Tropik in Blue

Certains disent que la vieillesse est un naufrage, moi je pense que c'est une chance. Un honneur. Tout le monde n'y a pas accès. Et puis, je pense que ce n'est pas pour rien qu'elle est si difficile.
- C'est-à-dire?
- Si la vieillesse était douce à vivre, personne ne voudrait que ça s'arrête. Le fait qu'elle soit si rude rend l'existence moins attachante. La vieillesse a été inventée pour se détacher de la vie.
Virginie Grimaldi- (Tu comprendras quand tu seras plus grande)

Box of happiness🥰

“Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift.”

— Mary Oliver

[ Art • “Dualism” by Miles Johnston ]

Simple is best 🍝 spaghetti alla Chitarra with creamy ricotta & spinach. You can make this pasta dish in under 20 minutes🔥

For the sauce :
250g/9oz ricotta
1⁄2 nutmeg
grated zest of 2 lemons, plus juice of 1⁄2 lemon
45g/11⁄2oz Parmesan, finely grated
45ml/3 tablespoons olive oil
200g/7oz spinach leaves, washed and chopped

Happy Pasta Making 🍝

The first review for Anastacia's upcoming album is in!

Retro Pop Magazine:

Returning with her eighth album and her first full-length project in six years, Anastacia’s latest LP, ‘Our Songs’, sees the US diva tackle a wide-ranging selection of German pop classics.

An intriguing covers concept spanning tracks released between 1980 and 2020, the 12-song collection includes original English-language versions and songs translated from German for a record that’s at times reassuringly familiar, while often appearing distinctly original.

Take lead single and album opener, Best Days, Anastacia’s rendition of German punk rock band Die Toten Hosen’s Tage Wie Diese (Days Like These); a loosely-translated reinterpretation with roaring guitars, stadium-sized drums and a trademark vocal showcase from the performer, setting the tone for her most globally-minded project to date.

Now Or Never sees her elevate Johannes Oerding’s An Guten Tagen with soaring backing vocals that build to a massive crescendo over the final chorus, while Reamonn’s Supergirl - released in 2000, the same year Anastacia made her chart debut - is an aptly-fitting lyric as she declares, ‘Supergirls don’t cry / Supergirls just fly’.

A brooding take on The Scorpions’ glam metal power ballad Still Loving You is among the more universally recognisable tracks on the project, along with a stirring rendition of Alphaville’s Forever Young, that builds from a mellow opening to a belter of a vocal finale, one of several show-stopping moments in her unfaltering delivery, along with her heart-tugging take on Sarah Connor’s Wie Schön Du Bist (Beautiful) and closing number, The Kelly Family’s An Angel.

Meanwhile, numbers like Udo Lindenberg’s Cello see Anastacia pull back and let the music do the talking, often with as much if not greater impact than her signature belts.

As an album, ‘Our Songs’ is a fine collection of material; over four decades, each song has proven itself to be a hit and with a vocalist as adept as Anastacia taking command over the project, they couldn’t be in safer hands. What’s less convincing is the overall concept, which despite being perhaps her most international work at times feels more of a passion project than the return of one of the most successful pop acts of the 2000s after more than half a decade.

There’s no doubt that, vocally, Anastacia is at the top of her game, but after a victory lap tour celebrating 20 years of success it’s just a shame she didn’t bounce back with a fresh new record that captures the magic of her golden era and reintroduces one of pop’s finest voices to a new generation of fans.

A massed hang of drawings provides a focal point in the sitting room of this restored Georgian house: https://trib.al/wsmxIdJ

Defined by no man,
you are your own story,
blazing through the world,
turning history into herstory.
And when they dare to tell you
about all the things you cannot be,
you smile and tell them,
"I am both war and woman
and you cannot stop me"

~ Nikita Gill
Nikita Gill

Art: Tim Okamura
https://www.facebook.com/tim.okamura?mibextid=D4KYlr

Treat yourself with this better-for-you Caramelised Banana Upside-Down Cake. Two simple tricks make this cake a sinch to prepare. Maple syrup makes the caramelised top whilst the cake is simply made all in one bowl. Happy baking! D.x

Find the recipe here: bit.ly/CaramelisedBananaUpsideDownCake

Ralph Lauren Spring Summer 2024 “Love, Romance, Ralph…” Story by Eleonora de Gray, Editor-in-Chief of RUNWAY MAGAZINE: https://runwaymagazines.com/ralph-lauren-spring-summer-2024/
I’ve been in love with Ralph Lauren for as long as I can remember. This affinity has never been a secret. The Spring Summer 2024 collection we witnessed last night was yet another masterpiece from the genius himself. In a nutshell, it’s pure artistry, a fusion of denim with a touch of Indian freedom—a touch that only Ralph Lauren could craft. This late-night show completely swept Brooklyn off its feet. Last night’s show was nothing short of a star-studded extravaganza. I haven’t witnessed this many luminaries gathered in one place since the grandest of cinema festivals. Julianne Moore, Diane Keaton, Jennifer Lopez, and Amanda Seyfried, to name just a few, graced us with their presence.

Brigitte Bardot photographiée par Sam Lévin, 1967

Ralph Lauren steps into a world of romance and artistry, closing .

“We cannot live in a world that is not our own, in a world that is interpreted for us by others. An interpreted world is not a home. Part of the terror is to take back our own listening, to use our own voice, to see our own light.”

- Hildegard Von Bingen

“Hildegarde Von Bingen”
Mixed Media
2023

Prints restocked!

8X10 Signed and Matted Print: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1465217974/hildegard-von-bingen-8x10-signed-and
4X6 Matted Altar Art Print: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1479422183/hildegard-von-bingen-4x6-altar-art-print

Annie Lennox du groupe "Eurythmics" photographiée par Brian Aris pour Quebec Rock, mai 1984

This photo of Lady Gaga and her bodyguard looks straight out of a movie. He’s there to protect and to SERVE 💅
More photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CwVCUIDooqE/