Married to a Peacock

This image is the perfect illustration of my life with Bow Tie Guy.

"Life is a banquet...

...and most poor suckers are starving to death."

Auntie Mame

Wiser words have never been uttered.  My one and only resolution for 2013 was to LIVE and I consider Mame Dennis my personal life coach.  

This gentlemen doesn't need to be reminded to live with abandon.  We should all take a cue from him. 

Snapshots

Ain't She Sweet

Wasn't Dame Maggie Smith dazzling?  I'd argue she still is!

Bridesdress Revisited

I mean, a new dress doesn’t get you anywhere; it’s the life you’re living in the dress, and the sort of life you had lived before, and what you will do in it later. 

Diana Vreeland, D.V.

BTG and I had an expedited engagement.  While both of us were incredibly fond of throwing a large celebration in honor of our union, we chose an intimate ceremony only four months following the proposal for rather unromantic reasons involving shared health care coverage. Despite this sprint to the altar, we are still planning a fête next fall for our family and friends who were unable to attend our nuptials. 

Photo by Modern Traditionalist

The event will be held at the Great House on the Crane Estate in Ipswich, Massachusetts.  The house lends itself to a Gatsby or Gosford Park feel, does it not?

Photo by Modern Traditionalist

Photo by Modern Traditionalist

I want our guests to feel as if they’ve been invited out to our country estate for an elegant dinner, dancing and parlour games.  My mother, who due to our earlier haste was unable to fashion a wedding gown, will be tasked with the vital assignment of outfitting me for this affair.  Since I’m already wed, I’m not seeking a wedding gown.  Instead, I want to embody another time and place.

Diane Kruger and Joshua Jackson

This Jenny Packham dress has been in my files since the day BTG proposed.  

But then I thought, maybe a little color would do me some good.  Blue?

Kate Hudson, Harper's Bazaar, September 2007

Or the green that captured everyone’s attention in Atonement.

But then I saw this champagne number on Drew and I gasped for breath.

Drew Barrymore, Grey Gardens Premiere

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

A Big Day

It is a curious thing, really, that one can consume tremendous amounts of champagne on their wedding day and, yet, never find themselves inebriated.  I will always measure my wedding day by bottles swilled and be astounded every time I reminisce.  

We had a traditional wedding luncheon, which is to say, we galloped out of the gate early.  By three in the afternoon, my father’s head was a bit wobbly and our mothers could be found dozing in our wedding suite.  

This Friday past was our three month anniversary.  Our wedding wasn’t extraordinary in size, but it was a big day for us.  I would have it no other way.

The Tortoise and the Hare

I’m a speed demon.  I love the wind in my hair and driving fast.  Not surprisingly, I’m a bit impatient in life.  I want things to happen.  Now.  I even prefer short sprints to marathons.  I’m unequivocally a hare. 

An Aston Martin DB2 (my dream car)

Something has materialized, though, since moving to a sleepy, pastoral hamlet.  My weekend to-do lists have been abridged and transmorgrified; they now include small luxuries like “reading the paper” and “take a long bath”.  It is very American of me to want everything at the push of a button but I’m reminded of my love for the relaxed rhythm of life in Italy, where even time dedicated to an espresso can be carved out of a workday.  

I was running behind schedule for an appointment a few days back, which is highly against character for my resolutely-early self, and I had yet to walk the dog.  I had the choice to hastily run him out to the corner or to unselfishly provide him with exercise and fresh air.  I chose the latter figuring if I’m late, that’s life.  Rather than a perfunctory route through town, I elected to wander the local cemetery for the first time.  That is where I discovered this:

A commissioned sculpture by Auguste Rodin.  Had I hurried through and not absorbed the world around me, this treasure would’ve remained buried in the far corner of a hidden cemetery.  

Open your eyes, dear reader, and devour the world.  

(All photos by the Modern Traditionalist)