I'd Like To Thank The Academy

I guess it's what I get for having a "sporadically updated" blog, because I was tagged a week ago by Juneli of Fashionably Yours for the Liebster Award and I didn't even know it until yesterday!
The Liebster Blog Award is given to upcoming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. The Meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcoming. Thanks, Juneli! You're as sweet as you are adorable!

The rules for receiving this award:
1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you.
3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post.
4. Create 11 questions for the people you've tagged to answer.
5. Go to their page and tell them.
6. Remember, no tag backs!

So here goes. 11 Things About Me:
1. My favorite food is popcorn. That's right, popcorn. If I were stranded on a desert island, I'd bring a bag of popcorn. And a popper. And a kick-ass cabana with a kitchen where I could plug the popper in. And a cabana boy to pop it for me.
2. I almost never watch a movie made after 1965. On the rare occasions when I do, the film usually has the word "princess" in the title or it's a costume drama set in the 19th century.
3. I belt out show tunes at the drop of a hat. I am not a good singer. Some people don't enjoy my singing but I don't worry about it because Big Bird said not to.
4. I believe it's never too late to have a happy childhood.
5. I am a devoted aunt to 6 smart, talented, beautiful girls and two smart, talented, handsome boys. I talk about them almost as much as I talk about my cat, which is saying a lot.
6. I'm taller than I sound on the telephone.
7. Although I tend to be blunt, I try not to be unkind -- unfortunately, sometimes I'm a little unclear on where the line is.
8. I am likely to spend the last $20 in my pocket on a book. In fact, I have.
9. I am most happy when I'm making something, whether I'm drawing, writing, sewing, cooking, or making jewelry.
10. I love the sound of rain.
11. A friend called while I was writing this list and he said to tell you that I'm a "good friend who is willing to share her experiences, both good and bad, to help her friends and give them hope." Isn't he sweet?

My Answers to Juneli's Questions:
1.In which place would you like to buy/own your dream home?
~  In the mountains of northern West Virginia.
2.What kind of music do you enjoy?
~ My tastes change and evolve as my interests change; currently, I'm listening to a lot of classical music and old standards.
3.What is your favorite pastime?
~ Reading.  I didn't even have to think about that one. :)
4.What is your idea of a perfect vacation?
~ Relaxation and getting away from my usual routine, seeing new places and having new experiences.
5.Which aspect of blogging do you find most interesting?
~ I'm always interested in what my fellow bloggers are up to, and I learn a lot from reading other blogs.
6. If you are a book worm or a couch potato, what is your all time favorite movie/TV show/book?
~ It's hard to choose a favorite book, but if I have to it would be Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse.  It's some of the funniest stuff I've ever read.
7.What would you wear on a first date?
~ Probably a skirt and top or a cute dress.  Something girly but with just a little bit of an edge.
8.Name a few of your favorite fashion brands.
~ I don't tend to shop by brands in my actual price range, so I'm going to dream here and say that I'd love to wear Chanel, Dior, Lanvin, and Alice+Olivia. 
9.Love, work, family, friends- how do you prioritize them?
~ I try make this my motto: People first, principles second, material things last.  If  do that, it's pretty easy to make my choices from there.
10.How would you describe your style of dressing? For eg, girly, edgy, lady like, Bohemian, casual, sporty, elegant etc.
~ Updated classics, but often a little girly, a little edgy, or a little bohemian depending on my mood and where I'm going.
11. Sunshine or snow-flakes?
~ Both.

Now for the bloggers I'm nominating:
1. Jacqueline at Blether.  She writes about food, cooking, and life in general.  She's also an inspiration because she maintains a fabulous attitude in the face of significant health issues.
2. Louise at Eat Thru The Pain.  Reading her blog makes me spew tea out of my nose on a regular basis.  She's hilarious.
3. Vivienne at Thrifted Shift.  She writes about fashion, books, and thrift shopping.  And she has a cute dog.  What's not to like?
4. Mod Mom Beyond IndieDom.  She's a mom and a rocker.  I aspire to be as cool as she is, but alas, it's not looking good for me.
5. Wendy at Salt and Wine.  She writes about all kinds of interesting stuff like food, thrifting, and DIY projects.
6. Veronica at Pret A Penser.  She blogs about food and fashion in two languages (English and Italian) and posts amazing photos. Honestly, she had me at the name of the blog.
7. Rita at Nana's Memories.  Her blog, which is "a place of recollection and reminiscence" is as sweet as she is.
OK, I'm stopping at 7. Yes, I know it's like not following through on a chain letter and God will smite with with plagues of frogs and things, but a lot of blogs don't have their number of followers listed on them.  And if I have to spend any more time comparing myself to people who have tons of followers without, so far as I can tell, having passed middle school English, I'll start doing tequila shots -- and nobody wants that.

The lovely ladies I have tagged, however, are all talented, relatively new to blogging, and quickly gaining traction.  You should totally follow them.

My 11 questions for the blog award:
1. What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?
2. Who is your celebrity boyfriend or girlfriend?  (You can have either or both, and they don't have to be currently living.  Also, I am assuming they don't know about it, but if they do, WE NEED DETAILS.)
3. What are you reading these days?
4. In the kitchen, what can you make better than anyone else?
5. What would (or will) be the title of your memoirs?
6. If you could dive into any book or movie and live there, what book or movie would it be?
7. Name one thing on your bucket list.
8. Are you a cat person, a dog person, or some other kind of person?
9. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
10. Picture it: you're in the car, listening to the radio. A new song starts, you shriek with horror and punch at the radio buttons to make it stop.  Who's playing?
11. What do you collect?

Ye Gods, that is the longest blog post I've ever written, and if you read this far you're a rock star.  I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted.  I'm setting this to post in the morning and going to bed. 

Remembering Paris

I've been thinking a lot about Paris lately.   Maybe it's because The Foodie and I recently feasted on Laduree macarons and Angelina hot chocolate.  Maybe it's because within the last few weeks I've watched Charade, De-Lovely, and Coco Before Chanel -- all of which are set at least partly in Paris.  Maybe it's because the other day I made a really delicious french country soup (you can read about it here).  Whatever the reason, I've been looking at pictures I took last year in Paris, and I thought I'd share a few.

Paris street scene

Notre Dame de Paris

The Seine

Musee National du Moyen Age

Another street scene

A park near our apartment

Chanel on Rue Cambon (a.k.a. "The Mothership")

Whaaaaaat?

Conceive of my shock, Gentle Readers, when I was on the phone with the Army Dude this morning, chatting of this and that, and the Army Dude said "Chanel?  Who's that?"

It was a few moments before I regained my powers of speech.  I then explained to him, in the politest tones I could muster, who she was.  He replied "Oh, right.  An old dead lady."

An old dead lady?  Next he's going to tell me that Gene Kelly isn't really my boyfriend. 

I haven't been this upset since my sister started wearing legwarmers.  I need to lie down on my chaise longue with a cold compress on my fevered brow, a cup of tea, and Young Men In Spats.

Auntie Maria: Jewelry Designer

I need to work on my photography.

Things have gotten kind of interesting around here lately.  What started out as a hobby making jewelry for myself and as gifts from repurposed and reclaimed materials has turned into the beginnings of a business.

Granted, my first customer was my sister Rachel.  But she paid me!

So now I'm ordering business cards and brainstorming with friends about marketing.  I've started keeping track of what I make so designs can be duplicated.  I'm assigning them stock numbers and everything.

What I really enjoy, though, is taking out all the sparkly and shiny materials and spreading them out so I can play.  That's the fun part.

A new work area in the corner of my living room.  The creative projects have been taking over my dining table and a girl's gotta eat.

This is just how Coco Chanel got started.  Well, actually it was hats, and she had a rich, titled boyfriend as a financial backer.  But close enough.

An Open Letter To Prince Andrew

Image: Dailymail.co.uk

This. This is what is making me take a break from all Paris, all the time.

Dear Prince Andrew,

It was a lovely wedding earlier today, wasn't it? The stuff of fairytales and dreams: a lovely commoner marries her handsome prince. I had those kinds of dreams a long time ago, Andrew, back when your forehead and my waist were both significantly smaller. In my fantasies, it was you, not your nephew, who broke with royal tradition and married outside the aristocracy.

And so you should have, because I would have put a stop to those hideous outfits your daughters wore to the wedding. I would have looked into it weeks ago and shrieked in horror when I was shown those getups.

I'd have put my maribou-slipper-shod commoner foot down and said to the girls that under no circumstances were they going to their cousin's wedding looking like a can-can girl from a cheap belle epoque musical revue and a consumptive Dress Barn manager circa 1993. They would have wailed "MOM!" and I would have followed up with "And furthermore, I don't care if those forehead protruberances are by Philip Treacy, they make you look like you're being attacked by monsters."

At which point, they would have flounced off in a huff and I would have said "That's right. You go back to your apartments and think about it. Call me when you get to the east wing of the castle so I know you made it all right." Then, you and I would have gone back to our morning tea and toast.

Later that day, I would have taken the girls shopping and explained the difference between "dated" and "vintage," and between "costume" and "edgy." This morning, I would have checked to make sure that Beatrice was not applying her makeup with a palette knife again.

Don't think I couldn't have made all that happen, Andrew. I come from stern stuff. My mother can still shut me up with one glance of the hairy eyeball, and not only am I forty-seven years old, I'm also a lot bigger than she is.

Clearly, the Duchess of York did not do any of this. She is probably, as I type, sitting on a beach topless somewhere while holding a drink with an umbrella in it. I, on the other hand, would have been by your side throughout the festivities, wearing something subtly fabulous by Chanel. Because Chanel is my everything, Andrew. It could have been you and Chanel, but alas, we all make mistakes when we're young and foolish.

xoxo,

Maria