a sunday spring clean with monsieur proust.

March 23, 2014 | teamgloria

darlings

some spring cleaning was in Order.

a new background for teamgloria.com

(and some Tweaking on the “parent navigation bar” shade-wise, a removal of some no-longer-needed-objects therein as well).

re-folding and applying lavender scented drops on the drawer liners in the linen closet (or “airing cupboard” for our British friends).

a moment of pause to take in a little Proust:

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”
― Marcel Proust

taking photographs of the new decorated mini match-boxes (not by us, they’re available at many small shops and special grocery stores in the vicinity of sunset boulevard or just off bundy in brentwood if you’re in Town) before placing them (carefully) around the house nearby (but not too near) the Scented candles.

a drive to the Beach to see some friends very early this morning. thinking once again of Monsieur Proust:

“Always try to keep a patch of sky above your life.”
― Marcel Proust, Swann’s Way

flowers and a Reverie make You think of Proust, aussi?

“Remembrance of things past is not necessarily the remembrance of things as they were.”
― Marcel Proust

“We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.”
― Marcel Proust

and now, to end, perhaps a little Brahms – for Clarinet?

we have remembered why we came here (very nearly three years ago).

it was to celebrate glorious people, places and things.

*exhale*

and to That – well – we shall return.

starting with today.

the last word, quite naturally and Properly, belongs to Proust:

“Every reader finds himself. The writer’s work is merely a kind of optical instrument that makes it possible for the reader to discern what, without this book, he would perhaps never have seen in himself.”
― Marcel Proust, Time Regained

*deep_curtsey*

*cheery_wave_to_camera_1*

see you as Monday approaches, or fades, depending on the plans of who-we-are-in-RL………

hello spring! words by e e cummings, music by mozart and flowers lovingly captured by teamgloria

March 10, 2014 | teamgloria

darlings

it’s spring!

firstly some music!

https://soundcloud.com/xavier-de-maistre/w-a-mozart-concerto-for-flute

and now some poetry – intermingled with flowers that we took yesterday on a walk with who-we-are-in-RL for her birthday.

Spring is like a perhaps hand 
(which comes carefully 
out of Nowhere)arranging 
a window,into which people look(while 
people stare
arranging and changing placing 
carefully there a strange 
thing and a known thing here)and

changing everything carefully

e.e. cummings

O Sweet Spontaneous

O sweet spontaneous
earth how often have
the
doting

fingers of
prurient philosophers pinched
and
poked

thee
,has the naughty thumb
of science prodded
thy

beauty .how
often have religions taken
thee upon their scraggy knees
squeezing and

buffeting thee that thou mightest conceive
gods
(but
true

to the incomparable
couch of death thy
rhythmic
lover

thou answerest

them only with

spring)

e. e. cummings

birthdays are getting easier and easier.

they used to be (almost) unbearably painful days for reasons we cannot divulge but which had (occasionally) nothing to do with us. the passing of time can be (if one lets it) be pregnant with regret or awful deeds OR – and here’s where we return to the sunny channel once again – they can be a deep but quite lovely Sigh about Everything that’s happened and what-is-about-to-happen-next and gosh-did-that-really-happen and did we get back to LosAngelesAgain (yes!), is who-we-are-in-RL now An Author (hurrah!)

in the meantime, there’s always mr. Mozart to wave us into a springtime of deliciousness…..

https://soundcloud.com/ray-chen-violin/w-a-mozart-concerto-for-violin

isn’t Monday always filled to the brim with potential?

we. think. so.

do you?

happy birthday to who-we-are-in-RL!

March 9, 2014 | teamgloria

gosh.

you’ll never guess who just became “une femme d’un certain age”..

*winkstocamera3*

well.

*thinks*

maybe you would because, well, you’re Here.

FORTY-FIVE?!

wowzer.

how did That happen?

*giggles*

thank goodness for Ponds Cold Cream and that nice soft pink tin of moisture morning cream from Boots The Chemist.

and a delicious wicked card from Mr. William Godwin featuring the cast of The Good Life from the BBC 1970s-era programme.

and some gorgeous blooms that we met yesterday while driving around in an urban farm flower grower’s van talking about Eastbourne (true story – we both went to school in the same town in England and here we are – the grower and who-we-are-in-RL – both in Los Angeles – isn’t the world completely magical?)

now there are many Deeply interesting people born on March 9th.

we wrote about some of them Last Year

while in 2012 who-we-are-in-RL was in PARIS, on very important Business.

what about March 2011?

you know we’re not Entirely sure what we were doing then.

it was (just) before we started to write here, as teamgloria.

which is when it all began…….

to be correct, for who-we-are-in-RL, it all began in 1969.

and That was a fine year for many others who also now live here (very near) to the Hollywood Studios to pack their celestial accoutrements, chose a set of parents (or more than one set, that happens too), a place to Start (and not, for us, to stay), and set out on the journey to becoming who-They-are this time around (doesn’t everyone think like this? it’s Delicious).

glorious.

we’ll say it again: GLORIAous.

so she’s getting ready as we’re taking her for Brunch and then there’ll be a small supper with friends later and perhaps a walk and generally a lot of lying around feeling glorious and Of A Certain Age.

because tomorrow in our role as a Foreign Correspondent we shall be Reporting at the Los Angeles Fashion Week so who-we-are-in-RL needs her beauty sleep for that.

and the dark glasses and probably the pearls too.

*chuckling*

dogs in portugal, flowers in berlin and the hollywood prom.

March 2, 2014 | teamgloria

hello darlings!

the sightings are coming in thick and Fast now!

here are our (furry) siblings in Portugal.

*bites_lip*

you see – the last time who-we-are-in-RL was there she could not mention the name gloria so we are always touched with a little sadness – and hope – but we did our Best while going through the whole Tobias-and-his-sisters time…….

you know how it is..

our (furry) siblings look like they are slightly bemused by the book (well they mostly speak Portuguese or “dog”)

but Toby really got into the “inspiration” section because, in a former life, he was a world travel(l)er and did the Grand Tour, you see.

AND 1726.6 miles to the East – Maggie in Berlin got her copy and sent pictures of the Book enjoying the scent of freshly cut flowers:

artfully arranged (well, tis Berlin – Art is Sustenance over there).

and she also wanted to express her deepest affection for the book – and her choice in chic turtlenecks (isn’t aubergine a striking shade?)and some of her friends (also in Berlin – and one in Austria who is still waiting for her copy to arrive as mr. Amazon hasn’t got over the Alps yet) made some nice comments:

gosh.

we Are feeling Terribly Continental all of a sudden.

what else?

let’s see…..

ah yes.

we went to El Royale to see Le Duc yesterday for a cup of tea and an elegant bowl of mixed berries and we *giggled* at his fireplace (apparently Miss. Netflix has an eternal looping virtual fire “screensaver” one can transmit on one’s largescale television unit).

back at home, it’s been Raining (we didn’t take photographs because we’re certainly Not going to dash your image of Los Angeles – it only happens once a decade).

so we curled up with a new find – the Autobiography of Audrey Withers (yes, darlings, the Editor in Chief of Vogue – “brogue” – the British one during the 1940s and on into the 60s). – more from Miss Withers when we’ve finished the book – it’s a delightful read. as was the Financial Times yesterday (not the front section, that was awfully depressing, but the interiors and arts coverage and fashion and the rest of it).

lovely.

so there you go.

DO send word as soon as your copy comes up the garden path wrapped up in brown paper and string with the cheery postman.

sorry?

postwoman?

gosh, how modern, good for the Royal Mail in your part of the world!

what’s that?

Not Royal?

you live in a place without a Monarchy?

*lookswithastonishmenttocamera1*

we DO?

no, no, no darlings.

we have Royals.

it’s called Hollywood.

and they’re having their prom tonight. gosh.

no.

we’re not going to the Prom tonight.

although we are going to see some friends not far away, up in the Hollywood Hills actually.

one day we’ll go to the Hollywood Prom.

but not in a dress.

at least we don’t think so.

and we’ll be there because they’ll have made the movie about us which who-we-are-in-RL spent Ever such a Long Time Writing (and it’s very good, and we don’t say that JUST because it’s about us, we’re not on every s i n g l e page).

of course we can dream.

dreaming (and a vast amount of obsessive work) gets us into ever such interesting places.

*looks_around_smiling*

and the Book is seeing the World.

unverified reports say that it has reached ASIA!

isn’t life delicious?

early mornings, deadlines and something for supper with kale.

August 14, 2013 | teamgloria

darlings

*yawns*

we’ve missed you.

but we MUST return to the deadlines as who-we-are-in-RL (finally) asked for our help.

so we’re off to sharpen pencils and brew another pot of coffee and generally have our deeply-supportive-face-on.

it’s impressive.

you’d never know we were actually thinking about a (very long) weekend in Monaco or what william is up to in whitstable and whether the laurel canyon stores sell butterscotch angel delight because all the British Musicians like it after they’ve been staying out too late at chateau marmont.

it really looks as if we’re Truly Concentrating.

pictures?

ok – but just a few – we’ve BARELY left the house for DAYS and have been subsisting on bowls of brown rice with kale (yum).

this is for Gallivanta because she knows how important Rumer Godden is (and not just because Mr. Willis and Ms. Moore named one of their children after her)

we saw a few flowers in the daylight when we managed to get outside to catch a few rays of sunshine and some vitamin D.

*slightlypatheticlooktocamera*

ok – we took a drive to the Ocean because we Really missed it (this was sunday)

but mostly we’ve been here (which is admittedly very nice and we adore teamgloria towers).

burning the midnight oil.

which we must Not do tonight because tomorrow we have a photo shoot.

and we’re not taking the pictures.

oh no.

not allowed.

it’s a Proper Shoot with a Professional Photographer and a Stylist and a Make-up and Hair Artist and everything (there’s even an assistant).

guess who is in Front of the camera?

on Malibu Beach, no less?

yup.

who-we-are-in-RL is having her picture done for a MAGAZINE.

apparently she wrote a story and *slightlymistysadlook* you know, talked about Tobias (we almost miss him) and his sisters (they didn’t feature very heavily in the narrative, Tobias did most of the attention-seeking) and she even wrote about US – as in you behind the screen over there *peerswinninglythroughtheinterweb* and how writing as teamgloria (or allowing us, rather, to speak through her at last) and getting all your nice comments and help and support when (few of) you didn’t know who-we-are-in-RL-actually-was Got Her Through It All (we hesitate to say one piece because of course several bits of us are Missing post-surgery).

it’s a lovely story.

so they’re going to publish it.

not for a while – November issue (that means, confusingly, October, right?)

we can’t tell you which magazine yet.

because then it won’t be a surprise.

we adore surprises.

not as much as we adore butterscotch angel delight but there you go.

we must Not Leave The House.

we have to sharpen pencils and Get back to Work (three deadlines fast approaching which is delicious and Terribly Grown-up).

considering constance spry.

April 1, 2013April 1, 2013 | teamgloria

darlings

after the Gorgeous Roses from yesterday at The Huntingdon, we picked up the copy of The Surprising Life of Constance Spry which had arrived from a second-hand bookshop in england a week or so ago and polished it off before breakfast (sometimes books are more nourishing than half a grapefruit or a salted italian cracker you see).

the Telegraph has a nice review here, for a very Transatlantic perspective.

and the brilliant Design Museum had a wonderful exhibition with catalog(ue) notes here.

of course the Most Surprising aspect of the inspirational Mrs. Spry was not only her rise to the Tips of Society from somewhat humble beginnings but also her relationship with the painter Gluck which could have Scandalized Society (had they not already been rather up in arms about the American Woman) apart from the fact that the British (once) turned a blind eye to anything that seemed beyond the Pale.

naturally Anything To Do with an Heiress to a Fortune (as Gluck was) somehow made the affair just something those-crazy-rich-people could get-away-with.

and the Flowers that Connie did were #divine, especially during bleak wartime and subsequent rationing and dark skies and the Unknown future.

it is always the people who take what they have and make it into something Beautiful that impresses us (you too? we are so pleased).

Constance wrote like a dream – she touched on inspirational depths and Made Do with what was around (many of her beautiful arrangements were notorious for the usage of cabbage leaves and other quotidian garden products pressed into attention at society Gatherings among the roses and the Ferns).

isn’t this a Lovely verse?

here’s the full piece in all its glory.

Fare Well

by: Walter de la Mare (b. 1873)

HEN I lie where shades of darkness
Shall no more assail mine eyes,
Nor the rain make lamentation When the wind sighs;
How will fare the world whose wonder
Was the very proof of me?
Memory fades, must the remember’d Perishing be?
Oh, when this my dust surrenders
Hand, foot, lip, to dust again,
May these loved and loving faces Please other men!
May the rusting harvest hedgerow
Still the Traveller’s Joy entwine,
And as happy children gather Posies once mine.
Look thy last on all things lovely, Every hour. Let no night
Seal thy sense in deathly slumber Till to delight Thou have paid thy utmost blessing; Since that all things thou wouldst praise Beauty took from those who loved them In other days.

and so we take what we read and learn and feel-inspired-by and bring it into our own (humble) abode.

and feel calmed and rested and ready to take on another day with a modicum of grace.

these are the books we read (or finished, finally) this past week!

as you may recall, we tend to read (a lot) and then donate or give away books-to-friends after reading as we rarely re-read books unless we adore the way the writer swims-in-words.

so today we’re going to pop by and make some new friends by donating these books.
and then there’s a Very Full day ahead (it’s still just 08:49AM in Los Angeles you see) of tasks and goals and a meeting – actually two – one is a professional event this evening which we’ll be writing about Tomorrow, no doubt, and some writing (two pieces) and a Proposal and – well – *exhales* – some more coffee Might be required it seems.

but all throughout the day, whenever we see a white picture frame we shall think of Gluck and any vibrant and blowsy-blooms shall make us smile about Constancy Spry.

which is such a Nice way to drift through one’s day, non?

happy monday.

what we’re listening to…….#singItAretha

March 29, 2013 | teamgloria

darlings

there’s a “meme” on the interweb where people share “what they are listening to” Right Then – at that moment – when they’re writing to you.

so here’s ours.

*shivers* isn’t it just Delicious?

and a good companion to our pictures from yesterday IMHO (do you know that one? In My Humble Opinion – #cute)

tight up against a “water feature” at a lovely lunch spot in the Valley where we Talked and Listened and laughed and felt understood and curious about what’s next and so on – the Best sort of Lunch. Thank you, Mo.

the valley is alive with the fragrance of pink-gold-flutey-blooms.

when we drive down Laurel Canyon, we always take a little peek at the houses nestled up against the hillside – what are their lives like? and did Joni Mitchell ever pop by for a glass of fizzy italian mineral water in 1967? it’s entirely Possible around here…

another track?

here’s what we’re listening to Right Now.

more pictures?

you are Terribly Kind to us.

we went through the first (gasp!) 158 pages written (that’s double-spaced for our Agent and potential Editors at Publishing Houses to read – it’ll actually be a slim volume because we adore a slim volume) and picked up some loose strands and stuff-we-need-to-expand-on and so forth.

the creamy white roses at the farmers’ market last sunday were a tiny bit too green for our taste so we thought we’d Kick it Up (as they say in fashionable circles circa Constance Spry era) and jot a little color/colour/shade into the floralness around here.

as you can see it makes a delightfully almost shocking accent in a almost syrie maugham paleness of room. and last night we took a moment to open up the horizontally sliding windows and gaze up at the hollywood hills and hear the slight plip-plip-ripple of the swimming pool in the full moon breezes and just feel completely at home and, well, Terribly Grateful.

during that reverie we turned Pandora to a station of our choosing (start with aretha and nina simone and you can’t go wrong – here’s a little nina for you, darlings)

it’s only 07:36AM and we are almost ready *looksdoubtfullytocamera* to leave the house and drive north – not far – depending on traffic – need to set out early – into the Valley to start our day.

happy friday lovelies.

teatime candles and roses and visits and only half-way through a delicious birthday

March 10, 2013March 10, 2013 | teamgloria

darlings

just popped home with an Armful of Flowers!

dashing out again Any Moment but had to just stop and admire and *sigh* and re-arrange flowers and light the perfect gardenia candle after dropping by to see the deliciously-elegant Timothy Sullivan and his delightful husband over at Timothy Jay Candles – we just went in for a hug and a votive – and emerged almost Bridal (see pictures for evidence), darlings.

we already felt Quite Heady after meeting-up-with-friends-at-noon on the Sunset Strip (quelle glam yet noticeably a high quotient of tattoos, always) and then settling into a low sofa, grabbing a throw pillow and lying back elegantly at The Chateau for a pot of tea (and a sinfully gorgeous chocolate and coconut cake).

to make it Even more *gasp* worthy – we just happened to look up from the Calendar section of the Los Angeles Times and guess who was there, on the sofa opposite?

we Knew we had to be Very Sophisticated about seeing a star there (there are so many but many of them are Young and probably known for a either a Pop Band or a Television Programme which means we wouldn’t recognize them – unless it’s a Danish television programme or a Korean K-Pop band – then we’d do a tiny Squeal).

so we just looked up, widened our eyes ever-so-slightly and did a quick bow of respect. she gave us a chillingly fabulous look which we haven’t seen since we last didn’t hand in our French homework on time.

darlings – it’s only 4.54PM (16:54 for our Europeans friends) and we have to get ready as we’re seeing an Independent movie downtown and we were promised a Milkshake at a classic diner too.

this birthday for who-we-are-in-real-life has been Tremendous.

flora, fauna and flamingos.

February 22, 2013 | teamgloria

darlings

a lovely day.

it started well although there was the Tiny sense of anticipation in the Air because who-we-are-in-RL was waiting for the return of several phonecalls and we said, “gosh, let’s not sit here, let’s go Out and See Things!” and she agreed (forgive us for the totally post-modern approach but this is pretty much how it feels).

so while she did some work and made lists and took a phonecall with someone software-savvy in san francisco for some consulting (she did patiently explain it to us, but we weren’t really listening because there’s a vintage Somerset Maugham book here from the Beverly Hills Library that is Very Absorbing).

so we read and then she said, “get in the car, gloria” and we drove to the Valley *looksvaguelynorth* where she had a meeting and we read the Maugham in the car (because we are rarely wanted in grown-up places it seems *sniffs*).

we do like the Valley as it nestles right up against the Mountains.

Isn’t it glorious?

and then we went for a long walk and saw some flora, fauna AND FLAMINGOS!

now did you ever?? (that was a bit Audrey Hepburn in gor-blimey-Act-1-style for Pygmalion then – before she slipped into the Cecil Beaton gowns and a Large Brimmed Hat.)

amazing!

like Bolshoi Ballet dancers strutting around backstage preening and stretching and looking Deeply glamorous while lithe stagehands crawl above them in the flies sorting out the gels (can you tell we studied theatre lighting at University as part of our Course?)

the sunshine was just lovely today.

the flowers looked ever so happy basking a little in the light breeze as the sun tickled under its pollen-flirting-petals.

we asked if we could drive back along Mullholland Drive (not sure why it inspired the odd Mr. Lynch – it’s not the least bit spooky but it is a Magnificent Sight) and paused at one of the lookouts where many a young maiden (of any of the 3.5 genders residing in L.A) has Been Kissed at dusk (the time zone, it’s not a euphemism for that lovely bit at the back of the neck just behind the left ear, darlings).

by the time we got back all (necessary) messages had been returned (quelle Joy) and a Studio Called (Vast Joy) and a large motion picture agency sent back our materials *shockedlooktocamera*.

another day building a Life in Los Angeles, sweet friends.