SMILE Lines Like You Mean It..

I once met a gentleman who had been a NYC fashion photographer in the mid 1960's.  A very dapper older man with a great sense of style & impeccable manners.  He was a client of a friend of mine & on several occasions we met, by chance, in the waiting room of our mutual acquaintance.  I've always been enthralled by the romantic idea of  New York City in the 60's & on these few occasions I  enjoyed speaking with him.  He was rich with stories of famous models & actresses whom he had photographed during the height of a Manhattan mesmerized by Andy Warhol & Edie Sedgwick. His stories usually ended up with some serious dish about which ones were untouched natural beauties & which ones were "retouch nightmares" as he jokingly referred to them.  He knew I was always eager to be his captive audience of one & like any vintage fashion junkie, I listened with pure intent & always had a list of questions & inquiries which I think he found quite entertaining.   I will never forget one particular discussion when I asked him about the best beauty secrets of that era & what he thought of modern beauty treatments.  "Darling, if you never want to age a day in your life you must never allow your emotions to be seen upon your face."
 "What?", I asked "Wait, what do you mean?" "I Mean ( he continued) that if one never wants to see lines upon their face they should never allow the world to know how they really feel & that includes intense happiness as well as dismay"  I pondered that idea for a moment & I'm sure the look of amazement & confusion upon my face was indeed NOT hidden.  He went on, "I once knew a fabulous model from the 60's who lived by that rule & she practiced it immensely to the point where it became second nature. Oh she never showed emotion upon her face & do you want to know something?"    "What What?!"  I prodded,  hanging on to his every syllable.   "I happened to bump into her some 25 years or so later while having lunch in Greenwich Village & her face was still seamless with zero wrinkles. Just as it had been when she was 24!"   "NOWAY!", I gasped, "that's incredible!"  "Oh yes indeed" he said "but of course she was also alone, lonely, miserable, had no companion, no friends & NO SMILE."   As he began to roar with laughter I knew I had been taken.  "SMILE, LIVE & ENJOY every moment of LIFE my dear & you'll always be beautiful!!"   I can still feel the warmth of his wrinkled smile.

Wishing you a gorgeous day filled with smile lines full of laughter.
Hepburn Hugs & Ric Ocasek Dreams

xo
Birdee Bow

Five Little Words

I recently stumbled across a great Tumlbr entitled Five Words Tell A Story.  The premise of this brain child of a blog is to bring a situation or message to life in merely five words, daily. Truly brill!  I've always believed the simplest route between the beginning & ending of a sentence is the most sincere. It's amazing how in almost any situation? Five words suffice.  We've all experienced the long winded versions in life haven't we?  The compliment that seems to go on just a bit too long & suddenly becomes awkward or the feedback (albeit negative or positive) that seems to wax on a minute or two past it's expiration date leaving us with that undeniably uncomfortable feeling.

 Don't get me wrong, I adore long conversations.  I CRUSH the art of a good convo! Indeed a rare & treasured commodity of which I am always in search of & enamored by, but I also find enormous beauty in the simplest of words.  

Simple words when they are spoken from the heart in the most surprising of moments..

I believe in 'em stronger,

 they hit me harder & they stick with me longer. 

You are Beautiful & Alive

Hepburn Hugs & Ric Ocasek Dreams
Birdee Bow