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Sunday, July 28, 2013

Notable Reads, Vol. 15

I started a Food Blog!!! 

What am I getting myself into I have no idea but I'm not going to stress about it. It's mainly for my daughter Catherine. Instead of writing down the recipes I use the most and print them from the computer, I figured this would be more fun for her and she could access it from anywhere. I will probably post two or three recipes a week and would love to get your opinions as well as suggestions.

The first one I posted is a repeat from my second Instagram Silliness post, here.

The title is quite original, Icaria's Food Blog. Hmm ok maybe not that original but nothing else came to mind. I hope you'll visit...

Icaria's Food Blog

Oh and it's on WordPress, hopefully I'll get comfortable with it enough to eventually transfer Icaria's to it. :)

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This week I'm giving you the links first since what follows is pure personal indulgence! I only have a few to give you since I took a small break from the internet this week. Those who know me must have figured that I would at one point find a way to write about it... I just had to... Tutankhamun! It's all Jane's from BBB' fault, I swear! :D


The links...

Makeup Brush Maintenance, Vivianna Does Makeup

Bobbi Brown Brush Cleanser, The Beauty Look Book

How I do my liquid eyeliner, Blog of Shadows. Marvelle's eye liner tutorial, easy and simple. I think! This was tweeted by Nic from Strawberry Blonde Beauty Blog.

Talking Bellies, British Beauty Blogger. Wrong, just wrong!


In other news...

Alleged art thief's mother may have torched Picasso, Monet, CBC News, The Associated Press. Some people can be so stupid!

I made a wonderful discovery this week. Gio from Beautiful with Brains has a history blog called History And Other Thoughts or HAOT. Some entries remain beauty related but with a nice twist. Do have a look.

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From Grace Kelly to Downton Abbey to Tutankhamun to Cleopatra... My head is spinning!

Some days the wires of my brain must be all tangled up! Why am I saying this? Well, I'll be all set on what I want to write about and then I see or read something that takes me in a totally different direction! There are so many subjects that interest me, it's sometimes hard for me to keep up with my own brain. I'm sure I'm not making much sense here. See what I mean?

I was going to write about a current exhibit with Grace Kelly as the subject we're having in Montreal at the moment but stumbled on an entry by British Beauty Blogger (I know her again! :D) about the Downton Abbey Beauty Range products that will be released next Fall by Marks & Spencer. Sadly since 1999 we no longer have these stores in Canada but we can still order from them online.

Unless you've been living in a cave you must have heard about Downton Abbey! I have to admit, I didn't start to watch from the start and so I missed the entire first season. *hides* Like millions of viewers I'm totally hooked and want to know what will happen next... I'm not going to say next to what since maybe some of you haven't watched any of the episodes of this post-Edwardian era British period drama television series.

A bit soap operaish maybe, everything about it is very well done, hair, makeup, costumes, decor, etc. It truly has all the elements required for a period piece and I must admit that due to my art history background I couldn't help but being intrigued by the Abbey itself. The architectural style of it, where it was located and who is/was it's owner. Thankfully, digging for these information wasn't hard since it has it's own website.


Highclere Castle

Downton Abbey's real name, Highclere Castle, is located in Hampshire England. It's a country house built in the Jacobethan style, a revival of sorts, being the fusion of the Elizabethan style considered to be the first wave of Renaissance architecture in England and of Jacobean style, its second wave. Not exactly what some would call Gothic Revival at first glance, Highclere Castle is a stunningly beautiful example of the style. More familiar with other types of architecture I really enjoyed reading about this one but what really grabbed my attention is the fact that this beautiful place is the seat of the Earl of Carnarvon!

Reading this name I froze!

The 5th Earl of Carnarvon was the financial backer of... Howard Carter!

Who is Howard Carter?

On November 4th 1922, Howard Carter found the steps that would lead him to one of, if not the greatest, archaeological find in history... The tomb of Tutankhamun later called KV62. On November 26th, Carter made a little breach on the top left hand corner of the doorway and was able to peek into the chamber. The Earl of Carnarvon who was present with his daughter Lady Evelyn, asked "can you see anything?" and Carter replied, "yes, wonderful things."


KV62, Tutankhamun's tomb, Valley of the Kings, Egypt

One of the greatest archaeological discoveries in history accompanied by such a simple statement, three words.

How many times during my teenage years have I read about this? Countless! For the longest time I was dreaming of becoming an archaeologist. Although Egyptology was my main passion, Celts, Romans, Etruscans, Mycenaean, Minoans... All ancient civilisations fascinated me and so I read books after books, dreaming of being out there, "in the field", as a female Carter in The Valley of the Kings, Schliemann rediscovering Troy or Mariette who lead numerous successful excavations in Egypt for the Louvre museum. These where the stars, the main protagonists of some of my teenage dreams.

How did all this fascination for ancient Egypt started? Cleopatra!

The 1963 movie starring Elizabeth Taylor was just so stunningly beautiful in every single way. The actress's makeup by Alberto de Rossi and Robert J. Schiffer, her hair by Vivienne Kavitz and costumes by Renié, everything was perfect. I think I must have been 12 the first time I saw it and still today I believe it's one of the best movies for makeup artistry.


Some of Elizabeth Taylor's beautiful makeup looks for Cleopatra.

Cleopatra was probably not as beautiful as Elizabeth Taylor was but contemporaries have written about her great intelligence and wit. Surprising that such a smart person lost it all for love, or was it lust? A seductress? Maybe. One thing is certain, as the last ruler of Egypt, she has left her mark. Imagine if her tomb was to be found? I'm sure the same words would be repeated, "yes, wonderful things."

Last weekend I read (probably for the 3rd time since it came out) The Mummy by Anne Rice. Not a masterpiece but such an entertaining story. I do wish Ms Rice would write a sequel...


...and yes there is mention of Cleopatra. :)

Now I am afraid I have created a mini me! My daughter is like me. At 6yrs old, she sat in front of the television and watched a 2 hours long documentary about king Tut! Not only does she like archaeology but she likes history in general. She read The Mummy a few weeks ago... I had forgotten about some passages in the book but she's 14 and I do believe some girls have read way worse younger. It's not that bad but it was just a little unsettling when I read it to know that she had as well.



Lastly, for your viewing enjoyment...

I was unable to include the video in this post so please do click on the link. Steve Martin's spoof/take on king Tut was quite a hit and even if you have seen this before, I do believe it's worth a second look, here.



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