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Monday
Aug232010

Harvard Lecturer Tai Ben-Shahar | Keys to Happiness

Tal Ben-Shahar is an author and lecturer at Harvard University. He currently teaches what was in 2006 the largest course at Harvard on “Positive Psychology” and the third largest on “The Psychology of Leadership”—with a total of over 1,400 students.

The happiness guru defines six tips for happiness, all of them resonating with Cultural Creative values that are deeply grounded in the pursuit of a ‘la dolce vita’ lifestyle.

In fact, ‘small pleasures’ is high on Ben-Shahar’s list of ‘Six Tips for Happiness’.via NPR

1. Give yourself permission to be human. When we accept emotions — such as fear, sadness, or anxiety — as natural, we are more likely to overcome them. Rejecting our emotions, positive or negative, leads to frustration and unhappiness.

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Monday
Aug092010

Nymphs-Watching Again | Cafe des Artistes Reborn Italian Style

New York’s Cafe des Artistes restaurant will reopen in 2011.Updated: August 9, 2010: Anne here. On a day when I have learned that romantic passions don’t die easily, and love isn’t always over when we think the door has closed on our lives, I can broadcast wonderful news about one of my favorite New York restaurantsL Cafe des Artistes, a romantic hideaway returning to life as a southern Italian restaurant owned by restaurateur Gianfranco Sorrentino.

An Italian immigrant, Mr. Sorrentino has been in the restaurant business for more than 30 years, managing restaurants across the world. In New York he is known by some as “The Mayor of 54th Street,” as all three of his restaurants have been on 54th Street and in the same vicinity. His New York restaurants have included Bice Restaurant and Sette MoMA Restaurant in the Museum of Modern Art. via WSJ

The decor and charm of Cafe des Artistes will be left intact, and the restaurant will reopen as a nonunion restaurant. Now if New York can reinvent Tavern on the Green and the Rainbow Grill, romantic New Yorkers will be standing on firm ground again.

Howard Chandler Christy mural at Cafe des Artistes returning to life. To celebrate this wonderful news, we’re reproducing the glorious murals at Cafe des Artistes. This is the second brilliant pieces of news today. Could the loose ends of my life possibly be coming back together! If so, you will find me as a regular at the new and improved, better than ever ‘la dolce vita’ restaurant Cafe des Artistes. Bravo. Anne

Originally written September 1, 2009: Another part of me has died. Oh no! First Ted Kennedy: Farewell Three Sweet Princes: Who Will Guide Me Now, Ted? and now Cafe des Artistes.

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Friday
Jul232010

Sailing Towards Ithaca | Paul Coelho | CP Cavafy (aka Kavafis)


NymphoBrainiac at Flickr 

Rocking in the quiet waters of the Ionian Sea, my unconscious mind was electrified beyond dream state, waking me at 3am, shaking my groggy mind out of bed … guiding me over my sleeping fiancé, then pushing me like a gusty wind at my strong, straight back . . . up out of the cabin and into the night air.

Our traveling companions smiled at me “We’ve been waiting for you.” Enraptured by the night, we three talked quietly, as our precious hours slipped into dawn, and then a Greek sunrise.

Unexpected Tacking

Searching for details about my journey, my writing plan changed course.  I experienced an wrenching, emotional life collision, stumbling headfirst into the words of an extraordinary poem: “Ithaca” by Konstantinos P. Kavafis.  

Kavafis gave new meaning to my unpredictable, eccentric life journey, the crazy course of a woman still jet-propelled into the future, refusing to abide by the rules of life stage or social conditioning.

My night belonged to him, this Greek poet, who took over my existence like a demanding but genuinely devoted lover.

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Sunday
Jul182010

Christy Turlington | Steven Meisel | In Italy, Fearless Under Fire

Christy Turlington finds artistry in chaos, photographed in a womanly poses that resonate for the ages, by Steven Meisel for the July 2010 issue of Vogue Italia. Wearing Louis Vuitton, Nina Ricci and Yves Saint Laurent, the Christy Turlington | Steven Meisel collaboration creates a modern-day goddess effect that anchors model Turlington in her surroundings. 

The tweets of today banter around the word “supermodel”, as if getting a modelling gig is all that is required to wear the crown. Grade inflation has come to the world of modeling.

Now we call them the “Big Six” supermodels: Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Linda Evangelista, and Kate Moss. They are women who ruled as models, bringing their personalities to the runway and editorial pages of the worlds’ magazine with a star power that unsettled fashion designers.

One wonders if the backlash against model star power, one that reduced and redefined our cultural image of beauty, is as boldly overt as it appears now in the light of day. Thin by definition as models, the “Big Six” had womanly bodies and breasts and a healthy sensuality.

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Wednesday
Jul142010

French Pleasures: A Bit of Anne in Paris

Kate Moss for YSL Paries

Updated July 14, 2010: Anne just made major comments on tonight’s NYT Style article on French women and aging. Her comment and our new articles on French women are posted here: Aging French and American Women Aren’t in the Same Life Game.

##### Written Nov. 2009

It’s interesting how even the most ‘exclusive’ brands are reaching out to customers online. I came to the Experience Parisienne contest online. The voting that will send one lucky woman to Paris in 2010 closes on Nov. 30, 2009.

The thrust of the campaign is highlighting the mindset of being in Paris, wandering the streets and inhaling the sensual beauty.

The Bristol Hotel in Paris My career at Victoria’s Secret took me to Paris well over 200 times, and my heart is always fluttering when the car first sweeps into the city streets.

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Sunday
Jul042010

Splendor in Siem Reap and Angkor Wat

Reflection pool at Oriental Hotel in Bangkok via Tex Flix on Flickr

As a design person, I was amazed at the refined aesthetic of everyday people living in Southeast Asia. I remember returning to the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok one evening.

Entering my room, I found my long, silk gown draped across the bed, waiting for me. My surprise came in the bathroom, however.

Late for dinner, I had tossed my hairbow askew somewhere; the same for my necklace and earrings. Truthfully, there was a lot of stuff around one woman’s face in those years.

Precious Attention to Detail

The maid made art of my belongs. She clasped the necklace, placing it on a linen towel, then put the earrings inside, perfectly centered. My hairbow rested upright, near the clasp, completing this jewelry art collage.  I was so impressed that a maid would create beauty from my belongings.

This attention to precious detail and presentation is central to Asian and Oriental cultures.

This breathtaking photo of Cambodia’s Siem Reap pull my heart and memories back to Southeast Asia. I’ve not visited Angkor Wat. It lives as a focus point on my To Do list … along with Vietnam.

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