Alternative Wedding Gowns created with vintage lace and fabrics. A portion of the proceeds are given to Destiny Rescue to rescue children from human trafficking.

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Something Old

I love old photos!...





I love vintage fabrics and laces, old books and their artful covers and soft worn pages...


.....and vintage music, often beautifully hand written on with scrolls and flourishes.....

and antique furniture... hand carved on wood carefully chosen for its strength  and beauty...








































...and Dishes with roses and flowers and all sorts of amazing art work, I love them all!




I simply love all these things!

I seem to be physically overcome by some force beyond my control whenever I'm near a used book store.  Estate sales must have hidden magnets under my car hood, I simply can't drive the other way.

I pick up an old book and I love to touch the pages,  admire the beauty and wonder  what's inside. But I know all of these things are just that.

    Things.
        Material.
           Temporal.
                     Fading.

I know what I love is deep inside.

I long to climb into the pages and bridge the expanse of time and know that the stories are all unique, but are also intertwined run on sentences,  somehow connected to mine; breathing compassion, understanding and knowledge into me,  into every reader,  connecting us in thoughts and wishes and then actions of love.

 It is amazing  to me that an author who lived hundreds of years ago,   can speak through time to my mind,  to my heart and cause me to grow,  to be peaceful,  to desire what is best for myself and the world around me.  This is what I love about old books.



I love old music and the writing scrolled across the scores.  The thought of someone's heart and hand communicating beauty even before the first note is played.  It's a heart wish,  that music would bring beauty into every part of your life.  Of course,  the composer is gifted and passionate about their art, it is theirs.  But in the end,  they've shared it!  They've shared it with you and me. 
They've shared it with as many people who wish to enjoy its peaceful beauty. 

That's inspiring.

That speaks to my heart.


Old photos have a unique whisper that tugs at my heart. I desperately wish to be in that moment , in that emotion , in that life that the eyes of those photographed are sharing. I want to know who they are ...at that moment, their hopes, their dreams , their desires. And when I can uncover just a little of the story, I am mesmerized.



Bud and Ina grew up in New York. He was a young man who , not only lived through the depression, but gained ingenuity, perseverance and loyalty through it. He watched his sister become caretaker of his family, while his mother tried to recover from tuberculosis. He saw his father do all he could to care for and provide for his family. While only a teenager, Bud hitchhiked across the country to see his dear mother as she tried to recover. She succumbed all too soon to this disease that effected so many. Later, as a young man, he enrolled in nursing school.




Ina was born across the ocean, before the war. Her parents brought her across to lady liberty, and at the Ellis Island clerks prompting, claimed she was a year younger than she actually was. There were only two more slots open to enter the home of the free, not three. If she were under a year, she wouldn't be counted. And so she was free. A year younger, and beautifully free.

She grew up in the Bronx, and later Long Island. She yodeled for friends in the one place, and longed for them in another. She grew up speaking the language of her parents' homeland and the language of her new home. She grew up and entered nursing school.

Apparently it was love at first sight.



I look through the old photos and I see it. As a young girl, I never thought to ask, it never entered my mind, that these two fell head over heels in love. Now I just look and wonder. Wonder how all these heart strings are tied together. Wonder if ingenuity, perseverance and loyalty  are knit into the fabric of my life...wonder if the hopes and dreams and desires of their hearts are being realized in my life... wonder if I see my freedom as beautiful, to be treasured... I wonder... wonder what it is to be part of a love story, someone else's, I'm laced and tied to.

And I am inspired to create. Create beauty. Create something that conveys this love and loyalty, this beautiful freedom, this weaving of a love story. And my dresses are born.



I


Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Did You Dance Today?

           



I make dance shoes.
First-Dance-of-the-Rest-of-Your-Life-as-Mr. Right's-Wife, dance shoes.
Dance shoes to carry you seamlessly through that dance where your heart is so full it could burst, your smile is so wide it's contagious, the stars in your eyes are blinding the ones in the sky and your hope and anticipation of all your dreams and plans together are twirling around in your soul, as he twirls you in his arms.













But what about all the other days......
What about the rest of your life.....
What about the rest of the dances.....

Did you dance today?







When I was younger I dreamed of being a ballerina. I was sure I could be one just like in the book I use to read. Just install a broom handle in my room and in no time I would be on point.























The reality of hours of instruction,
training and daily practice,
the possibility of injury and sacrifice just barely entered my mind.
Now I know.
I understand.
Though not first hand experienced,
I'm wise enough to appreciate all that goes into being a great ballerina.

I understand and know now that being a great wife,
is like being a great dancer.

It takes daily practice,
I could get hurt,
and I will have to give up some of myself.












Did I dance Mr. Right's Wife's dance today?......

                                          ...... Did you?


Whether you've been married a day or 40 years, I hope you are still learning and perfecting that dance. Learning to follow, and learning to lead. Learning the rhythm and tempo of life, and the style that suits you two best. Forgiving each other when you step on each others toes, and  then reaching your hands back towards one another to continue the dance.

I hope you are
Still seeking instruction on how to do it well.
Still training, until it becomes natural.
Still practicing the steps that are graceful......
 ......Full of grace.....
         .......Full of forgiveness.....




I've thought about how good instructors can bring out the best in us, and poor ones can actually hamper us, hold us back.
In life, not everyone is a great instructor, not everyone is even trying to be, not everyone is even thinking of teaching those they
have influence over.
Some people  just don't realize they could be teaching you how to dance along the way and instead they are just showing you how to stumble.



Maybe they didn't have a good dance instructor.
Maybe they loved to dance...but.....
Maybe their hearts were injured, and they forgot how to dance.


What is wonderful about being Mrs. Right is you can choose who you'd like to instruct you. You can choose to unlearn poor instruction, instruction that is not helpful in creating grace and rhythm and beauty in your wife dance. You can drop out of any classes that don't actually help you be a better dancer , and find a great instructor. I'm so grateful for the many teachers that are sharing their wisdom and understanding on relationships.


A great instructor not only can dance, but can dance well.
Find others who encourages you to grow,
to be a better you,
to be forgiving when you've been hurt,
every day,
to be selfless,
to choose joy,
to dance!

Keep twirling starry eyed determined to dance.....

and then...

teach others...

to dance!









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