30.11.12

WRAPPED IN SILVER

Tomorrow December starts and all advent calendars should go up, should they not?
Here another idea to make one. Make 24 little sachets in a fabric of your choice to coordinate with nice buttons [same color scheme but all different in size and shape] and numbers.
Sachets are nice to hang on a tree branch, on a wreath or simply on a garland.
Enjoy.



.......





...........................................................................................................................................................


29.11.12

ADVENT IN A BOX CALENDAR

An Advent calendar is a nice way to count or celebrate the days in anticipation of Christmas. It is all about celebrating the very idea of waiting for something special that is about to happen.
Thinking of the joy of opening a little present every day, I imagined lots of nice numbered different boxes...
1.numbers 
You'll need numbers, from 1 to 24. I am going to use fridge magnets, little stamps, transfers. You can also find nice ones on magazines or have fun drawing your own on nice paper. I did that too. 

2.boxes 
I tend to keep boxes, so I found quite a few around. I covered with nice wrapping paper the ones I did not particularly like. Find some ribbons and cute things to embellish all of them. I am going to use masking tape, buttons, wool, christmas decoration, etc.

3.surprises
choose little presents, keeping in mind who's going to open the boxes. Here we are fond of stationary, so they'll include nice masking tape and punchers, but also cute little toys, candy, chocolate, liquirice, maybe some christmas decorations for the tree.

4.the calendar 
find the right toy for the right box, glue a number on each, close them with nice ribbons, assemble it all in a composition you like and stick them on the wall. I am going to use adhesive paste cause boxes are not really heavy, plus the paste won't ruin surfaces (not the box, not the wall).

Here above you see just 1, 2 and 3 box.  It is only the begininng.
Hope you like the idea. If you have a go yourself I'd love to see the results. 
+++ I am going to continue and hope to finish in time the rest.



.......





...........................................................................................................................................................


28.11.12

PREPARING a CALENDAR




Can't believe it's nearly December. This year I'd like to make an advent calendar for us to enjoy. I am collecting material and little presents to hide in beautiful boxes my little E will surely be thrilled to open each morning. Are you thinking of preparing one yourselves? Stay tuned, will share more of it soon.


.......




...............................................................................................................................................................

26.11.12

THANKFULLNESS


I have been reading beautiful posts of people celebrating thanksgiving. It's a shame we don't have such a dedicated day here where I live, but no one can stop me from doing it anyway.

Sometimes, when you are tired, when you go through difficult times, when you have to grow up fast and take responsibilities for things you would just run away from, when you are not satisfied with your work or simply are feeling alone and vulnerable it is easy to overlook what you have around, the small and big achievements, the blessing you have.
It's the same for me. But when I take a moment to think better, I realize my life is full of amazing things. 

I am thankful for my beautiful family, the love that kept us together and our wonderful boy.
I am thankful for the beautiful places I have been to, for living abroad and the beautiful people I have met around the world.
Thankful for my creative hands and dreaming spirit.
Thankful for having special persons in my life, even though I sadly lost few too early.
I am thankful to my parents for making me -through good and bad- the person I am today.

There is so much more I am thankful for and I was trying to find pictures for all of them but it is just too complicated ...because they are too many!



Black heart (cards)




.............................................................................................................................





25.11.12

PORTRAIT GALLERY WINNER


Today at 12:00 the HappyBday GIVEAWAY was officially closed.
When it was time to draw the winner (I used a random number generator) my heart pounded a little faster, I must admit. 
               THE WINNER IS... Fatima.
                                    c o n g r a t u l a t i o n s !
Fatima please contact me at itsnicemail@gmail.com for further details.

Thank you all the others for participating, hope to see you again in the next Portrait Gallery Giveaway. 


                                           ....



...........................................................................................................................................................




24.11.12

THE SILENCE BENEATH



I came across [thanks Marco] this beautiful animation by Joanna Lurie.
You can see the whole film and more of her beautiful work at www.joannalurie.com
Enjoy.





++++++ +++++ +++++++++++++





...........................................................................................................................................................



21.11.12

MUSE

The ones of you following me for a while know I really like the Italian actress Monica Vitti.
The 3rd of november was her eightieth birthday, in the silence of a long illness that confined her for more than a decade now. Reading few articles about her, I realised I really share the common feeling: how much we miss Monica!
Elegant, beautiful, intense and at the same time distant, Monica Vitti is one of the great actresses of Italian cinema. Her distinctive husky voice and innate verve have accompanied us for almost forty years of film career, which ranged in style and talent from dramatic roles with Michelangelo Antonioni to other brighter roles of Italian comedy where she was able to keep up with colleagues such as Alberto Sordi, Ugo Tognazzi, Vittorio Gassman and Nino Manfredi.
I'd like today to share with you just a few her wonderful pictures, in omage to the many beautiful films and moments of joy she gave us through-out her carreer.











+++ Here the Prizes won by Monica 
Conchiglia d'Argento at Festival di San Sebastian 1968 as best actress main role – La ragazza con la pistola
Festival del Cinema di Venezia 1995, Leone d'Oro alla carriera
David di Donatello: Targa d'oro(1963),
1969: best actress main role – La ragazza con la pistola
1971: best actress main role – Ninì Tirabusciò la donna che inventò la mossa
1974: best actress main role – Polvere di stelle
1976: best actress main role – L'anatra all'arancia
1979: best actress main role – Amori miei

For som other fan out there still not knowing, I found out she wrote two books:

Sette sottane, Milano, Sperling & Kupfer, 1993. ISBN 88-200-1599-4.

Il letto è una rosa, Milano, A. Mondadori, 1995. ISBN 88-043-8763-7.

Here below a more recent picture of stunning sixty-something Monica at one of her book presentations.














    { photo credits | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 }


    ...........................................................................................................................................................



    16.11.12

    mOVie friDAy.11 | MARIE ANTOINETTE


    Writing about Lost in Translation last friday, made me think about the following film by Sofia Coppola: Marie Antoinette -an historical comedy-drama released in 2006 loosely based on the biography 'The life of The Queen consort'. The film is, again, written as well as directed by Coppola and offers a complete new portrait of the queen played by Kirsten Dunst, giving here her best performance before Melancholia.

    Expectations were high for the film Marie Antoinette considering Sofia Coppola came from the huge and unexpected global success of Lost in Translation. But in Cannes, where it was given its world premiere, although given most favored for the Palme d'Or, Marie Antoinette was not so much appreciated.
    The approach to character of Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI, is actually quite unusual. The film is not historic: in fact the French revolution and social context practically are not seen, and the film ends before the queen's beheading. It is all about the queen's young years, when she arrives teenager from Vienna to the French court betrothed to the future king, an extremely difficult position for such a young girl evidently not yet ready for the responsibilities of high rank.





    The marriage with future king is not consummated at first. Marie Antoinette has to deal with an unwelcoming court, the distress of not having produced an heir and the feeling of being totally disconnected from her home country. As time passes, she finds life at the court of Versailles stifling; she ends up launching into a life of excess hyperbolic consumption, decorations, in an aesthetic escape from reality in compensation for her lonleliness.

    The young foreign queen consistently ruffles feathers by defying the French court ritualistic formality, something that makes her position more and more difficult at court and in the eyes of France, growing progressively in poverty.   She finds solace in buying elaborate gowns and shoes, eating lavish pastries, and gambling with her ladies.

    note: among the shoes bought by Marie Antoinette, was a pair of mauve "Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars" 






    The film continues throughout Marie Antoinette change: after giving birth to her first daughter she will spend more time away from court in a small chateau on the grounds of Versailles. It is also at this time that she begins an alleged affair with a Swedish Count- von Fersen.

    Beginning to mature, she focuses less on her social life and more on her family, and makes what she considers to be some significant financial adjustments. Nevertheless the French Revlution takes place and the royal family will be forced to leave Versailles for Paris. The film ends with their transference to the Tuileries. The last image is a shot of the Queen's bedroom, destroyed by looters.

    Sofia Coppola unusual and visually stunning approach is in facts the reason why I liked the film.  Hers is yet another movie about a feeling and a mood, and is a challenging effort to give back and restore the dignity and fragility of queen Marie Antoinette as a human being, as a young girl in the difficult process of growing into a woman.

    Filmed mostly in the sumptuous interiors of the palace of Versailles, offering the viewer a lavish reconstruction of details and magnificent costumes by Milena Canonero (Oscar 2006), the real film strength lies in the portrayal of the protagonist with an interesting modern approach.
    To the rhythms of techno, acid, rock 80s (Cure, Air, New Order, Bow Wow Wow, Phoenix) alternating with period music, the bright Dunst embodies grace and mischief this queen teenager.

    Note: Milena Canonero and six assistant designers created the gowns, hats, suits and prop costume pieces. Shoes were made by Manolo Blahnik and Pompei, and hundreds of wigs and hair pieces were made by Rocchetti & Rocchetti. Ladurée made the pastries for the film; its famous macarons are featured in a scene between Marie-Antoinette and Ambassador Mercy.


                                                  ...





    { credits Photo 01 | 2 | 3 | | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10  }

    .................................................................................................................................................................



    12.11.12

    HAPPY BDAY GIVEAWAY!


    Today it's more than a year I started this blog.  
    I enjoyed so much doing this and am so grateful of the growing viewers and support, I thought it is about time for a birthday celebration with a ++givaway++  in appreciation of all my nice readers out there. That is YOU! 
    Today I decided to start PortraitGalley and my I offer is 1 drawing of yourself -or alternatively of 1 person of your choice.

    Drawing people always interested me. My sketchbook and my diaries are full of drawings of people I know and/or of people I observe on the street. Here below 2 illustrations of my personal portrait collection.

    Alex, summer 2000













    People are absolutely fascinating. 
    Mind you, this is also a good opportunity for me to keep the drawing flow going :-) 
    Anyway it will be fun to see what comes out of a drawing of someone I do not know at all. Or -even if I know you- it will be fun to see how do I picture you.

    Anyone can enter, all you need to do is leave a comment with:


    1> your name

    2> your favorite color
    3> a thing you hate
    4> a thing you love

    The Giveaway will close next Sunday 25 November at 12:00 [Rome time]. The one and only winner reader will be chosen at random and announced here soon afterwards. Good luck to you all and thank you for playing. 


    { terms: this giveaway is open to its-nice-here blog readers worldwide. Maximum one entry per person. All entrants must provide a valid email address and first name along with your comment entry. please avoid putting your contact information directly into your comment as winners could be posted publicly. Once the giveaway has ended and winner chosen, he/she will be contacted via email by me to ask a photograph in order fot me to draw the portrait. }




    ..............................................................................................................................................................




    9.11.12

    mOVie friDAy.10 | LOST IN TRANSLATION



    Scarlett Johansson plays as Charlotte and Bill Murray as Bob Harris in this unusual film, directed by Sofia Coppola. By Coppola own admission, she wanted to create a romantic movie about two characters that have a moment of connection. The story's timeline was intentionally shortened to emphasize this moment resulting in a very powerful one. Though apparently not much happens in the movie, it is absolutely well written and superb is the portrayal of the 2 main characters. 


    The male role was specifically written for Bill Murray who gave a stunning performance as Bob Harris, an apathetic, bored, middle-aged American movie star, is in Tokyo to film an advertisement for Suntory whisky. 



    Stuck in the artificial confines of a luxury hotel one night, after a long photoshoot, he meets Charlotte, a young college graduate, who is left behind in her hotel room by her husband, a celebrity photographer on assignment in Tokyo. 



    Over the course of the film, several things get "lost in translation". 
    For one thing, the meaning of the long and detailed instructions by the advertisments director get lost in the concise translation by the interpreter, but also -and most importantly- the life of the two central characters gets lost.
    They are both lost in the Japanese culture alien to them and also lost in their own lives and relationships. Charlotte is unsure of her future with her husband, as she believes he takes more interest in his models, than in her. At the same time, Bob's own 25-year marriage is tired as he goes through a midlife crisis. His wife continues to call him from the USa showing him tile and wallpaper samples to chose for their house but never really taking interest in him and how he's doing.

    These two people are drawn to each other because they both feel lost and uncertain, cause they are both afflicted by different yet parallel doubts about their lives. Being complete strangers they are able to be completely honest and unguarded with the other.

    Bob and Charlotte have brief encounters each night at the hotel bar, until Charlotte invites Bob to meet up with some local friends of hers. The two begin a friendship and bond through their adventures in Tokyo together while experiencing the differences between Japanese and American culture, and between their own generations.

    On the penultimate night of his stay, Bob ends up sleeping with the resident vocalist. Charlotte will find out, something leading to conflict and tension. However later that night, during a fire alarm at the hotel, they will reconcile and express how they will miss each other as they make one more trip back to the hotel bar.
    On the following morning, Bob is set for his departure back to the United States. He tells Charlotte goodbye at the hotel lobby shortly before checking out and sadly watches her retreat back to an elevator. He will unexpectedly see her again though, meeting her on a crowded street while riding in a limousine to the airport. He gets out of the car, goes to her, holds her and whispers something (inaudible to the audience) in her ear. The two share a kiss, say goodbye and Bob departs.

    ++ The ending is powerful because it is completely unexpected. When he whispers something in her ear on the congested Tokyo streets, the fact we don’t get to hear what it is remains true to the film’s elegance, subtlety and depth.




    +++ Despite the almost thirty five years age difference between them, Murray and Johansson have great chemistry. I think, as many said, it is an unusual love story where the protagonists don’t do the obvious things. Sleeping with each other or having an affair that ends with in tears and separation would have been maybe fairly predictable. 
    The film is more about two unlikely people who forged an unexpected, intense relationship. It is a film about the uneasiness of feeling lonely in a foreign place and at the same time feeling lost in a particular moment in life. The beauty of the film is in the ability by Sofia Coppola of telling things unsaid and undone. 
    Bob's and Charlotte's loneliness is amplified by the noisy, chaotic, neon-filled Tokyo background which – despite the crowds – is a shown as a very isolating and lonely place really.

    In facts, on one side it was boosted by critical acclaim and praised for Coppola's script and distinctive directing, but it has also been met with criticism on the basis that it provides an unpleasant stereotypical depiction of Japanese culture of today where contemporary Japanese are portrayed as ridiculous people who have lost contact with their own culture.


    I first saw the film before my visit to Japan. I personally do not recall having that feeling, instead I remember I was very impressed by the characters and their story in the one place on Earth I was so desperately eager to see with my own eyes.


    Lost in Translation won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in 2003.


    If you saw the movie, I will be happy to hear your opinion about it.

    See you next friday.





      { credits images: 1 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8  }



    ...........................................................................................................................................................

    8.11.12

    MY HOME, MY NEST

    + Hi there! Interior design was one a passion far before it became my profession. Even now that I am more dedicated to graphic design and illustration, I continue avidly reading interior design magazines, visiting furniture fairs, or have a look at beautiful homes all over the world through lovely blogs. I could spend hours and hours doing that (and sometimes I do... actually). 
    ++ That is why I am planning a post with a home tour of my nest, which is going to take a long time because home decorating for me is kind of an never ending ongoing process, as I often say.
    Never mind, I still can share with you some pictures of my house. Not all of them are recent or of a finished stage, but all are nice cosy places that we enjoy very much. Sometimes looking around I manage to see beyond the unfinished jobs (and the mess) and do feel a soft spot for my home and the lovely things surrounding us. Here they are for you as well..

    1 | the tree I made in Erik's room, here pictured at an early stage before he was born
    | pictures, lettering and radio on dining room drawer
    3 | the landing, books everywhere they can fit and a lovely vase by Hella Jongerius
    4 | books shelves in the living room, I love those from IKEA PS serie (now sadly not in production anymore)
    5 | Erik's room, one of his very early clothes still on the wall to remember how tiny he was
    6 | Erik's room again, lovely dutch Jip en Janneke characters reproduced by me 
    7 | sun on the wall of the dining room, a lot must still happen decor wise in here
    8 | mirror in my sleeping room, here I decide what broaches or necklaces to wear
    9 | kitchen, view from the dining room, here as it was just after moved in 5 years ago







                                                                   +++



    Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...