La Bella Figura - Putting your best foot forward in everything you do » Living La Dolce Vita

My first true loves …

Kristi — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:38:01 +0000

BOOKS

Books make me happy.

Really, they make me more than happy.

They enrich my life in so many ways.

They inspire me. They are my friends. They are my comfort. They are my pleasure.

Once I rented a room in a sketchy part of L.A. based on the home’s abundance of books.

I had found a card tacked near the bathroom of an artsy coffeehouse advertising the room for rent.

The day of my appointment to view it, I hesitantly walked up the house’s stone steps, wary because of the rough neighborhood around it. Through a double dead-bolted screen door with thick bars, I saw a small woman with long red hair and a miniskirt vigorously vacuuming the living room rug.

Beneath a fringe of red bangs, she wore dark sunglasses. A cigarette hung from one corner of her mouth.

After a few minutes of knocking and ringing the doorbell, she noticed me.

Inside the front door, a small living room had an upright piano against one wall. On the opposite wall hung an art piece her famous father had made. It was the silhouette of a shapely woman made from spray painted silver cigarette butts.

As she showed me around, the woman never removed her dark glasses.

I had stepped into another world.

What ultimately sold me were the words that came out of her mouth as she directed me to a bedroom door:

“And this is our nonfiction library.”

Bookshelves from floor to ceiling lined every wall.

By the time she directed me to the fiction library (two minutes later), I was writing out a check.

I moved in that weekend.

It was an easy move. I had been staying with a friend and all my belongings were already in my car.

My large upstairs bedroom engulfed my few belongings.

On one wall I set up my radio, stacking CDs beside it on the floor. I propped a few of my religious themed red candles with saints and the Virgin Mary on the window sills.

My clothes hung in the closet above a footlocker that contained a few mementos.

I placed my roll-up futon bed in the middle of the floor. Right near where my head would lie, against the floor on one wall, I lined up all my books — Anais Nin, Hemingway, Jack Kerouac, Isak Dineson, Baudelaire, Tom Wolfe, Umberto Eco, Truman Capote, Hermann Hess, Ayn Rand, S.E. Hinton — so they would be the first things my eyes saw upon awakening.

On My Nighstand (& floor)

In the living room

On My Nightstand

Kristi — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 23:20:40 +0000

I’m just going to apologize right off the bat for this post. My book situation is out of control. Pure chaos. Overflowing with library books, books I’ve bought and books I’ve borrowed. For some bizarre reason, all of the books on my waiting lists at the library all decided to come in at once. Several are in the exact same genre of the novel I am writing: girl crime reporter, so they are really considered research.

I have included pictures of them all (see the second to last picture for an idea of the chaos), but I will briefly give a summary of those that I have already read. I read and loved Foreign Tongue by Vanina Marsot. I recommend it to all Francophiles.

Am currently reading Villa Mirabella from one of my favorite authors in the Italian-American fiction genre, Peter Pezzelli. For some reason, possibly that the main character is a man in his 30s, I keep losing interest in this one.

The one that has me completely caught up in the character’s world is Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum. One of my bookclubs chose this and I borrowed it, so I am making it priority one so I can return it and let someone else in bookclub borrow it. (My second bookclub meets this week and I will have a new book from them, as well, just to add to the madness!)

I also finished “Which Brings Me to You” By Steve Almond and Julianna Baggott. I must say the whole concept of a book based entirely on correspondence was intially a complete turnoff, but the writing is so wonderful I ended up completely engrossed and loved the book. I can’t wait to read more by Baggott.

I also read Becoming A Writer (Dorothea Brande) and On Becoming a Novelist (John Gardner). Both were so-so, I guess. I also read Mark Bittman’s Quick & Easy Recipes and copied down a few of them. Behind that book in the picture you can see some photocopies I made of recipes from the French Women Don’t Get Fat Cookbook. I think I copied about 5 of them for future reference before turning the book back into the library.

The other books on my nightstand (Cheri and The Things They Carried and the New Yorker anthology) are all books I bought, so I may not get to them for quite some time since I have to read the library books which have due dates first!

That Pretty Much Sums it Up

Kristi — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:13:12 +0000

Yesterday I was killing time at the bookstore with my daughter. We started across the way at a shoe store and I tried on these:

which were on sale for an incredibly great price.

I loved the way they added some punch to my all black ensemble and asked the clerk to hold them for an hour while I thought about it.

Then my daughter and I went to the bookstore. I found two books in the used book section that I have wanted for a while (Cheri by Collette) and a writing book by John Gardener. (I’m doing a book post later today)

But anyway, we went to the counter to pay and then started toward the car.

My daughter asked: “But mama, what about the shoes?”

and I said: “Honey, I’d rather buy books than shoes.”

The less I spend on shoes, the more I can eventually spend on books and other things that continue to inspire me artistically and spiritually.

That pretty much sums it up for me.

Art Work

Kristi — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:01:37 +0000

I’ve spent some free time this past week working on some of my art pieces. I’m going to put these on my etsy page in the next day or two. The first set are of my retablos and then there are three vintage dolls I’m selling.

All my art is made with a combination of thrift store items and vintage jewelry.

Oops, I have no idea why, but the right half of all my photos is cut off!

Frida Pink & Purple

Frida Red & Gold

Frida Silver & Gold

Frida Blue Parrots

Frida Monkeys

Frida Tropical Colors

Aztec Princess -1

Aztec Princess -1 (Back)

Art Deco Darling - 1

Art Deco Darling -1 (Back)

Azteca Warrior

Azteca Warrior (back)

It looks like not only French men appreciate older women

Kristi — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 13:04:22 +0000

Let me preface this by saying I was searching for the Top 10 books of the decade and got sucked into AskMen.com’s top 10 lists and believe me they have a lot of them and they are fun to read.

You don’t have to be of a certain age to learn from these examples. For instance, there are many women much younger than me who embody a lot of these qualities. It is something we can also appreciate about ourselves as we age. And their idea of an older woman — between 29 and 45 still is a bit younger than what we would call “of a certain age” but still worth reading.

Top 10: Things We Love About Older Women

This year’s Top 99 Women prove that we find maturity hot, and here’s why.

By Andrew Moore, Entertainment Correspondent

Page 1:

One truth that emerges from our list of the Top 99 Most Desirable Women of 2010 is that men love older women. This is not to say we have some weird thing for the elderly, but rather that, on average, our taste in women skews a little older than most people might expect.

While pop culture often idealizes the 19-year-old sexpot and the barely legal college coed, men at this moment in history are more attracted to somewhat older women. The average age of the Top 99 winners is 29. And while the youngest age of one of our most desirable women is 19, the oldest is 45. The stats indicate that we’re attracted to women with a little more maturity, and it’s not hard to see why.

Check out this list of the top 10 things we love about older women.

Page 2: Older women are independent

One of the top 10 things we love about older women is their independence. Older women are typically more comfortable being alone. They’ve spent time in and out of relationships and consequently they know how to get along fine without us by their sides every single moment. They know that they don’t need a boyfriend attached to their hip to be happy. This means that older women are less likely to be clingy or needy, which makes them much easier to get along with.

Page 3: Older women are assertive

Older women often have a clearer sense of who they are and what they want. Consequently, they’re less timid when it comes to men and they’re also less inclined to play games. While a woman in her early 20s might waste your time playing hard to get, or trying to make you jealous, a woman even five or 10 years older is more likely to cut to the chase and be upfront about her feelings or lack thereof.

That kind of forthrightness is refreshing; it can even be a turn-on. And it’s another one of the top 10 things we love about older women.

Page 4: Older women offer good conversation

There’s nothing like going out on a date and having a 45-minute conversation about Spiedi, followed by a scintillating story about how your date was going to buy this one purse, but instead she didn’t and got this other purse instead.

A good conversation is one of those things we tend to take for granted until we haven’t had one in a while. Great conversation skills are something that younger women often lack, not so much because they’re women, but mostly because they’re young. Quite simply, older women have lived longer. They’ve seen things, done things and been places.

They have more interesting stories and more experience, and that makes them better conversationalists. Don’t underestimate the importance of talking; it will keep a relationship interesting long after the spark of the initial attraction has faded.

Page 5: Older women have more money

OK, so perhaps this entry on our list is a bit mercenary. However, we prefer to think of it as “pragmatic.” The truth is, older women do tend to have more money than younger women. We’re not saying that’s the most important thing to consider when dating someone. It’s just a comfort for guys to know they aren’t going to have to pay for every single date over the course of a relationship. Nor are they going to have to pay her cell phone bill when her burgeoning modeling career “temporarily” stalls.

Page 6: Older women have more mature friendships

Younger women are often deeply entangled in cliques. Through texts, phone calls and daily e-mails they’re constantly checking in with their gal pals. In order to become her boyfriend, you have to have the approval of her friends. Before you make plans, she’s got to check with Mitsy and Bitsy. It can be exhausting.

Older women are often less invested in seeking the approval of their female friends. They don’t need to consult their friends before making even the most minor decisions. Older women are more confident and self-reliant; their friendships are more mature. They’ve had time to sift through the fair-weather friends, the hangers-on and the airheads, and they’ve streamlined their social networks.

Page 7: Older women make better dates

The thing that makes older women better dates is that they have more sophisticated tastes. Plain and simple, older women do grown-up things and that’s another one of the top 10 things we love about them.

They’re not interested in getting stupid drunk and passing out in a public washroom. They’re not interested in grinding on a dance floor to obnoxiously loud techno music. Older women are past their rebellious phase and over their need to be the center of attention.

Page 8: Older women are less drama-prone

Maybe it’s because younger women experience a lot of firsts that they seem unprepared to navigate life’s twists and turns. First loves, first broken hearts, first betrayals: we suppose it can all seem like too much sometimes. Younger women just always seem to have more drama in their lives than their more experienced counterparts do. Due to their immaturity, younger women tend to magnify the importance of every little thing. When you’re dating a really young woman, there always seems to be a new catastrophe or crisis. It’s really impossible to avoid getting sucked into the drama, pointless as it may seem.

Most older women are cooler under pressure; they know how to deal with disasters, and they can often handle them on their own.

Page 9: Older women have more sexual experience

Perhaps the most common reason men cite for wanting to date older women is superior sex. Older women are better in bed. Period. They’ve gotten over all the little insecurities and anxieties that can negatively impact your sex life. Older women are comfortable in their own skin. Moreover, they know how to make the bedroom exciting and interesting. They’ve graduated beyond the bedroom basics and their experience often makes them more willing to try new things.

Page 10: Older women have more relationship experience

Older women know how to handle the trials and tribulations associated with relationships because they’ve been through just about all of it before. She’s going to have more realistic expectations. She’s less likely to have a princess complex. Older women are typically more measured and well-mannered in their response to relationship crises, which makes the chances of a long-term relationship with her much better.

Page 11: Older women value your time together

Equipped with a clear sense of what’s really important in life, older women are more appreciative of the time you spend together and they aren’t likely to be reckless with your emotions. That’s the thing we love most about older women.

While younger women often don’t take men, relationships or life in general very seriously, an older woman understands the value of a good man. She’s seen what’s out there, she knows what’s at stake and she’s not likely to take you for granted.

Sedona

Kristi — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:30:15 +0000

I’m busy catching up with work but here are some photos of where I went for the wedding last weekend:

Another “Money Diet” Guest Post, this time by Marsi!

Kristi — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:27:59 +0000

Here is a guest post by Marsi, a fabulous writer and editor many of us have begged to start her own blog, but she is probably too busy, so we’ll have to be satisfied with this wonderful guest post. Thank you Marsi!

The Money Diet Does Laundry

“After enlightenment, then laundry.” (Zen proverb)

Although the U.S. is showing signs of emerging from the serious recession of the last two years, many of us still feel its effects in our own personal economies and are looking for ways to save money where we can. When you consider that major appliances (such as washers and dryers) consume approximately 9 percent of the average household’s energy, the laundry room is as good a place as any to make small changes that can save you money. Today, I share with you some of my tips that might help you realize some savings and, I hope, make the drudgery of laundry a little more pleasant.

Wash in cold water. Would you believe that 95 percent of the energy expended in using your washer comes from heating water? According to the Saving Electricity website (http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/laundry.html), a warm/warm wash-and-rinse cycle costs 39 cents per load, whereas a cold/cold cycle costs a mere 3 cents per load — for an average annual savings of $143. In my experience, washing in cold water gets my laundry just as clean as warm water, while better preserving its colors and sizing.

Consider buying a front-loading washer. Because front-loaders use significantly less water and energy to operate, the long-term savings of replacing a top-loader with a front-loader add up over time. If you need to replace your washer, it’s best to do so with a front-loader. Although it may cost an extra $200 up front, it will pay for itself in long-term energy savings. Also, a front-loader is much gentler on your laundry because it doesn’t use an agitator, which can pull and damage clothing, so your clothes last longer — a hidden savings itself.

Drip-drip dry your laundry. Kick it old-school by installing a clothesline in your backyard. My rowhouse has a huge balcony in lieu of a backyard, which is perfect for a multiple-line retractable clothesline. I use it three seasons a year, from spring to autumn. Indoors, I also use a folding laundry rack for smaller items (such as socks and underwear) and delicates. I have found that not putting my shirts in the dryer keeps their color and texture intact for much longer, which saves me money as well.

Make your own laundry detergent and fabric softener. I came across great recipes for homemade detergent and softener two years ago on Modern Cottage (http://modcottage.com/?p=117) and have used them ever since. Modern Cottage estimates that each batch (which yields approximately 35 loads) costs a mere $2 to make, versus nearly the $10 for the equivalent in Tide. My family and I have detected no difference in the cleanliness and freshness of our laundry; if anything, our clothes seem fresher and less dingy because they don’t have build-up from fabric softeners. The cleansers are so mild that they’re perfect for baby clothing, and if you have sensitive skin or allergies yourself, you’ll be pleased with the results as well.

As you can see in the photo, I store my laundry detergent in a cute tin from Cost Plus World Market and have decanted my fabric softener into a decorative bottle. They add a nice touch to my laundry room and are more aesthetically pleasing to the eye than big plastic jugs of detergent. Although young Wolfgang doesn’t contribute much in terms of labor to my laundry efforts, he — along with everything else in my Laundry Room Still Life — certainly improves the view while I go about my task.

Laundry Detergent (adapted from Modern Cottage)

2 bars Ivory soap, grated (comes out to about 2 cups)
1 cup borax (available in the laundry aisle of grocery stores and Target)
1 cup washing soda (in the laundry aisle of larger grocery stores, also may be available in some hardware stores)

Blend it all together into a bumpy, granular mix. Add drops of essential oil (lavender is my favorite) to scent your detergent, if you wish. Use 1 tablespoon of detergent for a light load, and 2 tablespoons for a large or dirty load.

Note: I urge you not to destroy your food processor by using it to grate bars of soap. Please trust me on this. If you have a standing mixer (such as a KitchenAid) that comes with a metal grating attachment, you’ll make quick work of this task. If not, please do it by hand with a cheese grater and enjoy the firmer biceps that undoubtedly will be yours after this exercise. Do not use any appliance that has plastic moving parts because grating soap overworks the motor, causing the plastic parts to break or melt. Please, use only an appliance that has metal moving parts to grate soap.

Fabric Softener (adapted from Modern Cottage)

1 gallon distilled white vinegar

25-30 drops essential oil

Use 1/4 cup per load to eliminate static, soften laundry, and rinse away soap residue.

My First Guest Post!: The Money Diet

Kristi — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:29:42 +0000

I am thrilled to have Stephanie from Bonjour Madame, someone I admire enormously, write my first guest post. Thank you so much Stephanie! You are always an inspiration to me. I won’t waste time with my words, but rather defer to hers. Enjoy:

The Money Diet

Kristi graciously asked me to guest post on the topic of money. Specifically “The Money Diet.” I would like to state that The Money Diet or Regime Fric is something I read on the French Chic (Yahoo) boards years ago and it was originally written by a talented writer and board member, Marline. It inspired me so much to change the way I treated money and that change stuck with me and changed my financial life for the better. I’d like to share why it inspired me so much.

Marline approached this strategy in such a way that made the project fun. She related the money diet to strategies outlined in Mireille Guiliano’s “French Women Don’t Get Fat” book. As women, we can probably all relate to an actual diet.

Step one …”round up the usual suspects”. What are you buying repeatedly? Especially those things that you already have enough. If you don’t know what these are, keep all of your receipts for three weeks. Review all of your receipts and start writing down the trends. Take note of not only what you are buying, but how often and how much. For me, it’s lipstick, skin care, books, magazines,tea from the coffee shop, and clothes. Write it down.

Step two … where are you spending? Is it online, the mall, extra items in the grocery store, bookstores or coffee shops? Write it down and devise a plan to avoid these temptations. These are your offenders and while you are paying off debt, should probably be avoided. Stop going to the mall. I’m being sarcastic, but it’s amazing how well this works! Just avoid that particular place that you overspend. Realize mindless shopping is an attempt to fill a void in your life.

Step three … have patience and develop rituals. While you are not spending on needless items, put that money toward paying off debt until it’s gone. Embrace organization and cleanliness. If you take care of what you own now, you will appreciate it more and realize you have everything you need already. Organize your bills. Make bill paying a pleasant experience. It can be done! Fix a cup of tea, put on relaxing music, place your bills on your clean table, use a nice pen, and relax a little.

Step four … picture yourself where you want to be financially and have a goal. It’s important to have a dream for your future both involving sound finances and a splurge. What do you want to do? Take a trip to Paris or Rome? Buy a fabulous pair of shoes? It can be big or small but it must motivate you. Mine is another trip to Paris. I think about strolling along the Seine, sitting at a cafe, shopping for something special in Paris (and paying cash) and it always stops me in my tracks with whatever I’m about to buy.

Consider writing down on paper your new story. How do you want to be financially in the future? Write down how you will treat money, organize your finances, live stress and debt free, and have extra money to do the things you’ve always dreamed about. Make it fun and be specific. Use your imagination!

Finally, these are a few of my tips that I’ve learned throughout the years from experience. Always live below your means. It’s the only way to have extra cash to save for your future goals. If you are constantly spending everything you make, it will never happen. Resist the urge to continue trading up your house and know that it is possible to pay off your mortgage in much less time than your original loan. Aim high!

Learn that it’s OK to be different. Even when your friends think your decisions are strange, learn to be at peace with it and know that what you are doing is the right thing for you. Make a list of free and inexpensive things you can do that enhance your life and do them regularly. Create a savings account for your specific short term goals. I’ve got one titled “Paris” and it’s an absolute joy to make deposits into this account. It’s separate from other investments and savings accounts.

One of the things my husband and I do too often is eat out. I actually prefer to eat at home because it’s healthier and more relaxing. I can control the ingredients and practice becoming a better cook.

If you like a more technical approach, I highly recommend Dave Ramsey’s book “The Total Money Makeover”. It will explain how to get out of debt and approach it with great intensity. It’s a great book. I tape his show on the Fox Business Network every day and watch them when I have free time to continue to stay motivated, even though I am debt free. I need constant motivation to continue to save for what is important and staying focused on a more frugal lifestyle helps.

I also recommend that you visit the FC boards and search for these older posts by Marline. They are treasures and I hope that she knows how much of an impression they made on me years ago.

Stephanie

http://bonjourmadamestephanie.blogspot.com/

Art Around The House/Sept. 10

Kristi — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 04:50:58 +0000

Discipline is the key to everything/June 29

Kristi — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:59:49 +0000

I have neglected some of my best habits and it is starting to show. My clothes are tighter and don’t look as well as I’d like them to. The two biggest habits I’ve let slide are: walking daily and not snacking between meals.

Both result from a lack of discipline in my life. I can blame the not walking on the strange spring and summer season (it is either raining or in the 90s). I can blame the snacking on — well, I guess I can’t blame that on anything. But the fact is, I have not been as disciplined in my habits as I’d like to be.

Discipline is the key to everything in my life.

* How and when I spend money

*What I put into my body (food, alcohol)

* What comes out of my mouth! (This is key in all my relationships, with friends, with family. What I choose to say, what I choose to leave unsaid. HOW I say things.)

*What and who I allow into my life and home (purchases, people, new clothes)

* How I maintain my household (from creating set routines for my children — to cleaning and organization — to making sure the dinner hour is sacred every night and a strong family tradition every Sunday — big family dinner!)

It seems whenever my life seems slightly out of whack, it all comes back down to discipline.

How does discipline affect your life?