I am late in the game, but I just discovered photo apps!!!!

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Yeah, I am late in the game... EVERYONE was already using apps way before me, but I just got into this because of the extremely POOR quality of my Droid 2 phone camera...

Cannot believe that Motorola releases a hi tech phone like that without fixing their camera app.

I was getting really upset with the TERRIBLE quality of the night pictures I was taking... The flash was not working properly...

 Basically, the camera was UNUSABLE at night = blurry, dark, eeek!

And if you know me, you know that I take more pictures than a Japanese tourist... So I was pretty angry to have a brand new phone with a crappy camera... a 5MP one at that...

Then I did discover that my phone was not a total loss – there is an app for that! More specifically an app that fixes the stock camera bugs: discovered that Vignette is awesome and has AMAZING effects as well!!!!

Check it out:

All of the above were done by Vignette - from existing pictures. I really suggest buying it! Even Polaroid oldies!!!

 This Andy Warhol-esque pic was taken with a FREE app called Camera FX. It took literally 2 seconds to take and see how awesome it became!

I am hooked!!!!

I did not even tap the tip of the iceberg in terms of cool effects...

Will keep you posted about night/dark place pictures – it seems that this app did the trick...

Happy, happy, happy! STAY TUNED FOR MORE!!!!!

The wedding of the century!

I know, I know, I am writing this late in the game, like over a week late, but could not NOT include my 2 cents of this wonderful wedding...

I am NOT a morning person, so I DID NOT WAKE UP LIKE AT FIVE IN THE MORNING to watch, no sireee... I have a wonderful thing called DVR that did the work for me...

But when I did wake up (someone HAD to go to work, since the whole UK was having their 1,000th holiday), the first thing I saw was the scene in the Buckingham Palace's balcony:

 

Looking at the DRESS, moi, a complete fashion and royalty geek immediately thought of Grace Kelly’s dress. And this BEFORE I saw any sort of comment. Yes, it was that obvious...But wonderful nevertheless.

Just a tad surprised that it was from Sarah Burton’s Alexander McQueen!
Too classic for McQueen, but you know, who wants to go nuts now and then look at your wedding shots and say “What was I thinking???!!!”

LOVED LOVED the whole pageantry, the tradition, the clothes and the CRAZY hats!!!
I wish I was there so I could do something I love: wear HATS!

More stuff to come!

Just saying - Kate did not disappoint!  what a beautiful bride!  A movie star!

Spring in NYC

New York's weather really gets on my nerves, you have to be pretty tough to live through never-ending winters and crazy hot summers. I don't really know a more extreme city to live in...

But there are a few magical weeks here in this crazy city that life gets easier and my humor improves...

You probably saw my old posts about the multiple blizzards... but fortunately you did not sample my crappy humor that accompanied this "wonderful" weather...

There are some magical weeks in late April/early May that just make your heart sing (how tacky is this???!).

You just have to have your camera READY, because the flowers in the trees go fast! You see them, and then you take pictures. Otherwise, they are gone!

Here are some shots:

A 310 year old book...

On the topics of old books, this one takes the cake, at least in my household...
This 1701 book about mythology or how they called "the heathen gods" was an amazing find back in 2006.
The Flatiron bookstore I got this from doesn't even exist anymore...
I can see why. The salesguy told me that the book was from 1801 - not the accurate 1701 the Roman numerals clearly stated... I guess if you work in a bookstore that sells rare and antique books, you would have to know Roman numerals, but... I got this book relatively cheap and who am I to contradict him, especially because he would probably raise the price!!! The book is actually from 1701 like I knew the moment I looked at it!

So, 310 years this year... So awesome, with so many antique engravings... a dream!

 Just cannot rotate this one above... dunno why... sorry...

So look at this little pile here:

If you add up the age of these books, you will have more than 700 years... Mind boggling...

My favorite flower: Hyacinths...

My antique books - more photos!!!

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Well, as you probably noticed, I am in luuuurve with my new acquisitions: my old English books from the late 1700's!
Since this is MY blog, I and I can do whatever I want with it... I will post even more pictures!

Woke up yesterday (Saturday) and found this package at my door!

And inside of it: my amazing 1785 copy of the "The European Magazine and London Review"!!!!

Chockfull of amazing information of the time and also gorgeous prints - even foldouts!!!

I was soooo thrilled! Still am... Look at my shots:

Original leather with gilt!!! From 1785!!!!

Then we have some shots of my 1794 "European Magazine" - a bit more tattered copy with some plates missing... Oh well, nothing is perfect... But amazing to read accounts of the Frenc Revolution, the execution of Marie Antoinette... so many fascinating facts...

Things of beauty... at least for me ;-)

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My passion for old books - my "new" old book!

I was on a 18th century book fever lately (see my older post) and managed to snag another priceless (at least for me!) book , for an unbelieavable price!

Since I've received my 1794 copy of "The European Magazine and London Review" last week, I've managed to find an even OLDER copy on abebooks.com - a maaaajor resource for amazing books.
I did find another copy of this wonderful magazine from 1785!!!!

The seller was amazing and did send it to me expedited...
How wonderful is to wake up on a lazy and gray Saturday and find a book that is almost 220 years waiting for you at your door???

This one I've bought on abebooks.com is incredible: the covers are in full leather with some gilt left even. The book is also in GREAT shape - with LOTS of portraits and prints - even pull on illustrations that would cost more than the book itself!!!

I am sooooo happy!

Take a quick look - I will upload more shots of the book soon...

Fashion through the ages 1700's and 1800's

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Looking for fashions for 1794 to see what people were wearing in the times of my new old book  and stumbled upon these charming History of Fashion fashion plates.

They are from the late 1880's, just loved to see a set like, showing the astonishing fashion changes in the 1700's and 1800's...

(Click and click again to see it in detail...)

 Look at this one above: it does say "Present Fashions" ! Amazing!

A thing of beauty is to see so much evolution in one place!