Grace Magazine

2008 Cannes Film Festival

May 11, 2008 · No Comments

2008 Cannes Film Festival Official Poster

The 61st annual Cannes Film Festival is May 14-25, 2008.

This year’s Feature Film Jury is:

Sean Penn, President (American actor, director, screenwriter)
Jeanne Balibar (French actress)
Alexandra Maria Lara (German actress)
Natalie Portman (Israeli-American actress)
Marjane Satrapi (Iranian author-director)
Rachid Bouchareb (French director)
Sergio Castellitto (Italian actor, director, screenwriter)
Alfonso Cuaron (Mexican director)
Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thai director)

Check back in few days for pictures from the event.

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Happy Mother’s Day

May 11, 2008 · No Comments

Mary Cassat - Maternal Kiss

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Nobody Rocks Like Beethoven

May 10, 2008 · No Comments

Ludwig van BeethovenThere is nothing in the world like hearing Beethoven performed live.

I went to see the Philharmonia Orchestra of London conducted by Christoph von Dohnányi perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5.

I have to share the experience with you. Here is a vintage clip of Beethoven’s Fifth that I found on youtube:

Beethoven himself has described the first four notes as “Fate knocking at the door.”

Buy some Ludwig Van today.

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Twilight Teaser Trailer

May 8, 2008 · No Comments

Have you read the book Twilight by Stephenie Meyer?

It’s a love story involving a teenage girl and a vampire, but not in a Buffy way.

The movie version will be released in December. Here’s the teaser trailer:

Here’s are the first few paragraphs of the book to whet your appetite:

I’d never given much thought to how I would die — though I’d had reason enough in the last few months — but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.

I stared without breathing across the long room, into the dark eyes of the hunter, and he looked pleasantly back at me.

Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of someone else, someone I loved. Noble, even. That ought to count for something.

Are you looking forward to the film?

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Pictures From The Met Costume Institute Gala

May 6, 2008 · 2 Comments

This year’s theme for the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute’s Gala was “Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy.”

Enjoy the pictures.

Italian designer Giorgio Armani was honorary chairman. Here he is with co-chairs, George Clooney and Julia Roberts.

George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Giorgio Armani

We all know American Vogue’s editor-in-chief Anna Wintour rules the world. Her silver cyber-dress was by Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel.

Anna Wintour at the Costume Institute Gala

Actress Scarlett Johansson wore Dolce & Gabbana along with her diamond engagement ring from actor Ryan Reynolds.

Scarlett Johansson with Dolce and Gabbana

A nearly naked Gisele Bundchen impressed with her Versace dress.

Gisele Bundchen

Is Kate Moss wearing Stella McCartney or the other way around?

Kate Moss and Stella McCartney

The inseparable quartet: Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes with Victoria and David Beckham.

Katie Holmes and Tom CruiseThe Beckhams

I know you want a close-up of Katie Holmes hair:

Katie Holmes Hair

→ 2 CommentsCategories: fashion · life · lifestyle · news · style · women
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Serenity Gift Set by LUSH

May 4, 2008 · 1 Comment

Serenity Gift Set by LUSH

Because of my love for all things beauty related and my penchant for mixing up my own soaps and lotions, friends are always letting me know of new products they’ve tried and giving me samples of things they’ve picked up.

A friend discovered LUSH while travelling on business. She was looking for ways to pamper herself while she had a prolonged stay in a hotel.

The Serenity Set by Lush - $35.45

A beautiful collection for calming, inspirational baths
Some people go an entire lifetime without experiencing a waking moment of serenity. Some of us have got to the point where we think that five minutes a day is pretty wonderful, but wouldn’t ten be better? Up your friends’ serenity quotient by giving them our Serenity box with five soothing treats, including A Ring of Roses buttercream for soft skin and Bathos bubble bar for a lovely, peaceful bath time.

Set includes:
Alkmaar Handmade Soap, Ring of Roses Conditioning Buttercream, Bathos Bubble Bar, Butterball Bath Bomb, Ceridwen’s Cauldron Luxury Bath Melt

Available at LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics

Price: $35.45

→ 1 CommentCategories: baths · beauty · gifts · life · lifestyle · mothers · skincare · stress · women
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A Certain Slant of Light

May 1, 2008 · 1 Comment

A Certain Slant of LightMy journey into young adult fiction continues.

I just finished A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb. The plot centers around a couple of ghosts who find each other and decide to recapture life by inhabiting the bodies of two troubled teens.

From the moment I first picked up this book, I couldn’t stop reading it. It was completely engrossing from the first paragraph:

Someone was looking at me, a disturbing sensation if you’re dead. I was with my teacher, Mr. Brown. As usual, we were in our classroom, that safe and wooden-walled box–the windows opening onto the grassy field to the west, the fading flag standing in the chalk dust corner, the television mounted above the bulletin board like a sleeping eye, and Mr. Brown’s princely table keeping watch over a regiment of student desks. At that moment I was scribbling invisible comments in the margins of a paper left in Mr. Brown’s tray, though my words were never read by the students. Sometimes Mr. Brown quoted me, all the same, while writing his own comments. Perhaps I couldn’t tickle the inside of his ear, but I could reach the mysterious curves of his mind.

Have you read this book? What did you think?

Available at Amazon.com

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The Delicate Art of Cameos

May 1, 2008 · 1 Comment

Bach, Paris Opera House

Sweet, dainty, subtle, exquiste craftsmanship. The art of cameo carving is still alive and well in Italy.

Cameo: a technique of engraving upon a gem or other stone in such a way that an underlying stone of one color is exposed as a background for a low-relief design of another color.

Here are some fine examples by Del Gatto of Naples:

Young Woman Agate Stone Cameo Pendant - $238

The Italian Del Gatto family has been working in the shell cameo and coral art for over five generations. This beautiful cameo in an 18K gold frame, is part of the Agata collection which uses particular Brasilian stones.

Del Gatto Cameo

Loving Mother Agate 18k Gold Cameo Pendant - $215

This beautiful agate cameo by Del Gatto uses age old artisan techniques to sculp the marvelous image of mother and child. The intense blue background and exquisite detailing adeptly conveys the mother’s pure joy - a perfect gift for mothers of all ages.

Del Gatto Cameo

Young Woman Cornelian Cameo Pendant / Pin - $215

The Italian Del Gatto family has been working in the shell cameo and coral art for over five generations, selecting every shell and crafting them with a unique carving technique. This beautiful cameo, in a wavy 18K gold frame, is part of the Corniola collection which uses particular South-East Africa sea shells. This creation shows a beautiful profile of a young woman with her hair pulled up with flowers.

Another beautiful idea for Mother’s Day or perhaps a gift to yourself.

Available at forzieri.com

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Prehistoric Visitor

April 29, 2008 · 1 Comment

lizard

Look who came visiting my yard.

Doesn’t he look like a miniature dinosaur?

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Travel Dior

April 28, 2008 · No Comments

Dior Jetsetter Makeup Kit

This travel makeup kit by Dior offers a sophisticated palette for the world traveller or someone who dreams of world travel.

Dior Jetsetter Kit - $35

Product Description: An all-in-one makeup set. The Dior Jetsetter Kit locks up her heart with this perfect Dior couture-inspired keepsake box. So chic and versatile, it’s all you need to take your beauty to exciting new places. The kit includes adorable travel sizes of two Dior Rouge Lipsticks in Office Beige 296 and Selection Mauve 485 (0.04 oz each), a Diorshow Mascara (0.17 oz), a Diorshow Unlimited Mascara (0.10 oz), and 5-Colour Eyeshadow in Incognito 030.

Two lipsticks, two mascara and five eyeshadows in a couture-inspired box. I’m all over this kit.

Available at Amazon.

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