde, and I increasingly consider the new color as the natural, as the color which has always been there. Bizarre!

Or maybe not so bizarre, in the sense that I always liked lighter than darker colors, and was especially fond of blonde colors. For me, blonde means beauty, glamor, light. It's the color I want for me.

There were those who tried to dissuade me, and imply that blonde would not suit me. However, the time is past when I was influenced by what others said. Whenever I was influenced to do what was "expected," I lived to regret it. Whenever I followed my heart, I won!

This color is cute and pretty, but it is not the final destination. The final destination is the pale blonde.

Have a good night and be well! xxx

THE SKIRT WAS PERFECT

OF COURSE, any beauty book which begins with a description of a lavish English tea, Victoria sponge cake, and the phrase, "My granny was never rich, not at all, but boy was she glamorous. Elegant, ladylike, impeccably mannered, and dressed to the nines at all times [...]" -- any such beauty book is a must!!!

The book is Front Roe by Louise Roe, which I bought today from Nicosia. Another plus for the day: the fabled peanut butter cookie from Gloria Jeans! They have it Nicosia, though in Larnaca it has been cancelled because of lack of popularity :-(

I went to the Mall today, looking for a pretty white skirt for a public lecture I am to give soon. I found a lovely skirt from Topshop but, sadly, it would slide up too far when I would sit down. White cloth and delicate lace -- the skirt was PERFECT, but only if you stayed standing up.

Still, I had a very nice time, meeting up with a friend I hadn't seen for a while, eating the peanut butter cookie and buying a beauty book! Yum!

ALWAYS WITH BEAUTY AND A BOOK (THE LIPSTICK PAPERS PHILOSOPHY)

Birthdays in literature are often stormy events!!! Probably the most memorable birthday is Miss Havisham's in Great Expectations. It was also going to be a wedding day, but the fiancé run off. Miss Havisham locked herself in the house, wearing the wedding dress, with the unhappy consequences we know.

Stanley lives the complete nightmare on his birthday in Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party. Esther Summerson's childhood birthdays are not even celebrated in Bleak House. Sara learns about the death of her dad and his bankruptcy as she is celebrating in A Little Princess, and--

That's enough, you will cry, and you will be right. Here is a birthday card I designed for a, thankfully, happy family birthday yesterday!

The card features The Lipstick Papers philosophy: always with beauty and a book! No better advice. Beauty of mind, body and soul leads to life's beauty.

Have a good night and be well! Xxx

SCHOOL BOOKS AND BAGUETTES

IN the Search of the Perfect Loaf, Samuel Fromartz argues that the baguette is probably the most difficult type of bread to make. I read his adventures in baguette making with great excitement! You can imagine my surprise when, in Bread by Evi Voutsina (Το Ψωμί, Εύη Βουτσινά, Greek bread-making book) I read: "Baguette: this world famous bread ... is very easy to make" (το πασίγνωστο γαλλικό ψωμί ... είναι πολύ εύκολο στην κατασκευή του).

What was the meaning of all this?????? I will never find out: as you know, I am useless in the kitchen, so I cannot try the recipes for myself. I tried to read and actually make sense of the recipes but, being utterly unable to try them out, this is just not possible.

Still, both books are excellent. Bread is mostly a recipe book, though with a small anthology on bread-related texts. Perfect Loaf is a memoir, written in lovely language and very interesting!

A fairy tale I once read in my 3rd grade reading book, contained the message that the best bread is that which you make yourself. Good thing was, the person who makes his own bread in the tale is male and a king, not a housewife who has to serve a huge family unwilling to help. But then, our school book was all against stereotypes and all for open minded thought. (Rare for a school book, I know).

More on this fantastic school book in a later post!!! xxx
P.S. My own picture of the French girl, from my favorite frappe spot, Croissanterie here in Cyprus!

EXCELLENT FEMALE FRIENDSHIPS

There is nothing like beauty and friendship at the same time!!! Here I am today, at my beautician, also called Maria! The beauty salon is studied academically as a source of female strength - see for example work by Ann J. Cahill and Paula Black.

Literature is full of excellent female friendships: who can forget Jane and her dear friend Ellen Burns in Jane Eyre, and Sara and Ermengarde in A Little Princess? Or Anne and Diana in Anne of Green Gables? Rosalinde and Celia in Shakespeare's As You Like It? Examples are endless.

One writer who has appreciated the ups and downs of female friends is Jane Austen - I am talking about Elizabeth Bennett and Charlotte Lucas in Pride and Prejudice. Through her relationship with Charlotte, Elizabeth learns that friends do not always have to agree or see things the same way.

Marilyn Yalom has just written a history of female friendship - can't wait to buy this and read!!!

😎 bye for now xxx

NUTELLA CAKES AND NEW TATTOOS

IT WAS time for a new tattoo today, and here it is! I designed a pearls-and-hearts chain with Lady's name too! Lady, as you know, was my beloved collie dog. This is my second tattoo with her name.

Then, I rewarded myself with a Nutella cake from Gloria Jeans. Usually, my reward for a tattoo is a peanut butter chocolate cookie, again from Gloria Jeans. Today -- shock, horror! The peanut butter cookie has been withdrawn because it was not popular. I had a Nutella cake instead!

The Nutella cake is amazing. It is a bit heavy, so I think that one piece can serve two. Still, I ate it all. I am against wasting or throwing away food. Normally, I eat all the food in my plate.

After Nutella, I went to see some friends downtown, to end up in Costa Coffee for studying!

Apart from the Lady tattoo, I added stars to the stars tattoo on the leg. So exciting!

Have a good evening and be well xxx
P.S. I write the name Lady in Greek, Λαίδη, because this is how I used to call my collie baby <3

A WORLD OF THEIR OWN

The other day, I finished The Doll's Tale which was the sequel/prequel to my 2009 novel Mermaid Mirror. They are meant to be a tetralogy, so I have not said goodbye to that world, or the characters. 

Doll was a tough novel to write. It featured some unpleasantness, and also many perspectives. Each of the characters seemed to live in an entirely different world, a world of their own, which made writing very demanding. However, as a writer, I have come out stronger because of the Doll. I am now starting a new, as yet untitled, novel. So excited!

AND TO WEAR LIPSTICK, OF COURSE!!!!!!!

How I will love it if, one day, they will say about me what they said about Marianne Gaskell, Elizabeth's longest surviving daughter! Marianne was energetic and social until she died in her eighties. This is what I would want. And to wear lipstick, of course!!!!

Remember when I was just starting to read Jenny Uglow's Elizabeth Gaskell biography? I have finished it now and enjoyed it very much.

As biography, it makes Elizabeth Gaskell come alive. We look at her from two angles: as the subject of biography, through letters, diaries and contemporary accounts, and as the heroine of a story; a lively life story which Uglow confidently constructs.

Like any good book, this one implicates us too; we participate in the events of Elizabeth's life and enjoy the feel of the Victorian world around us.

Have a good night and be well! XXX

ESTEE LAUDER BOOKMARKS

I AM reading this witty book called, Stop Eating (Σταμάτα να Τρώς, Stamata na Tros) by Greek radio presenter Ioanna Anna Laka (Ιωάννα Άννα Λάκα). It's quite funny and, through hyperbole and satire, it's trying to teach us some healthy attitudes towards food. 

(Note: skirt ten euro from Terrnanova. I am doing exactly what Elizabeth L. Cline in Overdressed deplores -- bragging about buying cheap fashion. Also note: Estee Lauder bookmark. I.e. old paper package from Estee Lauder serving as bookmark now!)

The author's voice is humorous and honest. She comes out as a very nice person, as she goes from one comic adventure to the next in her quest to lose weight.

The book speaks generally about beauty too. Personally, I wouldn't agree that after thirty women face problems with their skin though. Thirty is so young! Wrinkles come after forty I think and, even so, they are not many.

I am still midway through the book, so I don't know what will happen with Ioanna Anna's quest. My guess is that, in the end, she will adopt a more sensible attitude to eating. 

Have a good Saturday afternoon! xxx

GODDESSES, TATTOOS AND CYPRUS IN THE TROJAN WAR

YOU know the reason why I have started to wear skirts -- to show off my tattoos of course! New tattoos are coming up, so stay tuned.

Here I am in the lovely town of Paphos this Sunday, wearing a skirt and showing off the tattoos. I went to Paphos on business, and enjoyed it very much!

Paphos is probably one of the most historical cities on record, since it is mentioned in the Iliad and the Odyssey. It is the hometown of Goddess Aphrodite and a centre for the Ancient Greek religion. If I remember correctly, the Iliad actually mentions Kinyras, the King of Paphos, while the Odyssey mentions the city itself, in relation to Aphrodite -- the Goddess goes to her temple there after she is wounded in battle. 

Cyprus had been asked by Agamemnon to participate in the Trojan war but had refused; it remained neutral ground throughout. However, Kinyras sent Agamemnon a magnificent armor as gift.

Paphos is as beautiful today as it was in antiquity; the ancient monuments are now Unesco world heritage.

The pictures are at the medieval castle on the seafront. The castle was built by the Byzantines, dismantled by the Venetians and rebuilt by the Ottomans.

Have a good night and be well! xxx

P.S. Paphos is my own city of origin too ;-)