"What'cha Geisha up to?"

I remember being around 12 or 13 years old and deciding that I might quite like to be a geisha when I was older!
I always had a bit of a 'thing' for the oriental culture and I remember my mum buying me lots of pairs of 'silky' feeling oriental pyjamas, with gold stitching of the special writing and special gold toggle fastenings and lanterns that I'd hand from my ceiling, and the red fans to choreograph dances- they were so fun and fancy when I think back!
My nan got me a pair from the charity shop and they came in a red silky case with matching red silky slippers with shite fluff edging and gold stitching. They came from somewhere very unexotic like Marks and Spencers I think, but they ignited my passion to be a Geisha!

They're walking works of art, down to their makeup, wonderfully luxurious clothes, the way they speak, walk, sit, eat- everything! Who wouldn't want to go to parties for a living?

I read an anthropoligst research book on Geisha's that somewhat revealed that it's not all fun and games as I thought... but my love for Geisha lives on!

So, since all my walls are white and blank, I feel as though I'm old enough to invest in some real lovely art, rather than my posters from teenhood!

I tried to describe to a local artist (and friend) what I wanted- I sounded a lot like this
"I sort of want a geisha portrait....with blue skies...a parasol and kimono... pretty....and red lips"
from my jibberish, she recreated exactly what I wanted, as though it had just fell out of my brain onto a canvas.

I'm  trying to cosy on down in my bed but I can't stop looking at how beautiful she is!

It's fun to surround ourselves with beautiful things that can sweep us away to wonderful dreams...

Jump into a painting!

You may remember a while back me posting about my friend who got engaged under the Eiffel Tower!
It sounded so perfect and fun that I wanted to combine that into what I would get them for an engagement present, I decided on maybe a canvas of the Eiffel Tower.

After looking around and feeling mostly uninspired by what I found I decided to commission a local artist to do the job properly!

Just a few days later I had this:

I love just about every little piece of it. The incredible detail of the structure must have had to have been done with the steadiest hand in the whole world!
Plus, the lush green lawn and blue skies make it seem like such a perfect, quiet place.

I want to be sitting between those neat hedges with you! We could be eating french pastry with the rumble of Paris traffic in the background while the sun shines on us!