Happy New Year!!!

Another year has past. The best one for me in a looooooong time...I've finally been able to get back to life after my pain-years, and a lot of things has happened the last few months! I have:

• gotten a modeling contract with Nocturnal Agency.
• stepped up on a stage again - after almost eight years absence - because I decided to try burlesque.
• ruined myself on Swarovski crystals, since I fell in love with this old-time way to strip and have to create many more numbers.
• been an AP-girl for one evening, when I worked as a hostess at Agent Provocateur during Fashion Night Out.
• worn jewelry worth 4 million SEK (154,000 USD), when working for the auction house Bukowskis.
• met many new, crazy, weird, and absolutely wonderful friends.
• gone to some of the most amazing parties.
• realized that foot-fetish people really like my feet.
• managed to keep this blog going for yet another year...

...and hoping to have the time to keep it going for a long time to come! But of course I wouldn't spend all this time blogging if no one wanted to read it. So THANK YOU to all my lovely followers - AND occasional readers!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and that whatever you choose to do on New Years Eve will be as fabulous as the burlesque masquerade ball I will be attending on this evening! Fräulein Frauke and her husband John Paul Bichard are as usual the talented couple behind the party, and as I know how amazing their events always are, this New Years feast will probably end up in the history books!

Happy New Year!!!

Vienna New Year's Day Concert

For the ones of you who hasn't already noticed it, I can tell you that every year a New Year's Day Concert is held in Vienna, in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein, and playing is the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. It would be lovely to be able to go there and witness it in person some day, but since it is televised live worldwide, we all have front row tickets to it! The good thing abut seeing it through the TV though, is that segments of the concert is mixed with clips showing beautiful views of Vienna - and - there is also a ballet part! That bit isn't live though, but has been pre-recorded somewhere at a beautiful location. I just saw the promotional photos from this year's ballet part, and...well...see for yourselves...

Don't miss it on New Year's Day!!!

Fabergé Friday and Full Moon

At least two times before the full moon has coincided with my Fabergé Fridays, and both those times the eggs have gone really well with the moon-theme. The funny thing is that today, when this happens again, the egg in line happens to be perfect for the full moon! This egg is called the "Nobel Ice egg", or the "Snowflake Egg", was made in 1914, and looks like a shining moon!

The shell of this moon-white egg is covered in alternating layers of opaque and translucent white enamel. Each layer is individually painted and engraved to resemble frost flowers. Around the edges where the egg opens up, sits bands of seed pearls. 

The egg resembles the Imperial "Winter Egg" a lot, and was designed by the same workmaster - Alma Theresia Pihl, the only female, and one of the best, designers/workmasters that worked for Fabergé. The commissioner of the "Nobel Ice Egg" was Dr. Emanuel Nobel - Alfred Nobel's nephew. Emanuel was one of the leading figures of the oil industry at this time, and also one of Fabergé's most important clients. Franz Birbaum - Fabergé's head workmaster - recalls about Emanuel that he "was so generous in his presents that at times it seemed that this was his chief occupation and delight." Pihl also wrote about him that for "Dr. Nobel a dinner party was no dinner at all unless all the ladies were suitably rewarded. On one of those occasions, wishing to recall a Russian winter, he conceived the idea of giving all the ladies present an icicle. Fabergé carried this out in pendants and brooches in rock-crystal with a matte surface adorned with small diamonds in frost design."

I wouldn't have mind going to one of his parties, but the lucky receiver of this icy egg we know only as "a friend".

The surprise inside the egg is a miniature watch-pendant made of rock-crystal and platinum, decorated with ice crystals of rose-cut diamonds.

In 1998 the "Nobel Ice Egg" was bought by the Forbes Collection, but between 1998-2004 it was then privately sold to an anonymous buyer.

Burkläsk!

Two Saturday nights ago I put on my Dorothy shoes - which can be seen here - and left Kansas, so to say...My destination was a cellar hidden deep down beneath the streets of Stockholm, and my reason for going there was because Burkläsk was having their yearly burlesque Christmas party! Last year when I went to this event I ended up getting food poisoned from the sushi I had eaten earlier. This year though, I was going there to perform myself - so I skipped the sushi...

Burkläsk's organizers Lady Francescca, Jolie Étoile and Bernie Gogo had decorated the whole place with tinsel, glowing santas and other Christmasy stuff. In the picture above you can even spot the very burlesque Christmas tree, here outshined by Fanny and her hubby Michael!

The dressing room was tiny. But, as I later said - the smaller, the cozier! Can you imagine five-six girls trying to change into burlesque costumes in this little space?! Boobies and glitter everywhere!!!

Burlesque preparations - pasties, tassels, hair flowers, and wine - drunk through a straw so as not to ruin the lipstick of course!

I did my Diamonds are Forever number. The only problem was that the hard sole one of my pointe shoes had broken in half (later I discovered that was the case with the other shoe too), so going up on stage felt a bit insecure. But as I have always wanted to stage-dive I thought "what the f***", skipped up on stage, and ripped my clothes off! Everything went well though, so I guess I'll have to save the stage-diving for another time...Other performers were:

Pepper Potemkin and Contessa Blackbird, who did a lovely interpretation of Disney's Ferdinand the Bull, which is part of the traditional Disney medley that is shown on TV every Christmas Eve here in Sweden. Now I'll never be able to see it the same way though...

These two girls also performed solo acts! Here is Pepper as the gingerbread-girl...

...and Contessa as a 20s flapper!

Lady Francescca and Bernie Gogo!

Sindy Volkano!

Duchess Dubois!

Fräulein Frauke!

This also happened to be the first anniversary for Burkläsk, so miss Frauke had brought a candle shaped as the number one. After the last act, all performers gathered on stage, lit the candle - and then blew it out...Then we put our clothes back on (which as you can see I had already done), went out on the dance floor, and DANCED!!! It was a good night...

All photos marked "Bichard" by John Paul Bichard! 

Merry Christmas!

It's yet again that time of year when we can all roll around i tinsel, make out with people we would normally not make out with - just because a piece of mistletoe hangs over our heads - eat until we can't eat anymore. Wait a while. And then eat some more. Dance around to goofy songs about red-nosed reindeers, and frighten children with big, fat, red-wearing, bearded old men. And for once this isn't weird. It's completely normal. It's CHRISTMAS!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

I hope you all get to have a lovely time with the people that matter the most to you!

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Fabergé Friday

This Friday's Fabergé egg bears the name the "Youssoupov Egg", and was made in 1907!

This table clock-egg is made in the Louis XVI style, and it is covered in translucent strawberry-pink enamel, and decorated with gold laurel swags. The egg is held up by three pilasters with gold lion paws. The opaque white enameled, revolving dial is set with diamond-set Roman numerals. Around the upper half of the egg coils a gold snake, which arrow-shaped tongue shows the hour. 

Hanging in the laurel swags are three oval medallions. Once these contained miniature portraits of Prince Felix Youssoupov and his sons, Felix and Nicholas. Now though, these have been replaced with the initials of the egg's last owner, Maurice Sandoz - M, Y, and S - in gold.

The egg was given by Prince Felix to his wife, Zenaïde, on the occasion of their 25th wedding anniversary. Since 1995 the "Youssoupouv Egg" has been in the Fondation Edouard et Maurice Sandoz, in Lausanne, Switzerland. 

Vintage Christmas Photos

Taking pictures of the Christmas tree, sometimes with the family gathered around it, isn't exactly a new phenomenon, and since it's just a few days left until Santa arrives, I thought it would be the perfect time to look at some of these Christmas family photos that were taken a few decades ago!

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The Dickey family of Washington D.C., 1923. I thought Christmas trees were cone-shaped, but in the 20s they were obviously round...

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The Dickies again, this time from 1929. Remember this - if the tree is too big, don't bother cutting it off a bit in the bottom, just bend the top of it until it fits the room!

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Unidentified family, 1921. I'm sure everyone would have looked a bit happier if the tree had been a bit bigger!

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Washington D.C., 1921.

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Christmas postcard from 1917. The little girl on the floor doesn't look to happy with her new doll...

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Another old Christmas card. Love this one!

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Tree decorating in 1938. Can hardly see the actual tree though...But the price for most overdecorated Christmas tree goes to...

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...The Hauck family!

Funny Vintage Ads

Since it seems like people - me included - can't get enough of funny vintage ads, here are a few more!

How many people would buy this product today? My guess is no one of you raised your hand...

"Sorry, but I can't come to work today. I have to stay home and wash my hair..."

Mmmmm...Kinky...

Ooooo, even the Royalty of Europe wear them!

How romantic! They gave each other cigarets for Christmas! "This Christmas - don't miss the fun of smoking!"

And look how happy he is with his new train and a cigarette! The wife looks very pleased too...

And this is just amazing! Who knew that Pall Malls guard against throat-scratch?! So if your throats feel a bit itchy, start smoking!

These ones seem to be even better for your health though...

Yep, it's true! Back in the good old days you could just take a shower to lose weight!

So if you don't want the "Amazing Mystery Button", you can go for the "Super Mystery Button"! Choices, choices...

"No honey, I'm not drinking beer - again...I'm just having a liquid sandwich"...

"Use Dalley's Magical Pain Extractor - The Great Family Ointment." HA! I knew it! Champagne does take away pain - and other ailments!

"A good smoking leaf"?...Gee, I wonder why the smoker believes his head has grown a bit?...

Not sure if I would by medicine from a doctor named "Coffin"...

And before we go to bed, let's all have a Quaalude or two. The morning after we will feel so good!!!

Cheers!!!

And that rounds off this episode of "Funny Vintage Ads". Now I'm going to go smoke and drink, and do some drugs. I'm sure I'll feel pleasantly invigorated tomorrow!

All pictures from Retronaut.com