Bonaparte and I are going out this evening to “our” special and favorite restaurant.
Spring Mill Cafe. The restaurant of many wonderful meals that we’ve enjoyed!
Spring Mill Café in Conshohocken, PA. Just the two of us. We will be celebrating our marriage in a quiet way.
From Spring Mill’s website
See that table all the way in the back, in the little alcove? That’s our table!! We always sit there!!
He surprised me with the announcement of our special dinner. My plan was to cook. And I’m happy with the surprise. It put a huge smile on my face!
Yesterday, I was home from work and Bonaparte showed up with flowers for me. It was another pleasant surprise. I love little surprises.
Aren’t they lovely? Flowers always brighten up the day–and a room!
Another surprise that came my way this week nearly knocked my socks off. Wait! I don’t wear socks. This surprise left me in total shock—and in the best way.
I received a package from one of our Atypical60 friends! Marie Bénédicte is a friend and reader from France and she totally blew me away. It’s funny how great surprises occur when you need them. My week at work wasn’t the greatest. And so, this surprise just made everything happy and pleasant.
Among the little surprises? I’ll share with you!
The box opening!! Look at all the goodies!
Cute little brushes that are already in my travel bag and makeup!
Nail enamel–in my favorite color and powder foundation from T. LeClerc! I love the packaging. And the lip glosses are to die for!
Mustard, a little pesto, Espelette pepper which I’ve already used and is great and violet candies. I’m a fan of the violet candies–how did Marie know that???
The lip glosses are incredible. I’m wearing them in the pictures and have not primed my lips in any way. My lips are naturally very pigmented and I have an issue with lip color right out of the tube. Both of these are great on bare lips.
This is the top lip color. I believe the name is Meringue. It looks somewhat warm in the tube but it is a universal gloss if you ask me! This gloss is from T. LeClerc. The gloss in the bottom photo is Innoxa “Haute Tolerance” in Rose Lacte. It is almost clear with a hint of color. I LOVE this gloss!
The powder foundation in the left-hand photo is “Amande” from T. LeClerc. I’ve applied it to my inner wrist. The coverage is excellent. I’ll be reviewing later this week on my face. Same with the Number 1 Chair poudre on the right. Lighter in color but the coverage is still very good. I think both powder foundations will also serve very well as eye shadow primers!
I’m having a complete slob day today. Does that ever happen to you? Since we are going out this evening, I don’t want to be bothered with doing makeup now and again later. I don’t feel like getting dressed twice and I should because I need to run a few errands this afternoon.
No makeup except the Innoxa gloss (which I’m in love with), a filthy hair-dye stained tee and shorts. I’m slobbing it today!
OH!! Did I tell you????? I ordered Laura Geller’s Baked Body Frosting. I had this years ago and it does a great job when I don’t feel like applying fake tanner and waiting for it to dry! Left–before. Right top–after. Looks great–right?
I need a new selfie stick. The selfie sticks for this not-so-smart iPhone 6 are now operated remotely. That means the remote thingy wears down and you must get a whole new set. I can’t stand it.
We also need to get more mums for the deck.
One of these days I’m going to do a post about “Slob Style”. In the meantime, here’s what I wore on this shortened work week!
On Tuesday I wore a black swing dress. With my selfie stick broken, I couldn’t get decent photos!
Wednesday was a rainy one. I wore my “mom” outfit. Pixie Pants, a chambray shirt and an old pair of Cole Haan Air Nike (discontinued–of course!) ballet flats!
Thursday’s outfit was my favorite! It’s now Plaid Season! My pants are a bit tight around the waist which means it definitely IS time to return to the Watchers of Weight!
Who says older women can’t wear denim jackets? I have had this denim jacket for years. It’s from the G.H. Bass outlet. I think I paid about $35 and it is just a great cut–nice and fitted!
And the hair. I’m really loving this color. IB/30. Off black with streaks of auburn. This is Joy from Model Model Hair!
And with that. I give you a delightful surprise of a song. “Undone—The Sweater Song” from Weezer. It’s a great song to listen to whilst dressed as a slob but this song gives me great memories of listening to music with my kids when they were all home! Enjoy the weekend!!!!
I’ve had a few requests for the recipe to that beautiful lemon tart I made for last Saturday night’s dessert. And it was great.
But I can’t take full credit. The ladies responsible for that recipe are Carole Clements and Elizabeth Wolf-Cohen. The recipe is from the book they co-wrote.
French—The Secrets of Classic Cooking Made Easy.
If you should ever come across this book, buy it. Don’t hesitate. Don’t even stop to think. Just buy it. It is a fantastic cookbook–easy and foolproof and full of French homestyle recipes!
I honestly cannot say enough about this book. I’ve written about it a few times in past blog posts. It cost me all of $6.00 at Borders. Remember the book store Borders? Well, when Oona was at her Irish Dance classes in North Jersey, I would drive over to the Borders store close to Scotch Plains. There’s nothing like a book store to while away a couple of hours. Every trip brings a new adventure.
Anyway, when I started seeing Bonaparte, I thought it would be a promising idea if, perhaps, I was able to whip something up that reminded him of his home country. When I saw this book, I immediately picked it up.
Lo and behold, he started flipping through the pages shortly after my purchase and he said many of the recipes were basic old-school French home cooking.
Since then, this is my go-to book. I’m not kidding. It’s used more than my Barefoot Contessa books—and the pages have the stains to prove it.
There are some excellent dessert recipes in here too. One that I hadn’t made was the Lemon Tart or as they say in French, Tarte au Citron. I happen to love lemon. It’s just a refreshing taste—I make Lemon Curd quite often and I always have a jar of preserved lemons on hand. And so, I decided to make this lovely dessert.
The tart turned out just as beautiful as in the photos!
Here’s the recipe:
1 shortcrust pastry (recipe for shortcrust follows this)
Grated rind of 2 to three lemons (I used three)
2/3 cup lemon juice (fresh or the kind you buy in the store—really doesn’t matter)
½ cup superfine sugar (I used regular sugar and the result was fantastic)
4 tablespoons heavy cream
4 eggs plus 3 egg yolks
Confectioner’s sugar for dusting.
Preheat oven to 375. Roll out the pastry thinly and line a 9-inch pie plate or tart pan (I used a tart pan). Prick the base of the pastry.
Line the pastry shell with foil and fill with baking beans (I used the ceramic kind) bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the edges are set and dry. Remove the foil and beans and bake for an additional 5 to 7 minutes.
Place the lemon rind, juice and sugar in a bowl. Beat until combined then gradually add the heavy cream. (I used my KitchenAid).
Beat in the eggs, one at a time then beat in the yokes and pour the filling into the pastry shell. Place the tart on a cookie sheet and bake for about 30 minutes. The recipe in the book says 15 minutes. I’m pretty sure I had my tart in the oven for a good 40 minutes.
Let cool, chill and dust with Confectioner’s sugar before serving. I whipped some heavy cream with a bit of Confectioner’s sugar, spooned into a pastry bag and piped little stars on the tart. Sorry, I didn’t take a pic of the decorated tart. I forgot!
Shortcrust Pastry
1 ¼ cups flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp sugar (I used 1 tablespoon)
½ cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
3 to 8 tbsps. iced water.
Place the flour, salt, and sugar into a large bowl. Cut the butter in. I use a pastry blender to cut the butter in but you can use your hands or even a food processor. Whatever works for you. Cut the butter in until the texture is like fine crumbs.
Slowly add the water mixing until a crumbly dough begins to form. Don’t overdo it or the crust will end up tough. If too dry, add water by the drop, if too wet, add a bit of flour.
Form into an oval, wrap in plastic and chill in the fridge for about a half hour.
After a half hour, roll the dough out to o a nice thin circle and line in the pie plate or tart pan.
This is a GREAT crust recipe. It turns out perfect! But remember, don’t over mix!
Hands down, THE best crust recipe ever. EVER!
Right out of the oven. I allowed the tart to cool down to room temperature, then lightly covered in plastic wrap and put it into the fridge until time to enjoy!
And that is the recipe. It’s easy and light and lovely!
You know how much I have fallen in love with Laura Geller’s Balance n Brighten foundation, right? Well, I’m still in love with it and I’m using it every day.
I’m using the Balance-n-Brighten Foundation every day! Here I am wearing it today! (I’m also wearing Model Model “Joy” wig)
But, I never realized that powder and baked foundations are more difficult to clean off your face because of the fine composition.
Another look at this fabulous foundation!
Hey, I would have never known about this if I hadn’t watched the vlog of Jill Lynn Beauty Therapy on Evening Skin Care Routine. She used the term “anti-aging” and if you go onto YouTube and read the comments you will see my comment on the use of “anti-aging”. Despite the fact she used “that” term, she’s got some stellar advice.
I cringe with the use of “Anti-Aging” but Jill Lynn Beauty Therapy has some good tips. Maybe I can get her to stop using “Anti-Aging”!
I like her gentle manner and she wears wigs too!
Anyway, I decided to heed her advice and after washing with my favored Vivant Skincare Mandelic Acid 3-in1 Wash I spritzed the brand’s 3% Mandelic Acid 3-in-one toner on a cotton round.
This is the toner. It doesn’t dry your face either!
Can you believe this? And I thought my skin was cleaned. It’s true, the baked foundation really does stick to your skin!
Holy Shit. I couldn’t believe the dirt that was still left in my pores. I almost ran down to the laundry room to grab the Lestoil! For my face!
I was too lazy to run upstairs and take a photo so I robbed this off the Vivant Skincare website. Read my review on Vivant Skincare Products. (Click on the name). I’m telling you, this skincare company has great, great products. The 3-in-1 wash lasts forever. You only need a bit to clean your entire face!
Instead, I went back, gave my face a second scrubbing with the Wash and repeated the toner. That second scrubbing really got all that baked-in foundation off.
After the second cleansing. I’m thinking that perhaps I should treat myself to a facial–a deep cleaning one!
Watching the vlog also made me realize that I need to be less lazy about my evening skincare routine. I’ve been exfoliating and taking extra diligent care of my skin!
Remember—if you use a mineral powder foundation or a baked foundation, make sure your skin is cleansed well!
Now on to nothing particularly special. Bonaparte doesn’t like my tying an Herme’s scarf on my purse—according to him, it was too expensive to be thrown around.
I love the way my Hermes scarf looks on the Longchamp bag. Bonaparte does not.
So, I searched for inexpensive alternatives. Through another blogger, I found out about an inexpensive web shop. Shein. There are some interesting items being sold on this site.
I would not buy clothing simply because I’ve heard the stuff runs very, very small. However, the selection of scarfs that are available is astounding.
I purchased this cute scarf and…
It’s on my other Longchamp bag. OMG!! I just noticed the blanket on the sofa! I’m a bad blogging photographer. I should have taken the blanket off the sofa but it’s raining and Chippy would make the sofa dirty!
Chippy’s got the rhythm!
At an average price of $5.00 for the scarfs, it is an excellent buy. Especially if you are planning to wear a scarf as a handbag accessory or a thin scarf as a wrap bracelet.
Shein’s five dollar version of the Twilly scarf…
Which I purchased and wear as a wrap bracelet. I’m diggin’ this look. I must buy more!
And guess what else Shein sells? Sandals that look like a very famous and unattainable French brand that begins with the letter “H”—hint, I have an expensive scarf from the brand and Bonaparte doesn’t want me using it as an embellishment on my purse!
Yes. These are from Shein
Too bad they don’t come in narrow widths!
Yeah. $25, as opposed to over $600. They are a bit on the wide side, but I plan on hot gluing some foam on the inside of the straps to make the fit narrower. They look fine!
Well, that’s a whole lot of stuff tonight! Go get some lemons and make a tart!
Oh. I also got some new music. My man Laurent Voulzy released his Belem CD last week. It’s very Brazilian-inspired. Here’s some Spirit of Samba for you!
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND. MANY HAVE WONDERED. MANY HAVE ASKED.
HERE YOU GO!
A couple of readers are curious as to how Bonaparte and I came to be a couple and I thought it would make for a fun post so here goes! I hope you enjoy….
Joséphine de Beauharnais and Napoleon Bonaparte
Seriously Josephine. Get outta my way. The Frenchman is mine!
The story of little loud-mouthed girl from New York and baguette loving little French Parisian boy….
My divorce wreaked some havoc—especially havoc in the form of a horrific financial downfall. My oldest son was away in Austin at University of Texas. My middle son, my daughter and I were now housed in a small apartment. I may have lost our home, but at least there was a roof overhead.
It wasn’t easy. The water and electricity were constantly being shut off—so much so that the staff at Trenton Water Authority knew me by my first name. But—they were always pleasant and I always managed to scrape up enough cash to have the water put back on. Ditto the electricity.
I’ll skip some other bad stuff that I don’t want to get into. But—after a while, it was time to get back on the social train. I was signed up for a “trial” of 30 days on “Match.com”. I had two meetings over coffee, but just figured I was better off alone. Anyway, a couple of days before my “trial” ended, I figured I would peruse through the pickin’s.
Yes. We met on Match.com!
I stopped at a picture of a man in a light blue crew-neck sweater. I could tell it was wool and not polyester—that grabbed my shallow attention. Then I noticed this gentleman’s eyes were as blue as the color of the sweater. This gentleman appeared to be very distinguished. Something I was not. In fact I was sitting at the computer in granny pants and an old, holey T-Shirt.
I then went on to read his profile. He liked art (check); New York City (check, check, check); fine food (sorta check—I was cooking for teens but I love me a great and fancy meal!) and tennis (uncheck). OK –so three out of four wasn’t bad.
I love art..especially Renoir, so it was a good thing Bonaparte had a good appreciation–I mean, he’s French afterall…..
Given the fact he loved my home town, was also a plus!
Then I noticed where he was born and raised. Paris, France.
I had heard that Parisians were the rather “difficult” of all the Frenchmen–and women!
Oh.
Now, you need to understand something—I fed into that whole “Oh-the-French-hate-Americans” thing. Yes. After 9/11 I had a propensity to refer to “French Fries” as “Freedom” fries.
Yup! I don’t necessarily like fried potatoes, but I did refer to them as “freedom” fries. These days I just call them “Frites”!
I learned every single stereotypical image about the French from cartoons and TV shows.
Yes. My educational on French stereotypes were from “great” sources…
…although sometimes Pepe Le Pew is easier to understand.
However, something inside me, perhaps it was the contrarian or the curiosity, made me write a little blurb to him. It went something like this:
“So, you like art. Impressionism? It’s my fave. I love Renoir. You like NYC? I lived there for many years!” “You got an accent?” (THAT was a dopey question)
He wrote back. We spent a bit of time writing back and forth. I finally wrote to him that my “trial” was about to expire and I gave him my email address and told him to just shoot me an email.
We emailed back and forth and he asked me for my phone number. I gave it to him. He called. He had a very heavy accent that was somewhat hard to understand. But, we kept talking.
He asked me out—that last weekend of November 2004. Actually, Thanksgiving weekend. I explained to him that I could not make it because my daughter had a regional Irish Dance competition in Philadelphia and would be busy from Thanksgiving evening through that Sunday. (Yay! Party time at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Oireachtas!) Anyone involved in Irish Dance is fully-aware that you never make plans that conflict with those Thanksgiving weekend regionals!
Irish Dance competitions, especially the Oireachtas, takes top priority. Over EVERYTHING!!! (spoken like a true dance mom)!
He asked if I wanted to meet him the following Friday. Friday, December 3rd, 2004. I nervously agreed. It was just easier talking on the phone and emailing than having to get all dressed up, and trying to look “pretty” and worrying how I looked, and did I look too fat…yada yada yada.
We both wanted to keep things casual so we met on somewhat safe and common ground. We met at The Marketplace in Princeton. The Marketplace was a smaller mall, and in that mall were many stores I frequented! (I spent many a rainy summer day there when the kids were young). In addition, I felt comfortable there. I figured if things turned sour, I could always use some retail therapy—and spend money I didn’t have.
I spent a lot of time, and money I didn’t have at this Princeton Mall. It was a safe place for our first meeting!
It was easy to spot Monsieur Bonaparte because, luckily, he looked just like his photo. In fact, he looked very nice. Until I noticed what he was wearing on his feet. A FRENCHMAN wearing TENNIS SHOES???? Yes! I was shocked. As much as I fed into the “anti-French” propaganda, the one thing I did have in common with the French was the disgust of white tennis shoes and/or sneakers. In my most humble opinion, tennis shoes belong on the tennis court and only on the tennis court. The sneaker thing—only a few types of sneakers get my stamp of approval. Chuck Taylors and old-school Keds. End of story.
Was Bonaparte REALLY French–or was he faux-French. What self-respecting Frenchman would wear these on a DATE????
I become physically upset when I see tourists wearing white tennis shoes/sneakers, heavy ankle sport socks and ill-fitting shorts with t-shirts—especially when I see this kind of attire in a large city. It was bad enough for me to be seen off the courts with someone wearing these hideous shoes!
Those tennis shoes had my red flag at half-mast.
My red flag was at half-mast. Uh Oh!
As Bonaparte was not familiar with the Princeton area, so we took my car and we drove down Route 1 just a bit to grab a bite to eat at The Princetonian Diner.
Best diner in the Princeton area! The burgers and “freedom” fries are delicious!
Bonaparte had his red flag at half-mast upon entering my car—which, by the way he later deemed as the messiest car he had ever been in. I don’t even it being a mess except for a few pieces of sports equipment that belonged to the kids. The car wasn’t that bad. I mean really; he actually thinks he saw papers strewn on the floor!
My oh my. Bonaparte had HIS red flag at half mast after seeing the inside of my little green Cavalier. Now we were even!
Wait. It gets better. After having a quick bite at the diner, Bonaparte asked me if I wanted to drive across the road to check out furniture at Ethan Allen and Domain. (I thought he was moving a bit fast!). It turned out his daughter was moving into a new place and he wanted to check out furniture for her.
Imagine that! This helicopter mom met her helicopter dad!
Get rid of those red flags. Helicopter Mom has met her true match..
The French version of the Helicopter Dad!!!!
We actually had a pretty good time checking out all that furniture—it seemed that we both had pretty much similar tastes!
Surprisingly, all the sofas and loveseats in our home are white and slipcovered! Who knew?
A stop at Starbucks ended our first “date” *giggle* *giggle*
A delightful end to our first date was a stop at Starbucks!
We have been together since that first date–but there’s more so read on…
Shortly thereafter, Bonaparte administered a “test”, unbeknownst to me. The test was disguised as a movie and dinner date. He was to cook dinner for me after seeing a “surprise” movie.
When I arrived at Bonaparte’s home, he was ready to leave. (*NOTE: Bonaparte is ALWAYS on time. Worse yet, he’s early. I am always late with the exception of doctor’s appointments, air and train travel. That’s it.) I think I may have been a couple of minutes late because he was not smiling. Oh wait. He’s French!
To lighten things up, I asked him “Why do you always wear those white tennis shoes? You’re supposed to be French! I thought the French had better taste in footwear?” “They really are not attractive!” (He didn’t realize I had a “thing” about footwear).
Embarrassed, he took the fugly tennis shoes off and changed into the classy, chic, European loafers, that he should have been wearing in the first place.
He also explained “Ah em so embarrahrrrazzz.” “Ah soughs zhat Americanzzz loved zuh tennis shuz.” “Ah em zoo ‘eppy ow don’ lek zhem.” “Ow ahr lek zuh Fra’shhh. Ow spek ur meen”.
(Translation: “I thought that Americans loved the tennis shoes. I am so happy you don’t like them. You are like the French. You speak your mind.”)
Score one for me!
While on the way to see the movie, he wouldn’t budge when I asked him whatmovie we were seeing. Instead, I hounded him about dinner. He was making roast chicken, French style. He then started talking about the various courses. He explained that we were having , in his words
“Pate and Cornish hen to start” He explained in his heavy accent.
I asked him why we were having Cornish hen before having chicken.
He knew I love a good meal, but Cornish Hen as a starter? Whoa–I’m not that much of a little piggy!
He was becoming frustrated “Cornish hen..wizz mutar!!!”
Sensing his frustration, I started to laugh and asked why he was getting so upset.
Bonaparte: “Ow no zouz gren zings zhewish pip-ul et?” From zuh bar’rel?”
(Translation: “You know those green things jewish people eat? From the barrel?”)
Me: “Yeah. You mean pickles??”
Bonaparte: “Oui.” Cornish hen ahr leedul peekuhls”.
Thus, I found out what “cornichon” were! Years later, I still cannot understand everything he says!
This is what the “Cornish hen” was! Oops!
The movie turned out to be “A Very Long Engagement”. A World War I epic of love and the search for a loved one. It starred Audrey Tatou and Gaspar Uliel as the doomed but engaged lovers, Mathilde and Manech. I loved this film. In fact, to this day it remains one of my faves!
I outsmarted Bonaparte! He had no idea I was a fan of French cinema!
This film turned out to be the “test”. Apparently, Bonaparte was unsure of a long-term relationship if I didn’t like French film. What he didn’t realize that I had been a fan of French cinema since my early twenties. Living in Manhattan gave me the opportunity to enjoy many French films. I was especially fond of Francois Truffaut, Louis Malle, Jean Renoir and Eric Rohmer. (Also..Bonaparte’s uncle, Yves Robert! Bonus!!!)
After expressing my disgust at this ridiculous test, I scored another one for me!
I guess the French are just more pragmatic in their relationship thinking! They judge compatibility by film and food!
We’ve had ups and downs, but mostly ups. We have fun and enjoy each other and balance each other very well. It’s nice!
I even introduced Bonaparte to selfies!
Bonaparte wasn’t used to divey bars in NYC until he met me! Here we are waiting for my son Roman’s band “Bad Man Yells” to begin playing. My oldest son Jake is with us. This is from 2010!
In Long Island. November 2011 at a family wedding (my side)!
So that’s it. Here’s a link to an article I wrote in “FrenchEntree” about my first attempt at making a nice French dinner for Bonaparte. It started out as a complete disaster but it really is a fun read:
It’s been quite a weekend! And I’m coming off a legal high. Oh—it was a nice chill weekend. And it was great that my son Roman got to visit and Bonaparte’s daughter, her husband, and their daughter were all here for dinner on Saturday night.
But I did something. Bonaparte and I both did something.
The big “M”. We’re in it for good now!
We legalized our union. Yeah. That’s right. I’m now married to the Frenchman! For ten years I was living in sin. Now I’m living in deeper sin. Only kiddin’!
I was late for work on Friday because we signed all the documents. Was it eventful?
Yes. For us it was, but like I said to the woman in the Court Building who worked at the Marriage Bureau, “The first time around you spend a ton of money for the dress, the flowers, the reception. The second time around you want to make sure you have a great wig”.
The Bride wore the Riley wig by Freetress that was purchased on HairSoFly for $9.99!
Well, she loved what I said so much that we started talking wigs and I had to give her the names of all the online wig sites.
The Bride also wore her favorite J. Crew Schoolboy blazer, a J. Crew Factory Tee, AG Jeans and Repetto ballet flats–along with Longchamp bag!
In two weeks, I will be changing my name. Roman and I got into a conversation about that. He said he always wondered why I never changed my name back to my maiden name when I was divorced. I explained to him that the kids were still young and it would be weird if my last name was different. Then I told him that the time is right now. All the kids are out and on their own and I want to change my name.
I think the icing on the cake would have been if Jake and Oona were here–but their work schedules and their living so far away made it impossibe.
And so, I will be Mrs. Lartigue—but I think I just may go by Madame Bonaparte!
The beaming groom. I think it’s because he knows he’ll always be getting great French meals!
Next topic!
I cooked up a storm on Saturday because the weather was somewhat stormy.
Here’s a look at some of the goodies that I made.
A shortcrust for the lemon tart. I’ll tell you this was the best crust ever..
The Lemon Tarte after being taken from the oven. I dressed it with whipped cream flowers. We were enjoying ourselves so much that I forgot to take pics!
Peeled, cubed and pre-boiled potatoes. I sauteed them in duck fat.
Apples for the Calvados sauce and for the pork dish that I made…
Deviled eggs for appetizers. I put the yolk mixture in a pastry bag then later on piped the filling into the egg whites!
Madame Bonaparte will not ruin a wig while cooking. The bio hair will do!
The table is set. I keep a simple and basic table. The food is the focus.
How did I relax in between cooking time? Watching the game between University of Texas and University of Maryland. Jake graduated from Texas and Oona from Maryland. Either way, mommy was the winner. Sadly, my Longhorns lost.
Yesterday was a more relaxed day. My husband, my son Roman and I went to see the movie “Wind River” starring Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth. It was an intense drama about a murder on a Native American reservation. I highly recommend this movie. It had a great plot and was a decent thriller and it was based on a true story.
Looking for a good movie with an interesting story? Go see Wind River. It was excellent!
Back home we enjoyed another dinner with enjoyable conversation. Then watched another movie “The Accountant” starring Ben Affleck. It was another thriller and I’m not an Affleck fan but he was good. Anna Kendrick was very good too. She’s one of those actors that I was on the fence about but the more I watch her, the more adorable and talented she appears to me.
The Accountant was a very unusual movie, but nevertheless, I was at the edge of the sofa seat!
Today, this Monday of Labor Day, Roman and I headed off to the nearby outlet mall. His birthday was last week and I wanted to have him pick out some clothing—I also wanted to see what was being offered. J. Crew Factory was having a 50% off the entire store.
Roman, aka, Chilly, in younger days. I still wanted to get him clothing for his birthday!
I found two items for me at that 50% off sale. A small scarf, which is adorable and a gray cashmere pullover. AT $78.00 the 50% off was a great price.
This Parisian themed scarf was a great buy at $7.50. I’m into wearing scarfs as bracelets these days.
She told me everything except the cashmere was on sale. OK. So then why did J. Crew Factory have ads up the wazoo stating that the entire store was 50% off.
I was livid that this sweater was NOT 50% off. J. Crew Factory–do NOT advertise that the ENTIRE store of 50% off when it clearly is not. This is not good!
The sweater remained in the store. I’m sorry. As much as I loved and wanted the sweater, I’m not spending full price.
The bag was almost empty. Not cool J. Crew Factory!
And by the time we arrived home, it was time to drive my son to the Bolt Bus in Philly.
I was sad to see him go. But I was comforted by my husband and his comfort made everything ok.
It’s funny how a piece of paper can make your life more comfortable. And I had a conversation with Danièle not too long before she passed away. She told me the day she married Yves Robert, she became so much more comfortable with the relationship. I get that. And I wish Danièle was here now. She would have been thrilled.
I think Daniele would have been extremely happy to finally have me as her legal niece. I always consider her my Parisian Aunt!
And that was my weekend. How was yours?
Do you like my $19.50 Samala Wig by Janet Collection? I wore it yesterday. I like this one a lot!!!
The news of Walter Becker’s passing hit me hard this weekend. I’ve always been a huge Steely Dan fan and loved their music for many years. My favorite song was Dirty Work. Here you go.
Yes. That weekend is coming up. Labor Day weekend! It’s going to be a busy one. Roman is going to be visiting before returning to work on the set of Fallon and the new season of SNL will be upon us soon—his visit will be a relaxing one for him and I will be doing a lot of cooking.
Three-day weekend and one of my kids is visiting! It’s gonna be great!
Bonaparte’s daughter, husband and, granddaughter will be joining us for dinner on Saturday, and so I’m trying to plan our feast!
So far, I do know that I’ll make a lemon tart for dessert. For appetizers, it’s my go-to that everyone loves—deviled eggs. Did I ever tell you my secret ingredient for my deviled eggs is anchovy paste? Yeah. Every home should have a tube of anchovy paste in the pantry. It adds depth to many recipes.
I think a lemon tart is a great and refreshing dessert to say goodbye to the summer with-don’t you?
I’ll also do some Salmon Rillettes to start.
Salmon Rillettes is turning into a very regular food item in Chateau Bonaparte and are the perfect appetizer!
The pondering is what I’ll make for the main plate. I’m thinking something to transition from summer to fall. Maybe some sort of pork with apples. I need to do some detective work on this
Lemons and apples at the ready. Good bye summer fruit. Hello autumn fruit!
Oh. Back to white. I’ve rediscovered white eyeliner. When I was cleaning last weekend, I came across not one, but two white eyeliners that I forgot about.
NYX Liquid Eyeliner. It was difficult to get a photo of the brush, but you can see the stray bristles if you look close enough. Just like those pesky lady whiskers on the chin!
The first one by NYX is liquid and in a tube. The applicator brush is housed in the liquid portion. I can’t remember what I paid for it but I’m sure it wasn’t that much. This needs to be applied with a very light touch—I’m not good at light touches and I need to practice more with this. The brush, although thin, which is an important thing, has a couple of wild bristles that stick out. This isn’t a good thing and I need to cut them off. The liner is akin to white out, but with a bit of practice, I’ll be sure to go lighter.
I have some close-ups and the liner looks like shit because I can’t seem to draw a nice white line over my wrinkly eyes. But from far away it looks great.
It’s so not perfect–in fact, close up it looks ghastly..
This was the look I was going for. (Not ever gonna happen)
The second liner, by Stila had been discontinued a couple of years back, but the protests of fans had Stila bringing this great liner back. It’s “Snow” and I love this liner. It is a liquid but is in a one-unit tube. The marker tip, very thin is great and draws a nice line.
Stila “Snow”. Much easier to work with!
Close up with the Stila Snow. I added a blue-green liner on top of the white as an experiment. The liner is also by Stila but is so old that the printing is worn off so I don’t know the color.
I wore the NYX eyeliner yesterday. My skills need to be a bit better. Obviously white liner isn’t as forgiving as black eyeliner..
But from farther away, it looks much better!
I will say, though, the NYX eyeliner stays put ALL day. I don’t wear eye primer and this photo was taken when I arrived home from work. It didn’t move!!
Today’s eyeliner. I do have the blue-green above the white but my old lady eyes are creasing. Anyway, the white liner really does brighten up the eyes. It’s a fun change up from the black eyeliner. I wouldn’t do this look every day because I love my dark eyes but every now and then it’s worth it!
Ladies. Give white liner a try. It brightens up the eyes.
Based on the review of a makeup vlogger, I tried Hard Candy Brows Now. One end is a nice highlighter that looks lovely under the brows. The other end is what I would call brow mascara. They are fibers for the brows but boy, was this an absolute miss for me. You have to be a professional to use this stuff! I’ll stick to my brow pencil and powders. I can’t even with this.
The brow fiber gel is absolutely awful. It’s sticky and gloppy but the highlighter is great!
I think I paid about six bucks for this. Don’t waste your money. Seriously.
This is a very scary photo and you can see the fright in my eye when I got a glance of the Hard Candy brow gel on my brows. I washed it right off and went back to the pencil. Don’t bother.
Oh. And I took an old lipstick out today. It’s a Guerlain Kiss Kiss lipstick in the color “Pushy Pink”. I love this color but more than that—I love the tube because there is sentimental value to it. A couple of years ago, Bonaparte’s aunt, Daniele, took me on a shopping to the Guerlain Boutique in Paris. I felt like Cinderella. She told me to pick out whatever I wanted. Yes. She did!
I love this color! It is not harsh. It is soft and flattering. So why is it discontinued?
Among the items was this lipstick. And the color is a very subtle pink with a coral blend. And I was thinking of getting another one but guess what? It’s been discontinued. Why would a color that is so pretty and flattering be discontinued? I’m hoping that it is still available in Paris because, on our next trip, I’m heading back to that Guerlain shop to see if they might have one floating around.
Isn’t it pretty? I love Pushy Pink!
As an aside, I purchased a new toothbrush. I love these motorized brushes because when the battery wears down, it’s time to replace. I’m a bit of a toothbrush fanatic. And I don’t use toothpaste. I brush my teeth with baking soda and hydrogen peroxide!!
I’ll be busy this weekend so you won’t hear from me until Sunday evening or Monday morning. Here’s a bit of what I wore this week so far. No weight loss and no weight gain. That’s a plus.
Monday was my homage to Dany and Jacques-Henri Lartigue. I wore Dany’s favorite style shirt–a striped Breton-inspired shirt and the classy lady in the photo? She’s a wealthy Parisian that B’s. grandfather snapped in the early 1900’s. The Dinky Soleil sign was at JHL’s home in Opio, France. Now it’s in Phoenixville, PA!
More Pixie pants and old Cole-Haan Air Nike Ballet Flats that just don’t wear down. The tee was bought at J. Crew Factory for twelve bucks!
Yesterday was tunic time and That Girl hair!! I LOVE this wig. Konis by It’s a Wig! It’s a great unit!
And today was another casual look with a pair of years-old patterned pants from J. Crew. Wow. I’m REALLY cross-eyed today! Maybe white liner makes my eyes cross more!!
But the major surprise is that I got Bonaparte to pose in his OOTD yesterday!!
Manchic!! Or is it Man Candy? The very bashful and handsome Bonaparte. He will be so surprised when he sees this!! He should be a model!
Have a great, great weekend and I’ll see ya next week!
A Paler shade of White or a Whiter Shade of Pale? Procol Harum knows the answer!
Our plan for the weekend was to drop Chippy off at doggie daycare. We would then drive to Stone Harbor and enjoy a day at the beach. Plans change.
Upon waking up, I just didn’t feel like making the drive to the Jersey Shore. After all, it was the weekend before Labor Day and traffic would be horrific. Perhaps I was a bit sad because it was my son Roman’s 31st birthday and I wasn’t able to celebrate. He was in Cincinnati with Oona.
This guy! I swear I had him yesterday! I’m glad he was visiting Oona. I get a warm feeling inside knowing that my three kids are closerthanthis!
Instead, I decided to concentrate on a few chores. One of the chores being cleaning my makeup vanity.
I try, I really try to keep things organized. And at times I fail. I especially fail in the summer. I dunno what it is about the warm weather but laziness becomes me from June into September. Perhaps it’s because I get so depressed when we return from our annual visits to France. Perhaps it’s that work drains the bejeezus out of me during the week.
I just get lazy.
Yes. I’m tired of being lazy!!!
Bonaparte, being the obsessive neat freak cannot stand any form of a mess that I might create. When I announced that I didn’t want to go to the beach, my Frenchman looked a bit sad. But he brightened up like a neon sign when I told him I wanted to clean.
Honestly, I couldn’t take the mess anymore. I like my cosmetics to be organized and I had let everything slide by. Here’s a few pics of how things looked:
This is the desk where I work my magic. Note the styrofoam wig head on the floor.
Look at the makeup schmutz that I cleaned off the desk. I should be ashamed. But I’m not.
My makeup vanity is an old roll top desk that I found on Craigslist three years ago. I paid all of $30.00 for it. The chair that I sit in was $5.00 at a church rummage sale. I love both.
In the bowels of the desk, I discovered, not one but TWO Trish McEvoy makeup organizers…
There’s a lot of stuff in these things and I never use them but I can’t bring myself to get rid of them. Maybe I’ll put one in a purse..
The vanity is in a catty-corner position in the small guest room on the third floor of our humble chateau and this room is where I sit every day to put my makeup on and to fix my fake hair. The room also has a closet which houses my jeans and wigs and other odds and ends.
There is a dresser in the room that cost me nothing. A neighbor was moving and offered it to whoever could carry it out of her home. That would be me.
I cleaned THIS too. Everything from perfume samples to an invitation that was weeks ago was sitting on this dresser…
We arrived home from France on July 3rd. How lazy could I possibly be that I couldn’t either throw this away or put it with my travel stuff? Pretty damned lazy. Note the hair. I just don’t stop shedding!
All the junk from the makeup desk/vanity made its way to the dresser..but the mess is always worse before it gets better!
Nice and clean and organized…….for about two weeks!
This is as good as it gets for the vanity!
All is neat now. Bonaparte stopped breathing when he saw this!
With a stellar job completed, and still early in the day, it was decided that we would take a drive to the outlets. I needed to exercise and what better way to take a nature hike by walking the great outdoors of the outlets.
With my outfit at the ready, it was time for my kind of nature hike..
A nature walk at the outlets!
Besides, I was running low on my bareMinerals “Well Rested”. It’s the best concealer of all time and is less expensive by four bucks at the outlets.
The bareMinerals outlet shop. The prices are decent here.
Got my Well-Rested. And at $16.00 instead of the $20.00 marked!
And what did I spot on the way OUT of the store? NARS–at discounted prices. Bonaparte quickly grabbed me arm and we made a fast exit!
And who doesn’t go to the outlets and not check out J. Crew Factory?
I picked up a cute Paris inspired tee to wear under blazers for the fall…
And this fun tee for $12.00. Bonaparte picked up some pants.
Do you like my hair-of-the-day? It’s Joy by Model Model! I love the length!
This time to pick up groceries for weekend cooking. Since we didn’t make it to the beach, I told Bonaparte that dinner was his choice. He opted for my Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken. We hadn’t had it in a while and Saturday was a good night to enjoy the aromatic heat of the dish.
Lemongrass Chicken marinating. Bread rising and Salmon Rillettes all done. A productive day indeed!
I also baked a loaf of bread and made a batch of Salmon Rillettes for Sunday evening.
We enjoyed our time with a lazy dinner on the deck. Our deck dining days are surely numbered for 2017. The evenings are cooling down. I’m hoping we get a heat wave of sorts mid-September so that we can sneak a few more meals outdoors before hibernation season begins.
And while we were on the deck, and filmed Chippy, I realized that the deck looked barren and we hadn’t done a thing all summer to dress it up.
When you decide to film with your phone after a couple of Kir Royals on the deck
Every year, pots of geraniums decorate the deck. We never got around to it this year. And when I saw the video of Chippy, I was upset because the exceptional film lacked the beautiful background of flowers.
As I whined about this, Bonaparte paid no attention to me.
Yesterday’s Hair-of-the-Day. Konis by It’s A Wig. I love the color! Bonaparte HATES the color. I don’t care. It’s still hair I wear! Notice I’m wearing the same shirt two days in a row. Now that Jake is in California I feel closer to him by wearing this tee!
My Sunday face. From start to finish! It was so much fun to sit at my organized vanity. I even wore false lashes. I just don’t understand why Bonaparte does not like this color wig. TT99J/530 a lovely off black with different hues of auburn and burgundy. I dig it!! I also dig the white eyeliner!
And so, yesterday afternoon, after listening to my constant complaining that we never planted geraniums, Bonaparte and I headed into the car to Home Depot. It is now mum season.
August 27th and we are just now getting around to our “summer” flowers!
We bought some mums.
The deck finally looks nice!
I also cleaned my makeup brushes.
This wasn’t done in a long, long time!!
And purchased a new little rug for my makeup area!
My little corner looks so organized now!!
Dinner started off with the Salmon Rillettes and was followed by Lobster.
Chippy and the Lobster. He would rather have a treat!
A perfect dinner to celebrate the last weekend of August 2017.
This guy. He was so good!!! And I didn’t have butter either!
Salmon Rillettes on home baked bread toast. It is the perfect starter!
I need more mums though. That’ll have to wait until the next productive weekend—whenever that may be!
Do you ever have that kind of weekend? Where plans change and you end up being very productive? I want to hear about it!
Hope you all had a great weekend—and one that was fun and productive!
No song today. I think Chippy’s films are music to the eyes and my voice is music to sore the ears!! XOXOXOXOXOXO!!!!
If you know me, you know how much I love my trips to France. Trust me, the three weeks we spend in the South of France during the summer aren’t’ enough for me. The trips to Paris? As a city girl, I would move there tomorrow if possible. New York and Paris are my two favorite cities on earth.
I’m very much relaxed when I’m in France during the summer.
And in the 13 years I’ve been visiting Paris and other parts of France, one of my favorite activities is people watching and observing how the French dress.
That’s right. Let me pull up a chair. Sit down. And get ready for people-watching!
I love looking at the men in their slim suits—so well-fitted and a hair away from being too small.
Frenchmen are guy chic. So effortlessly pulled together. I should be so pulled together!
I love the way the French dress their children. Reminds me of the care I took into making sure my own kids were well-dressed at all times.
Look how cute I dressed my little doll–Oops, I mean, my daughter Oona when she was little. I even made sure her Halloween costumes put her up in the best-dressed list! ( I made that costume, btw. It remains one of my favorites!
And I especially love studyinghow French women dress.
It may be an ad, but Catherine Deneuve remains iconic.
I’m also fascinated by the overabundance of magazine articles, blog posts, and internet publications obsessive writings on French style.
This is what articles never show. Normal French people on the way to their normal jobs in the middle of Paris during the weekday. I snapped this pic last year. Can you spot the chic one? No. Neither can I. This is normal.
“How to Dress Like a French Girl”. “How to Dress Like A Parisian” headline the many essays from self-proclaimed experts on the subject, some of whom have probably been to Paris only through watching Amelie thirty or so times, to those who write about fashion for a living.
You don’t profess to be an expert on French style by repeatedly watching Amelie. Although I must admit, I’ve seen this film at least 50 times. It’s my favorite film of all time. And YES. I love how Audrey Tautou was transformed into the most adorable gamine of all time. And this hairstyle IS one of the best bobs of all time. But it belongs to Tautou and Amelie. I’ve never seen any woman or girl in France wearing this hairstyle the way she wears it. End. Of. Story.
I’ve read articles about secrets and tips to turn yourself into a version of the quintessential French woman. The epitome of “Chic”. Chic is an over-used word!!!
They have it all wrong. Not the French women, those who pontificate have it all wrong.
This is a costume. Unfortunately, I’ve seen bloggers throughout the internet dress very similar thinking that they look French when in fact, they look foolish because they lack personal style!
You simply cannot imitate chic. Either you got it or you ain’t.
The late Jeanne Moreau had it. She was chic. It was inbred. Notice the simplicity. Notice that she has bruises on her legs and she is still elegant. No accessories. No jewelry. She ozzes chic from her topknot down to her simple heels!
And believe me, sometimes there is a very thin line between chic and trashy. I’ve seen the over-the-top looks in Cannes. It isn’t chic to try too hard.
Alright. So I haven’t run into Victoria or David Beckham in Cannes. But this is not chic. And I’m a bit surprised because Victoria Beckham’s clothing line has some pretty classy items. Did I say classy? Yes. I did. Classy does not necessarily mean chic and boy did she miss the boat on chic in this getup!
Chic is: elegantly and stylishly fashionable.
Ines de la Fressange. A study in chic. The outfit on the left and middle = total chic. And even iconic Ines can miss the mark. The outfit in the photo on the right. Overkill. Too fussy. Not chic. Not elegant. If she lost the beret and didn’t have the jacket belted, she would be on the road to chic…
I have a blogger friend. Elizabeth, she of The Vintage Contessa blog. She is naturally chic. It is innate. She can wear anything and it automatically morphs into a degree of chic. And she isn’t French. She is an American married to an Italian. Her style is one of a kind and she always remains chic elegance. Her style isn’t simple chic. It’s elegant chic with an edge—and that is the beauty of having one’s own personal style. Take a look at her blog, I linked it and you will love it. Study her style.
This is Elizabeth. She is chic in a bold way. I admire her and am in awe of her because she’s got “it”. That “thang”. That intangible quality . Not only is she great to observe but she’s an incredibly kind and generous woman! Read her blog. You will know what I mean!
I, on the other hand, am not chic. In the almost 14 years Bonaparte and I have been together, I can honestly tell you Le homme has used the word chic to describe what I’m wearing maybe five or six times. And all six times, we were going out to dinner. I wore what he practically begged me to wear.
I am not chic. But over the years, I’ve honed in on what I love and am comfortable in. It’s my personal style.
Bonaparte is chic. Yeah. He’s a guy but he is guy chic. Guys can be chic too
And even though the ability to truly be chic is that certain something that a small percentage of the population has, most of us are not chic. Most of us do not have that certain je ne sais quoi, a quality that cannot be described or named easily Are you following me?
What I’m saying is that we should find our own style. You can carry a chic bag or a wear a chic pair of shoes, but it isn’t going to make you chic. And that’s ok! It’s fine, in fact.
Lancel bags. So chic, they aren’t even sold in the USA. I covet these bags. I want one. I can’t afford one. Be still my heart if I win the lottery, I will get me on a plane, fly back to Paris and buy one of these chic little bags. You can have your Dior, LV, YSL. I’ll take Lancel!
When people ask me what my style is, I must honestly say, I don’t really know. I don’t have a particular style. I know what isn’t my style. I’m not a Boho girl. I’m not a country style dresser.
Now there’s yet another term. Boho Chic. Boho is NOT chic. It never was and never will be. The look above is nice. She is wearing a boho hat, and her bag, a Chloe, isn’t what I would call boho.
And as beautiful as these girls are–they are Boho overkill. They are NOT Boho Chic. Chic is something all ages can wear. I, at 62 years, would not look chic nor Boho in this look. I would look like I tried to hard. Fashion needs to get it’s terms straight.
Remember Meryl Streep in the movie “Ricki and the Flash”? The rocker look is definitely not my style. It isn’t Streep’s style either and I have to say, after seeing the trailer for that movie, Streep was miscast.
Streep may be the greatest actor of our generation, but even the great Streep can be miscast. Rocker girl is not her style. Ain’t mine either!
I couldn’t picture her as a rocker of any kind. Cyndi Lauper or Debbi Harry would have taken that movie in a great direction because both women personify rocker! They got rocker style and have had it for decades! They was born that way!
Why couldn’t Hollywood cast either Lauper or Harry as Riki? Both epitomize Rocker girls. Both are beautiful. Both was born that way!!! Oh yes they wuz!!! That is their style!
I snapped this pic yesterday (you’ll see more in my next blog post)–and it is a great example of my mutt style. Classic. Preppy. A bit odd–I love shorts with a tee and blazer, but that’s my style!
A bit classic with my love and appreciation of a great pencil skirt. And pearls.
My favorite pencil skirt is this leopard print one. Its fun but classic at the same time!
I love me a pointy-toed heel.
And skinny jeans.
Skinny jeans and pointy toes. What could be better? The torn jeans are not chic but I love the look!
And old-school sneakers
The white, low top Chuck Taylor’s by Converse are my favorite sneakers!
And my French Repetto Ballet Flats and Rondini Sandals.
Illustration by me. I love my Repetto ballet flats and Rondini sandals. Part of my style.
And scarfs—whether wooly for the winter or lighter for warmer weather.
Classic casual style. Scarf with a trench coat, cuffed jeans and loafers!
And my Bass Weejuns
Bass Weejuns. In my style life since grammar school–and traveling with me to all points. I love them and they are comfortable!
And, naturally, my leather Longchamp bags.
The Hermes scarf is chic. I lower it down a bit by tying it around the handle of my Longchamp bag. I like it that way!
I’m not much in the line for accessories—but it’s my style. I don’t like to be overloaded with bracelets and necklaces and accoutrements because it just isn’t me. Yet, I admire the woman who can accessorize like that . They have the know-how that I lack!
My hair—I try to keep my fake hair to styles similar to how I wore my bio hair before I lost most of it.
I’m not big on “Hair do’s”. I like an unstyled style–even with my wigs!
That’s why I like Bardot’s style. She was slightly messy—and not in a bad way either. She had that just-rolled-out-of-bed look.
Bardot.. In a more demure state–and she still looks perfectly tousled! Note–no jewely. The focus is on her!
Do I try to imitate her style? No—but I can add little nuances of her style into mine—like a big messy bun in honor of her messy hair or a striped Breton shirt in honor of her love for French fisherman shirts and French fishermen perhaps?
Far from Bardot–but I love her Breton striped shirts. My style likes them too!
Thanks so REX/Sipa Press I was able to find this epic pic of Carla Bruni. Another example of simple chic. The shoes. The. Shoes. I stopped breathing I love them so much! And look how simple she’s dressed. I’m jelly!
My favorite store? J. Crew—because the clothing is, for the most part, classic with a bit of an edge. Granted, some years the stuff is awful—but a great classic piece can always be found. The J. Crew brand resonates with me—and Crew has great sales!
Everyone has a style. Whether you realize it or not. You can build your personal style with basics. You can study the wardrobes of those who’s style you admire.
Go window shopping. By yourself. Some “you” time. Take a look at the clothing in different stores. Write down the names of the stores that have clothing you like. Peruse their websites. Research and study.
Don’t let anyone dictate to you what your style should be. Remember. You know you better than anyone else.
So, get under the chics. Better yet, take those chics off you and get out and have fun finding your style!
Make your own kind of style!
I’m influenced by some, but my style is personal. I’m especially fond of my fake tan style. Check it out. I missed a foot! My kinda style!
While I was writing this post, I couldn’t help but think about this great song “Make Your Own Kind of Music” by the great Cass Elliot. She had her own style. She owned her style and she was beautiful. As an aside, she’s introduced by Sammy Davis Jr. Boy does this bring back memories!
Gold. What a word. It has so many meanings. Gold jewelry conjures up visions of wealth.
Unfortunately, I won’t be purchasing any of this anytime soon. I did not win the 700 million dollar Powerball last night!
During the summer, we strive for that golden tan.
The only way I can achieve a golden tan is to purchase one via spray. Remember my spray tan post from 2016? I got Sprayed–not Spayed!
Remember the goose that laid the golden egg?
Sorry but I’m not greedy. A golden egg does nothing for me. I would rather have the foie gras!
When we bake, we always achieve for the golden-brown top!
Check out the golden-brown tops on the pain aux raisin that I made for Bonaparte!
Many who know me look at me and tell me that silence is golden!
Gold lamé clothing, metallic gold shoes, the list goes on.
I dig gold stuff with one exception.
The Golden Girls. Ugh. I couldn’t stand that show when I was younger. And now that I’m old, I find the show more offensive than ever. They all had awful hairdos. They all had horrific clothing. They were the stereotypical woman of the “golden” years.
I love Betty White but boy did I despise this show. This is not today’s Golden Girls. It’s a ridiculous stereotype that needs to be stamped out!
Not this old broad baby. I’m a Gilded Girl! And I’ll tell you why.
I’ve decided that if the damned cosmetics companies are not going to feature us old women on their websites, and if they continue to discard us and set us aside, I’m just going to have to be a model figure for the empowering demographic of women over 50, 60 and upward! I’ll do it myself. I’ll be a one-woman army!
The tables need to be turned. Upside down. And I’ll be the one to do it!
So here goes—You remember my recent Laura Geller review—right? Well, I’m still annoyed that Laura Geller celebrates only the young customer on her website, but the baked foundation and bronzer were so good that I made another purchase. She sells her wares on QVC. And QVC oftentimes has great values on kits.
Yes. I saw a kit for Laura Geller’s “Gilded Collection”. It was on a Today’s Special for under $50.00 (the current price is $54.96 and still an excellent value for the items that are included.
The products came in this very fancy box.
At first, I was a bit on the fence about ordering because the collection looked a bit on the warm side for my cool coloring. But then again, Autumn is on the way and it could be a changeup. Besides, the Balance-n-Brighten Baked Foundation is included in the kit. It would be essential for me to put the foundation in my travel bag!
Let me add that I ordered this in “Fair” so I was able to order the lighter foundation!
The products were displayed in this plastic case. Truth be told. I wasn’t thrilled with the plastic. It’s not good for our environment. I wish companies would spend less on the packaging–especially when the product is good!
The kit comes with:
A full-size of Apricot Berry Blush. I thought this would be way to orange but it isn’t. It gives a nice flush.
Baked Illuminator in Gilded Honey. This is very soft and only a touch is needed.
The eyeshadow duo isn’t bad either. I liked the staying power.
The blush and illuminator on my pasty skin. They didn’t look “off” at all.
The eyeshadow duo the brown looks better on than in the compact.
I decided to use the items on my face today—it would give me a chance to see how the products last during my working hours.
The lighting pretty much sucked early in the morning but this was after applying. The colors are pigmented but …
In natural light, and with my hair on, you can get a better look at the finished face. I’m very happy with this warm glow and I LOVE the lipgloss! The color is Honey Caramel, a beautiful neutral shade!
The products are a clear winner. I was most surprised at the brown eyeliner. It is smooth and creamy and stayed put all day. I very lightly glided it along the bottom of my eyes for a softer smoky look.
This was worth the money. I dunno what it is, but I’m sure glad that I revisited Laura Geller. I’m angry that she doesn’t feature mature women on her website, and I wrote to her company with NO RESPONSE FROM THEM. Perhaps if we all go to her website and scroll down to the “contact”, we can all write and voice our need to be included. There is power in numbers.
Laura. Why your people so scared of me? I’m buying your products, using them, and raving about them. Someone could at least answer me!
In the meantime, I’m not getting on the scale this week. It was not a good week for me diet-wise. This happens from time to time. I am now back on track.
I may be a bit bloated but at least I’m gilded!
Chippy ate nearly all the contents of my new Longchamp purse. Thankfully, he isn’t a fan of French leather or Hermes because he left the purse, along with the Hermes scarf I have tied to the handle uneaten.
Can you believe it? My fake sugar tablets are inside my dog. Look what he did to my Lip Vitality? Ugh..
How could I stay angry at this face???
Mornings and evenings are getting a bit of cool these days. It’s a gentle reminder that the summer of 2017 is bidding us farewell in a few weeks. The lighting is also slightly changing. As I drove home from work this evening I noticed that the sky is taking on that transition into fall as well. But—the summer clothing will linger because September often gets a wave of incredibly hot and humid weather.
Have a great weekend and remain happy! Here’s how I’m transitioning to the cooler mornings:
Monday’s weather was so threatening. I wore black skinny jeans and a tunic.
Tuesday was back to incredible heat. AND incredible ragweed pollen. My eyes were shut and puffy all day.
Wednesday’s weather looked bad again. It was back to pants and a pom pom shirt from last year. The shoes. Don’t get me started. I paid good money and purchased these Gemma flats from J. Crew. They looked like crap after three wearings. Now I only wear them if I think it will rain heavily. What a disappointment!
Today’s outfit. Can I just say I LOVED what I wore today. The leopard print skirt from J. Crew Factory is an all-season charmer. The ballet neck tee has some good stretch and the size S fits like a glove. This was 4.99 at Old Navy! The inspiration for this outfit was the gilded makeup I wore. It just gave me a warm feeling.
All that gold talk brought this song from David Bowie to mind. “Golden Years”.
To be honest, our weekend was productive and relaxing at the same time. I mean, other than my weekend blog posts it was relaxing!
It started out with a nice rainbow on Friday evening!
On Saturday morning, I organized the little closet in the guest room. The room doubles as my makeup studio and houses my wigs.
It really was productive. In less time than it ever takes me to wash, condition and blow dry my bio hair, I was able to organize my fake hair and even get rid of some nasty wigs that were in bad shape!
Because the sun was shining and the natural light was stellar, I got to pluck a bunch of lady whiskers from my chin. That’s always a good thing.
One of my favorite ways to while away time while waiting for moisturizer to set in is to pluck the lady whiskers from my chin. Especially when the lighting is great!
Bonaparte and I drove into Philly where we visited the Warby Parker shop on Walnut Street. He used the gift card that my kids gave him for Christmas and ended up with a great pair of sunglasses.
The place was mobbed but there’s plenty of help–and the Warby Parker staff is ridiculously friendly and helpful!
These are the shades that Anthony Bourdain ..Oops–I mean, Bonaparte picked out!
The Frenchman. He’s so serious! He tried these on but wasn’t crazy about them. I thought they were great! Oh well. We had fun!
Then we walked over to Rittenhouse Square to see what goods we could pick up at the Farmers Market.
We had a nice time walking around Philly. I ended buying tarragon for the anchovy sauce I made.
And when we arrived home, I baked bread and made a great anchovy sauce for our steak.
Here’s the recipe:
Anchovy Sauce for Filet Mignon or Steak
Peel and mince 4 shallots. Peel and grate 1 clove garlic. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. Add the shallots and garlic. Cook till the shallots are transparent.
Take about four or five sprigs of fresh Tarragon. Remove the leaves from the stems and chop. Add to the cooked shallot/garlic mixture.
Add one and one-half tablespoons of anchovy paste and stir into the saucepan.
Add ¾ of a cup of heavy cream and cook until the cream reaches the boiling point and keep stirring. Don’t let the sauce boil over but cook for about ten minutes.
Add ¼ cup of champagne cognac to the sauce and cook until the alcohol dissipates.
As the sauce cooks down it’ll thicken.
Spoon over steak. This is good stuff!
My diet went out the window over the weekend. I ate way too much of the bread I made and the sauce–it was “eat-it-like-soup” great! Thank God for that broccoli!
Yesterday was Oona’s birthday. She’s 28 years old now and I just can’t figure out where the time went! I miss having her around but I admire her independence. I’m proud to be the mom of a successful and empowering young woman!
I’m not kidding when I say time flies. I remember every one of these photos as though they were taken yesterday. Oh wait. The collage WAS taken yesterday! Seriously. My baby is 28!
And that was basically the weekend.
This last week was a busy one at work—so busy, in fact, that I forgot about snapping pics of my outfits. I did manage a couple of shots though.
Friday’s ensemble. I’m really starting to tire of the clothes now. I need a spray tan. I’m tired. And I need to win Powerball so that I can stay home and write.
Thursday’s dress. I should have worn this more often because I really like it. I went with bobbed hair last week for a couple of days.
I think I wore this last Monday or Tuesday. Very classy with the bra straps sticking out. I finally took the bra off when I got into the car after leaving the office. Yes. I’m THAT woman. I begin to disrobe in my car.
Last week also brought some new hair.
This is Konis by It’s A Wig. The hair is very soft and resembles my bio hair when blown out. Less than $30. This will be great for the fall and winter.
And this is Claudia by Bobbi Boss. Hmmm. Perhaps I should have put some makeup on or gotten dressed in something other than a PJ tee. Nuh unh. I’m too lazy!
I lost about a half pound, but I’m sure I gained it back with the sauce and with all the carbs I ate over the weekend! And as I write this, I’m eating macaroni salad–there goes the thighs! And the belly.
See? The scale is in between 143 and 144. Today it is most likely at 146.
Oh…and I received a lecture from Bonaparte about my recent spending. I’ll leave it at that!
I met MY Waterloo last night when Bonaparte went over the bills. No more spending for a while! Bonaparte’s daughter snapped this photo last week–she’s in Canada and look what she found!
Welcome to the dawg days of summer. These are the summer days that make me a bit sad because it awakens my awareness that the days will be getting shorter and cooler. And although I welcome the cool weather clothing, I love the long and lazy days of summer. And so, I’ll enjoy them while I can!
And that was about it. How was your weekend?
It was hot in the City of Philadelphia–but not extremely hot–but I couldn’t help but think of one of my favorite summer songs by the Lovin’ Spoonful. Summer in the City!
I’m skeptically thrilled. Not only did Editor in Chief of Allure magazine, Michelle Lee, have the balls to put an “Old Lady”, i.e. the beautiful Helen Mirren on the cover, but she also put out a call to the beauty industry to end “anti-aging”.
I literally ran into Barnes & Noble on Rittenhouse Square yesterday to hunt this baby down. What a cover! What a woman! What an editor!
On one hand, I am thrilled! Finally, an effort is being taken to put an end to the phrase “anti-aging” and everything it stands for. On the other hand, I can’t help but think “is this a one-time issue thing?”
Let’s see if it is truly the end of “anti-aging” and not just a one-trick pony tale!
Let’s address this. Shall we?
I was a subscriber to Allure magazine for many, many years. In fact, I’ve even had a couple of my letters to the editor published. When the magazine first came to be I loved that models and/or celebrities were photographed without makeup. I loved the articles. It was a great magazine.
The first cover….
..and another early cover. The articles were great back then..
When the magazine was delivered, I would wait until the kids were in school to read it. After the housework was done, I would sit on the sofa in the family room and absorb the contents from cover to cover. During the summer months, the magazine was a regular item in my beach and pool bag.
I do believe this beach bag from J. Crew is as old as Allure magazine is! It is the bag I lugged my Allure to the beach and pool!
And as I aged, Allure failed to do the same. Like the woman stuck in a time warp of beauty and fashion, the magazine seemed to be a time machine that was stuck on “young woman”. And forgot about the reader who started off with the magazine. She aged. The magazine didn’t.
Do you remember this delightful packaging from Helena Rubinstein Tulips? I do–but the model is stuck in a time warp. And Allure magazine was stuck in the “youth” time warp. I must say, I DO love this packaging!
Like a woman jilted by many lovers and over the years who lost trust in men, I feel the same about magazines. Beauty and fashion. I’ve read many of them over the years and as I aged, felt jilted because I was the forgotten reader. The forgotten demographic. The woman tossed aside for someone younger and supposedly better.
It’s ok Natalie. I lost the love of the beauty industry. Waaaaaahhhhh!!!
I allowed my subscriptions to lapse. Vogue, Glamour, et.al. —even Allure. They no longer spoke to me nor did they speak to my generation and generations of women older than me.
The one subscription that I still have, and don’t even bother to read anymore is In Style. It used to be a great publication. I’m using the latest issue as a makeshift mouse pad. The previous issues have been thrown in the trash the day I receive them. The magazine completely lost me as a reader.
I don’t even know when the subscription to this magazine runs out but it makes a great mouse pad!
But back to Allure.
I’m beyond happy to see this cover of the wonderful Helen Mirren. Bright red lips (she can rock that red lip without looking harsh. I wish I could), big ass earrings (the ones younger bloggers think we old ladies shouldn’t wear), lines of wisdom on her face and the tattooed arm of a younger man wrapped around her shoulders. This. Is. Greatness.
Encore please!
She doesn’t even have turkey neck! And her tits are great…
Those orbs of wonder have aged so well…
Mirren is bring aging back the way Timberlake brought sexy back!
Yes. Mirren is the hero that we need. But it shouldn’t stop there.
Helen of Troy? Non! Helen of all women over 50!
The average, over 50, over 60 and older women are also the heroes that we need. The woman who is the school teacher, or the military woman, or the police officer or fire fighter, or the flight attendant, or the administrative assistant, or the sales assistant, or the retiree, or the caregiver. These are the women that the beauty and fashion industry have thrown aside and instead reached for the much younger woman.
Take a good look. THESE, the average older women are also the heroes we need!
The beauty industry has abandoned us for the young woman who depends on mommy and daddy to pay for the items she placed on their credit cards. The younger woman whose most important aspect in life is clubbing on a Saturday night. The woman with the fickle mindset.
Just like the spoiled Veruca Salt, many of the targeted demograph are those spoiled young women who have mommy and daddy pay for everything. What happened to independence?
They want the it girl. Not the aging woman.
Beauty and fashion want this….
…and not the 62-year olds like me who are into all beauty products that’ll enhance our features (and not photoshopped or loaded with fillers)
And—it’s too bad because we have the money. We know our minds. When we find a product we love and that works, we are loyal to the product and the brand.
It’s gonna take a while. And in looking through this edition of Allure, I’m digging much of what is inside.
I see more women of color—I really dig that.
Beauty isn’t just blonde, blue, and white. I’m happy about that!
I’mridiculously happy to see photos such as this as well. Beauty has wrinkles and lines!
I see an ad for a fragrance by Ralph Lauren (not a fan of his but I’m giving him credit). The fragrance is Woman and the model is actor Jessica Chastain. At 40 years old, she is a woman.
Hey Ralphie. Thanks for not using a twenty-something. You’re a good egg for this but you could do better next time.
But next go-round, I would love to see Lauren use the other Lauren in his ads. Lauren Hutton. At 73 years, Hutton personifies aging beauty and should be used more and more by the beauty and fashion industries.
Lauren Hutton. Like fine wine gets better with age. And I LOVE her outspoken personality. She rocks!
Let’s see more of Diane Keaton and Jane Fonda and Lilly Tomlin if you are looking for celebrities.
Diane Keaton. Another oldie but goodie.
And really, let’s see more of the real woman.
Yes. Do it for the real woman who sits at home hoping a two-buck beauty mask will hydrate her skin into mature dewiness!
Ms. Lee, you are on the right track.
I’m giving you a kiss and hug back Michelle Lee–but you need to keep this up. Do. Not. Fail. Us!!
Keep moving forward. Please don’t back-pedal. Be the mover and shaker. Be the Marianne of the beauty industry!
Be the Marianne of the Beauty Industry Michelle! Liberté égalité fraternité in all things beauté !
There is a slew of us women who are watching your moves. Bring back aging in all its glory and beauty.
Do it for me. Do it for you. Do it for the future of all women.
