Tag Archives: fashion

A Blog and a Dream

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Dear Tatiana and Marcus,

It has come to my attention that your current blog at Wilhelmina needs help. As I couldn’t find it on the home page, I thought you might be in need of a blog writer to help you.

For the past year I have been blogging at https://blueeyedblonds.com/2015/06/12/the-sad-boy-and-the-sad-girl-continued/. I have 458 followers and growing with every blog post.

Below you will find what I hope will be the first installment of your new blog.

If you like it and would like to discuss having me blog for Wilhelmina, I can be reached at  annamariecoticelli@gmail.com

I hope you are enjoying your summer!

AnnaMarie, also known as Goldilocks and Filomena’s Mom

BLOG MAKEOVER

By Blue Eyed Blonds of a Certain Age

The Sad Boy and The Sad Girl, continued

Everyone knows two types of people- the one who will say you look great no matter your poor fashion choices, and the one who will tell you to change your outfit because large Hawaiian flower print is not becoming on you.

The first type of person feels threatened and wants to look better than you. They will let you walk out of the house looking less than your best. The worse you look, the better they look.

The second type loves you enough to tell you the truth.

How important are your fashion choices?

Take for example the magnificent beauty Sophia Hellqvist. Have you seen how beautiful she looked as she married her Prince Charming Sweden’s Prince Carl? The dress, the make-up, the jewelry, the flowers were all to perfection. The love is shining on both of their faces. And there, on the 9th picture down, as Prince Carl struggles with the wedding ring, the Daily Mail photographs her neck tattoo.

Where were Sophia’s friends? Oh, there they are keeping her company in the tattoo parlor and smirking behind their hands because they could foresee photographers would just focus on the wearable art and not on her elation as she married the love of her life.

At least it wasn’t a freakin butterfly or a cluster of Chinese characters that no one understands.

I hope the generic compass rose tattoo has pointed poor Sophia into the direction of better friends. I wish both Sophia and her Prince Charming a lifetime of enchantment in each others arms. Hopefully she will never ask her friends for relationship advice.

The current age, is a Shakespearean fantasy. “All the world’s a stage” with digital photography and the internet cataloging your every fashion triumph and misstep.

I had very long hair at the age of 20. After a life altering emotional incident, I cut it to shoulder length.

When I went into the Italian restaurant I worked at, the owner’s cousin, who was a hairdresser, said to me with a frown on his face, “Who did that to your hair? Come into my salon tomorrow. I have to fix it- no charge because you are a beautiful girl but the hair has to change.”

Now that’s a true friend.

When my sister Lovelilly and I walked into the salon the next morning, he was not there but his portly Neapolitan father was.

He said in his Italian accented English, “My son-na got-ta little drunka last night. He’s a not a comin in. He didn’t-a do that to a you hair did he?’”

At this point Lovelilly puts on her best Italian accent and says, “Your son-na no give-a her thata haircut.” You could just hear the smirk in her voice as she took stock of the old man.

His son was at home on his knees worshiping the Porcelain God but he didn’t care. He looked up to heaven and made the sign of the cross thanking God that his kid was not responsible for such a bad haircut.

He said “AnnaMaria do you-a trust me?”

Many people in my life had just finished spectacularly proving they were not trustworthy. I said “Go ahead, Marcello, do what you want.”

He wet my hair with a spray bottle. No, he didn’t wash it. Put a cape on me and turned the chair away from the mirror.

He pulled out his scissors, no comb, and his hands began to fly faster than Edward Scissorhands.

I watched Lovelilly watching him. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes grew wide in horror.

I saw 8 inch pieces of my hair landing on the salon floor. I didn’t care. I was sunk in a deep depression and the hairdresser knew it.

He was done cutting in less than 2 minutes. As I was moussed and dried, Lovelilly’s face broke into a smile. “It looks fabulous,” she said.

When the chair was turned and I looked in the mirror, I did indeed look fabulous!

One haircut put confidence back in me. I may have felt sick at heart, it might have taken a few decades to heal, but on the outside I looked beautiful.

That haircut, on the cutting edge of fashion, was the first step that led me away from the edge of sorrow. By the way, 6 months later Madonna had the same hairstyle.

I have the words, Lovelilly has the fashion sense. Together we are Blue Eyed Blonds of a Certain Age.

We invite you to come with us as we go shopping for some new words to bring this blog into the 21st Century. We hope you enjoy it.

Goldilocks

The Sad Boy and The Sad Girl, the next part

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The Sad Boy sat slumped in the chair on the side of the room his leather jacket wrapped close around him. His sunglasses were on to hide his eyes. The tears flowing in an endless stream stained his chiseled cheeks. For hours he sat in emotional contemplation.

He was keeping vigil with The Sad Girl who had been in labor for twenty-two hours.

The distance in that small room was vast. They could not reach each other, both wrapped in their own torment.

The Sad Girl examined him through her pain. She wondered if he was crying for her or for himself.

She asked him once and never got a satisfactory answer.

And on that day, The Sad Girl gave The Sad Boy their first child. Their only daughter was born. She was an exact emotional replica of The Sad Boy.

The Sad Girl thought it was fitting. Because now The Sad Boy would know what it was like to deal with himself.

 

 

 

Although The Sad Boy and Girl saw no one, it seemed that everyone saw them. And most were not happy.

In the span of a few short hours, the news of the marriage proposal and acceptance threatened to turn into an international incident. It was broadcast through southern Italy and beyond to America.

It’s not coincidental the Italian Marconi and the American Bell were on the cutting edge of information technology. Gossip was and is a tradeable commodity

The Sad Girl had no words. Many times in her life, the words had failed her. The happiness was so great and so complex that the words would not form. They were not adequate. With The Sad Boy, she didn’t need words. He already knew. She only needed to feel.

The Sad Girl avoided all telephone calls from The Woman with a Rock in Her Shoe.

She stayed out late and woke up early. She blocked her ears when she was told that The Sad Boy was not for her. That The Sad Boy was a bad man. That it was impossible to think The Sad Boy loved her, that he would marry her. The Sad Boy loathed Americans. He was just playing with her heart.

She would have told The Sad Boy but their words were not the same. It took a while, but the day came when she told him.

The Woman with the Rock in Her Shoe threatened The Sad Girl with words too painful to type, until The Sad Girl relented and agreed to come home to wait for The Sad Boy to come and fetch her.

Time did what time so often does- it had stopped and when it started again, The Sad Boy and The Sad Girl found all the time they were allotted for that summer had passed.

And with a myriad of tears, The Sad Girl gave The Sad Boy her beloved teddy bear. She asked him to bring it back to her. For the first time their tears mingled with The Sad Boy wiping away The Sad Girls tears and she wiping away his.

The Sad Boy promised he would come and get her. He needed to procure a passport and a visa then he would come.

The Sad Girl knew that he would.

 

 

Goldilocks

The Sad Boy and The Sad Girl, part 3

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If you were the sun

I’d lie in your rays for eternity.

If you were the earth

I’d spend my life on the ground.

But you are only a man

So let me exist enfolded in your arms.

Time had stopped for the span of one afternoon. But now, the sun was sinking swiftly in the western sky. The Sad Boy and the Sad Girl reluctantly acknowledged that they needed to return.

Slowly they pedaled the boat. Hand in hand they walked up the mountain stopping every few feet just to look in to each others eyes. Their steps were slow although they knew the Sad Girl was expected to return.

They couldn’t go back to the world yet. They were just found and didn’t want to part. The bottom corner of the Sad Girl’s lip was a little swollen from too much sun, too much salt water and not enough kisses. When she pointed to her lip, the Sad Boy smiled and shook his head. He knew what to do. The Sad Girl already knew he did.

They stopped at a café. The Sad Boy said something to the barista then led the Sad Girl to a private garden with tables and chairs scattered under the trees. Drinks were served along with some ice for the Sad Girl’s tender lip.

They made plans- for the next day, for their life. It was only the Sad Boy and the Sad Girl. Nothing else mattered, for what was tinder without spark or spark without tinder? It’s only together that fire burns.

The Sad Girl heard a voice in the distance. The Sad Boy motioned to her- a finger covering his lip. She rolled her eyes at the sound. Reality, in the form of her brother-in-law, dared to intrude. Frantically he was asking if the Sad Girl and the Sad Boy had been seen. The barista’s answer was no. He had seen no one. The Sad Boy was never seen unless he wanted to be seen. The Sad Girl was happy to know that.

They finished their drinks. They both knew it was time to return the Sad Girl.

With a whispered kiss and plans for the next morning, the Sad Girl closed the car door then walked inside to be greeted by a frantic sister and brother-in-law.

They asked about her day not mentioning that they had been out looking for her. The Sad Girl told them she was getting married AND she was not returning home. The Sad Girl, the rock in the shoe, had suddenly turned into a diamond or a pearl in the space of an afternoon and it was left to her sister to inform their mother. Their mother would not be happy.  The Sad Girl did not care. She feigned sleepiness and retired for the evening telling her sister that she had plans for the next day.

She showered reluctantly. She didn’t want to wash off the smell of the Sad Boy on her skin. She could still feel the Sad Boy.

She laid her head on the pillow and whispered to God a thank you. It was her 24th birthday and the love of the Sad Boy was the best present she ever received.

All night he filled her dreams but when she went to reach for him, only her teddy bear was there.

Goldilocks

 

The Sad Boy and The Sad Girl, part 2

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Still no Lovelili so I will just continue…
“I don’t want to love you anymore…” the Sad Girl stated plainly as she looked into the Sad Boy’s stormy green eyes. But she knew she couldn’t stop, that she wouldn’t stop. And neither would he because love is not turned on and off like a water tap.
Either you love someone or you don’t. And if you truly love someone, you would never be able to stop loving them. Not here. Not in eternity. Because even though sometimes they hated each other, they loved each other even more.

…And when the Angels felt that sufficient time had passed, they dared to glance over their wings to see if, indeed, their match making duties had been successful. Quickly, they turned with a blush, for the things of men were not the things of Angels.
The kiss was still in progress. Time had stopped on that beautiful summer day. That’s what happens when two halves of the same soul reunite.

The kiss was everything. The kiss was everything to the Sad Boy. The kiss was everything to the Sad Girl. It was a question. It was an answer. It was finding something and then losing your self in it at the same time.

And with a laugh at a job well done, the Angels remembered that God told them to do one other thing. And they pulled two heavenly cords from beneath their wings.

With great joy, they began to tie the Sad Boy and the Sad Girl together with their heavenly string. The longer the kiss lasted, the more string they used until the Sad Boy and the Sad Girl were tightly bound to each other. From head to foot to hands to heart, they were bound together with an invisible string made of love that could not be broken.

And when the Angels reported back to God, He asked them if indeed the heavenly cord was secure because it would be repeatedly assaulted through out their life.
And what God joins together, no one must be able to part.

Dazed, for a great emotional storm had passed, the Sad Boy and the Sad Girl found peace and happiness as they continued to reside in each others arms.

Soon the August sun drove the kissing lovers back into the water to continue what was started on the beach. For the love was flowing from one to the other filling both the Sad Boy and the Sad Girl with its wonders.

The Sad Boy spoke the only words that he knew in English to the Sad Girl. “I Love You.” It was a statement.

And with her heart bursting, because it could not be true, the Sad Girl looked into the Sad Boy’s eyes and called him a fuckin liar. Those were the Sad Girl’s exact words. No more, no less. She could not be so fortunate. She was insecure. She did not feel worthy of such a love.

But the Sad Boy did not speak English. And he didn’t know what she had just said. And as insecure as the Sad Girl was, was how secure the Sad Boy was. Although she did not feel deserving of such a love, he did.

And the Sad Boy looked the Sad Girl in the eyes and began to hum the wedding march. As he did so, he removed the ring from his pinky finger. Picking up the girls hand, he motioned between the two of them. You and me forever was his question to the Sad Girl. And she shook her head yes while he placed the ring on her finger.

For better, for worse, till death do they part.

They sealed the bargain with a kiss.

 

Goldilocks

Happy 25th Anniversary Sad Boy

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Once a pound of time was weighing very heavily on a girl from New Jersey… She had already been through a suicide watch, graduated college with the Felician Sister’s seal of approval, worked two jobs, had her own car, but she was not loved. Not even by her parents.

She was beautiful and smart but terminally sad.
She was very sad. Every day she woke up and found no joy. Maybe here or there there was a bright spot, but it was like a cloud followed her.
She was chased by many men, but they were not right. They just wanted to sleep with her, but her heart was too guarded to let that happen.

In fact, at one point, her parents wanted to put her in a nunnery, just to get rid of her.
Her mother told her she was like a rock in her shoe. Annoying. A bother that she couldn’t wait to get rid of.

But what she didn’t know,  was that there was a little boy on the other side of the world that felt the same way as she did.

As pretty as she was, was how handsome as he was.

He too was on suicide watch. He tried to kill himself by smashing his car into a concrete wall. That’s how he got the scar on his nose.

His heart had been broken, chewed up then spit out and stomped on.
He swore off women. And never looked their way.

To him, the world was divided into two- men and f’in bitches. When he looked at a girl, he would imagine how they would break his heart. The female population chased him.

And he would look them up and down. See their charms. And say no. He knew they would break his heart.

His parents were very sad. They loved their son and wanted him to be happy. At all costs, they wanted him to be happy.

And his parents began to pray.

And one summer day, the sad girl got on an airplane. She had to breath. She had to get away. She wanted to run but she didn’t know where to run to. Any where, as long as it was far away from her parents and New Jersey. She never wanted to go home. Her mother opened a business and now she was expected to work for the woman with a rock in her shoe.

She had been invited to a wedding in Italy. So she packed her teddy bear and her cigarettes and went.

And proceeded to have culture shock.

She saw things, that others only dream of. She was on islands and on beaches. Museums and archeological sites. She ate things that came with 5 stars and glasses of wine.

And her sadness turned to listlessness. Because she finally figured out that you could never run away from yourself.
And problems knew how to dial a phone, unfortunately. And didn’t mind the cost of an international phone call.

And one day she was in the cathedral in Pompeii.

And she saw all her favorite saints draped in gold and diamonds and rubies and pearls.
And she saw letters and pictures, pleading with heaven for grace.

She loved Jesus and His Mother. But here she saw faith. The faith of thousands of lost people. Who needed something and petitioned the King for favors.

And the sad little girl fell to her knees and cried. She didn’t know what she needed or what she wanted. She needed help. And her tears rolling down her cheeks were her prayer.

And the next day, the sad little girl went to a wedding.

She threw on a dress that had long sleeves and a high collar, but no back. And she forgot her backless bra at home, so she had to go bra less with just her red stilettos and some lipstick and mascara.

The wedding started at 11 am. It was at a beautiful restaurant that over looked the Bay of Naples.
Still, she was listless. It was just how she was.
She would go outside and lean on the railing and smoke a cigarette and think. Because that’s what she did. Life was in front of her, but it seemed that it was out of her grasp.

And the hours passed. Finally, she noticed that whenever she went outside to smoke and think a sad boy came out soon afterwards to do the same thing.

She thought it was funny.

And the day turned into night. And with it came the sweltering heat of August.
And the sad girl started to sweat. Beads of perspiration were rolling down her bare back.
She sat up, to get her back off the upholstered chair. And she felt a breeze. A nice gentle breeze that cooled of her sweaty back. And she stretched so the breeze could go in between the folds of her dress.

And then she knew something was out of place. So she turned around and saw the sad boy. He was lounging on a chair a few feet away.
He had a Spanish fan and was fanning her back.

The sad girl smiled at the sad boy and he smiled back. Then she turned around.

And she promptly forgot about the sad boy until the end of the evening.

It was decided that the sad boy would take the sad girl to the beach the next day.

Okay, whatever, the sad girl agreed. She didn’t really care and neither did the sad boy.

The day dawned and with it the sad boy, who always kept his promises was waiting to take the sad girl to the beach. She overslept. But, he waited for her to get ready.

And he opened the door and tucked her in his car, And with a wave and a bored face they were off.

And he turned on a cassette, because they did not speak the same language. And the tape was the sad little girls favorite. And the sad little boy sang, except he couldn’t sing in English. And the sad little girl laughed and so did the sad little boy.

And the parked and walked down steps that had been built thousands of years before. And he would grab her hand because he was afraid she might fall. He would not let her go fast. She was in his care and he promised to look after her.

And they stopped to look at the view. The sun was shining and the water was sparkling and the beach was jammed packed. But the sad little boy knew what to do.

He rented a paddle boat. And popped the sad little girl in and they looked at each other for the first time.

And they paddled. The sad little girl didn’t care where, She was having fun. And so was he.
They ended up on a teeny tiny island that was deserted.

And they spread their towels and went swimming to cool off. Still they were laughing.

They went back to the beach and each layed on their respective towels to dry off in the sun.

And the sad little boy rolled over and kissed the sad little girl. The Angels turned their heads, for now their job was done.

 

Happy 25th Anniversary Sad Boy

Love, The Sad Girl

 

Goldilocks

Losin It Big Time

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Yesterday, I was in my local food store when I saw my friend Nanny. Beautiful Nanny, with her big brown eyes and svelte figure, looks about 70 but is actually much older. I hadn’t seen her since she stopped by in the fall. So I yelled over the cash registers “Nanny!” and waved my arm like an idiot so she would see me because I think Nanny is a bit hard of hearing after all those Sinatra concerts. And Nanny looks over to me with a quizzical expression on her face. “I mailed you something yesterday,” I said to her. But Nanny only smiled politely and said she would wait for it in the mail. Nanny didn’t recognize me. And it was such a sad moment there in the middle of the food store. I had heard that, and I quote, “Nanny’s losin it, big time” from an unnamed source, but I didn’t want to believe it.  Nanny, who loves me and my family, forgot. She did her best to make polite conversation with a person who was a stranger to her. She didn’t ask her usual question- “How is Princess Mena?” Because unbeknownst to Princess Mena, Nanny has had her on her prayer list for years. And that was, in fact, what was in the mail to Nanny- a copy of her acceptance into a school that Nanny had prayed with me for for years. She didn’t ask about The Boys or The Big Bad Wolf or when she was coming over for pizza night. She talked about her daughter as if I didn’t know her and her grandson as if I didn’t know him from when he was shorter than me. She forgot that she has wiped tears from my eyes and has enfolded me in her motherly embrace.

But as sad as it was for me, I was happy for Nanny because I think Nanny is happy to be at the end of her eventful life.

Nanny is a very easy person to love. She has a vibrant personality that has seen her through the ups and downs of an interesting life. The best thing about Nanny is that she shares the stories that have made up her life. And what a life she has lived! To look at Nanny, you might not expect that at one time she had a driver and a maid. When she tells you about curlers in her hair on the airplane back in the day “…Because you just didn’t step off the plane in ***** without looking like a top model.”  Or the poverty that she endured. Or the newspaper headlines. Or her adventures in Manhattan. Of her aversion to Islands. Her best decisions. Her worst failures. No subject is off limits with Nanny and she freely shares. Her favorite subject is her friendship with God and the miracles He has given her. We have had some great conversations.

I’ve met so many fascinating people. Some that I just know for the course of an evening or if I’m lucky, for longer.  Every person has a story. I’ve been honored to have listened to so many. One gentleman. who was sharing his experiences of the 1960’s and The Beatles coming to New York and sitting with dying Friends in the ’80’s told me I should write down the stories that I collect. Just leave out the names and share them with the world. Maybe I will one day.

Stories bring me to my original blog post.

Lovelily calls me last weekend to come over and visit her second grandchild, her first granddaughter, born a few days before,

I remember about twenty years ago when Lovelily laughed with joy and relief when I, eight months pregnant (!) told her I was just informed that I was having twin boys. But that’s another story.

A new person to add to our lives. So teeny tiny but already has a story started with her name as the title. She joins my three great nephews and two great nieces. And I will teach her to call me Great Auntie and kiss both cheeks like an Italian and tell her stories about when her Mom was a little girl and how great the ’80’s were. I can imagine all the relatives in Heaven rejoicing as another person is added to the leaves of our family tree. What story will you live Little One? What road will you walk? What talents will you have? Will you love your old Great Auntie? Of course she will! And hopefully as the years pass, she will laugh as she spreads the word that “Great Auntie is losin it!” And that she will figure out that Great Auntie lost it before she ever came into the picture 🙂

Goldilocks