winter is an embrace from a woman swathed in velvet and furs.
maybe that woman is greta garbo, but most of the time she's your overbearing great-aunt gertrude. if you aren't careful, you, in a split second, can find yourself being reluctantly clinched against her diamond-encrusted bosom, buried under unwanted kisses and the smell of that lipstick-y rose.
the coming season is one of comfort, of warmth and, above all, of unabashed decadence. the fact is, i love the gaudiness of the whole affair -- and i love ol' aunt gertrude! simply knowing when she's going to swoop in greatly softens the blow. i'm here, for the first time since childhood, welcoming winter with open arms, knowing full well what's in store.
as the days become shorter and the sun more scarce, i remain happily holed up indoors with my inspirations and musings, boundless hours and an endless coffee cup. i take more cat naps (now complete with cat!), read more books and dream more dreams than ever before.
as a result, i find myself wanting to be decadence. born are all these self-indulgent fantasies about, say, lounging half-naked atop velvet pillows, wearing a crown of roses and munching on mille-feuilles, all the while enveloped in a cloud of french perfume.
- but until the day i wake up ninety years in the past and discover i'm actually a budding starlet, i can be contented with these "oh-la-la!" images of some unnamed goddesses of yesteryear.
there is something so otherworldly and uncommonly delicate about hand-tinted images. i especially admire those from the victorian age on thru the 1920s. the dreamy watercolor hues lend a softness to the already ultra-feminine images of those century-old sweethearts frolicking in flowers or posing all undone at their dressing tables.
as a child, i can remember paging through these beautiful storybooks at the antique store my family operated, forever wondering why those women, nymphs and fairies got to live their lives in soft pastels - and with perfectly pinched-pink cheeks! it was so ethereal, so lovely.
it still is.
i've compiled a lengthy list of delicious activities to occupy my time in these coming months (accommodating my state of near-hibernation). all are good things, including coming around these parts more often. try to hold me to that, if you would. i am, without a doubt, the world's worst blogger.
from teaching myself to better knit and drinking mulled wine, to devouring books and (soon!) adding an array of new treasures to the shop, i'm looking forward to an equally lazy and luscious winter. what might you be doing these days, lovely friends? what kind of wintery tricks do you have up your sleeve? what does this season (still autumn, i know!) inspire you to make, to dream, to listen to, to love?
there's some kind of magic in just existing, you know? for most of us, existence is a succession of moments laregely planned and mundane, but still, the everyday and ordinary ins and outs of any joe or jane's get-by will likely always fascinate me more than a grand occasion. yes, we need those big things to look forward to, but i know a lot of the beauty of the present is overlooked in the pursuit of something more than what we have at reach. spontaneity and those colorful times in our lives are of course appreciated in their time, but somehow i think i'm happiest when being a bore - and when you're boring, too.
i've taken this entire month to think and to see and, well, not much else. i recommend this. i also recommend jug bands, dorothy parker, afternoon naps and apricots.
being a girl who tends to avoid most physical activity and prolonged sun exposure, my seasonal enjoyment has lately been found primarily in food, which i suppose is nothing new. summertime to me means leisurely long days and an abundance of stone fruits. if only for these, i hope it decides to stick around a while.
there are so many abandoned ideas and projects i plan on revisiting in what's left of the year, along with more new prospects than i had prepared for. i'm ready to incorporate biting off more than i can chew into my daily routine.
take the time to stay boring, okay?
last saturday was spent with my sister, doing our best to leave no stone unturned. i was taken aback (a-wayyy-back!) when she told me over brunch - crepes, little brioche buns & pain au chocolat - that she'd like to spend the day in a little town outside seattle doing some antique shopping. as someone who once lived with the girl, and being one whose "olds" were more often than not shunned to the museum that was my bedroom, i considered this a big get.
she was an awful good sport: picking out medicine bottles, sea glass, and rifling through piles of quilts like the best of 'em. however, the biggest and best treasure we found that day wasn't something i could take home with me... but not for lack of trying. sigh. feast your eyes, friends, on the ghost coach.
it was an old art deco train car - the very one i want to inhabit. the motif was in a shockingly bright green that would make kermit blush, and the light fixtures were to die. the little dining area was after my own heart with ornate picture frames on the walls, beautiful orchids, and a zebra skin rug beneath the table. everything inside that little mecca was in tip-top shape - a fact i know because i pushed every button, flipped every switch, and basically caressed every inch of the thing. magically, it was still sitting on a stretch of train track, making my dreams of its former glory even more vivid.
mine? please?
in the meantime, a gypsy woman is living in it, selling odd bits and a few antiques here and there. she was delightful, letting me ask her all kinds of questions and poke around the huge cab for eons, probably pleased to see a gal jumping out of her saddle shoes with glee over her abode. i envy and salute you, madame.
brunch fare - happy cassie - the bounty back home
i walked away with these fabulous bottles + four more, a 1930s black velvet beret, odd tins and containers, and a pack of candy cigarettes.
had to. i'm a slave to that chalky goodness.
have we been finding anything good on the thrift front, my pets? whisper to me. i want to know!
well. i have been sitting here for hours just trying to think up a way to simply tip my hat to you and say, "how goes it?", but it seems the only thing i've managed to do with great success is polish off an entire container of blackberry ice cream while watching seven consecutive episodes of the twilight zone. not bad, but let's say a slight departure from the intended goal.
i suppose what's easiest is just to say hi, hello, little dreamers!
some of you kind folk who've stopped by may already know me, but still, i imagine there will be many more to whom i have not yet had the pleasure of being introduced. for you latter lovelies, i will share just a little bit about myself:
i am fascinated
by days of yesteryear, by nostalgia,
by childhood,
by all things with a past - the things that have been loved, been used and been saved in a time when everything is disposable. it is from this love the magic carousel was born, a project many years in the making.
all my trinkets and treasures and i live happily inside a tiny late 19th-century studio apartment in the gloriously grey city of seattle. i spend most of my time inside this little cocoon - just reading, gettin' jazzy, watching old movies, or finding endless numbers of ways to stay inspired. the 1920s and 1930s make my eyes sparkle, particularly anything having to do with vaudeville, the circus, or burlesque. sometimes i take photos, but not as often as i'd like to.
i have recently turned my affection for vintage clothing into a little business, which may have been one of the best decisions i've ever made. having the opportunity to share the beautiful things i love with the most dear individuals brings me heaps of joy, truly. the magic carousel shop is here, so please do feel free to stop by and peruse to your heart's content!
as for this journal, well, the kinds of things you can expect to find here are sentimental ones. whether i'll be sharing little bits and pieces of music and art i adore, gushing over old-time fashions, or chronicling my daily doings (well, it is a blog), what will be anchoring the whole affair is simply my own moonstruck fancy. and yes, hopefully yours, too.
now that we've been properly acquainted, i believe we can get to the good stuff. the photos you see here are of myself and two of the most cherubic dames you'll ever have the pleasure of knowing. they also happen to be my best friends.
niki (that dark-haired beauty in green) and olie (the bewitching vision in burgundy) both came to visit little ol' me last month so we could celebrate in style - the fifteenth of june marked niki's 21st birthday! she was the last legal pea in our pod, so it was natural cause for jollification. unfortunately, the smoky and dingy jazz clubs we'd all have loved to spend our nights drinking and dancing in have been out of commission since, oh, 1933 or so, but we still managed to have the best of times eating, drinking, and indulging in overall merriment. not to mention good, old-fashioned bar hopping.
i snapped these photos en route to a sumptuous french birthday dinner at a favorite neighborhood haunt. hip-happity 21st, ladyfriend!
i hope you'll stick around, friends. cheers to you. xo
