Happy birthday to me? (Pretty, pretty please.)

Hey Emily, remember when Mom and I got you that awesome Fossil elephant clutch that you really really wanted? Well, in case you were in the market to return the favor, I present to you the Fossil® Maddox Icon Tab Clutch in Camel, available at the Bon Ton (which is both where I took this picture and where I bought the aforementioned awesome elephant clutch.)

oops... I deleted the original picture. 

Check out all of the new Fossil's new arrivals for  spring.

It's Ali's Birthday!

Behold my red velvet masterpiece!...From a box.

Today is Ali's birthday.  I made her a cake.  It was tasty, but I ate too much of it.  Here is my gift to her:

NIV Ladybug Bible

today on zulily

Red Kristen Ballet Flat  by China Doll Shoes

"Your gal will click her heels together in these sparkly sequined flats. The adjustable strap creates a perfect fit, while the girly glam style makes her feel special every time she peeks down at her toes. Don't be surprised when she gleefully skips and twirls wherever she goes.

If these came in my size I too would gleefully skip and twirl wherever I went. Like Dorothy down the yellow brick road.  And then I looked at their cute ladybug-themed website and was even more enamored.

Upstairs, Downstairs, etc.

I have fond (if very, very vague memories) of watching early episodes of the original Upstairs Downstairs when I got home from school - the most vivid being the episode in which Rose is force-fed (off camera thank goodness) while imprisoned as a suffragette.

That being said, my level of anticipation and excitement at the prospect of the updated series was inevitably mellowed by the awesomeness that is Downton Abbey. And the first episode did nothing to improve my excitement, as evidenced by a rather lackluster live tweet and my near failure at watching the second episode on air (Because I was rather meh about the whole thing and NOT, sadly, because I was watching Game of Thrones).

Oh I'm glad I did. I'm not going to delve too heavily into plot details (You can watch the full episode --and you should-- here until May 24. Thank you PBS). I just wanted to say...

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Lady Persephone, played by Claire Foy, is my least favorite character who gets all the best clothes. And when I say "all the best clothes" (because it's not like her sister, played by Keeley Hawes, is lacking in jaw-droppingly gorgeous wardrobe) I mean, all the RED clothes.

via fromasinkingboat

via recyledmoviecostumes

via Beyond the Pale

Why does she get all the red? Well, I'm sure part of the reason is that Claire Foy looks utterly fabulous in red. As production designer Eve Stewart notes (discussing sets, but the same holds true for costumes I'm sure):

...sometimes you have to tweak the colours that you've chosen once you know who has been cast. The cast will all have different skin tones and ultimately it's our job is to help make them look good.

And the other reason? (Maybe.) What better way to visually represent your character's budding  fascist sympathies than to put her in a lot of red and black. I must say, it's a pretty visually stunning shot when Lady Persephone is en route to an Oswald Mosely speech; the screen cap doesn't do it justice.

via claire-foy.org

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The title of this episode,"The Ladybird",  is derived from the German lullaby that new parlormaid Rachel teaches to Ivy. I'd never heard of it, though Ivy says "oh, we have that in English." Like I said, I'm not getting into plot, but the song is all symbolic and foreshadowing and whatnot, in a way that is the opposite of subtle. (Hint: The swastika kind of looks like a spider, doesn't it?)

The lyrics (German and English) follow (Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from The Lied and Art Song Texts Page -- http://www.lieder.net/):

Marienwürmchen, setze dich auf meine Hand, Ich tu' dir nichts zuleide. Es soll dir nichts zuleid geschehn, Will nur deine bunten Flügel sehn, Bunte Flügel meine Freude. Marienwürmchen, fliege weg, Dein Häuschen brennt, die Kinder schrein So sehre, wie so sehre. Die böse Spinne spinnt sie ein, Marienwürmchen, flieg hinein, Deine Kinder schreien sehre. Marienwürmchen, fliege hin zu Nachbars Kind, Sie tun dir nichts zuleide. Es soll dir ja kein Leid geschehn, Sie wollen deine bunten Flügel sehn, Und grüß sie alle beide.

Ladybird, sit on my hand I will do you no harm. No harm shall come to you; I only wish to see your colorful wings: your colorful wings are my joy. Ladybird, fly away, your house is burning, your children are crying so much, so much. The evil spider is spinning her web around them; Ladybird, fly home, your children are crying so. Ladybird, fly to the neighbor's children, They will do you no harm. No harm will come to you: they only wish to see your colorful wings, and greet them both for me.

I mention it here because I liked the song; it's sad, German, and about a ladybug/ladybird. Seems like something I should know, right?  I spent the after hour of Sunday night's broadcast scouring the Internet and learned a couple of things.

1.  There are actually two versions of Marienwürmchen - one with a melody by Schumann and the other by Brahms. They seem to get confused a lot. Brahms is the one we're interested in.
2. It's well nigh impossible to find free sheet music to said tune. It's not like buying one digital copy of the sheet music is going to break the bank - it's more the principle of the thing, i.e. why is this one song of Brahms (who died in 1897) is NOT in public domain.

So, I guess I'll be listening to the song on repeat and learning it by ear. Thankfully, the Internet came through with this video of the Southern California Children's Chorus singing it. Enjoy.

today in ladybugs

ASD Living

Ladybugs Jessica Apron - Girls

NOO

Ladybug Dress Set

NOO

Ladybug Luxe Faux Fur Jacket

today on zulily

Cuddly Pillows & Pets
Princess Ladybug


To whom it may concern: I don't want this. Ever. If you see it at the mall and you think, "aw... Ali likes ladybugs," keep right on walking. I think pillow pets are a brilliant idea generally, but this one has no reason to exist. Ladybugs should not have faces. EVER.

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If only I could get away with wearing red seersucker imprinted with ladybugs...

So La Vita

Red Ladybug Seersucker Dress Set - Infant

So La Vita

Red Ladybug Seersucker Dress - Toddler

VERA: vintage ladybug love

 I'm a little behind the times in my sadomasochistic perusal of the Anthropologie catalog - what with my change of address and all. This ladybug rug appeared in the catalog a number of months ago, but is still readily available on the website.

Thick-pile wool-silk, inspired by the iconic lucky charm of the legendary Vera. Each rug is handtufted and exclusive to Anthropologie.

• Wool, silk; cotton backing
• Professionally clean
• 8' square
• Imported

And the price? A cool $1,698.00 (Though only $20 for shipping, which all things considered, seems like a steal.)

Here's the thing: I covet it not; what, pray tell, would I do with a ladybug rug that cost so much I'd be afraid to put so much as a toe on it?  But I WAS intrigued as to who/what Vera is/was, what with it being "legendary" and all.  (Despite my near-obsessive love affair with the Anthropologie catalog,  I'm about as far from a fashionista as is possible without being a nudist, so I won't apologize for my ignorance on this point.)  Not Vera Wang. DEFINITELY not Vera Bradley. The original Vera, Vera Neumann.

FW:

Even feminists love lady bugs!


This text from @AJF185 just made my day!
Click here to peruse the contents of the Spring 2011 issue of Bitch.

note to self

Lady Bug Note Generators

An interview with myself

Question: How do I know I (for once) have money to burn?

Answer: Because I impulsively buy things I don't really need.
 
Question: How do I know spring is on it's way?
 
Answer: Because there's cute ladybug merchandise everywhere I turn!
 
Question: Why do I love ladybugs?
 
Answer: Because they're red and black and adorable and good luck. (Remember the little girl I took care of the other week? The reason I have money to burn? Her Mom had done her nursery in ladybugs... it was heavenly!)
 
Question: How do I know I'm obsessive-compulsive?
 
Answer: Because yesterday, inspired in part by this photo of Emily's, I decided to arrange and photograph a sampling of my ladybug stuff, showcasing the ladybug lunch bag that I'd bought impulsively at Jo-Ann Fabrics the week before. (Also in the picture is this over-priced but awesome ladybug bookmark that I bought, again impulsively, in line at Borders. It's hard for me to resist the tempting call of the ladybug.) And note, this isn't ALL my ladybug stuff 1.) Because I left out certain blue-dominated articles and 2.) I forgot about the awesome memento board my Aunt Dodie made for me many Christmases ago (when I first exhibited symptoms of ladybug-mania) until after the camera was put away.

Question: How do we know that I'm a HUGE ladybug-obsessed dork?

Answer: Because in the midst of this little project, Emily says "You know, you're even dressed like a ladybug." At which point I asked her to take a picture of me WITH my ladybug stuff.

Maybe I should have left the red-eye alone!