March 13th Today, I am...

...simply beautiful Grace Kelly!

My name is Grace Patricia Kelly, I was born in 1929 in Philadelphia and died in 1982 in France. I was a highly popular actress in the 1950' Golden Age of Televison, schooled at American Academy of Dramatic Arts. I starred in movies such as Dial M for Murder, High Society with Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby and To Catch a Thief. With the release of Mogambo, I became a movie star, a status confirmed in 1954 with a Golden Globe Award and Academy Award nomination. In april 1956 I married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, to become Princess consort of Monaco, styled as Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, and commonly referred to as Princess Grace. I retired from acting at 26 to enter upon my duties in Monaco. Me and my Prince Rainier had three children: Caroline, Albert, and Stéphanie. I died after suffering a stroke on September 14, 1982, when I lost control of my automobile and crashed. My daughter, Princess Stéphanie, was in the car with me, and survived the accident. In June 1999, the American Film Institute ranked me No.13 in their list of top female stars of American cinema.

other Grace Kelly pictures:

interesting Grace Kelly facts:

* Kelly took a bold stand against a racist incident involving Black American expatriate singer/dancer Josephine Baker, when a club in New York refused Baker as a customer. Kelly, who was dining at the club when this happened, was so disgusted that she rushed over to Baker (whom she had never met), took her by the arm, and stormed out with her entire party, vowing never to return (and she never did)
* despite all the luxury and the lavish lifestyle, the life of the Princess of Monaco was not all plain sailing; it has been well documented that Grace Kelly longed to return to her own life and suffered from depression
* Grace Kelley was the first ever actress to have her name on a US postage stamp, which appeared in 1993
* her father was not too keen on the prospect of having an actress daughter
* both Grace Kelly’s parents were athletes and her father was also a self-made millionaire
* before her marriage to Prince Rainier, Grace Kelly was engaged to be married to fashion designer Oleg Cassini, who was famous for being the man behind the ‘Jackie Look’ of First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy
* following the wedding, the screening of any Grace Kelly movies was banned in Monaco by Prince Rainier

(facts found at Waldina and Beauty and Tips)

March 11th Today, I am...

...this beautiful Art Nouveau hand mirror!

We've mentioned Art Nouveau before. The name came from an interior design gallery in Paris, the Maison de l’Art Nouveau. This style uses forms that resemble stems and blossoms of plants as well as geometrical forms. The coming of Art Nouveau can be traced to two specific influences: the first was the introduction, of the Arts and Crafts movement, that was led by the English designer William Morris. Just like Art Nouveau, this movement was a reaction against the cluttered designs of Victorian-era decorative art. The second influence was the latest vogue for Japanese art, especially wood-block prints, which swept up many European artists in the 80s and 90s, such as Gustav Klimt, Emile Galle and James Abbott McNeill Whistler. The Japanese wood-block prints consisted of floral and rounded forms, and “whiplash” curves, these were the elements that would eventually become Art Nouveau. Hand mirrors have a long history of use both as household accessories and as objects of decoration. For the most part, they were hand cut and beveled, then framed in an array of metals, such as German silver, brass, silver plate and sterling, some with a gold wash. 

other Art Nouveau hand mirrors:

interesting mirror facts:

* Narcissus was supposedly bewitched by his own reflection in a pool of water, and magic powers are ascribed to mirrors in fairy tales
* the concepts of the soul are often associated with mirrors, which results in a wealth of superstition surrounding mirrors (for instance, breaking a mirror causes seven years of bad luck because the soul which shatters with the broken mirror regenerates every seven years)
* mirrors also have a strong connection to spirits; they are covered when some dies, because according to some superstitions, a mirror can trap the soul of the person who dies
* a broken mirror to this day is said to bring seven years of bad luck; this curse goes back thousands of years ago to the period of ancient Romans
* the first mirrors were often sheets of polished metal and were used almost exclusively by the ruling classes
* silvering—the process of coating the back of a glass sheet with melted silver—became the most popular method for making mirrors in the 1600s
* in some severe cases, the images these mirrors reflected were similar to those we'd see in a fun-house mirror today

(facts found at Encyclopedia.com and  Mirror History)

March 10th Today, I am...

...this incredibly delicate wedding cake!

I am made by Sylvia Weinstock, an 85 years old wedding cake maker, the founder of world-wide known Sylvia Weinstock Cakes. In 1960, when they doubled the size of the kitchen, she began cooking and baking more elaborately so she could entertain. She took courses in French, Russian and Chinese cooking. It was a big thing then to show off when neighbors came over for dinner. She  especially loved to make desserts—pies, tarts, mousses and floating islands, which were meringues sitting on a pool of vanilla custard. She was motivated to produce not only beautiful cakes but also the most delicious cake. She uses crème de la crème, finest butter, heavy cream, fresh fruit and imported chocolate to create the most memorable delectable creations. "As a dessert designer to the stars, Weinstock has created confectionery statements for a host of celebrities and A-listers from Oprah, Robert De Niro, the Trumps, J.Lo, and Kim K. to the Kennedys, Clintons, and more. Her cakes have traveled around the world, often take weeks to decorate, have stood 6 feet tall and, at $30-a-slice and up, some have rung in at a whopping $70,000." (from InStyle)

other Sylvia Weinstock cakes:

interesting wedding cake facts:

* Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip had their four-tiered wedding cake of nine feet tall and weighed 500 pounds; the royal couple even cut the cake with Prince Philip’s sword
* Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones had a seven-tier Devil’s Food cake that was ten feet tall; it took 515 hours to make
* according to the Guinness World Records, the chefs at the Mohegan Sun Hotel and Casino in Conneticut built the largest wedding cake ever for their New England bridal showcase in 2004; the cake weighed 6.818 tons 
* a bakery in Chester, England, displayed the world’s most expensive wedding cake, valued at $52.7 million; the eight-tiered cake had 4,000 diamonds 
* according to an old legend, a single woman who sleeps with a slice of the groom’s cake under her pillow will dream of her future husband 
* in the heyday of the Roman Empire, before cake became a wedding standard, the bride and groom would get a loaf of barley bread
* the tiered wedding cake dates back to medieval times. Wedding guests would pile up scones, biscuits, and other breads, and the couple would have to kiss over the pile without it falling down. If they did it successfully, they were ensured a lifetime of prosperity  

(all facts found at CommunityTable) 

February 26th Today, I am...

...this beautifully decorated perfume bottle!

I am Limoges style figural enamelled black ground scent bottle from 1870 (Limoges is known for its medieval and Renaissance enamels on copper, for its 19th-century porcelain and for its oak barrels which are used for Cognac production). "Perfume containters emerged as an art form in the 18th century, many different types of bottles were created such as those of cut glass, silver overlay on glass, porcelain, crystal and others. In the 19th century, bottles were being made of different materials like opaline, a special type of crystal that was colored by adding tin oxide and calcified bone that gave the bottles a milky quality. Large bottles were designed to be placed on dressing tables to hold Eau de Cologne; smaller containers were carried in handbags or worn on chains (as in picture). While during the 18th century it was mostly the wealthiest in the society who wore perfume bottles, in the middle of the 19th century, due to the industrial revolution, this changed forever. Synthetic perfume became popular and manufacturers began to produce perfume flasks in mass quantities, lowering the price of bottled perfume and enabling all types of people to indulge in what used to be a luxury"

other 19th century perfume bottles:

interesting perfume facts:

* one of the most valuable raw materials in perfumery, ambergris (ocean-y and sweet), is produced in the intestines of sperm whale
* in 1921, Molinard released a fragnance that was intended to scent cigarettes - you placed the satchels in your cigarette case or applied it directly to your cigarette for a delicious, lasting aroma
* famous French perfumer, Jean Carles (created Miss Dior), was said to have insured his nose for one million dollars
* in 1920, a Parisian butcher started a collection of 11 essential oils with the essence of bacon, thinking they could dramatically lift his customers' mood

(facts found at: Byrdie)

February 21st ~Today, I am...

...this exquisite fork!

I was produced in 1902 as a serving fork for high class. I am made of silver with beautiful delicate decorations. I belong to artistic period of Art Nouveau (meaning "New Art"), which is a modern french style in its finest during 1890 and 1910. Art Nouveau "was inspired by natural forms and structures, not only in flowers and plants, but also in curved lines." It was found in all forms, such as furniture, buildings, accessories, perfume bottles, dresses and so on. Periodically, it is very close or even overlaps with another interesting, but a bit more graphical style, Art Deco. We will be seing a lot of these two styles on this page!

here are some other forks in Art Nouveau style:

interesing FORK FACTS:

* it is against the law to eat chicken with a fork in Georgia, the "Chicken Capital of the World"
* in the 11th century the Christian Church was opposed to the use of forks; when a Byzantine princess who used a 2 tined gold fork died from the plague, her death was called "a just punishment from God"
* forks were initially used for the carving of meat
* the fork was very important in Germany because they believed eating with your fingers was very rude and disrespectful