If I was bold........

I turned 42 a couple of days ago and birthdays are always a time of reflection.

In one of my all time favorite movies, Sex and Mrs X (If you're my friend, I'm sure I've made you watch the movie), Madame Simone asks Mrs X, who will you be? I would definitely be Madame Simone if I was bold! A woman who arranges love for others! Sigh......

It's a question I ponder on often. Who will you be Leonarda?

As with all women, I know who I would like to be. I have the answers. But do I dare? Do I honestly say who I would like to be? They say life begins at 40. I became a first time mother 3 months before my 40th birthday and I still have not recovered! On most days, I'm too tired to even ask myself the question. But really, who would I be?

If I were bold, these would be my answers.....

I would be a Femme Fatale. Even though I'm married and plan to stay married, my husband would be afraid to let me out of his sight, for fear of what my mischievous mind may be up to......right now, if I disappeared for a couple of days, he would be fine.....booooooring!

I would be a Diva. Who is a Diva anyway? A woman who knows what she wants, asks for it and get's it every time! Shouldn't that be every woman? Hmmm.......

I would have a massage every morning and maybe, every night.

I would live in 50 Shades of Grey........even though I haven't read the book yet....too tired.

In business, I would be a creator of dreams, like my dream mentor, Diana Vreeland. My head in the clouds. I would ask that before you became my client, you should know that you were embarking on the adventure of your life! You'll wear gloves, garter belts, only high fashion and always look like a movie star. If you're not up for that, don't even think about it!

And of course, I would be the ultimate role model!

I would have soirees in my home with equally bold women....and men and we would have the most exciting and provocative conversations at my dinner table!

You want me to continue? I don't think you can handle it.......

Oh, if I could be so bold......

Sigh........

Surrender And Full Circle

I go. I come. I go again and I return.

This time I make no promises. The most important thing is that I showed up today.

I'm here. For me.

It's been quite a ride! A roller coaster ride!

I think I've come back to square one.

Leonarda Renaissance Woman.

This is who I am.

I've tried so may things my friends. Tried to put myself in beautiful boxes.

Lady.
Lover.
Artist.
Mother.
Fairy God Mother.
Wife.
Wild Woman. 
Loyal and Loving Friend.
African Queen.
Woman of the World.
Lover of the High Fashion!
Lover of Luxury.
Lover of Flowers.
Mogul.
Designer.
Consultant.
Coach.
Confidante.
Florist.
Photographer.
Writer.
Traveler.
African.
American.

I've tried to be one at a time.

It didn't work.

Where has my wisdom been?

No answers needed. It's been a beautiful journey. And I have returned home.

I am Leonarda. My mentor, Leonardo. He did it all. So can I.

It just has to be graceful and elegant. Not scattered.....I've done that too.

I am reminded of the Master In The Art Of Living. I've shared this with you before......

He makes little distinction between his work and his play.
His labor and his leisure.
His mind and his body.
His information and his recreation.
His love and his religion.
He hardly knows which is which.
He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whater he is working or playing.
To him he is always doing both.

Time to play my friends!!!!!!!!

And stop taking life so damn seriously!

I am Leonarda. Renaissance Woman.

Pretty Pictures

I'm still not feeling well, but I promised myself. Every day for the month of March I will show up here.

So.....

I'm just going to share pictures, pretty pictures. They always have the power to make everything great!

Enjoy!

.....and I really really really want this bag!

A demain.

I Promise

 I've been in bed all day. The flu has hit hard, but I have promised myself. I am blogging every single day for the month of March.
I need to do this.

Today I experienced a gift, on my sickbed.

I will tell you more about the gift in good time, but for now......

I'm ready to make clothes again.
 Ready to serve again.
I've been running from making clothes for 6 years now.

I've distracted myself with motherhood, school, flowers, art, photography, coaching, other people's designs etc.
All of the above have become an integral part of my life and my future but today, I declare, I am returning to my foundation.
I'm ready to design for women one on one again.

There are details to be worked out. I need to find at least one tailor and seamstress to start. I need an assistant too. But the intention I feel is so strong, so clear and so sincere, I trust, with all my heart that these things will be sorted out and that I will find the people I need.

 My ladies all 'draped' up and ready to go!

Wish me luck!

Agian and Again.......

If you've read through my archives, you'll see that there have been breaks. I disappear for a while and then I come back again.
I'm here again.
The past couple of moths have been very difficult and I have every reason to justify my absence from blogging......It's not important.
I'm here again.
I've been contemplating the famous words said in so many different ways...
"The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and get  up eight".
 "Fall down seven times, get up eight"
I even found it in Japanese.

"For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises up again"
What about a woman? 
Out of curiosity, I googled "A woman falls down seven times" hoping to find some special wisdom on the topic for women.....I didn't find anything.
I wish there was a special process for women.
Sigh......

Well, I'm here to try again.

I do have something for us though.
Jennifer Lawrence did it in style for us last week....in a glorious Dior gown. And then went on to receive an Oscar. I'm looking hard for some inspiration here.....

Oh well. One thing for sure, it IS a beautiful sight!

See you!

More Make Believe!

I just looked at the current collections at Paris Fashion Week and I couldn't help myself! Time to play Make Believe again! I really really enjoyed the first one!

Today, my subject is Gareth Pugh. I usually just look at the more established houses but lately, by advisement, I'm going out of my comfort zone to explore younger designers. I critiqued Gareth Pugh's Fall 2012 collection as part of an assignment, and I surprised myself by actually loving his work! I love his Spring Summer 2013 collection even more! It's strong, it's edgy, but it's also sophisticated and elegant. You'll never see me post anything that is not sophisticated here.....not my style!

Here we go!

I know! Remember, it's a fashion 'show'. Take away the exaggerated veil an it's a simple black dress. Perfect for the evening, maybe with gold sandals for Summer! And for Fall, I would add a fur jacket.....a short 'winter white' fur jacket and possibly, bronze or black strappy heels!

Did you see the pants?! I know what you're thinking.....stay with me. I would wear the trousers to lounge at home, especially if I was entertaining. An intimate dinner with friends, paired with a nice shimmery tank, of a soft tunic. Can you see it? Oh and I would need a chef with service too, I won't be able walk to and from the kitchen in this one!

This is 'pour la doyenne'! Think mother of the bride.....I'm telling you, she would be so chic! I'm about 30+ years away from that, but I could still find somewhere to wear this to!

This is Tres Tres Avant Garde, but it's elegant and clean. I would wear this to a very formal event, with my hair swept up and an 'out of this world' necklace. If I wanted to break it up, the top would be perfect with black palazzo pants and the skirt, a fabulous corset! Still all very very dressed up!

Oh RED! Anything in red and I'm sold! Again, formal chic! A formal dinner, a very formal event, definitely evening. A night at a chic gallery, a night at the opera, or even a date with my honey at a very exclusive restaurant! It's easy too! I love this one so much!!!!....and only earrings, nothing else.

Another one I love! The white makes it go either way. It could be casual chic, can you see it with huge sunglasses, a fabulous scarf and flats......I would need to do some temporary hemming......Or, to keep it super glam, with some big Afro hair, arms full of bangles and killer heels! Definitely for a night on the town with friends in the Summer!

Heart be still! Another red piece of perfection! The perfect hostess outfit for me! At home with slippers, lounging, entertaining or simply hanging out with the family at the weekend! I could wear this today!!!!!

 Gosh! I love this one too! One thought. Travel. If it's wrinkle free, I'm traveling in this one. Period! I would be a sight for very sore eyes at the airport and the destination would definitely be worth the effort! For sure!

Ahhh, the perfect LRD (Little Red Dress). For work for sure. Personally I wouldn't do it with the booties and tights or leggings....but if you want some edge, go for it! I would do it with some lovely classic black pumps, preferably Loubies to match the red! It looks simple my dears, but you cannot begin to imagine the amount of work involved in getting that effect at the bottom of the dress! These are the kinds of designs I love! Not loud but saying a lot!

Saturday shopping in this? Pour quoi pas?

Ok, this may seem only for the brave, but really, not at all.  black pants are black pants, so let's focus on the top. For work,  I would wear this with either a pencil leopard print skirt and red shoes! Or, with a pair of white pants or a pencil white skirt and yes, red shoes! For casual chic, it would definitely be with soft pale blue jeans, heels and a tight pony tail.....both for work and play.....the pony tail. Can you see it now?

 Now, this, I wouldn't change or break it up! Well apart from the extra skirt thingy going on, it's perfect as is. Because it's sleeveless, the black on black isn't as intimidating as the one before. Work or play, either way, it works, hair up, hair down, definitely with heels and fabulous earrings! A cool party, a day at the office, it's all fabulous!

The finale! Hmmmm, I need a minute. Without the cape, I would wear this to work without blinking! But with the cape, I need to think hard.....let me see. A black tie event where there's a little window of opportunity to get creative! A fashion event, a movie event or simply something in the Arts, I could make it happen, I really could.....I can just see myself holding my glass of champagne and making small talk as if I didn't know how wild I looked.....yep, I could do this!

I hope you enjoyed our make believe date today!

I'll be back! With more! Stay tuned!

In Love Again!

I've been so busy! But I have so much to share!!!! So I'm going to take this in bite sizes OK.

As you may know (or not), I'm back in school and up until now, I've simply been going with the flow, grateful for the opportunity that I have to still be a full time mom and a full time student. I'm also appreciative of the fact that I'm becoming a better and stronger designer.

However, since I began the MFA, I haven't been over the moon excited about anything, and I know it's also because of the overwhelm of becoming a mother.

All that changed last night!

I'm excited! I'm in love again!!!!

I've taken two draping classes upon arriving here in the States and they were amazing, but I'm taking a draping class now which has opened me up to more possibilities than I can handle!!!! I don't want to get too technical, but this semester, we're learning how to drape and create designs with simple geometric shapes! It's only been 2 weeks! I feel like new life has been breathed into my ability to create!

Let me stop 'talking' and show you!

I stayed up all night (I was inspired!) and created over 50 designs out of only 4 pieces of fabric!!!! And believe me when I say, I'm only scratching the surface!!!! Moreover, these were done in muslin, which is not the most inspiring fabric! Just wait till I get my hands on the good stuff! I'll be unstoppable!!!!

I have to sketch my favorites as part of my assignment. I'll show them to you when they're done.

I'm in love again my friends! Truly in love again!!!!