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Archive for December, 2011

Charelstony Harmony of Tribal Silverbeads & Rajasthani Rosequartz

Posted in BohemianCharm&VintageChic, Home, tagged , , , , , , , on December 14, 2011| 2 Comments »

Rajasthan is renowned for it’s exquisite age-old jewellery craftsmanship and traditions that aren’t known even elsewhere in India. After all, Rajasthan was the kingdom of maharajas and they took great pride in wrapping their maharanis – wives – in the most spectacular jewellery of the world. Even though most of the maharanis lived their entire lives in purdah, meaning that no other man besides the maharaja ever lay eyes on them.

In Pushkar, I too got inspired by all the smooth cool gemstones in all the colors of the rainbow, the tribal handcarved silverstuds, pearls, beads and enamelwork. And started making jewellery of my own.

I gave all the other pieces to friends, but this long necklace of rosequarz and tribal silverpieces I made for myself. The style is slightly inspired by the charleston era, but on a closer look the tribal handcrafted vibe gives it a a slightly wild and untamed touch that I love.

I use this often when I travel, with light long white cotton strapless dresses and strappy sandals. My burgundy leather coat matches beautifully with it also. And Oona Elena Kassila’s romantic lace tops, with fitting jeans… Hmmm… Getting inspired for the summer already…

I love how each and every piece is carefully handcrafted. Often I’d sit and watch the silversmiths at work and admire their skills. Usually the families had been silversmiths for centuries and the skill was passed on from father to son.

I’m so happy to have a tiny piece of that great craftsmanship and tradition here at home, in my cosy little flat in Kruununhaka.

It’s an amazingly small world, after all.

~*’*~

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~* The India of the Maharajas *~

Posted in EverydayPoesie, Home, tagged , , , , on December 13, 2011| 1 Comment »

There is a little, very holy city called Pushkar in Rajasthan. Once we spent some time there… Encountering saddhus – holy men who had given up all worldly possessions and aspirations – striving only towards enlightenment.

Life in Pushkar was like it has been for thousands of years. Slow. Spiritual. Strange.

With cows galore.

Every day people would come to bathe in the holy lake. Saddhus gathered and lived as close to the holy water as possible.

There was nothing touristic about Pushkar. It was thousands of years old, spritual and real.

The town had some serious rules as it was starting to draw in us unruly Westerners. The city authorities actually literally forbade opposite sexes from holding hands or engaging into other indecent activities publically.

Every evening there was a march through the city’s narrow main street, with an elephant (dressed and painted in her best), horses, camels and a huge podium for a golden elephantine figure of god. There were all possible instruments making loud music – that I’d rather describe as cacophonic noice – and some holy men with nude torsos surrounding the Godly figure.

The whole recital was deeply respected by locals, and totally peculiar to the rest of us. But impressive nonetheless.

The backcountry of Rajasthan was so cheap that we were able to stay in an ancient palace of a maharaja – and after the dusty camelrides that really was sweeeeeet…

I did yoga on a breezy rooftop with a local yogamaster very early in the mornings or after sunset, as the temperatures soared well above 40 at daytime.

A very sad characteristic of Pushkar was that there were plenty of women there, who offered to read or predict the future from men’s hands. The prediction always happened in some little hut nearby. The code was clear; if a woman said she was from Jaisalmer (city closest to the Pakistani border) and wanted to read an man’s hand -and touched the hand while proposing to read his future (men and women simply don’t touch each other casually in India) – she surely was a prostitute. So many of them were very young, and almost all were carrying babies with them. It was very difficult to understand the phenomenon deeper, as all the Jaisalmeri women I met were illiterate, unschooled and spoke no English. But they were extremely kind, sweet and welcoming to anyone who bothered to give them a little smile or take a moment to admire their babies.

The sunset from the balcony of our palace was absolutely stunning. Breathtakingly beautiful. Although I took hundreds of pictures of it, I couldn’t quite capture it’s exquisiteness… This is as far as I got with my pocket camera.

Pushkar has a soft spot in my heart because I felt how real it was. Is.

An authentic piece of a continent that is India.

~*’*~

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~* World’sMostBeautifulNecklace *~

Posted in BohemianCharm&VintageChic, Champagne, Home on December 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »

She’s made of moonbeams, teardrops, starrrry nights and a touch of angeldust, with a tinyest glimpse of those perfect fleeting shades of of dusk and dawn.

I plan to wear it at Christmas, with my longestlong 1920’s softwhite shammy gloves. The rest of the outfit is still… Hmmm… Honestly, I’ve got no clue and I don’t even care. It’s perfect already.

So delicately delicious was this choker that before even asking, I knew she had to come from Paris.

And so delicately delicious she was, that with equal certainty I knew she had to become mine..♥.

~*♥*~

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~~~* Magic Creations *~~~

Posted in BohemianCharm&VintageChic, Home on December 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Today I was mesmerized by the creativity of a young artist, Yulia Nikolina, who actually contacted me to tell me that she had not only found LadyBohemia, but also found it artistic and beautiful! And her sweet message came just when I was feeling really low, totally uninspiring, uninteresting, rather useless as a blogger as well as a human being. So thank you dear Yulia, for spreading your angel dust my way just when I most needed it…♥.

What a sweet start to my day, only to get even better as I discovered Yulia’s amazing collections. I must show them to you, I promise these creations will blow your mind…

The Forgotten Myth Collection, featured below, is inspired by ancient Greek goddesses, nymphs and other lovely creatures…

This turquoise Water Nymph dream falls flowingly, hugging the body in just the right places like a waterfall of lace… A real Mermaid beauty, beautifully painting the feminine shape.

Handmade lacecrocet detailing…

My own gemstone talisman is rosequartz, so this piece, very appropriately titled Aphrodite, really tempts and teases me… But this piece is sold… To a very uniquely bohemian bride! Isn’t that just purrrrfect..

And last, I present you Aurora. Her chain details on oldrosa lace and velvet fabrics are just the icing on the cake.. N’est pas?

Huh! What a fiesta the lovely Yulia treated me with this morning… Feels like some Mediterranean sun decided to come over and kiss me on the cheek when I browsed through her artwork like a kid in a candy store.

Should you want to see more of Yulia’s magic, you can find her at Facebook under Yulia Nikolina.

Kisses to all my beautiful readers,

-LadyBohemia-

~*~

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~* Sweet wisdoms *~

Posted in Home, Inspiration, tagged , , , on December 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »

My ideas usually come not at my desk writing but in the midst of living. — Anaïs Nin

I love that.

That’s why I am in constant awe of those brave men & women who dare to live, their way. To leave when it’s right. Or stay, even when it isn’t easy. To explore. To protect. To take that leap of faith.

To gamble all.  Which has more to do with guts than cash.

Tennessee Williams expressed – if I interpret him correctly – the same thing in different, equally eloquent words:

If the writing is honest it cannot be separated from the man who wrote it. — T.W.

Tennessee nailed it. Imagine a love song – an honest one. Or a song about loosing true love. They may not be autobiographical as such. But something from the life, soul, love or pain of that writer is there, and no-one else could have made it so.

Huh. I get shivers.

Clearly, it’s time for bed.

But tomorrow I shall tell you about a little town in the middle of nowhere, that was so holy that hugging, kissing, holding hands and especially indecent dressing (and it was specific; bearing a belly was fine, knees an absolute no-no) were strictly forbidden by city rules.

And that’s  a story that came to me whilst I was living it…

~*♥*~

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~* Something old, something new, nothing blue ~*

Posted in BohemianCharm&VintageChic, Home, tagged , , , , , , on December 12, 2011| Leave a Comment »

One thing in my life that i cannot be with out… is my Chanel 5 perfume which I’ve used, well, always. Some ladies change their perfume based on trends, fashion, novelties etd. But Chanel 5 has always been… me.

Just a little drop creates a really sensual feel as it melanges with the individual scent of your skin. And if you use just the drop, it can only be felt very close which also adds a sweet allure…

I never, ever travel without my Chanel – I feel naked without it. We’ve even made a world tour together 🙂

The crystal bottle in the background in an antique piece from the family from France, the cameé is also antique, from Italy. The pearlstring is for the hair or forehead, by the lovely Oona Elena Kassila

This cute tiny vintage bag below has followed me through thick and thin. And it shows, in both of us…

Every time we go out, tiny beautiful pearls are found everywhere. In the bed, bathtub, my hair… Yet somehow, I like how after every adventure we get a little bit more shaggy together.

I conclude this little defilée of my treasures by my dearest silver ancle chain, from India of course. The delicate silver & pearl necklace is from Taxco, Mexico, and the 1940’s suede gloves are from a French antique market.

The new is represented by the suede heels which are a perfect shade of slightly shimmery antique gold, although the picture really doesn’t do them justice. I got these as a consolation price when my Yves Saint Laurent vintage shoes were stolen – would you believe it! – practically from my feet.

More on that little adventure in St. Paul de Vence can be found here.

~*♥*~

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whenever you lose faith…

Posted in Home, Inspiration, tagged , , on December 12, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Maybe a little Nina Simone will help you pick up the pieces… Or at least make you feel a little bit less lonely whilst you’re at it…

And of course, the lady does have a point.

Despite all you’ve lost or haven’t got,

U got Life.

~*♥*~

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An emancipated woman’s travels, part 1

Posted in EverydayPoesie, Home, tagged , , on December 12, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Once upon a time I visited Zanzibar, on my own. The (hugely) overcrowded ferry landed just as the night fell and in a moment everything turned into the darkest shade of black.

I’d booked a hotel in advance, and against all odds, even found it (my sense of direction..). They’d of course given my room away – reservations were a rather useless Western exercise – the rooms and everything else were always given to anyone who offered cash first, anyway.

I was tired. More exhausted than I remembered ever having been. Having worked for half a year without break, often till the morning hours, and in rather challenging Tanzanian conditions. I hadn’t slept at all the night before, to somehow wrap the huge project up. Hadn’t eaten anything all day. Didn’t remember when I’d even drank some water.

My backpack suddenly felt too heavy for my shoulders.

I knew that all the hotels of the island were full, I’d been lucky to even get this one reservation. And now. Not even a bed. I’d have to sleep on the beach and I knew it was very dangerous, everybody had warned me against it. The weight of all the backbreaking work, huge responsibility and very little sleep finally all collapsed on me. I couldn’t find the force to move anymore, not one more step.

I slided down to the floor of the reception and decided to stay right there until the universe would somehow fix this situation. I no longer had the energy.

The poor guy at the reception panicked. He thought I was fainting. And he probably wasn’t that far off. For a moment, he run around in circles, then he hopped upstairs and came back with a big gentle South African guy. Derek. It turned out he’d given my room to Derek.

In rather incoherent sentences I explained to Derek that I was afraid to sleep on the beach, alone. That I’d known I couldn’t find a place to sleep if I came by the last ferry but I’d had no choice.. I even explained that one can’t hang a mosquito net anywhere on a beach and I’d already had malaria three times.. I didn’t realise tears were rolling down my face until he wiped them off.

So. The universe, in the form of this gentle giant, did arrange everything. He gave me his room. He carried my backback there. He even carried me there. Fixed my mosquito net, wished me good night and left.

This (retrospectively) warm memory came to my mind when I saw the ingenious poster by Victor Egelund:

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..~* My Heroine *~..

Posted in Home, Inspiration, tagged , , on December 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »

On my nightstand very recently was the book “Mighty Heart”, written about the journalist Daniel Pearl by his wife Mariane – a journalist and an author, an optimist, a real-life heroine in her own right.

Daniel & Mariane's wedding. Picture from the book the Mighty Heart - the brave life and death of my husband Daniel Pearl.

And today, the movie of their story will be played at Channel Four (Nelonen), at 21.30. Not captivating as the book is, but nevertheless a story that deserves, no, needs to be told.

Do you remember – from the news, some ten years ago?

Daniel was Wall Street Journal’s foreign correspondent in Pakistan shortly after 9/11. He lived and worked in Karachi with his French, very pregnant wife Mariane. Until Daniel was kidnapped – and later murdered – by terrorists.

On the left, Daniel. On the right, the man sentenced for his murder.

 The book is a captivating, human story of a woman’s struggle to find and save her husband and the father of her unborn son. Not the easiest task for a woman in Pakistan, especially in the post 9/11 political climate and frame of mind. Mariane doesn’t stop, she doesn’t give up. She appeals to the president of Pakistan, to the president of the US, to the public, to the medias. To the powerful ISI (Pakistani intelligence service).  She tries to trace down the kidnappers herself.

So full of life, the strongest of emotions, hope against hope, race against time, is this book. You live every breath that Mariane takes. Her brave attempt to keep herself together, not allowing herself to collapse before her husband is home again, is as envigorating as it is heartbreaking.

It is Mariane’s grace and her courage that make this book an uplifting story of true love, despite the inevitable tragedy and loss.

Mariane with her son Adam, who never got to meet his father.

One of the reasons why Mariane decided to write the book was to keep the life story of her husband alive for their son. So that little Adam  would know all the reasons he has to be proud of his father. Although they never got too meet each other.

 Trust me my friends, this is a book every human being should read.

Even through tears.

~*♥*~

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Holding my breath

Posted in Home, Inspiration on December 10, 2011| Leave a Comment »

I seriously need to shake my world.

France always helps, in my case. There’s such peace and pure joy of life at Mamie’s. Old jazz filling every corner of the house. Good conversations around the fireplace. Fresh crispy air. Sunlight.

Tickets have been bought.

I feel like I can breathe only when boarding the plane.

Other than heading for France, my goal is to live according to Mark Twain’s advice:

“Dance like nobody’s watching; love like you’ve never been hurt. Sing like nobody’s listening; live like it’s heaven on earth.”   –  Mark Twain

~*♥*~

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