antique jewelry | Frivolous Universe

Seeing Red.

By: Anna D.

22-05-2012

As I write this, I am angry. I feel that we “civilized” people are taking advantage of each other in a most blatant and insulting way. I recently spent the better part of a day trying to configure my new MacBook Pro. By the time I left the Mac store, I felt utterly hopeless. In order for me to utilize the machine I just purchased for the sum of a month’s pay, I must spend an additionally egregious amount in software updates.

I don’t need fancy new software – I just want the older versions currently running on my outdated machine, but thanks to “new advances in technology,” those old programs won’t run on my new computer. And thanks to those same new advances, my old computer is slowly becoming more and more isolated from the rest of the world – unable to send and receive documents and messages that are vital to my ability to stay employed.

And really, it’s our fault – we, the consumers. We love the beautiful marketing baloney that’s thrown at us daily – iPhone, iPad, iBook, iPod, iTouch, iSayEffOff. I say let books be books, phones be phones, and leave touching for human interaction.

Thank the Great Unknown for simpler beauty, like red velvet…..

…and scarlet clematis blooms….

…and little red dacshunds…liittle red dacshund – ooh ooh ooh! – baby you’re much too fa-at….

…and giant, leafy rhubarb plants with their ruddy, secret stalks….

…and crimson silk-threaded antique silver beads from Afghanistan, thanks to a lovely friend…..

…and deep carmine calla lilies, so dark in complexion they appear as hooded apparitions against a stark sky….

…and bare feet in trees…..

…and a man in my life who plucks the first rose bloom of the year and sneaks it onto my desk when I’m not looking…..

All photos taken by yours truly.

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A Fleeting April…..

By: Anna D.

24-04-2012

Anna

Sometimes, life just sucks the life out of you…up…down…advance…retreat – it’s all part of that glorious game called sink or swim.

This balmy month of April has been fraught with personal growth-inducing turbulence – I sank to the bottom of an endless body of brine called the sea of responsibility, sputtered back to life and swam gleefully to the shore of that same weighty sea to dance a jig upon its pebbly shores, and cautiously splashed around in its beckoning tide only to be swept out to sea again.

Here it is April 25, already the dregs of this fleeting month, and I’ve been swept out to sea and back again more times than a free-range buoy.

It’s times like these, when I feel stretched in more directions than taffy on a pull, that I wonder why I persist with this blog. It is, after all, one hefty weekly commitment. But FU offers something to my life that I don’t currently get with any other obligation – it requires me to write for myself, no matter how brief or inconsequential some entries may be. It also insists that I take a little time to think creatively about my dress, even if all that means for the time being is throwing a cheerful jacket over an otherwise humdrum outfit. And lastly, this blog insures that I will, at least once during the week, go for a walk along Payette Lake’s recently ice-free shores with Ma and doggie Ethyl, or any number of other photo-op adventures with the fine women of this virtual establishment.

Who knows what’s in store for next week, but for now you get plain, unfiltered and unpolished me – glasses, zits and all. Here’s to the week to come…..let’s hope for more shore and less tide.

A “jacket and loafers saved it” Look (all but the jewelry is thrifted):
Cropped embroidered jacket – Nygard Collection / Black tank top – Mossimo /
Skinny jeans – Abercrombie / White leather loafers – Cole Haan / Earrings – Hazel Cox /
Gold bangles & rings – gifts from Grandma

Thanks to my Ma for the photos.

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Map of a Story

By: Anna D.

17-04-2012

Anna

There’s this amazing thing that happens here in our humble City of Trees……it’s called STORY STORY NiGHT. Ever heard of it? If not, you should check it out. True stories on a theme, told live onstage and without notes. Simple…right? Anyone can do it. YOU can do it. But if the thought of getting onstage and telling a tale from your life leaves you feeling at a lose for words, our STUDiO can help you find em. And get this – it’s FREE. Every month. True story.

Part of my role at Story Story Night is to guide the story-curious through the oft winding path of bringing a life experience to the stage. I think of this process as a journey of sorts. What follows is an abridged version of what we call the Essential Elements of Story. If you want the full length version, well, you’ll just have to attend the STUDiO, dear readers.

An Instructorly Outfit: vintage knit tee by R & K Knits / vintage wool skirt by Pendleton
vintage velvet blazer by Koret / black leather riding boots by Frye / earrings by Hazel Cox
antique gold bangles and rings from grandma / glasses by Salt

I : THE MAP
The map of your story is the direction in which you choose to guide your audience. If you remember to stay on track and indulge your audience by describing the highlights (or more often, low points) along the way, they’ll stay with you to the end.

II : THE PACE
Don’t wear your travelers out. More importantly, don’t wear yourself out. Give your story the space it needs in order to be fully realized and experienced by your audience.

III : THE LEFT TURN
This is the key turn in your story – the surprising moment when you choose not to stay the course and things get real. Now is the time to reveal to them your vulnerability.

IV : GO THE DiSTANCE
Now that you’ve taken these tourists of your life to the next level and invited them to be a part of the journey by taking that left turn with you, go the distance. Drive your story home by fearlessly reflecting on how that left turn affected you.

V : THE FAREWELL
Be sure to give your travelers something to remember you by. For the purposes of this journey, the perfect farewell gift is a solid, meaningful goodbye.