London Lights

A little calm in the midst of a political storm. We'll be visiting our Washington, DC holiday market today. Meanwhile, you should visit Annie's lovely blog Insideology. She posts on photography studies, architecture, interior design, London (lots of great London posts), & much more. Really worth a visit.

And from last year, Coldplay's Christmas Lights. It, too, is a popular search again this year. We confess: it's one of only 3 songs we own of theirs, but we do like the video of London. And even though it references Oxford Street, these photographs are from Carnaby Street.

pip pip & a merry ciao-meow/GGCM

PS: Liberty London Girl's Bond Street decorations.

(photography & collage by Annie)

Christmas Lights

A little overnight prettiness from us to you (via Vintage Rose Garden via Pinterest). And a song & near the end, fireworks over London. Cheers!

Ice Skating Lessons from the English Ballet - Week's End

A little overnight distraction from the crazy world. James Streeter of the English Ballet (formerly a speed skater) gives an excellent how-to basic lesson at London's Somerset House. Then a chic video statement by Tiffany (sponsors of the ice rink). Have a great evening & tomorrow morning (in Australia)! Giulia still has her little feline heart set on a spin around the rink at the Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC. (image of Mainzer cats from personal collection/website here)

ciao-meow/GGCM

Made4Aid Monday - Winter Snow Photography Cards

Today's Made4Aid post highlights a set of greeting cards, made with prints of original photography of snowy winter scenes in London. They would make a lovely gift for someone this season (or for you). The photographs are printed in high resolution on premium glossy photographic paper and mounted on good quality white card. The cards are blank inside for your own greeting and come with matching envelopes. The size of these cards is 5 inches/12.5cm square.

If you would like to order a custom set of cards, there are 16 winter scenes and you can choose any of these to be made into cards. See the full set here.

Any of these photographs, made into cards, at the following prices:
7 cards for $19; 8 cards for $22; 12 cards for $32

All prices inclusive of shipping worldwide.

Made4Aid items are sold to support the work of Médicin sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders) and the World Food Programme. Please see other items in the made4aid shop : http://www.etsy.com/shop/made4aid

The Line of Beauty in London - Week's End

What's with all the London posts? Jealousy, pure & simple (& we have friends & readers in & near London). Another terrific fashion illustration exhibit, this time at Somerset House (through 9 January 2011). The exhibit is Dior Illustrated: René Gruau and the Line of Beauty. And before or after you see it (maybe after is better?), you should absolutely go ice skating. The rink opens next week (23 November). (illustration & the head's up via automatism, thanks!)

ciao-cheeky-meow/GG Central

Tate Kids Create - Colouring Book

More free coloring pages--this time from Tate Britain's Tate Kids. There's lots of craftiness on the large site but you might want to start with the outline of Emma, Lady Hamilton as Circe by George Romney. (image via here)

Enjoy!

ciao-meow/The Management

PS: Today is your last chance to vote in Shabby Apple's Dare to Design (a dress) Competition. Vote here.

Drawing Fashion in London

For lucky ducks in London (or who will be) before 6 March 2011, there's a new exhibit at London's Design Museum on fashion illustration. In the museum shop is beautiful catalogue, a set of 6 cards, & two reproduction prints. (image by François Berthoud via artnet(dot)com)

ciao-cheerio-meow/GGCM

From the Design Museum website:

"Drawing Fashion celebrates a unique collection of some of the most remarkable fashion illustrations from the twentieth and twenty first centuries. These original works define the fine art of illustrating fashion, from the collections of Chanel, Dior, Comme des Garçons and Poiret as well as Viktor & Rolf, Lacroix and McQueen. This exhibition showcases fashion illustrators at their creative heights: Lepape at the beginning of the century, Gruau in the 40's and 50's, Antonio throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s, to current artists Mats Gustafson, Aurore de la Morinerie and François Berthoud. Film-clips, news reels, music and photography will sit alongside the original illustrations to reflect not only the spirit and the style of the decades but also the wider social and cultural changes of the century."

What to Wear to a Mad Tea Party

Thank goodness a friend had the foresight to send Giulia's editor this fab Zara Carpenter Alice Bow headband for a recent birthday. She'll be suitably attired for the new Washington landscape. Zara is the talented hat/head gear designer at Chatham Girl. She has a cheeky English sense of humor. GG's editor wrote about her, here. And you can visit Zara, here. Now we must rush for we are late, very late...

Update: look at the new feline-inspired berets!

ciao-curiouser-meow/GG Central

(image via Chatham Girl/Zara Carpenter/all rights reserved/used with permission)

Made4Aid Monday - Feelgood Photography Cards

At Made4Aid today there are a few items up for bid. This item is a favorite--surely you need some cards (or you could put them into little frames & hang them together or separately...we're thinking about doing it). If you don't need any cards, they would make a lovely gift. The description & information from the Made4Aid blog:

"This item for sale is a set of hand-made greeting cards with original photographs. They are feel-good photos or pictures (hopefully) to make you smile.

You can buy a set of all 8 cards, for a minimum donation of $16.00, or a set of 6 cards for a minimum donation of $13.00. Please leave your name, the amount you will donate, and the numbers/names of the cards you have chosen. You can buy multiple copies of one particular photo, or a set all the same - mix and match them in any way, just let us know what you would like!

The photographs are:

1. teapot

2. Worcesters (apples)

3. Fiddlesticks

4. discopar

5. balloons

6. quintuplets

7. bouncy

8. Rosie watching TV

and you can click on each of these in the list to see the photograph enlarged.

The photographs are printed in high resolution onto premium glossy photographic paper, and mounted on good quality white card with matching envelopes. The cards are blank inside for your own greeting, and they are approximately 5 inches/12.5cm by 5 inches/12.5cm. There is more than one set of these cards available - so,you're not bidding against anyone else.

Postage would be: UK - free; Europe - $1.90; Rest of the world - $2.40.
The sale of these cards begins at 9am on Friday October 2nd, and will end at 9am, Monday October 12th New York time. The highest bidder before that time will win."

Please go to the Made4Aid blog (there's also a link in the upper-right sidebar) for more detailed instructions, to bid, or to make a donation if you don't want cards (but why not?). It's soooooo easy.

ciao-meow/GG's sittings editor

[photographs property of Made4Aid/used by kind permission]

Ice Skating in London

At Somerset House...how much fun is it? A lot! Wish we were there with stylish & sweet Emma Watson (aka Hermione). Seen on Wee Birdy (a really fun site). Wherever you are, though, most likely there's an outdoor rink (in the northern climes). There's a darling one here in Washington, at the Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery of Art's East Wing. Go! Except: It will be closed at least part of Inaugural weekend...so if you were planning to do that, which would be totally cool, forget it kids. (photograph by Alan Davidson)

merry skating!
GG's editor

GG, Petula, Julie, & Petulia...Downtown

GG heard the song Downtown for the first time this afternoon; she perked right up in our 90+ degree heat. The American version of Colour My World was the first album GG's editor bought all on her own; it took so long to save up those pennies. Her mum had The Beatles, Stones, et al, covered...plus the LP with Downtown had already been toted to the States from the UK.

GG's editor & her cousin Sabrina spent a good deal of the summer playing sweet Petula AND bad boy Mick & friends, & of course: The Beatles.

A meeting downtown tomorrow about Darfur. That's all that can be said, but it's disheartening. Hence, the sudden inspiration to download (on dial-up!) Downtown. GG Central now has four whole songs on its iTunes playlist. Yes, we're that poor! (Oh, it was only 99 cents....a petit riens is necessary.)

Just hearing Downtown reminded us that GG is named after two British Julies who were icons in the GG Central family: Christie & Andrews. A perfect combination. GG's human grandmother is a major film fan & anything with Julie Christie definitely fits the bill. Our baby sister was nearly named Petulia. Which we think would have been just fabulous.

TTFN, darlings!

xoxo, GG & her editor