Miseducation

After getting fed up waiting for the three-hour late Ms Hill, one could be forgiven for approaching security at the Music Hall of Williamsburg to ask who we could talk to about a refund.  A near smack-up almost ensued with a very large man; luckily his door-colleague stepping in to save us and we were assured that Ms. Hill was "in the building" and begrudgingly returned inside.  When she finally arrived onstage to a chorus of boos from the 300-strong audience (a quarter of whom had already left) Ms Hill, the patron saint of my singing youth, was unremarkable in her appearance onstage (complete in African coloured mu-mu, possibly with a pillow sewn into the back - hard to say).  Her first song, a Bob Marley cover, gave me a suspicious pause with its lacking vocals and vibe.  But we stayed the course and were indeed rewarded.

Ms Hill made up for her tardiness with a string of hits from her post-Fugee solo album, "The Miseducation....of Lauryn Hill" and rocked out a number of Fugee songs that made you remember that before the Peas, there were the Fugees.  Looking around the crowd of diehard fans, one could see the euphoria on their faces.  It was hard not to feel cleansed by her rich, smoky timbre (albeit a little raspy); like a familiar old friend the lyrics to "When it hurts so bad", "Ex-factor" and "To Zion" flowed fast and quick.  When she sung "To Zion" it was hard not to romanticize the young boy on the second level of the music hall who rested his head on his hands and looked in awe at Ms Hill, as Zion.  Though surely too young, it was a nice thought.  An even nicer thought was the rumour that Prince was also up there on second level listening to the reclusive singer.

With those final words, "Brooklyn thank you for your patience, thank you for your support; it's so good to see you again" and after a string of her solo and Fugee hits she had won her over with her words, with her voice - that rich, silky yet throaty voice that shakes a heart when she sings up the octave or changes key; that melts a heart to its knees.  And she finally delivered with her two biggest commercial hits: "Killing me softly" and "Doo-wop (That thing)".

Oh Lauryn, with your 3h lateness, but the magic emanating from the stage - never have the words in Ex-factor been so true: "...it could all be so simple but you'd rather make it hard...loving you is like a battle..."

Sequinista

Last year the outrageously expensive purchase of this divine Alexander Wang blue sequin tulip skirt from Torsa (recommended by the ever fashionable and bad influence, Lizzie) blew the budget and almost made me throw up when  I realised how much I'd spent.  But, after realising I couldn't return the skirt, then leaving the tags on it for months toying with the idea of selling it on Ebay and finally donning it in London with an Adam black and white silk tank from Intermix, black leather jacket and Sergio Rossi black suede/gold heel pumps to hit the town with Geets I finally embraced the Wang and admitted  it was a style staple that I could hand down to my children.  Thanks to Helicious's keen eyes perusing style.com we were delighted to see it today listed as one of Tommy Ton's 2010 style favourites.  Check out the full list here.

"The actor must learn to deal with the magical 'if'. 'What if?'"

Once an actor, always an actor.  Thanks to the ever gorgeous, ever hip Em for pointing me towards these fun, quirky and sometimes overly dramatic 14 moving vignettes "14 Actors Acting" over at the New York Times. 

Riot of colour from Jil sander

I'm too short to wear the first two floral bursts of colour, but I'd love to rock this blue piece.

Silk summer tanks

My ideal summer outfit (left).  And a pair of wedges I adore and can't seem to find anywhere.

Aaron Sorkin makes anything beautiful

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aaron-sorkin/sarah-palin-killing-animals_b_793600.html

While the title of this Huffpost article ("Sarah Palin killing animals") may appear to have absolutely nothing to do with beauty, if you've seen the West Wing, The Social Network or anything else that Aaron Sorkin has written you know he has quite the way with words.  And that my friends, is beautiful, anyway you put it. 

Steal and devour

Whimsy

                                 

You must, must, must watch Kiki and Coco in Paris, this slideshow of whimsical and divine pictures from Stephanie Rausser (http://www.stephanierausser.com/) that I spotted over at the very pretty ABT (I love a bit of Spiro inspiration.)

You think I'm pretty, without any makeup on

If this Glee cover of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dreams" doesn't make your heart skip and soar, then at least the "orgasmic/died and gone to heaven" look on Kurt's face at discovering The Warblers will surely bring a smile to your face.  It certainly made my old boyband sensibilities from the ninth grade do a pirouette.

"Let you put your hands on me, in my skin-tight jeans, be your teenage dream tonight..."

That green light

On a recent work trip to Melbourne my colleague was searching for some in-flight reading and purchased on a whim a long time favourite classics - The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  It prompted me to remember one of my favourite quotes:

"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic furture that year by year recedes before us.  It eluded us then, but that's no matter - tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms faster...And one fine morning - So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." 



General literary consensus seems to paint Gatsby as a somewhat sad figure who had a romantic and idealistic dream, one that the more he reached after, seemed farther away.  Instead, I like to think that even when hope is lost and our dreams have eluded us we continue to pursue, to dream and to reach and one day we achieve those idealistic dreams.



Love the simple things.

- Symmetries, Jeanette Winterson

Jimmy, how I love thee

 

Less profound than the natural beauty of a flower, but so fantastic.  The shape, the colour.  I caught a far away glimpse of ces chaussures in Heathrow Airport and had to try them on.  Once they were on, they had to be bought.  Just looking at them reminds me of summer in Cape Sounio, the pebbles crunching underneath my Choos at sunset near the Temple of Poseidon.

"I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck"

Well, perhaps not.  Diamonds are a girl's best friend.  But I do know that the exquisite beauty of a posy of purple sweet pea, the fragrance of a blooming lily adorning my living room or the vibrance of a sea blue orchid warms my heart.  I used to think that a  bunch of flowers given as a gift were a waste of money, but now, how they bring a smile to my face and a skip in my soul.  Which is why I love wandering past Summers Floral in Woollahra on a spring morning.