pic of the day for wednesday, 05-12-10

brussels, belgium, 03-04-10

hello, friends!  sorry to stray away, but my hubby finished 30 rotations around the sun yesterday.  hence, i have been busy whipping up tantalizing treats & trying to catch the wiley old geezer to administer his birthday spankings!  for being such a fossil, he's pretty dang quick, lol. although it gave me great & immeasurable joy to share this milestone with him, i have to admit it was coupled by sadness, as i now have to come to terms with letting go of my young-buck-mowing-lawns-after-school-for-spending-money-fantasy (shirtless, natch!)...ah ha ha ha ;)

anyway, before i get dickstracted, let's get back to the photo.  i realize that we were visiting versailles "for a spell", but you know how easily distracted i am (LOOK...SKITTLES!!!).  my attention was momentarily diverted when i uncovered this beauty in my archives, & the rest, as they say, is history! 

this is probably the most captivating church i have had the opportunity to capture.  the decay & the gloom instantly won over my heart, but then when the sun was setting & started peering thru the stained glass, i was absolutely smitten!!!  the decomposing giant was awakened & it's windows transformed into yellow eyes glowing in the dusk.  their putrid glare cast a spell on me that left me rooted to the spot.  in fact, i was so mesmerized that i was oblivious to the bitter wind licking at my raw fingers, which were continually exposed in my insatiable quest to digitally immortalize this breathing adonis of rot...aaahhh, bliss :) :) :)

uh-oh, it's getting late...tune in tomorrow for more documentation on my demented desires ;)

pic of the day for saturday, 05-08-10

château de versailles, versailles, france, 11-14-09

hey, gang!

i'm not up to attempting a witty written commentary tonight.  i have a big headache & am still itchy...not in the i've-got-crabs kinda way, but rather the i-got-cooked-from-basking-under-that-blazing-orb-in-the-south-beach-sky kinda way.  i'm just sayin...

anyway, is it enough to disclose that this picture is one of my all time favorites from versailles?  i like finding beauty in the unexpected, & this reflection is a prime example of just that :) :) :)

so until next time, i send you wishes for unanticipated joy & bliss!!!  thanks for tuning in :) :) :)

pic of the day for friday, 05-07-10

château de versailles, versailles, france, 07-11-09

it's another day, which means it's another chance to share more glitz & glam from the chateau in versailles...

they say all that glitters isn't gold, but it's obvious they weren't referring to this palace when this statement was initially uttered.  look up, look down, look all around, & you will have the unpleasant sensation that you are drowning in gold.  every ceiling, fireplace, door, vase, cabinet, chandelier, window, clock, bed, nook & cranny is literally suffocating under layers of gold.  had the king's toilet paper been on display, surely it too would have been adorned in this gilded gaudiness!  i mean, forget about the sandpaper effect it would have had on the royal ass, making a statement is far more imperative than a little anal scratchy-scratchy!

as for the photo, i don't normally take pictures of people without obtaining their consent first.  i just feel that if caught unaware, i am stealing a piece of their soul.  furthermore, to then share their captured vulnerability, would be nothing short of a personal violation!!!  that said, this girl was practically demanding to be captured digitally!  her pose was practiced & perfected, & the odds were good that she would have been mortally offended had she NOT garnered the attention of the shutterbugs...who am i to deny another's desire?  ha ;)

so that concludes today's update from the land of the uber privileged.  hope they enjoyed the spoils while they lasted, as little did they know, but the last reigning louis & his fair marie antoinette would soon be unmercifully guillotined.  maybe all that glitters isn't gold after all, metaphorically speaking...

bonne nuit :) :) :)

pic of the day for thursday, 05-06-10

château de versailles, versailles, france, 11-14-09

it's high time that we took a little fieldtrip to versailles together.  i hope you're prepared to stay for a spell, as i have much to share from this exquisite city that lies just 15 minutes from our house.  so grab your signed parental permission slip, pack some snacks, & let's enter the land of the lavish!

the main draw, is, of course, the infamous chateau.  once a "humble hunting lodge", it was transformed into the ostentatious spectacle that exists today starting in 1661, by king louis XIV.  this palace was meant to impress, & i am inevitably overwhelmed upon each visit with the sheer magnitude of the chatueau & the incomprehensible amount of gold & marbe used in it's design.  the surrounding gardens are another extravagant masterpiece; dizzyingly intricate & foreboding, yet jaw droppingly beautiful.

it's a surreal feeling to walk along the same cobblestones where kings, queens, & an entire court once paraded in their exorbitant finery.  i often find myself straining to hear the soft giggles of the coquettish women & the poetry of the courtiers, but these sounds have yet to tickle my ears...

alas, it's time to tuck in.  tune in tomorrow for another glimpse into the realm of the grandiose!