Happy Earth Day!  Little Missy Dreams in Green

22 April 2013

 

Konstantino Green Prasiolite Ring

 

The name Prasiolite is derived from the Greek-- πράσον prason-- meaning "leek" and λίθο--lithos-meaning "stone." This means that "prasiolite" literally means "scallion green-coloured stone."   And don't think for one moment that Little Missy actually knew this off the top of her head!  She looked it up on Google!  But knew a scallion coloured stone when she saw one!  How green it THAT?  Plus I have ordered one for myself, I like it so much!  And Konstantino is Greek!  Full circle!  Full stop!

 

 

A green house in London

 

Who wouldn't want this green house in London?  I mean if you have stuck with Little Missy this far, you probably love London and beautiful architecture too!  And maybe just MAYBE if I got lucky enough to have a green house in London, Doug Aitken could come over from LA and drill a big hole in the floor for an art installation!  Kind of like he did at the Serpentine Gallery in Hyde Park!  Then I could grow some more plants that don't need light!  Like mushrooms!



 

 

 

Topiaries

 

What can we say about topiaries that hasn't already been said?  Humans way of taming nature, Western Bonzai.



 

Alexander McQueen Taffeta Gown

 

We all know now how important it is to recycle our clothes--vintage is just about the most major sub-industry in fashion.  And how lucky would you have been if you had had the foresight to collect this amazing McQueen green and taffeta gown?  Then you could be wearing it today, proud and green!

 

 

Isis in the Serpentine at Hyde Park, London

 

Isis is more than the beautiful yellow lab of Lord Grantham from Downton Abbey. Isis is the Greek goddess who is worshipped as the ideal mother, wife and protector of children and the dead. There are rings with plaques around this beautiful representation of Isis in Hyde Park and I have one for my children Alexandra and Michael and me.  Mother and children.  The earth.  Our Mother.  Little Missy very misty eyed at the moment.  Our old gardener Cesar is 60 years old today.  Happy birthday, Cesar!  Happy Earth Day Everyone!  Little Missy remembers back in the sixties when certain people in America thought Earth Day was a Communist plot.  How far we have come!  Rejoice and renewal!

 

 





20 April 2013

Let's Gossip!  Belle of the Ball Meets the New Girls in Town!

                                              Where are you Yves?  I miss you so much

This past week I had the pleasure of hearing a great discussion between Randi Zuckerberg and Christine Martinez, two of the most prominent Silicon Valley women I have recently met.  Randi probably needs little introduction--she is the glamorous slightly older sister of Mark.  Believe me, she's not wearing any hoodie.  She thinks people in Palo Alto look homeless!  And of course Little Missy agrees!  Randi and I go to the same hair salon and she admired my Stella McCartney bag so much she got one for her mom, Karen.

                                                        I hope this isn't a Mom Bag!

Little Missy is always flattered when others like my stuff, especially taste makers like Randi Zuckerberg.  She sure got all the glamour and charisma in that family, and she enjoys pretty clothes, like long black gowns that show off her figure and flowing black hair.  And I know all about her hair because I watch her getting it blown out and I would just like to have a tenth of it. She is stunning and it doesn't really matter what she does as far as I'm concerned because she is doing the most important thing in my neighbourhood, that is to say rocking the good looks and keeping up the standard!  Actually Randi has a social media group called  RtoZ Media and she is coming out with a new book in November.  Plus she has a young son!  Talk about a Virtual Powerhouse!  Then there's Christine Martinez. Believe me,  Little Missy really admires this Virtual Woman!  She is the Queen of Pinterest!  I guess that means she's learned how to make money doing the stuff I do to while the time away!  And she was wearing white and silver sequin trousers and really rocking them!  She has the most followers ever on Pinterest and it's her job to create boards for her followers to enjoy!  Nice work if you can get it!  And these girls are so down to earth!  Kind of!  I mean they didn't strike me as too demanding or nutty or anything. Pretty normal.  They both spend all their time on line and advise not taking a long distance phone plan when travelling so you can be cut off and get back to yourself.  And Randi loves apps.  But Christine doesn't.  But that's because Christine doesn't have kids (yet, she says).  Because Randi says that when your toddler is screaming on the plane, you will do anything to quiet him or her, and that involves buying an app.  In the old days a million years ago in the eighties, we just had to suck it up!  Little Missy is here to say sucking it up is overrated!  Bring on those toddler approved apps!

Of course Little Missy loves these new Virtual Women!  That's because I have BEEN one, since back in the seventies.  Hello!  Imagine Little Missy watched tournaments against Belle, the early computer chess program produced by Bell Labs!  I even had a little pre-laptop chess board for a few nights in my New York apartment!  Now I'm hearing about people playing Scrabble on Facebook. That's not geeky!  That's dorky!  Even though I love my Scrabble friends!  They just didn't know Belle!  Little Missy was into Punk AND Geek!  What a combo!  Still going strong!  Good call someone!  Just lucky to have been in the moment.  YSL, computer chess and the Ramones! Little Missy dreams that Yves Saint Laurent comes back to life as himself in 1975 and he gives me a big hug and tells me everything will be OK.  Because sometimes we just have to wonder!

                                           YSL Tuxedo Look was a Little Missy Moment
Anyway, Randi and Christine are inspirations.  They are doing exactly what they want to be doing, and they are both glowing with a sense of happiness and confidence.  Very Little Missy.  Be in the moment, not of the moment.  Yes, it's true, they may have had some advantages, but Randi and Christine grabbed hold and took off in the moment.  Plus they are super cute, and we love that!  Pinterest and apps!  The social media!  What is not to love!

 Advice from An Older Woman, Taxes and Gluten Free Diets
12 April 2013

                        Of course I know how to dress for a barbecue.  Photograph by Frederic Aranda

Little Missy has been invited to a barbecue in a suburban yet nautical minded town!  Or island.  I have no idea what to wear!  I know that my Margaret Mead around the world safari ensembles (khaki pants,  denim shirt, straw hat and  cardigan wrapped over my shoulders) will not cut it in this venue. So I have turned to the one whose fashion advice I most admire, my mother. This was her response and I think it qualifies as tough love and I quote: "Well, whatever you do, don't overdress.  No Chanel.  Do you have crisp white jeans, a crisp white shirt and a navy pullover?  Deck shoes? I didn't think so!  The idea is to be liked, and no one likes overdressed at a barbecue". Well... I want to be liked, but the fact is I have been going to more couture shows than barbecues over the past few years and my wardrobe is a little thin in the casual department.  So I took my self down to Neiman Marcus in Palo Alto to hunt down white Capri pants (my compromise).  My saleslady, the ultra gorgeous Irina greeted me and said, "How do you do it?  You look like you're about fifteen".  She is my favourite saleslady!  And I value her opinion! Duh! But she was busy with a client, so I found some white Capri style jeans by Elie Tahari. The last pair!  The store is now sold out on white Capri pants!  Spring is here!  I went back home and found a navy cotton long sleeved Valentino pullover with a Chantilly lace yoke and embroidered navy Swiss dots allover the front.  And as far as the deck shoes go, forget it!  Little Missy does not do deck shoes!  Hello!  I will be wearing black Chantilly lace Valentino espadrilles and if the other people don't like me for what I am wearing, well, at least I tried!  But there is the other side of the coin that they may like me no matter what I wear!  Which isn't cutting to chase for a fashion person.
And speaking of torment, what about TAXES?  Isn't that just about the biggest brain fry on earth?  Even though we understand them rationally and that we know it is our duty, Good God!  Did you know that more than a third of the American population Like doing their taxes?  I heard that on Marketplace, my favourite radio show!  Yes!  Little Missy loves Marketplace and loves the host, Kai Ryssdal, and he was the one who said a third of Americans like doing their taxes!  And he says he hates doing his taxes too!
So now for the other current torment, Gluten free!  Who came up with this torture?

 

Even Little Missy can whip up a darned good Spaghetti Bolognese

 I cannot imagine a day in my life without carbs!  I know and I understand it doesn't work for some people, but I would rather DIE than not be able to eat pasta.  It's like sex! It can even be great cold!  I saw a great looking man I know recently and he looked very fit.  I asked him his secret and he said "Gluten free".  Oh Lord, I just wanted to burst into tears!  "But do you eat pasta"? I gasped.  "Only infrequently, and it has to be Very Good Pasta. It has to be Home Made".  Between taxes and all this nonsense about Gluten free and my worries about how to dress for a barbecue, I am drowning my sorrows in bites of salted chocolate.  Then I'll go for a walk. It will lift my spirits! I love California in the spring!  And tonight I will be having home made Chicken Mole with rice.  Enjoy your weekends, live, laugh and love!  In the moment, whenever possible!  Little Missy knows it's tough out there.  Be here now.

 

What Is A Bitch and Little Missy's Mail Bag
5 April 2013

Little Missy Stands in front of Gu Wenda's united nations--babel of the millennium, a 1999 installation at SFMOMA made from human hair, rope and glue. Photo by Drew Altizer. And no animals were hurt during this installation.  Does this make me a bitch?  I guess so!


The most exciting thing happened!  Little Missy received an email from an unknown reader with a question regarding something from last week's posting.  I am so thrilled that I almost cannot wait to write about it, but perseverance, patience and that most difficult and often most boring thing of all, self discipline, compel me to save it until the end. 
What is a bitch?  I am so sick of this word, always used to describe awful women, overbearing queens and worst of all, successful women who have opinions and aren't afraid to show their intelligence. "When a man gives his opinion he's a man. When a woman gives her opinion she's a bitch".  Most of us are familiar with this Bette Davis genius quote.  Why is it this way?  I don't know, but it Bette-ah change, because I am praying by that I mean almost literally, that the biggest bitch of us all, the one and only Hillary Clinton, runs for president.  If Hillary does not run for president, this bitch, Yours Truly Little Missy, is...well...I don't know what I would do because the thought of Hillary not running for president and winning is unthinkable.  Bitch is an ugly word unless you a referring to a female dog and it should be struck from our vocabulary.  So we are never using this word again.  We are strong and positive and we stand beside strong and positive people who will then stand beside us.  We are all one.
  

Little Missy may yet find it in herself to like the red white and blue combo

 

Now it's time for Little Missy's Mail Bag.  I swear if one of you jokesters sent this in as a prank, I don't care because you rocked my day!  I received an email from an unknown address.  "Dear Little Missy" it read, "Do Jawbone bracelets count sex as steps in their calculations?"  Goodness gracious!  How would I know?  So I corresponded with the one doctor I know who would be cool enough to know, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, not the esteemed Sanjay Gupta of CNN fame but Sanjay Gupta of Harley Street, London.  He has a practise that is so cognoscenti you practically have to have a code word to get in, and that code word is money.  But I met Dr. Gupta and his lovely wife in a castle in the Himalayas, so I am not surprised.  "Dear Christine", he wrote, "I love the way you cut to the chase, even though we have not corresponded since our splendid New Year's Eve dinner at Kitchener's."  I think by Kitchener's, Sanjay is surely referring to the castle where we met, which was once owned by Lord Kitchener.  Talk about cognoscenti!  "It doesn't surprise me that you would be on to the UP Jawbone bracelet, and Lila and I wear them ourselves.  And we do agree with you Christine, the blue is much more acceptable than the black or the other colours.  But dear Christine, you must tell your correspondent that the UP Jawbone only tracks actual steps, so unless the sex involves walking or running, it will not be tallied into the daily calculation".  So sorry!  You still have to walk or jog or move around quickly to get those 10,000 steps.  So get out there this weekend and smell the air, the flowers and be one with nature.  To move toward the future, you must live in the present.  Hillary can use that one if she wishes!