1000 years of Vietnamese Clothing

One of my favorite parts of working in wardrobe is learning the history of it.  I guess it has always intrigued me as a child but I never thought I could pursue a career in it. Watching period films is one of my favorite things to do.  I guess that's how I fell in love with wardrobe.  When I worked in a costume house, I would wander around the place admiring all the great pieces.  It was SO cool.  It was super dusty and I would have allergy attacks almost every day but it was so worth it.  Working at a costume house is hard work, but everyone I worked with was so warm and kind and being able to work with all the beautiful pieces was something I'll always remember.
In growing up in the states, I know much more about the history of costume of western civilization than of my own culture.  So in honor of Tet, (aka Chinese New Year), here are illustrations of the history of Vietnamese Fashion.  I love this so much, I think it's beautiful.  Thanks to my mom for sending this to me.

Daley: my latest music obsession

I heard a song of Daley's a few month's ago on the radio and shazzaamed it, and now I am in love.  From my research on the internet, Daley is a UK based R&B singer, songwriter, 24, curly red hair with super cool style, and a singing style that makes my spirit feel compromised but I can't get enough. Lawd help me.  If you don't feel anything when he sings, you are a robot.  Just sayin.
You all know how much I love R&B and I especially love R&B that is made by people who don't look like they would create R&B.  I like his R&B vibes with elements that aren't traditionally R&B.  I love when people surprise us; we expect one thing and get something else.  People who break barriers of "what's supposed to be" have my full support, respect and appreciation because they create work that speak from their souls.  We are more than what people make us out to be; we are our souls and I love when I can feel someone's soul.  (That sounded a little creepy but you understand what I'm saying.)

This is Daley's website and here are some of his songs.  Oh and more than half of the songs on his Spotify playlists are some of my favorites (from Luther to Kels). Weak. Dead. Bye. 

Murano & Burano

On our second day in Venice, we visited two clusters of islands off of Venice, Murano famous for glassware & Burano, famous for lace making.

Audrey and I took a boat from our hotel to Murano, the ride there was beautiful and I think during this ride is what solidified my falling in love with Venice.  Riding through the canals, seeing all the dilapidated yet still beautiful buildings with uneven doorways and water stains, boats bopping in the water, the brightest blue sky I'd ever seen, the sun's warmth on my face, the absence of people in the streets, and the silence of the morning brought a sense of peace that I have not felt in a long time.
 
When we got to Murano, we were greeted by nice gentlemen who took us to a small shop where the "Master" creates, all the glassware sold in their adjacent store.  We watched Master Mariano create a vase and a horse figurine, each in less than 2 minutes.  We were amazed! After the small demonstration, we walked through their store which had everything from vases, chandeliers, mirrors, table settings, small figurines, to huge glass sculptures.  The chandeliers were my favorite, they are so meticulously created, having to be completely balanced on all sides, a perfect harmony of calculation and imagination.  I will have one of these in my future home.  After our visit to the first shop we went around the island, all the shops sold Murano glass.  The people of the island are very prideful of their heritage and the legacy of glassware they have created.

After Murano, we took the public boat bus to Burano.  All the buildings in Burano are painted bright colors like orange, pink, green, yellow, blue.  The buildings reminded me of being in a tropical place.  We walked around the island, checked out a lot of stores, some which had lace dating back as late as the1800s.  There was so much beautiful lace!

Meditation Mondays: Day 9 Focused Me

Day 9 Focused Me
To get a back story of what I'm posting, click here.
To do your own meditations with Deepak, go here.
Please share your thoughts, questions in the comment section; I would love to hear from you!

I've learned, that I have to practice a little bit more faith.  It's proven to be very fruitful in work.  Someone once told me that I had to have faith for things to work out, sometimes I forget that and I start thinking about what should and shouldn't be and that I'm not strong enough to endure what lies ahead, but in doing so, only takes me farther away from my focus.

I remember once I told my Crystal, my LA mom, that I didn't know if I should pursue styling anymore, it was very early on; I wasn't getting any jobs and I felt so frustrated.  It seemed to get too hard, that maybe it wasn't for me because it was taking such a long time to move forward.  She shut that out of my mind very quickly.  I don't remember our exact conversation but from that point forward I haven't looked back.  I took " a leap of faith" because when we follow our hearts, our passions, everything falls into place.  I have been so grateful and blessed with the jobs and people I have met along the way.  I can't imagine what I would be doing or who I would spend my days with if it weren't for following my passion.  I've learned when we follow our hearts, it brings us to so many other avenues and connects us to so many other things unrelated to what we first sought out to pursue.

Now I just have to put faith into practice in other parts of my life.  What are some of the things that make you feel scared or uncertain of?  Place a little faith there, it might make things a bit clearer.

XOXO
V

My visit to Venezia

I LOVE VENICE.

It is the most beautiful place I have ever been. I am going to go back there in the future, hopefully with a lover. So we can run around at night and get lost in the alleys maybe find ourselves on the Rialto. I need to be kissed in Venice, seriously. Haha. People told me that the city was built on water but I didn't really understand what that meant until I got there. There are NO cars, just tiny uneven streets for walking. If you need to go somewhere far, there are boat taxis or boat buses, but we mostly walked.

Audrey and I traveled on train from Rome to Venice and the view when we stepped outside of the train station was like one out of a movie. It was pouring rain, people were walking in every direction, taxis and buses were cruising through the canal, it was unbelievable.

Our hotel, the Palazzo Paruta is the most beautiful hotel I have ever stayed in.  I want to live there. We felt like princesses, everything was designed perfectly from the glass chandeliers to the fabric on the walls, I was dying! When we got in, we attended tea time, tea time! I had a meltdown because it was surreal and I was wearing sweats to the fanciest party I've ever attended.  (Well maybe not the fanciest but the juxtaposition of my sweats and the fancy serving platter made me feel much more far removed from the reality.) We were served little cakes, cookies, sandwiches, and of course tea.

What made our hotel even more amazing was the breakfast, the chef made us omelets and crepes in the morning.  The spread included cakes, cookies, fruits, buns, pastries, tarts, cereal, cheese, sliced hams, prosciutto.  (Our chef made all the tarts, buns, pastries, etc.) I usually don't eat breakfast but I ate SO much at the Palazzo Paruta.  I definitely took advantage of the included breakfast.  I am getting so hungry thinking about it.  

We visited St. Mark's Basilica on our first day, and walked around to a bunch of places.  I forget what else we did our first day, what I do remember is falling asleep VERY early and not going anywhere at night.  Our sleeping clock was out of whack, we slept for about 4 hours every night and tried our best not to take naps but once Audrey lays down, she's asleep.  It was very funny, she fell asleep mid sentence once, I looked over and she was out.

Our second day was much more eventful with visits to Murano and Burano (that post will come soon). On our way back, we wandered all around Venice, found a grocery store, Audrey bought a nice wool jacket, and we ended up at the Rialto bridge.

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Meditations Mondays: Day 8 What Do I Want?

Day 8 What Do I Want?
To get a back story of what I'm posting, click here.
To do your own meditations with Deepak, go here.
Please share your thoughts, questions in the comment section; I would love to hear from you!
XOXO
V

I am guilty of my ego asking too many questions and wanting to know answers that I don't need to know at the moment.  I am also guilty of letting my ego speak more loudly than my heart at times.  It's really hard to know what our heart truly desires when there are so many outside influences: society, family, friends...there's a constant dialogue about what should and shouldn't be.  It's hard to stand up to others, let alone the dialogue in our brain that tells us what is "supposed to be."

I've come to realize recently that through listening to my heart, things will fall into place, not necessarily how I perceive them to or expect them to but if I let go and have faith, great things will come.  It's just a bit difficult when life doesn't go the way we picture it.  And sometimes we feel like we have to make an abrupt change to hold on to the power in our lives, but instead it takes much more strength when we let go of our what ifs and follow our hearts, it seems to always work out.  

So I hope you can be quiet enough to listen to your heart, let that guide you because fulfillment and joy are along your path.

My visit to Roma

Prior to my visit to Rome and Venice, Italy, many people were sharing their stories and suggestions on what I should do during my trip.  Thanks to everyone who was supportive of my trip and got me excited for my first visit out of the country as an adult!  I needed some inspiration and something to lift my spirits being that I haven't felt myself for a little while now.  I am very grateful for being able to take the trip and also to share it with my now, good friend, Audrey.

We visited so many sights and attractions in Roma, my favorite was the Fontana di Trevi.  It is so magical, romantic, and grand it took my breath away.  The myth is that for our wish to come true, we must throw the coin over our shoulder. Oh, I really hope my wish comes true! =)  We visited the Trevi every night before heading back to our hotel.  Minus the people trying to hustle flowers and photos on us, guess my ethnicity (every night) and told us they loved us it was the most peaceful way to end our evenings.

The Colosseo (Colloseum) was very cool, it is falling apart but still creates a great impact when seeing it.  The place made me feel a little dreary and creepy knowing that so many people were killed there.  The weirdest part is that a bunch of cats live there! Oh my goodness, I'm surprised I didn't have an allergy attack.  We ran into one cat, he looked sad and like he was falling asleep or dying the entire time.  Weird.

The Sistine Chapel at the Vatican was beautiful (no pictures allowed).  Thanks to Rick Steve's walking tours, we learned some history of the frescoes and meanings behind the art work.  It was very inspiring and uplifting to learn about what we were viewing.   What I remember from one of the pieces of work is that perhaps "Michelangelo wants to remind us that even the best of men are imperfect," in regards to Noah's sons finding him passed out drunk.  All great men and women have their flaws, no one is actually "perfect" but that it is in our ability to look past imperfection which makes us perfect.

Here are some photos from our visit to Roma.  Please enjoy! More pics from Venezia and other fun sightings will be shared soon!

And of course comments and questions are always welcome!

XOXO
V

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Meditation Mondays: Day 7 Fearless Me

Day 7 Fearless Me
To get a back story of what I'm posting, click here.
To do your own meditations with Deepak, go here. 
Please share your thoughts, questions in the comment section; I would love to hear from you!
XOXO
V

Existensial Bummer-Jason Silva

A friend sent me this a while back and I was deeply moved. Obviously it made me cry, as I am sensitive to dealings of the heart but especially presently. Lawd help me.

Silva talks about transience, that there is sadness, even in the most beautiful experiences, in knowing that everything eventually leaves us.

We battle ourselves: Do we love harder or let go? Do we do things we love, share times with the people who we love even though we know that we will not be able to do them or be with them forever?

There is such sadness when we think that everything will come to an end.  Sometimes people choose to leave us and sometimes people pass away, either way, all of our relationships will end.  But knowing this, do we hold on tighter or do we distance ourselves and pretend not to care so we don't feel as much pain when the time comes?  I know that nothing lasts forever but at least the present moment is one to be enjoyed and fulfilling.

I know that Max, my pup, will not be with me forever.  I knew when I adopted him that he will only live 10-15 more years but at least until then, we can enjoy each others' company.  I hope he enjoys my company as much as I enjoy his (I think so). So what shall I do?  I think I'm going to hold on tighter, love harder, and defy the idea of transience because what is life if we are afraid to commit to the things that light up our hearts? Even when it ends, at least I lived fully with all my heart, instead of letting fear take away my happiness. Like Silva says, "...at least I'm going to try."  I'm going to try really freaking hard. 

This one is for you Max Millions.

Meditation Mondays: Day 6 Resilient Me

Day 6 Resilient Me
To get a back story of what I'm posting, click here.
To do your own meditations with Deepak, go here. 
Please share your thoughts, questions in the comment section, I would love to hear from you!
XOXO
V