A Few Thoughts...

During church this morning I was particularly moved by the psalm we read and I've been thinking about it on and off for most of today. I have always gravitated toward a positive way of thinking or in the case of this psalm "the light." Mr. O calls me an ever-optimist, with the obligatory eye roll, natch.

I think this psalm particularly lends itself to illustration. However, I've spent much too much time this evening scouring the web for the perfect piece of art and I haven't found it...yet. So, instead I'll share a few that stood out to me... and of course the two verses in particular that I found most inspirational.

Psalm 139: 1-11, 22-23

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.

Rembrandt, St. Peter in Prison

Rembrandt, St. Paul in Prison

Fra Angelico, The Annunciation

Constance A. Barton, The Light of the World

I've always been intrigued by the idea of light and redemption and how they play against darkness and fear. Of course I subscribe to the idea that no matter what, you are never truly alone.

What do you think? The last painting boarders on the uncomfortable to me but I do find it thought provoking. And please, if you have a piece of art in mind, do share it with me! 

Cheers, 

Ouiser

Happy Memorial Day!

Hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! I meant to get this out yesterday but that darn family kept asking for things... the nerve, right?

We had a fantastic weekend filled with train rides, carousel rides, picnics with fried chicken (yes, made by me!) a bar-b-que with friends, fun in the water and Mr. O even smoked a pork shoulder for dinner on Monday. All it all it was a perfect family weekend. 

Of course the most important aspect of the weekend was remembering and honoring the men and women who fought and continue to fight to protect our country and our freedom. We attended a memorial ceremony honoring Alexandrian's who fought in Vietnam. It was a beautiful service and I was particularly moved by so many former military men and women who attended, many with their families and young children.  

Here are a few paintings that come to mind when I'm feeling patriotic. I hope you enjoy! 

On the Hudson at Newburgh, Gifford Beal, 1918

Avenue in the Rain, Childe Hassam, 1917

Soldier and Girl at Station, Alex Colville, 1953

Servicemen receiving care packages from Adopt-a-Platoon

Lastly, and most importantly I'm including a link to Adopt-A-Platoon. Its very simple. You contact the group and they assign you a specific platoon and give you a list of things most troops appreciate or miss from home. Then like any care package you fill up a box with goodies and ship it to your assigned platoon contact, usually the platoon chaplain.

I have only done this once, but it was one of the most rewarding things I've done. I don't know if this always happens but I received a beautiful thank you note from the platoon chaplain, which included photos. To think he took the time to thank li'l ol me was a gift in itself. 

Happy Memorial Day!

Cheers, 

Ouiser

Its The End of The World As We Know It...

All this talk about the rapture and apocalypse has me giggling and humming the late 80's REM classic that inspired today's post title. If you're anywhere around my age you likely recall the tune.

I used to dance around my bedroom as only an overhyped teen girl can do singing the chorus at the top of my lungs and then awkwardly humming the verses since I could never manage to remember anything except "Lenny Bruce is not afraid"... kinda like I did with Billy Joel's We Didn't Start The Fire.

Anyway, as you likely already know the apocalypse is "scheduled" for tomorrow. Which is frankly a big bummer since I have a salon appointment for a mani/pedi, cut and color. What happened to the commandment that thou shall not mess with a woman's day at the salon? Just saying.

a few giggles....

Weekend Plans?

Honey, did you pack the gin? 

Cheers, 
Ouiser

Oh My God, That Dress!

Its been awhile since I posted some of my top tumblr finds so today's theme is: Beautiful Dresses I'd Love to Own But Have Nowhere to Wear.

Hope these make you oooooh and awwwwh like they made me. Enjoy! Oh, I mustn't forget to mention that I found most of the dresses (and my post title inspiration) from omgthatdress. If you want to follow them on tumblr they are fabulous. Hat tip to Ms. SpangleMaker9 for the introduction.

Reem Acra. Love the sleeves and the way the dress flows!

The beading on this one blows my mind.

Everything about this one just screams happiness.

1932, Coco Chanel. Talk about elegance and femininity. 

House of Worth, 1898-1900. Breathtaking!

1820s Court Dress of Empress Maria Fyodorovna

Now, I'm imagining wearing one of those dresses to attend a party here...

Where they might serve these...

Ooo and it would be perfect if I was escorted by this handsome gentleman! (Mr. O knows well of my affinity for Mr. Firth)

Cheers,
Ouiser

Happy Mother's Day

Mary Cassatt, Mother and Child

My wish is that every mother finds happiness and love today!  However you choose to celebrate I hope you remember how important you are.

Today was my perfect. I spent the whole day with my darling husband and our two precious boys. Now that I have my own children I understand completely my own mother's need to unabashedly stare and smile at me. As a teen it drove me nuts but now as a mother I find I do it at least once a day. It is in those quiet moments that I am overwhelmed by my love and awe of motherhood. 

I want to wish my own mother a very special Mother's Day! Thank you will never suffice how grateful I am for your life long support, comfort, encouragement, love and friendship.  And I have to say, that goes double for my teen years. Bless MY heart, I was an utter sh*t at times. Thankfully we both survived and now that I am I mother I realize everything you said was in fact true. And in some cosmic fate I've also realized my children will not believe me either. 

In your honor, my top five favorite Mamere-isms!

5.  Hats and gloves never go out of style.

4.  Nothing good happens after midnight. 

3. Don't do anything you aren't ok with the whole town knowing about it. 

2. Never be a squeezed lemon. Always be a fresh fruit.

1. I may not be happy with some decisions you make but I will always, always love you. 

SO untrue in my case but it is all kinds of funny!

I am also blessed to have several other wonderful maternal role-models in my life. I wouldn't be the person I am today with out the love and support of my godmother and my two god-sisters both of whom are incredible mothers. And if that wasn't enough I was further blessed when I married Mr. O to gain a mother in law that others could only dream of. I regularly hear from my friends about how lucky I am to have her in my life, and every time I smile and nod and say, "I know, I am blessed." 

Mary Cassatt, Breakfast in Bed

Cheers, 

Ouiser

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

I'm still cooing over all the wedding madness from this morning! I woke up right on time, poured an extra large cup of my favorite coffee (Texas Pecan) and settled in for the festivities. I even endured a little good natured teasing from my father in law who called to check in with me around 8:30 this morning. And of course I discussed the dress with Mamere an hour later. We both just happened to notice the similarities between my dress and Kate's. I'm not saying she was inspired by my wedding *giggles* but I did wear something similar seven years and one week ago!  (yes our anniversary was last week and yes I'm still working on that post!)

Anywho, enough about me.

Here are some fabulous pictures from this morning. I have to give almost all the credit for the photos to My Royal Blog.

I was tickled to see them drive off on their own. What a fun surprise! Here are a couple of pictures and a great video of the happy couple in Prince Charles' snazzy Aston Martin.

Cheers, 
Ouiser

Royal Wedding Madness

Surely it comes as no surprise that I am over the top excited for the upcoming royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. Or Wills and Kate if you will, cause we're tight, natch.

For the last few weeks I've been discussing the details, the fashions, the parties and the barrage of paparazzi pics with my twitter gals. The Daily Beast did a fabulous summary with pictures of the wedding details, here if you're new to all this wedding madness. And Art Info added some unique family and guest list details I hadn't heard in their summary, here.

I can hardly believe that the big day is finally upon us. Are you hosing a party? Attending one? Alas I'm not but have heard from several super creative fabulous ladies who are hosting their own. What a fabulous idea! In some cases they've made it a girls sleep over. I'm squealing on the inside for you and I just hope to get pictures from these fabulous soirees!

This is the one I had!

I am old enough to remember the epic wedding of Charles and Diana, though to be fair I was a very wee one and probably didn't notice anything more than Diana's amazing dress. In fact my favorite memory from the wedding were the Charles and Di paper dolls that I played with for ages and ages. I was tickled to see that they are in fact still making paper dolls and have created a William and Kate royal set! If I had a daughter I would totally justify purchasing them.

And speaking of royal wedding memorabilia, holy mother of marketing!! I couldn't believe how much was out there. I'll let you decide what is a "must have" and what is... well, tacky. So, whether you're sipping champagne, Pimm's or in my case a very strong cup of coffee (It'll be 5am people, seriously!) I hope you can giggle at a few of these preposterous items while ooohing and awwwhing at the fabulous fashions, fascinators and *fingers crossed* royal jewels!

I maybe kinda want this!

And they've even made a few things for those who may not be as excited as I am for the wedding! 

Cheers, 
Ouiser

A Few of My Favorite Easter Eggs

1907 Rose Trellis Egg

With Easter just around the corner I'm reminded of a beautiful December weekend in 1990 that Mamere (or Namma as she's been renamed by my boys) took me to the New Orleans Museum of Art's traveling exhibit of Faberge's Imperial Easter Eggs and other enameled creations.

It was my first trip to New Orleans and despite the fact that I was nearly a decade away from being 21 the city left an indelible impression on me, the food, the history, the architecture and most of all the people, but thats another post!

As I start to plan my own family's Easter Sunday I thought I'd share a few of these amazing and breathtaking creations.

Enjoy!

1894 Renaissance Egg

1896 Twelve Monogram Egg

1898 Lilies of the Valley Egg

The Surprise

1901 Flower Basket Egg

Cheers, 

Ouiser

The National Gallery of Art

One of my oldest and dearest friends (not to mention one of the three people reading my blog) was in town last weekend with her adorable husband and his parents enjoying the famed cherry blossoms. While we were catching up over cocktails they mentioned they'd been to the National Gallery. Unable to contain my excitement I blathered on for the next 20 mins about how fabulous the museum was. Which led me to today's post.

Hands down The National Gallery of Art is my favorite museum in Washington DC. Their permanent collection is outstanding not to mention the sculpture garden next door is a frequent rest stop and lunch break for the boys and I.

There are two traveling exhibits that are really a must see, the first Venice: Canaletto and His Rivals was amazing. And I could go on and on about how much I enjoyed how the artists played with perspective and dimension but I really am trying to keep my posts brief! It will be on display until May 30th, 2011.

The second is Gaugin: Maker of Myth, which is on display until June 5, 2011. I haven't been yet but my friends went and really enjoyed his unique perspective. You may have even heard about the recent attack on one of the paintings in this exhibit. I am horrified by the act no matter the reasoning. Here is the painting, Two Tahitian Women that a woman attempted to destroy, luckily no damamge was done.

And lastly, my favorite exhibit is From Impressionism to Modernism: The Chester Dale Collection, on display through January 2, 2012. To be fair the collection was gifted to the museum by Chester & Maud Dale in 1962, however its the first time it has been presented as such in forty-five years. Needless to say it speaks volumes about their love and respect for art and the artists. Here are a few of my favorites. Oh and although the companion exhibit, Ex Libris: Chester Dale is closed you can view the gallery of highlights here. It is an amazing look at his relationship with so many artists including photographs of their home and personal sketches artists created for the Dales.

Hope these make your Monday a little brighter, enjoy!


Eugene Boudin, The Beach at Villerville, 1864


Mary Cassatt, The Boating Party, 1893-94


Claude Monet, The Houses of Parliament, Sunset, 1903


Henri Matisse, The Plumed Hat, 1919

Cheers, 
Ouiser