Chimes, Charms, Enchantment

“One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, 

and, it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.”

~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe 

These photos are so February 2014!
 They've been lounging in my archive, waiting...waiting ever so patiently for me to write something and launch the post. Alas, days went by, and months, then life morphed into a maze of this and that, which rendered this blog buried in publish neglect. sad.

The Hubby and Me - enjoying our pose! 

Looking at these pics, you'd think I was the queen of high spirits, hah! 

Quite frankly, yes and even more bluntly, no! The prime truth of the matter is, these photos represent ooooh, snarky sobby' trying days rife with challenges and changes and not knowing what the future holds, what the next step would be, what to, where to, whatever! 

Life was a cliffhanger...SMILE! 

But the Divine was at work ( uuh' yah! ) and threw us an unmistakable thump to dress up swank and parteh', inspite of! Yes, inspite of sullied circumstances having been acquainted with folks less than honorable with their dealings. 

Ah, one must dig the grandest measure of  good out of a decrepit situation, wisen up like the evening owl, and brave forth like the most majestic of eagles ( drama!). 

Why the heck pout and gripe when all things are but temporal, even the muddled. These are the good old' days being ushered in! Welcome it! 

Cliffhouse, Tagaytay, Philippines

My youngest son with me.

And so we did!  In style! 

I donned my creamy favorite vintage dress ( + my grand brown hat too, let's not forget!), genuinely celebratory and thankful for the beautiful scenery, the wonderful people, and the glorious food!  

It was a sparkling time and I was touched by a serene spirit whispering, it was Valentine's Day, things would be OK. 

My eldest son.

That was way back February, cupid's shinning star moment of love. weddings, chimes, charms and enchantments that glistened the succeeding months of working situations with a smidgen of luck linked into one another, until here I am and here we are, in the future I was merely trying to picture back then! 

So let me see, what's there to learn:

1. Be calm. Inspite of trying times. Be calm. Calm is insight. Calm is wisdom. 

2. Present your best. Your best brings about solutions.

3. Enjoy. Even in the middle of muddles, life gives permission to laugh and be merry. It is essential to sanity.

"There aren't any shortcuts to tomorrow, you have to make your own way.To know where you're going is only a part of it.You need to know where you've been, too.And if you get lost, don't worry.The people who love you will find you. Count on it."  ~ Quotebites

Balducci Ristorante, Here's My Story: About the Blue Dress Too!

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Will I find myself back to Balducci? Like - ever? Maybe not. Or..maybe yes..hmmm...but most likely NOT. Balducci and me, we have no...none of the sparks between us. Nobody's fault, mind you.

It was a late Saturday evening and the skies poured gregariously. The rain, let me tell you, it was beautiful that night - not at all rat dreary or gutter dreadful. Instead, the falling drench silver glistened our evening streets with a kind of filmy sheen that reflected the warm golden glow and shadows of streetlights and city cafe's. It was an incandescent sight, a bit..what's the word...NOIR!! 

Feeling the "passion" at Lartizan Boulangerie Francia

Roselle Quin

 Passion is vigor for life. The more you have, the more you get. None of us can afford to let life get boring. That starts a downward spiral of passionless living: no interest, no energy, no youthfulness. The most obvious example of passion is the romantic kind. People smitten with true love ( or what seems like true love at the time) are different creatures, whether they're seventeen or seventy when cupid comes calling. Life takes on a new finish: glossy instead of matte. Having a passion for life or anything gives us a similar glow. ~ V. Moran

                                             OK enough of the mush mush because this chandelier 'ere --> totally rocks the mood! 

I lurrrv' the place!! Who wouldn't, eh? Cream and rose velvet and soft inspired lights swiped in unobtrusive refinement... And fine linen..the linen which I messed up with a splat of gravy, hehe!

Ah, this has got to be my new fave of faves, Love, .....swoon..swoon....the dot inside the enchanted circle of my brain - the *rose* among the roses, a poetic marvel of a place, my friend,  where you can fun pretend to be lost in Austen or a bit drunk in Downtony' fantasy...a Lady Mary Crawley sort of feel. :D

The ambience is cherry hush sweet, as if the very bubble  between air one sniffs was fathomed from flesh diamond bouquets of cultured crystals. Just imagine coming in from the smelly belly of the underworld into pure ethereal lightness..you sink on a plush pink blood chair and there you are - alive, relaxed, transported. 

In this mortal plane we inhabit, there are to be discovered, if you will it enough, levels and steps, paths and corners, nooks, and crannies, spaces and rabbit hole roundabout portals to a peek of heaven. This place is one of them. 

It was a Saturday lazy afternoon and we were actually at the shop next door contemplating a dinner of grilled squids and clams after a rather lengthy highbrow discussion about life -- not ours, but of "Hannibal's" - the conqueror!

Anyway, before Hannibal could cross the Alps  and present himself to the hapless folks of far yonder, who apparently, thought him the god Hercules (something like that), my itching curiosity got the best of me and in a second's lull, excused myself and made a lickety- split to check out the dreamy lights + menu next door. 

It was deeeeelightful!!! 
I was smitten by everything I saw and went tripping back to report my discovery to the Hubs. 

Well, you know how I can sometimes be, eh? So I  hyperventilated the awesome of every slightest cutesome corner I saw, excitedly guzzling ooh' ahhh' the smell, the color, the touch of my discovery, while at the same time truly settled for a night of what we had originally planned. 

However, the Hubs, probably brain spiked with my high tweaked blubber, insisted that we forget the clams....and follow "my heart"... aww... :D 

Lartizan Boulangerie Francia for a pastry shop is mythically fabulous! Enchanting! And I don't think I've seen such all out smiling attentive waiters for a long while - waiters who seem to have imbibed a drugged substance of patience as I deliberated ( lengthily...back and forth..like a 3rd grade who can't crack fractions...) on choices. 

Coupled with the romantic interior, splendid breads and exquisite pastries on the counter, and  capped with a decadent line of chi chi sounding  menu, the evening was made for a splendid gustatory experience.

We went in for a simple but delectable serving of ravioli and this generous plate of roast chicken. The bread sampler basket was royally piled with choiced slices from their bakery. 

This is quite the full dining interior. It was an early dinner so we had the luxury to choose our table.

I love the warm inlaid brick interior which  lent the place a homey artisan atmosphere. The chairs, as you can see, are deep red beautiful and such a cushiony pleasure to sink into. 

(And the Hubs, waiting for the coffee and tea selection. )

It is with gratefulness of heart and soul that I write down this memory of a night. An evening of evenings I'd constantly remember as the years flitter on and on and on.

 I'd like to end this post with a feathered line of poetry from Elizabeth Barrett Browning which goes....

“I would build a cloudy House

For my thoughts to live in;

When for earth too fancy-loose

And too low for Heaven!

Hush! I talk my dream aloud -

I build it bright to see, -

I build it on the moonlit cloud,

To which I looked with thee.”