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A New Year's resolution?

Well, actually mine was to call my mother every day.

Instead the headline came to me when a friend texted me with a problem today.

She has one too many tiaras.

Titti, you're an inspiration.

~*♥*~

A favorite find from the St. Tropez Christmas Antiques Market:

And Mamie's fireplace, one of my favorite places in the whole wide world. A perfect little moment of peace when life is beautiful...

~*♥*~

Today we were reunited with family members whom we have missed so so so so sososososo much... Audrey & Emmy. We met the lovely ladies in the historical & cultural surroundings of Aix-en-Provence. We've met our dear cousins only once in this life, in New Caledonia on the other side of the world, and that was one of the warmest experiences in a lifetime. Although they'd never seen us or heard from us before, we were welcomed at the airport by Tahitian dances, flower garlands, and a full family who considered us their very own. And now, after years and years, we reunited for a moment, in the spectacular city of Aix. So lovely, so perfect. AND some family members might even brave the cold and come to visit us in Finland! Our dear Tahitian cousins, you are welcome anytime. It might be cold outside but the hearts of the faraway Finnish cousins will keep you warm. Promise♥. ~*♥*~

Sometimes. To feel perfectly happy, that is. Just leave all thinking aside. Today, for the first time since I fractured my foot, I was able to go to a dance class. Oh joy. Our brilliant teacher - incredibly vibrant, full of life, energy, laughs - really put herself out there (everytime she dances there's a crowd of admiring men outside glass windows of the dance studio, watching, stunned) made everyone fly across the room, dance their hearts out, shake off all useless worries, all those mundane sorrows. So exstatic I was, so engulfed by a rush of endorphins - that runner's high - that once again I left all my stuff behind at the gym. They are starting to know me as the blonde who tends to forget her gym clothes/towels/shampoos behind whenever the class was good enough. "Mais Madame Haumont, encore?" This was our dose of the '80s today - we actually danced to Flashdance :)

And at the end it was just me against the music... And the smile on my face. ps. hurt my foot a little bit jumping all around but not gonna tell anybody 'cause tomorrow morning I'm gonna do it again... ~*♥*~

A few days ago we visited a Christmas antiques market in the brisk and bright sun of St. Tropez. A very sophisticated and refined aunty Thérèse - whom I admire tremendously and who in her youth studied "les beaux-arts" at the Louvre - visited the antique fair with me. She knew the story and background of every object at the market. I hung onto every word of hers, trying to learn and capture every detail. One of these years, I too will know something...

At this point, I only know what I like. That is these 1920's earrings created from deep burgundy garnets, marcasites and old silver. Beautifullll.... And even though Thérèse can spot a fake from a scary distance, she accepted my find :) :) :) .

We had such a lovely time. Thérèse kindly admired my taste and passion for all items worn and vintage, and I enjoyed her knowledge and expertise. Her talent, although a source of great fun, didn't make us very popular amongst the antique market people... Thérèse was able to blow the whistle on too many hustlers there... Still, I managed to find another pair of antique earrings to treasure:

These silver, crystal and marcasite darlings Thérèse declared unique, from the 1920's as well. The last piece of advice from Thérèse was that these earrings should be worn with a little black dress, when going out for something special. Promptly, I took them out yesterday, to Monaco. We went to see a modern rendition of the Swan Lake at the Grimaldi Forum with some friends. The tickets were a very thoughtful Christmas gift that I received, but.... Looking around I realized that Monaco truly isn't a place for vintage. It's for everything new, shiny, expensive, big brand names kinda place. Me and my little treasures, my earrings and a 60's vintage handbag borrowed from Mamie, were totally out of place amongst all the gliterrati. Nevermind, I decided. Elegance is an Attitude. Right? ~*♥*~