nailpolish

My mom says that her dream job is to be the person who names the nailpolish colors for OPI. Honestly, I can't blame her. For example,

"That's All Bright With Me!"


"Can't You Sea?"


"Hey! Get In Lime!"

And so on. According to wikipedia, the color and condition of a person's nails were indicators of their social status. Ancient Chinese used a mix of gum, egg whites, gelatin, and beeswax to paint their nails; today, nail polish is made with nitrocellulose dissolved in a solvent with added pigment. Ruby red nails were signs of royalty in ancient Egypt. Supposedly, Uma Thurman brought back dark red nailpolish by wearing it in Pulp Fiction ("Vamp" by Chanel).




I'm inspired.

holy holy holy

it blows my mind that things can be 759 years old, namely, the church of Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, home to some of the most beautiful stained glass windows in the world. It was built to house the relics of Christ's crown of thorns, and has been called the jewelry box of Paris because of its dainty size and delicate features. I've been there - it's gorgeous, and not entirely overwhelming like Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur.

There's a replica of the church in Chicago. Does that cheapen the original...?

Anyway, pictures:

cliche, cliche monet

Whenever art historians talk about revolutionary use of light in painting, you usually hear Monet's name thrown around. I'm no exception - and I'm a sucker for his work. I really love his series of the Rouen cathedral and the haystacks... the repetition is almost hypnotic. He knew that every moment, the light changed, and his painting needed to change with the light, so he worked on several paintings simultaneously. We get the cathedral in the morning, noon, afternoon; the haystacks in the snow, in twilight... Same image, different light. Amazing, hm?

Cathedrals




Haystacks